Tall Stumps

terry f · August 23, 2012, 02:01:53 AM

When I start falling trees next month, I'm going to cut at about four and a half feet. My backs shot, and I can't bend over anymore, so its cut on my knees or tall stumps. This is some good sized white fir and lodgepole to 12 inch, just thinning and cleaning up. Would there be any benefit what so ever, to leaveing tall stumps? Ants and woodpeckers are all I can think of.

BaldBob · August 23, 2012, 06:37:22 AM

Well it would probably cut down on the snowmobilers trespassing on your property until the snow got deeper than the stump height. ;D

thecfarm · August 23, 2012, 07:02:02 AM

I would think it would make it hard getting around those high stumps,no matter how your ground is. But I can see why.How are you getting the wood out? Log length or?

WDH · August 23, 2012, 07:23:35 AM

All dead wood is a benefit to the insect world, which in turn is food for other critters. The bugs won't care if the wood is on the stump or laying free on the ground. The issue is the functionality for human access and use of the forest. However, no worse access or functionality if you left the trees uncut and standing.

cowtipper · August 24, 2012, 03:54:00 AM

I would go for tall stumbs, its kind of hard to get out of the way if I'm on knees, just saying

Ron Scott · August 24, 2012, 05:44:33 PM

A lot of wasted wood and not very aesthetically pleasing to the forest landscape for many years.

Magicman · August 24, 2012, 09:56:43 PM

Anytime that I "tall stump" a tree, I then whack the stump off and recover 1-2 sticks of firewood.

Dodgy Loner · August 25, 2012, 12:26:18 AM

Only time I cut a tall stump is when I am cutting firewood. I leave a stump one stick high and then flush the stump to get the extra piece of firewood. But I don't have back problems yet. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, but I don't think there's much benefit to leaving tall stumps.

Okrafarmer · August 25, 2012, 12:52:35 AM

Sometimes I do it when precision felling a tree. It is much easier to work on at belt height, ish. I like to keep my head up while felling, and that is an easy way. However, if trying to cut saw logs, you waste some of the best wood. If you're cutting trees that are 200 feet tall, though, I wouldn't try to stop you from cutting them 4' up, that's probably not even past the flare.

One big advantage to tall stumps is if you are planning to bulldoze them out soon, the dozer knocks out tall stumps easier than shorties. More mechanical advantage, don't you know. My dad used to leave all his stumps about 2' or so tall to push them over with the dozer.

terry f · August 25, 2012, 02:41:06 AM

Thanks, these are smaller trees that are firewood at best. I burn the tops and limbs and usualy give the wood away, it's just getting harder to play at ground level anymore. I cut them green, and they have to be the limbiest lodgepole in the country. They're 12 inches on the large side (mostly 8 ), and 30 to 40 feet tall on the tall side, so not as dangerous as what you guys do, but I do most of this by myself, as a getaway more than anything else, still no place I'd rather be. Ron your "aesthetically pleasing" is probably the biggest drawback, worse case is there are three sticks of firewood that should be good for two or three years in each stump. I was just trying to think of any benefit to leaveing them.

terry f · August 25, 2012, 02:45:07 AM

I dont know where that forestry forum boogie came from, I don't even know how to add a smiley.

Ianab · August 25, 2012, 04:09:24 AM

If you type a 8 and a ), you get a 8).

Now you know how to do smileys ;D

Anyway, not busting your back is a fair enough reason to leave the stumps high if they are only being thinned to waste or collected for firewood. I anyone asks, just say "bad back, you want them shorter, feel free to go and tidy them up"

BTW, I would suggest you will end up 2-3ft high. Stand with your back straight and arms down and hold the saw. The bar is really just above your knees. Slice em off at that height, and save your back and knees.

Ian

Al_Smith · August 25, 2012, 11:51:36 AM

If you have back problems that would be one reason to leave 4 feet of stump or if you're going to root hog the stump with a dozer .

For me I'm still limber as a cat even though I'm 64 years old .In the case of a lot of root flair I might go up to two-three feet on the fall then stump them out as low as possible once the tree is on the ground .It's kind of a pain in the butt trying to make a fall going through 5-6 feet of root flair on a three foot diameter tree .

Al_Smith · August 25, 2012, 12:02:45 PM

Although it's not the subject there is a method of low cutting trees with big buttress roots .They basically bore cut the tree using just a tiny directional falling cut .All the buttress is removed except those on the opposite side of the lean which are cut last and over it goes .

This way they recover the figure present in the bottom of the log .I've never done it myself but have seen evidence of it .

tyb525 · August 25, 2012, 12:05:24 PM

Al, I have seen loggers cut out the flairs using vertical cuts, and then horizontal cuts to get the diameter at the base closer to the DBH. It does help when cutting the notch and backcut to not have to go through 6" or so of extra wood.

Al_Smith · August 25, 2012, 01:48:27 PM

Well too if you don't trim the buttress down that danged tree could go anywhere and maybe not exactly where you want it to. Might even take a notion to chase you around a little bit before it decides where to land .

I'll put a link to Mikes site showing what I meant about that method . http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.nsf/ed1d619968136da688256af40002b8f7/12c58cc459261f5b88256b6100186961?OpenDocument .

You can see behind the saw what's left of a couple of the buttress roots of a big old white oak somebody took down .Wasn't me .

tyb525 · August 25, 2012, 02:19:33 PM

That saw hurts my eyes :D

tyb525 · August 25, 2012, 02:20:41 PM

Terry you could have a chainsaw carver go through and carve little hobbits or gnomes out of those stumps. Imagine walking through the woods at night not knowing they were there ;D

Ianab · August 25, 2012, 02:32:20 PM

I know what you need ;D

Jeff's old Russian chainsaw with the bike handlebars.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,12252.0.html

Ian

Al_Smith · August 25, 2012, 03:01:54 PM

Quote from: tyb525 on August 25, 2012, 02:19:33 PM
That saw hurts my eyes :D

Eyes ,pshaw you ought to try swinging that axe all day ,it'll get the old back for sure .That's 40 pounds of McCulloch old school geardrive .Geeze and some people whine about 15 pounds being heavy :D

Okrafarmer · August 25, 2012, 08:21:33 PM

Quote from: Ianab on August 25, 2012, 02:32:20 PM
I know what you need ;D

Jeff's old Russian chainsaw with the bike handlebars.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,12252.0.html

Ian

Ian, I was thinking along those lines, and I hadn't even seen that before. My fertile imagination was already designing a chainsaw that would allow an operator to cut at ground level while standing up straight.

drobertson · August 26, 2012, 10:21:48 PM

Depending on how many you cut and the spacing, you might incorparate some feeders or bird houses or something along this line on some of them. I have bad knees, bad back, and sometimes bad gas. For the saw, that is, I hired a fellow to cut mine, the tough ones anyway, it really pays to have a professional sawyer, this guy is good, lots of tricks he has showed me.

Al_Smith · August 26, 2012, 10:31:02 PM

Bad gas ye say .Hmm you need a diet of pickled eggs ,sauerkraut and Blatz beer .Maybe a hot pepper or two to spice things up .Well if nothing else you'd clear out the room . ;)