Log Rollling pactice...........in the AIR

Kirk_Allen · September 30, 2005, 07:22:56 PM

I have to first say that I KNOW this was not the brightest thing to do but what is a man to do when the tree just wont fall

I was felling the straightest Osage Orange I have ever seen. 24" DIB and 30+ feet long to the first branch. Best Osage I have ever seen.............almost ;D I had ONE opening to drop this thing through for it to hit the ground but realized when it comes to Osage, a SINLGE branch the size of you finger can stop them from comming down.

Made my notch cut and and then the back cut. 2 inches of hinge and she is going perfectly in the direction I want her to go 8). Wouldnt you know it. ONE SMALL BRANCH hangs on a Honey Locust and stops this beast from falling. Its sitting at about a 45 degree angle and acted like it was going to come down when I pull on some top branches but no go. What do you do? I was CLEAR on both sides of the tree at least 30 feet up so I put on my Gorilla Suite! Climbed up the leaner and started jumping! Ever so slowly down she came but she decided to roll off the stump!

Thus, Log Rolling practice in the Air! It was an interesting ride and I made it down clear to the ground without being thrown from the tree.

Why on earth would I tell this story considering its probably the stupidest thing a person could do. Well, what do you do when one hangs like that and you have no equipment to pull on it, its to far in the woods to winch on it, and you CANT get under it to cut the small tree it was hanging on? Just curious.

crtreedude · September 30, 2005, 07:39:02 PM

Next time you should have backup Kirk - and give them a camera so we can have pictures... You log rolling in the air in the monkey suit just might be worth some big bucks. ;)

I have done my share of dumb things - getting on a horse every week named Toro probably qualifies since I wasn't on a horse more than 2 times before coming here.

I have no idea what to do with a widow maker like that. I know when I was younger we would tie a long rope to it, tie the other to another tree and pull in the middle. Most of the time it worked. I have no idea if we should have done it - but we are still alive.

Once I had a tree leaning on a house after a storm and went outside and was trying to figure out the easiest way to remove it. While I was staring at it, looking for inspiration, my 12 year old daughter walks out and says "Daddy - cut it right there." and pointed at a place. Not having any better idea, I did it. She was right, it came off without doing hardly any damage at all. 8)

Now she is finishing a Phd in Bio-Physics.

Perhaps she can support me... ;D

Tom · September 30, 2005, 07:42:51 PM

That sounds like something I would have tried in younger days. :D

Understand that I'm no "feller" and my suggestions are suspect. But, I've run into that before. I needed just a little more weight on the top and I didn't want it spin. The only thing I had to work with was the hinge. I have taken the tip of my saw or an ax and judiciously cut away at the center of the hinge, leaving the outside edges intact with the hope that it would stop twist and also keep the log from jumping back over the stump.

Sometimes I could remove enough of the hinge that the resistance was decreased just enough to let the tree fall. Sometimes you've left more hinge than you thought.

Ed_K · September 30, 2005, 07:44:27 PM

Cut the hinge. If it still won't drop, cut a hole close to the butt and use a pole to rock it down.

Larry · September 30, 2005, 07:54:00 PM

Another plug for the Game of Logging training...iffen ya haven't taken it sign up now for the next session.

If ya hang one up the very first thing to do is sit down and take a break. Slow down and study the situation...regain your breath and sense. Maybe even take a nap and the tree will fall down on it's own. Sometimes you can sever the hinge from one side or the other and the tree will roll off the stump and out of the hanging tree.

Quote from: Kirk Allen on September 30, 2005, 07:22:56 PM
Well, what do you do when one hangs like that and you have no equipment to pull on it, its to far in the woods to winch on it, and you CANT get under it to cut the small tree it was hanging on? Just curious.

So how are you gonna get that monster outa the woods....carry it? Just pokin a little fun at ya. If cutting the hinge a little won't roll it out wrap your winch line around the butt and roll it out.

Tom · September 30, 2005, 08:07:13 PM

:D

timberjack240 · September 30, 2005, 08:07:41 PM

kirk
ill tell ya how to get em down in two words TIMBERJACK 240 8) ;D ive found it works quite well to get any tree down ;D. i have seen my pap after the tree is hung up cut the hinge off but i woodnt recommend it unless you know what yur doin because im sure theres more to it than just wackin into the hinge. he knows a little more of what hes doin than i do hes been cuttin trees since he was 12 and he s 58 now so he knows what to do. im sure someone cood tell you what all is to that and how to do it hte safest way but with all the more expeirence i have im not the one to do it

Timburr · September 30, 2005, 08:10:20 PM

He was looking out for you Kirk.

Another stupidest thing a person could do is blast the offending branch with a shotgun :D ;D :D

Seriously though, 2" x 24" is a lot of holding wood and gingerly cutting the hinge will often bring it down. A tree hung-up on one side will always rotate when the hinge is relieved. A long (crow)bar will give phenominal leverage when the tip is placed in the notch.

crtreedude · September 30, 2005, 08:12:48 PM

Hey, blasting the offending branch with a shotgun sounds like it just might work! Are we speaking from experience Timburr?

Timburr · September 30, 2005, 08:14:46 PM

No, but I know a man who can

David_c · September 30, 2005, 08:54:32 PM

Quote from: Ed_K on September 30, 2005, 07:44:27 PM
Cut the hinge. If it still won't drop, cut a hole close to the butt and use a pole to rock it down.

This is what i was going to recomend.

beenthere · September 30, 2005, 09:45:19 PM

I'm impressed that you had the Gorilla suit out there with you. ;D :D

Count your blessings, but I say "good job" (but do more cogitatin for a longer period of time the next time).

Glad 'ol Jim didn't have to send us a sad note about the way you been gettin trees down. ;D

All of us can learn from this however. It doesn't work this way all the time.

(But it reminds me of when I was a kid and we'd take turns climbing to near the top of aspen trees growing close together, while the tree was chopped down with a hatchet. Then the one in the tree would ride it down through the other trees whilst trying to hang on, not let go, and not get brushed off on the way down. Took down a lot of trees that way, and had some fun - and lived). :

Furby · September 30, 2005, 10:00:15 PM

Golden Boy stikes again eh? :

(One of these days I'm gonna find a shaking head smiley!)

Quote from: Larry on September 30, 2005, 07:54:00 PM
So how are you gonna get that monster outa the woods....carry it?

Rule #1, NEVER doubt Kirk!
You may just see a Gorilla walking out of the woods with that tree over his shoulder and picking his teeth with his free hand!

Kirk_Allen · September 30, 2005, 10:12:49 PM

WOW. Great input. Thanks

As far as the hinge goes, once the tree hung I did take a break and access the situation in GREAT DETAIL. First I bore through the center of the hinge. Nothing happen. Then I cut the right side, hopeing it would twist. Nothing happen. After cutting the left side of the hinge the tree just sat there. It did not kick up past the stump like I expected but instead just kind of wedged itself into the stump.

It didnt take much weight to get her to come down. A couple good jumps and she came down real corgile like ;D

Now, how am I going to get it out of the woods you ask? Simple. What I needed was 50" sections of straight Osage to quarter saw for Bow limbs. I put a deer drag strap on that section and drag it to where I can get my winch cables to it. Instead of waisting time with the winch I did just go ahead and drag the first three out but I have about 12 more to go.

I may have to get Chad to help me Tuesday on the lower end of the tree since I couldnt move the 24" DIB section more than a few feet before it kicked my tail. I could go back each day and get a little closer to the winch line ;D

ONE BITE AT A TIME!

Dan_Shade · September 30, 2005, 10:21:57 PM

I sure wish that stuff grew like that around here. All I've ever seen of Osage Orange was shrub like stuff, but then again, maybe I didn't look in the right spots....

those hung up trees can be dangerous, I've done some really dumb stuff getting down hung up trees, once something so dumb I won't talk about it where somebody else might get the idea to try it themselves....

Kirk_Allen · September 30, 2005, 10:27:08 PM

We are truly blessed around here when it comes to Osage. Ours are STRAIGHT, TALL and BIG, I mean REALLY BIG!

When Mike (curlywoods) came here I thought I was going to have to find a surgeon to put his jaw back in place when saw these beasts!

beenthere · September 30, 2005, 10:43:56 PM

With those sections only 50" long, another way to get them out is to roll them - with a couple 3" lag bolts and large washers, lag the end links of a log chain into the center at each end, then pick up the chain and walk out with the log rolling behind. Works if the hills are not too steep and the path is wide enough to walk. I recommend this only if wheeled vehicles are not alternatives. ;D

Dan_Shade · September 30, 2005, 10:48:38 PM

do you have a log arch, Kirk? the calculator shows a 5' section 24" in diameter to be 974lbs!!! whatcha waiting for?!?!?

Corley5 · October 01, 2005, 12:09:12 AM

A cant hook is a handy tool if a widow maker just needs a little roll to get it down ;)

D Martin · October 01, 2005, 06:01:19 AM

How bout throwing a rope over the top part of the tree, standing safley to the side an pullin her down. Arborists use a big slingshot with slickline and a weight to get the slickline up, a bigger line tied to slickline with an eye on one end to facilatate a knot. Guess you need to have the stuff to do that though.

Cedarman · October 01, 2005, 06:36:39 AM

Make your winch line longer. Get some chains or another piece of cable.

FeltzE · October 01, 2005, 07:56:53 AM

Having turned in my monkey suit, (broke my toe the other day) I'd have to throw a chain around the butt hook it to a tractor or truck, finish cutting the hinge and take a small drive ... I've done it several times with good results.

I've tried to do the monkey thing with poor results befor... not enough nerve or hung up too well...

Yep I'm a certified bone head.

Eric

thedeeredude · October 01, 2005, 08:50:26 AM

If we can't get a picture of you jumping on top of an osage orange in the air, can we at least get a shot of the log that amde you crazy enough to put on your gorilla garb and jump on top of a tree ;D Pretty please can we get a picture ;D

Kirk_Allen · October 01, 2005, 09:16:30 AM

The smart thing would have been to get more cable, like Cedarman suggested but that would mean a 20 mile ride to town. You know how time is so valuable so that thought was only a flicker in my brain. \

I tried to roll it off with my A.S.S. from LogRite but the tree was just to big.

If that section is over 900 lbs that may explain why I could only drag it a few feet before I was WHIPPED.

The lag bolts and chain idea sounds good but where these trees are there must be a hackberry or Hickory sappling every 3 feet. It might work but I think it may be time for the logging arch after all. Sure would make things a LOT EASIER.

I will try to remember to take the camera with me and get some shots of it.

rebocardo · October 01, 2005, 12:30:26 PM

For a hung tree, assuming that it will come back off the stump and kill you as soon as you cut the hinge or it will barberchair, what I have done in like situations is wrap chain around the butt end of the log, cut the hinge and still leave the butt end of the log resting on the stump, then pull the tree backwards over the stump. If the butt end gets in the dirt, there is no way to move a large tree without heavy equipment like a Hough. SO, over the stump is a better way.

If it was just a single branch hanging it up, I think I would have thrown cable around it and broken it with my truck. 1/4 cable will rip through a 3" branch easily enough.

I don't think I would ever climb into any tree that was snagged, or the snagger, or fell a jackpot. I would take it down with more cables, blocks, or get heavy equipment help.