Tree Blasting

[Stere]

Music from Popol Vuh?

[RC0]

10 hours ago, Tom D said:

Nice Reg! Why you blowing them up?

 

Dealing with dangerous trees? safety works? 

Tom, there was 2 trees in particular that would've been particularly dangerous to put a saw into. To get some context of scale, the big rotten cedar that I set the explosives part way up was about 160-170 ft tall. At that size they have a tendency to just sink on the saw when you try to make a face cut for starters. Not a good start mate. But still doable. We certainly felled trees as big and as rotten on that job, but the favor of the lean and slope of the landing on this one presented a particularly high risk of cartwheeling a huge length off the edge of the cliff and through the powerlines down below....which would've put 2 entire towns out of electricity. The stem didn't get any sounder or safer for even topping until about 120 feet....and then we'd have still been left with that long section to deal with. The thing with explosives is that it just separates the wood instantly, so the severed section just falls with its weight. There were 2 trees that presented that exact same predicament....the other was a dead Douglas fir, the third explosion in the vid I believe. Really difficult to appreciate the terrain or size of the trees through a gopro. The other trees were not quite as precarious, but they were within the budget to be blasted too, so why not. Being able to eliminate a rotten, dangerous tree in such a way, at no risk to a faller or climber is a pretty good option.

[RC0]

29 minutes ago, Stere said:

Music from Popol Vuh?

A download. Cant remember the name

[RC0]

10 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

Looks like fun.

Somebody needs to ask that man at the HSE if we need two ropes or three when carrying dynamite up a tree. Otherwise not sure it would catch on here.

Dan I was actually thinking 3 ropes. 2 to the tree, and then tie another between you and your colleague incase he trips on his shoelaces. Makes sense to me

[Mike Hill]

I did quite a bit of "finger blasting" in my early teens.

The results were never as spectacular as your film however.

[Rough Hewn]

Tom, there was 2 trees in particular that would've been particularly dangerous to put a saw into. To get some context of scale, the big rotten cedar that I set the explosives part way up was about 160-170 ft tall. At that size they have a tendency to just sink on the saw when you try to make a face cut for starters. Not a good start mate. But still doable. We certainly felled trees as big and as rotten on that job, but the favor of the lean and slope of the landing on this one presented a particularly high risk of cartwheeling a huge length off the edge of the cliff and through the powerlines down below....which would've put 2 entire towns out of electricity. The stem didn't get any sounder or safer for even topping until about 120 feet....and then we'd have still been left with that long section to deal with. The thing with explosives is that it just separates the wood instantly, so the severed section just falls with its weight. There were 2 trees that presented that exact same predicament....the other was a dead Douglas fir, the third explosion in the vid I believe. Really difficult to appreciate the terrain or size of the trees through a gopro. The other trees were not quite as precarious, but they were within the budget to be blasted too, so why not. Being able to eliminate a rotten, dangerous tree in such a way, at no risk to a faller or climber is a pretty good option.

I would really really like to do tree blasting. Does anyone do it in the uk?
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

[The avantgardener]

1 minute ago, Rough Hewn said:

I would really really like to do tree blasting. Does anyone do it in the uk?

I have never heard of tree blasting in the UK but they used to use charges to split/cleave large butts. If you hear of anyone doing this, count me in.

[Rough Hewn]

Something different. Might catch on in the UK
 
 

Where did you learn to do this?
Very interesting.
[emoji106]

[openspaceman]

8 hours ago, The avantgardener said:

they used to use charges to split/cleave large butts

A firm in Petworth were still selling explosive wedges in the late 70s, they were charged with black powder.

 

I last hired a chap to blast stumps in about 1988 but there were too many complaints to the police to want to try it again, the reason then was to lift the stumps whole, and cart them to a burn site,  so as not to spread honey fungus.

 

Blaster Bates and his pink tinted tissue toilet paper raining down is up with salt caked smoke stacks for alliteration.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by openspaceman
missed out two words

[difflock]

My fathers brother had a black powder license to allow him to blast stumps, I would need to ask my brother the date of uncle Tony's licence, but presumably prior to the general explosives clamp-down when the troubles kicked off back in the 1960's.

Edited September 22, 2019 by difflock