Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[MossRoad]

If you can trim branches off the side opposite of the direction you want it to fall, that helps a lot. Not always practical, but if you can do it, it changes the center of gravity of the tree in your favor drastically. I've done it many times with a pole saw from the ground.

 

[MossRoad]

And I might be mistaken, but from that picture, it looks like about half way up the top had been broken off the tree and a branch turning into the main trunk from that point up, putting a lot of the top weight in the direction you want it to fall. Without seeing a picture from 90 degrees to the left, it looks like the weight is already in your favor.

 

[bcp]

I have a closer look today, and there are a lot of branches on the side where the building is. So, when it is coming down I Gotta make sure that it moves fast enough because it will fall to the left a bit. Rope attached to the trailer ball of my pick up truck should do it.

A large tree can be "encouraged" to fall in a certain direction with a rope and pickup, but if it decides to go somewhere else, it will fling the pickup around like a toy unless the rope breaks first.

Be careful.

Bruce

 

[Oldpath05]

Wanted to get some slabs in so when I hooked on my trailer a small tab broke off that locks the pin in that lock the hitch in position, dont know where that piece went so I cut another piece out of old truck spring, another two hr delay. Once the hitch is locked in straight I can run a 1/2" case harden bolt through for heavy loads, the load must of caught on something a I suppose after ten years of use, metal/weld fatigue set in, bout like I get at times....


Now I get to load the slabs just before dark, so now they'll be ready to cut next weekend........

 

[Loaderman22]

OK, you got me. What's the "inverted pan of water" used for?


When u was in the boy scouts, the handbook references a trick to guage the height of a tree.
1. Place a pan of water on ground away from a tree approx the distance you think it is tall. So you guess the tree is 40 feet tall, then place pan 40 feet away from tree.
2. If you are say 6 feet tall, then you stand 6 feet away from the pan of water on the opposite side of tree. So pan is between you & tree in a straight line.
3. Look into pan & the reflection will be 40 feet in air, so if you see top of tree, then tree is in fact 40 feet tall. If you see below top, then move pan back & reset. If you see over tree, then move closer to tree & reset. Once you find sweet spot, measure distance from pan to tree, that is the height of tree.
Now as you stated, this is hard to be accurate with this method, technically it's not your actual height, it's where your eyes are off ground, so 2-3 inch error here could result in being off true height of tree by feet. If it cloudy, this is useless, if the sun is directly behind the tree, you are now blind. If it's breezy, then the pan could have ripples so you can't see anything in the reflection, ground needs to be level etc... I think it was more of a lesson to try new things, maybe get us kids to think outside the box. Either way, it stuck with me for over 30 years. Still not something I'm willing to try anywhere near mine or your house. Nor do I recommend anyone to try it near theirs.

 

[Gordon Gould]

OK, you got me. What's the "inverted pan of water" used for?


When u was in the boy scouts, the handbook references a trick to guage the height of a tree.
1. Place a pan of water on ground away from a tree approx the distance you think it is tall. So you guess the tree is 40 feet tall, then place pan 40 feet away from tree.
2. If you are say 6 feet tall, then you stand 6 feet away from the pan of water on the opposite side of tree. So pan is between you & tree in a straight line.
3. Look into pan & the reflection will be 40 feet in air, so if you see top of tree, then tree is in fact 40 feet tall. If you see below top, then move pan back & reset. If you see over tree, then move closer to tree & reset. Once you find sweet spot, measure distance from pan to tree, that is the height of tree.
Now as you stated, this is hard to be accurate with this method, technically it's not your actual height, it's where your eyes are off ground, so 2-3 inch error here could result in being off true height of tree by feet. If it cloudy, this is useless, if the sun is directly behind the tree, you are now blind. If it's breezy, then the pan could have ripples so you can't see anything in the reflection, ground needs to be level etc... I think it was more of a lesson to try new things, maybe get us kids to think outside the box. Either way, it stuck with me for over 30 years. Still not something I'm willing to try anywhere near mine or your house. Nor do I recommend anyone to try it near theirs.

Ingenious - never heard that one. I like John's stick method better. Easier to find a stick in the woods than a pan of clear water.

gg

 

[Loaderman22]

Ingenious - never heard that one. I like John's stick method better. Easier to find a stick in the woods than a pan of clear water.

gg

I didn't say it was practical, or easy �� but maybe it was just something the handbook authors thought up to keep kids busy while on camping trips!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I didn't say it was practical, or easy �� but maybe it was just something the handbook authors thought up to keep kids busy while on camping trips!

No no - I really like it. It is based on optical physics and good old geometry. That makes it pretty neat in my book. Everyone knows physicists and mathematicians don't have to worry about being practical.

gg

 

[MossRoad]

Stand next to the tree and put you're hand on top of your head to mark your height on the side of the tree.

Walk away from the tree a ways, face the tree and stick your arm straight out, make a fist and put your thumb straight up.

Look at the tree and move your arm so that the base of your thumb is at the base of the tree, and adjust your distance from the tree towards or away until the tip of your thumb is at the point you marked on the tree. One thumb high.

So now move your hand up so the base of your thumb is at the point where your head was on the trunk and look at where the tip of your thumb is now. Two thumbs high. Repeat up the tree and count how many thumbs it takes to get to the top. 8.5 thumbs high, for example.

We all know our approximate height. I'm a convenient 6' tall, so 8.5 thumbs times 6' = 51' high. Piece of cake. :thumbsup:

 

[goeduck]

If you can trim branches off the side opposite of the direction you want it to fall, that helps a lot. Not always practical, but if you can do it, it changes the center of gravity of the tree in your favor drastically. I've done it many times with a pole saw from the ground.

On a tree that size a pole saw is not going to up proportionally very high.