Need advice on felling a walnut tree that was hit by lightning

[whitepe]

My neighbor has a walnut tree in his woods that he had planned on harvesting but early this spring it
was hit by lightning and the timber buyer won't take it.  He said I could have it.  The tree is still
living and fully leaved out this season.   From the outside, the lighting damage looks minimal but
you can see a little bit of missing bark.  Does anyone have any "safety advice" on what to
be aware of when felling a lightning damaged tree?   I am guessing that a tree like this could easily
"barber chair" on me.    I don't think I will ever get used to felling a tree (any tree) without being a litte bit
"skeered".    Tree is about 18-20 inches dbh.   The first 40 or 50 feet has no limbs.
It's out in the middle of his 110 acres of timber and we have a trail that goes up near it.
The ground is flat around the tree for at least 200 feet in every direction.  We have plenty of gaps
to drop it between other trees so the chance of hanging it up is minimal.

[treefarmer87]

that sounds like a nice walnut! does the lighting go all the way down  the trunk to the ground? just cut like you usually do but be careful.

[beenthere]

A good pic of the damage would be helpful.
Treat it as treefarmer said, like a normal tree.
Good undercut, leave a hinge, and wedge the backcut with your tree felling plan in place.
Any damage is likely splits up and down along the grain, and not across the grain, so shouldn't impair your control of the tree with a hinge and wedges.

[Maine372]

if youre worried about it splitting on the stump wrap a chain or ratchet strap around it and cinch it up tight.  somtimes the lightning will travel the water on the outside of the tree or the cambium layer and not affect the strength of the wood.

good luck and be careful .

[Bro. Noble]

We    decided to clean some scattered trees off of a pasture so we could hay it easier if we needed to.  A good part of the trees were walnuts and several of them had been struck by lightening.  I got two surprises when we cut them:  almost of them were intact and the veneer buyer bought most of them.

Sure wouldn't hurt to wrap a chain or strap around it just to be on the safe side.

[CX3]

i dont guess i ever had a problem selling a lightning struck tree, especially a walnut.  They stand pretty hardy, wrap a good big ratchet real tight around trunk about 2 feet from ground, and cut it.