Felling cuts in knotty wood?

[Silverhooker]

This is an easy problem, just put your hand in your pocket and pay a pro to do it ! Likely a climb and dismantle job.

Nothing destroyed and no one gets hurt. It’s just money, you can earn more, but arms and legs don’t grow back !

[drinksloe]

Just to add no one's mentioned prevailing wind direction, or other wind directions u might get occasionally.

A nice wind can be ur best friend or worst enemy, blow tree away from cabin or on to it.

If possible I would be planning work around the wind.

 

If ur wedging that tree alone it could take quite a few, wouldn't surprise me if ur a stacked 7" k & h type wedge just to get it plumb.

And if any wieght on it will be hard work just knocking 2 hi lifts in.

 

I'd agree with silver above get a pro in, if it's as easy/simple as it looks in photos, straight fell with wedges and jack I imagine it could be on deck in 20mins. 

Don't imagine cost too much, but if more complicated yes it will be more expensive but equally prob not a job for a hobby user.

 

Just be aware even snedding ( taking branches of stem) a tree that size can be dangerous, branches could have some tension or compression on them, be like tightly wound springs.

Plenty of cutters had sore shins, balls or faces with branches springing up at them.

And being on a slope means it could easy roll as well.

Big timber can be dangerous even when on deck.

Sometimes handy when hinge holds at least u know stem won't move on u.

Edited December 11, 2020 by drinksloe

[Stere]

Looks near 6ft across at the base with a lean  over house 😬

 

Suppose ideally would land on that smaller tree

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, drinksloe said:

Mibbee a UK/USA thing but I wouldn't be using a Humboldt cut on a tree like that. ( Occasionally use them when u want the tree to snap off hinge, I use them for felling to skylines or on steep bankings where I don't want to need to go back and sever the hinge, hence why used when climbing )

If go with the standard face/gub cut, more likely for hinge to hold which is exactly wot u want n the circumstances.

If u want butt to slide off u can put a snipe in gub towards the edge off the tree but u still need the horizontal face too. ( angled cut on the horizontal)

But not sure why u would want it sliding off anyway and if felling downhill hinge will close and snap anyway almost which ever cut u use.

I'd far rather hinge held as long as possible to direct it where I wanted it, I also wouldn't put any sap wood cuts in to protect the timber from ripping.

 

Forestry cutters will knock trees like that over, or slightly smaller all the time multiple times a day ( most forestry cutters Willbe felling 3-4ft butts and 100-120ft trees as there bread and butter oversized tree usually with far more lean and wieght on 1 side)

From photos doesn't look to complicated a fell to an experienced cutter looks to be plenty of room and generally soft woods hold a good hinge ( althou not all do Grandis Fir can be a brittle hinge)

This is where experience comes in knowing ur tree species and likely hood of any butt rot or other defects ( knots won't make any difference, atleast in species i usually fell) seen hairy Norway's with paps/knots the size of ur leg never had any problems with knots.

 

A back leaner won't barbers chair anyway

 

 

 

I'd use a 20t bottle jack plus wedges, if I was worried about side lean might put a guy rope on to counter it ( done that with an ugly heavily leaning wieghted larch yest, over a field and council road).

Tirfor as a guy and 20t jack in it

 

But like many things experienced boys make it look easy BUT trees that size if they go wrong will go wrong big style and very little u can do to stop them once the cuts are in even if u realise u've screwed up.

It's not rocket science but also not the sort of job for an amatuer.

Get it wrong it could very well kill u or crush ur house

second the bottle jack .

[DickDancer7]

Drinksloe, the job was bid at 8k$ US by the local go to.

 youre right, the branches were probably 95% of the work. Just been takin it slow, couple hrs here and there, wanna do it safe, and learn from it. Been fairly smooth, ive made a few mistakes for sure. Ive also had to implement more rigging technuiques than anticipated, so thats been cool.

No wind before 4pm ish generally.

 

stubbs, yeah probably any nice wide ‘gob’( lol, I still dont know what that acronym stands for), that was clean, and wont close would hopefully keep it on the stump? humboldt n saps would be for plan B, topping and a work down. Like u said id like to avoid any....big mistakes. Saps maybe not needed, tho ima use every tool in the shed if im saftied to it. 

 Peeps push things down this big multiple times a day? Now im interested in your tree collection. Here in Humboldt, the only reason these few exist is the loggers left em cause of the undesirable wood, only trees left this size are usually redwoods in a park. 30m up, its still bigger than most trees in these forests. 

That last pic is the current state. My climbline set at about 95’, and myself as a plumb bob(my strongest skill), puts me between the tree, and the edge of the house furthest to the right.

its a tall tree(maybe closer to 115’ lookin at the line later). Idt i need a jack, wedges always.

My delemma is trusting that wood, if theres branch attachments snaking thru it, my hinge could be half the hinge i think it is, nomatter how beefy yeah? Those knots are 360deg around, and they go at least a foot in. 

Taking top weight would reduce shear on the hinge? Maybe able to chose a more suitable, lower pull/guy location? Or a safer felling perhaps? I like your ‘butt rot’ idea, its a big, old, mossy B, that first pic of the stump, were all dead branches on the face, the back side of the tree theyre all rotted off due to lack of light and such. 

Ive yet really inspect it. Figured a clubbing instrument, maybe a large drill bit, perhaps scarf some bark off come time? 

[drinksloe]

Aye it's a fair size stick alright.

 

Gob/gub isnt an acrynmy but just wot we call the face cut, I imagine as gub/gob is slang word for mouth in Scotland/eng

 

While a genuine 6ft butt on a soft wood will be fairly rare in UK, but in commercial forestry anyone cutting oversized edge trees will be knocking trees with 3-4ft butts ( althou that's often after had the toes/buttres flares taken off, if u included them could be a lot bigger) and 100odd ft tall as normal everyday

We were in a good stnd of Norway last year where harvester taking 5x4.9s off a lot of the trees, so that's 25m and tree still 30-35cm dia

While most UK trees are smaller most edge trees will have a decent lean and heavily wieghted over the woods boundry and ur usually trying to pull them and branches inside the boundry fence

 

Wot was the 8k price for? Climbing and sectioning down or straight fell or cutting whole tree for firewood?

Possibly some unforseen difficulty not noticed in photo or due to tree species.

I would approach the tree differently if Sitka or Norway spruce compared to larch and completely differently if Grandis Fir.

So possibly ur man has seen things or knows how that timber falls that wouldn't occur to someone in uk?

Would u not be better asking this on an American forum?

Will have a better idea of the timber and prices.

 

I would imagine a good wind from the house side would make a straight fell a lot easier might not even need wedges/jacks or lines.

Dunno how often u get a strong wind from that direction

 

[Rough Hewn]

You’ve been quoted $8000?
To fell one tree?
That leans away from the house.
With no other targets?
And you’ve trimmed the back branches off?
I’m confused......

Are you a qualified tree climber?

Why have you not continued to dismantle the tree?

[5 shires]

On 09/12/2020 at 22:11, DickDancer7 said:

Anyone have any experiences/advice, putting directional felling cuts in a tree this naughty?

About 130’ tall, 6’+ wide, maybe 20deg lean towards my buddys home for the first 25’, then dog legs straight up.

removed all the big branches on the bad side as an attempt to adjust the favor(and clear the house), looks good, however i cant visualize a strong hinge in there.

Pulling is an option, tho not the greatest considering its size, and the available anchor points. 

Get Wayne Clever from Heleloggers on it,he would be up there and section it down before you put the kettle on,have never seen a guy climb like him and use an 880 100ft up a tree.👍🌲

[Paddy1000111]

2 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

You’ve been quoted $8000?
To fell one tree?
That leans away from the house.
With no other targets?
And you’ve trimmed the back branches off?
I’m confused......

Are you a qualified tree climber?

Why have you not continued to dismantle the tree?
 

I'll fly out and do it for $7995... I could use a holiday? 😂

[Khriss]

23 minutes ago, Paddy1000111 said:

I'll fly out and do it for $7995... I could use a holiday? 😂

..... Dont you even... This thread has now got a carbon footprint it rattled on so - dont go adding to it ! 😁  K