skidding a REALLY big log

[dfkrug]

This douglas fir tree fell last Sunday, due to wind, and a weakened root
system. It was lying across my private road, very close to my neighbor's
house. The tree was 41" in diameter at chest height, and about 110 feet
long. The slope is about 90%, and our county road is downhill, about
100 feet away.

So, how do I get this big tree out of there? The second photo shows my
approach. I will cut thru the log very close to where it touches the
ground, then use my tractor and logging cable to pull on the log at the
cut.

Why not cut sections off from above, near the root ball? First, the biggest
saw available has a 24" bar, which can not get thru anything bigger than
a little less than 48". Second, cutting sections of the log on a 90% slope
(even if I could) could allow these sections to roll downhill, towards the
county road below. Since each section cut would be pressing on each
subsequent section, I would need to pull them off to relieve pressure.
Dangerous.

It turns out, the pressure of the log trying to slide downhill was very strong.
Once it was cut thru, the pressure was so great that I could not move
the tree, pulling with my 5500# tractor and logging cable. Traction on my
road was excellent.

So the next thing I did was cut a foot-long section out. I was hoping to
relieve some of the pressure here, or be able to pull out the section with
the tractor, or with my 20T jack. The diameter is 30" at the cut.

At last, a section was removed, and I was able to pull the log end about
15 feet along the road. I could not pull any further because the end of
the log was digging into the road, and was just too heavy. It is
43' long, and about 9 tons, according to my calculation.

Finally, I attached my cable to the root ball end and, using a snatch block
to redirect the forces, pulled it off the hillside.

This is the biggest log I have ever moved!

 

[wedge40]

You could build a house from the lumber of just that one tree.

Wedge

 

[dfkrug]

You could build a house from the lumber of just that one tree.

No wood structures for me....I believe in concrete and steel!

I don't even want it for firewood, as I burn only hardwoods and have
piles of logs to cut/split/burn.

If someone wanted that log, they can have it for "free".

 

[BruceWard]

Wow, that is quite a log. I am impressed that you were able to move it.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I bet that your Kioti had fun moving that huge log.

 

[TBDonnelly]

If someone wanted that log, they can have it for "free".

Shipping would be a killer though..........

Glad nobody was in the way when it fell and glad the newly rebuilt, nearly finished John Deere did not get squashed.

Don

 

[JB4310]

Looks like a baby Sequoia! Man, That things huge, alot of 2x4's.
Any idea how old a softwood that size would be?

 

[dfkrug]

Any idea how old a softwood that size would be?

The end cut is not clean enough to make a good count, but a somewhat
bigger tree was removed for my house construction, and it was 103 yo.
I expect this one to be in the 75-90 yo range.

 

[rdbrumfield]

Would I love to put that through my log splitter. you tube plumbstriaight, watch that spelling. I have since change the engine, it slows for nothing.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Nice work! When I saw the first pictures of that angle I knew that thing would be like a rocket down the hill if you weren't careful. There is a lot of internal stress on them when they are supported like that. I don't think you have a big enough Log arch laying around to move that beast. Get a log skidder in there to drag it out if you really wanted. It would be a shame just to turn that into firewood rounds.
If there wasn't the risk of nitwits coming up there and damaging things you could sell truck loads of firewood on Craigslist.