tree felling question

[Man of Tanith]

Up my woods theres an ash tree thats split off at the base/stool.
Its still partly attached at the base and has snagged in another tree branches higher up.
Usually I'd leave it to its own devices. However this one is quite close to the spot I camp in within the woods.
I have an idea how I can shift it but wondered if theres a recognised technique?

 

[Kong]

what idea do you have in mind?

 

[Mesquite]

I have an idea how I can shift it but wondered if theres a recognised technique?

No... I'm not climbing up it to cut the branches off

You're younger and slimmer so you can do it

 

[Man of Tanith]

The idea was to send mesquite up but he has rumbled me.......blast it.

In truth the idea was to rope it off so the tension was taken and then cut through the split with several sturdy gentlemen holding the rope to lower it down.....

 

[stuey]

The linked youtube video shows you the winch method.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGxY0tbUff4

You will notice the principle is to roll the tree rather than pull it down. The cuts used are also specific and assume a pre-existing felling cut.

If you have access to a felling lever or a Log Peavy you can rock the stem of the tree near to the base to encourage it to settle to the ground under gravity. You can improvise with a webbing strap and a long pole. You could try this with the tree still attached.

The following AFAG guide has been withdrawn but the advice it contains stands true.

http://www.fcauk.com/images/pdfs/AFAG302.pdf

Don't climb it. Don't surf it. Don't fell other stuff to try and knock it down. Don't try and rope it down.

You say it is still attached at the butt. There could be a decent amount of tension going on in the stem which could barbers chair on you when you cut it.

It is difficult to give accurate instructions on how to deal with what would effectively be termed a windblown tree in the eyes of NPTC AFAG etc without seeing it first hand. A hung-up tree as a result of felling is reasonably predictable. A hung up tree as a result of failure or windthrow is very unpredictable.

Either way, I would try and rock the thing down to the ground with a strap and pole if you don't have access to a felling lever or peavy.

Be safe,

Stu

 

[decorum]

I really wouldn't want to be at the butt end making that cut :yikes: . I suspect that roping or winching it away from / to the side of the hang up and allowing gravity to finish what it started would be the safer option ~ but I have no idea of what it's hung up in

 

[Man of Tanith]

This is why I asked advice
Thanks all.

 

[didicoy]

Just out of interest, how wide (diameter) of the leaning/hung up part of the tree at say breast height? Could you take a photograph? Hung up tress are very dangerous to any person using the wood. So it would be best, if we could at least see what your asking advice about.

 

[Man of Tanith]

I can get a photo in a couple weeks.
No thicker than an average blokes thigh id say

 

[Mesquite]

I can get a photo in a couple weeks.
No thicker than an average blokes thigh id say

So about the diameter of a dinner plate then.

Shouldn't be too hard to pull out providing we've got some decent rope

 

[Man of Tanith]

You've got some I'm sure?

 

[greensurfingbear]

Felling bars are good for hung up trees.


Orric

 

[Jared]

If it's around 7" diameter it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As said without seeing it, it's difficult to advise.

I'd consider just cutting it free with a felling axe, just making sure you can get safely away from it if it moves in your direction.

Hopefully it'll drop after that.

 

[dwardo]

Last time we cut some daughter elms around that size they did the same and hung up as expected. We tied three ropes as close of the floor as we could and just dragged its feet out from under it.
Ropes kept us clear rather than be any where near the base awaiting the kick back and a gob full of broken teef.

 

[didicoy]

If you knew that no one but yourself was going to be in the wood and you had a day to camp. Assuming you didn't want the tree stump to coppice. Building a big fire at the base of the tree where the damage is and just stay well clear until it burns through and falls to the ground. A length of rope previously tied high up and away from any flames will bring the job to a close quicker than waiting/worrying and if it this method fails, leaving even a more unstable hung up. To be honest 7" diam is nothing. I would bring that down with the saw, with a felling cut and a pigs ear or two. I guess its all about training. I was trained to fell safely hung up trees and would usually take a winch onto most jobs, expecting hung ups or windblown on some thinning jobs.

 

[BearInTheWoods]

Classic quote from an American friend when observing a similar situation on a smallholding in Devon:

'That's easy, just wrap some det. cord round it.'

He seemed quite startled you couldn't just buy it at the local farm supplies shop (this was some years ago I might add, no doubt the US has tightened up on that sort of thing by now).

 

[Spartan]

Watch Out ! Be Very Carefull.

Hung up trees are a complete nightmare unless you have the correct gear, and even with the correct stuff they can be very, very unpredictable, keep well away from it unless you know what you're doing. If it is windblow definately get someone in to do it.

Absolute minimum to use is a tractor with a pto winch on the base, or a forwarder grab. It maybe possible with a turfor, but taking up slack quickly on a turfor is nigh on impossible, and not the sort of thing to do as a first felling job. Rolling too is not to be done as a first tree job, too unpredictable even when the tree has rolled loose. I don't care how small it is, 7" thick trees under accelleration due to gravity and releasing twisted / bent tension in them can cause a lot of damage to soft human bodies.

Get someone in is my advice,or stay away till it goes by itself.

Don't try and "Cuff It" or "Make it up as you go along", unless you like sitting down a lot as you may have to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

Sp

 

[Ivan...]

Watch Out ! Be Very Carefull.

Hung up trees are a complete nightmare unless you have the correct gear, and even with the correct stuff they can be very, very unpredictable, keep well away from it unless you know what you're doing. If it is windblow definately get someone in to do it.

Absolute minimum to use is a tractor with a pto winch on the base, or a forwarder grab. It maybe possible with a turfor, but taking up slack quickly on a turfor is nigh on impossible, and not the sort of thing to do as a first felling job. Rolling too is not to be done as a first tree job, too unpredictable even when the tree has rolled loose. I don't care how small it is, 7" thick trees under accelleration due to gravity and releasing twisted / bent tension in them can cause a lot of damage to soft human bodies.

Get someone in is my advice,or stay away till it goes by itself.

Don't try and "Cuff It" or "Make it up as you go along", unless you like sitting down a lot as you may have to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

Sp

Wise advice, couldn't have put it better myself, well explained, remember ash trees kill more people in this country than any other species, it's the main hardwood that is bore felled, and if you didn't see it come down stay well away.

Ivan...

 

[chimpy leon]

The linked youtube video shows you the winch method.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGxY0tbUff4

You will notice the principle is to roll the tree rather than pull it down. The cuts used are also specific and assume a pre-existing felling cut.

If you have access to a felling lever or a Log Peavy you can rock the stem of the tree near to the base to encourage it to settle to the ground under gravity. You can improvise with a webbing strap and a long pole. You could try this with the tree still attached.

The following AFAG guide has been withdrawn but the advice it contains stands true.

http://www.fcauk.com/images/pdfs/AFAG302.pdf

Don't climb it. Don't surf it. Don't fell other stuff to try and knock it down. Don't try and rope it down.

You say it is still attached at the butt. There could be a decent amount of tension going on in the stem which could barbers chair on you when you cut it.

It is difficult to give accurate instructions on how to deal with what would effectively be termed a windblown tree in the eyes of NPTC AFAG etc without seeing it first hand. A hung-up tree as a result of felling is reasonably predictable. A hung up tree as a result of failure or windthrow is very unpredictable.

Either way, I would try and rock the thing down to the ground with a strap and pole if you don't have access to a felling lever or peavy.

Be safe,

Stu

+1 Geat advice.

 

[Nice65]

As someone has mentioned, the amount of wood holding it at the base is key to how to deal with it. Ash is not known as the widow maker for nothing and the more distance between human and hung up tree the better.

You can easily bust a winch or yank one off a vehicle if things go wrong.

I can't guarantee this is the correct approach, but I'd attach a winch, put a vertical cut into the stem with a chainsaw just over half way through.

Do another cut about 2 foot up the stem on the opposite side. The grain should overlap, creating a natural splitting point, but the 2 foot of timber between them should prevent this happening until you start to winch, which should cause the wood to split.

Almost guarantee it'll stay hung up though, but at least it'll be away from the stump and can be rolled or pulled.

Without knowing more details on tree size and diameter it's hard to offer the best advice. Be careful.