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Cutting down cottonwoods

Started by Owtlaw, August 07, 2021, 11:40:20 PM

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Owtlaw

Is it just me or are cottonwood trees miserable to cut?  The stuff was wet and gummed up my 395.  

donbj

Cottonwood is interesting. I was scaling cottonwood for a contractor on a sale in late fall in to winter. The faller had to be careful as the water in the tree would literally pour out the cut like a garden hose. We witnessed water gushing 2-3" out of the center of the stump when the tree was felled. Once the temp fell to -10c there would be a couple inches or more of ice covering the stump the next morning.

I fell about 20 of them on my own property and witnessed the same thing, water gushing out of the stump. The water table was very close to surface in both situations so that played into it I suppose.

The trees in this issue were all 20-36" in dia
I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

sawguy21

I worked with cottonwood once, that was enough. It was miserable to handle and very heavy.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

donbj

It is heavy that's for sure. The ones I cut on my property I milled the main trunks. Got some very beautiful lumber from it. Some tends to degrade as it dries but it was worth it. One guy bought a lot from me for trim in his timber frame house for trim. It was beautiful.

The scale job I was on they were after the main trunk for peelers. Ministry of Forests had some serious discussions with the contractor regarding waste assessment. Tremendous amount of waste. The issue was there was a great deal of canopy wood that made saw log dimension and they thought we should have sorted that out. It was ridiculous but scaling rules and dimensions set the conversation. Desk workers enforcing rules doesn't make sense most times. Not sure how it all settled out as I left when the job ended.
I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

Owtlaw

Seems like it really bogs down the saw.  Even the dry stuff smokes like a Russian power plant when you burn it.

donbj

I may be skinny but I'm a Husky guy

Woodmizer LT40HDG24. John Deere 5300 4WD with Loader/Forks. Husky 262xp. Jonsered 2065, Husky 65, Husky 44, Husky 181XP, Husky 2100CD, Husky 185CD

Skeans1

Quote from: Owtlaw on August 08, 2021, 08:02:00 PM
Seems like it really bogs down the saw.  Even the dry stuff smokes like a Russian power plant when you burn it.
Let's see a picture of the chain.

DHansen

The first time I took down a cottonwood I was shocked by the amount of water in the wood.  From the waist down I looked like I just came out of a lake.  My chain on my 066 was spraying water out and behind like a lawn sprinkler.  Lots of hard work and extremely messy. 

Ed

Cottonwood? Easiest stuff in the world to cut.....after you buy full skip chain.

Otherwise, well, your already there.

Yes, this IS the voice of experience.

Ed

Al_Smith

Funny stuff .Green it's as heavy as lead, dried out about like balsa .Unless I'm mistaken a lot of it is sold as poplar trim .Historically it was used for rail road ties which were soaked in salt water in the building of the transcontinental rail road  which were replaced with oak after it became available .
The shortage of oak was a problem crossing the great plains, there were none .However around any stream or river the cotton woods were like weeds, they were every where .They just had to deal with what they had .

Real1shepherd

As Ed said, .404 skip tooth square filed chisel and there's no issue at all. I've cut a lot of Cottonwood for customers....HUGE stuff that grows near rivers and water ditches. I posted pics on some of this work over on another forum.

The "water" is only an issue here when the sap is running in the spring. They mill and use the wood here a lot for big trailers that haul construction/road equipment. It's a favored wood for the flooring. It also makes excellent bridge wood.

Kevin

Al_Smith

Cotton wood does have uses ,perhaps not timbers for a post and beam barn .However things like outrigger pads for bucket trucks and such as it dries out it gets lighter .Oak never gets lighter .For pads you just cut the cants a tad thicker .Plus unlike oak as it dries it doesn't seem to have the tendency to spit out on  the ends .
I've got a big one, a double a tad over 100 feet with the main trunk over 5 feet in diameter .I certainly hope at some time I don't have to remove it if it becomes a hazard .It would certainly make a big thump .

Real1shepherd

It's considered a trash tree here and as I said, volunteers along the rivers, creeks and irrigation ditches. As they get older the branches break a lot in storms. Back in MO, Sycamores were considered the same and grew in the same kinda places with the same sort of issues.

Lots of big Cottonwoods in the lower elevations of CO too. I was asked to cut a lot of those 'nuisance' trees there once upon a time.

Kevin

Al_Smith

The last one I flopped leaned over my neighbors barn .I had to turn it by about 100 degrees .Tapered wedge and almost made it but hung it in a big hickory .I only had about a ten foot window to hit . A skid loader and some " fence posting " finally got it loose .Things happen but it wasn't on the barn roof at least .He burned it in his outside burner which will burn anything you feed it .

snobdds

I have thousands of cottonwoods on my ranch.  They were planted as wind breaks along fence rows and irrigation ditches back in the 40's.  One fence row would have cottonwoods, the next one over would have spruce planted.  It made for a nice view over the years.  They are huge trees now and some are starting to die.  

I consider cottonwoods to be the most dangerous tree to cut down.  The wood fibers can blow apart if you hit the tension part of the tree while cutting.  Once down, they need a big saw to cut them up.  We never messed with the wood for fire wood, they just get thrown in a huge pit. 

We have a stihl 880 with a 60 inch bar to cut off the butt ends, but I feel an old McCulloch SP125 would be a better choice.  I have been looking for one of those forever, still haven't found any hiding around these parts.  

Al_Smith

You probably would do better to search e-bay from one of the Pacific north west states for a large McCulloch .A 125 brings a lot of money but every so often a deal comes around .One of mine came from Oregon and the other from northern California .These have became collectors saws . I bought both before they were as popular as they are these days .

barbender

Quote from: Owtlaw on August 08, 2021, 08:02:00 PM
Seems like it really bogs down the saw.  Even the dry stuff smokes like a Russian power plant when you burn it.
Smokes like a Russian power plant, I think I'll be using that one!😂
Too many irons in the fire

snobdds

Quote from: Al_Smith on August 09, 2021, 07:56:07 PM
You probably would do better to search e-bay from one of the Pacific north west states for a large McCulloch .A 125 brings a lot of money but every so often a deal comes around .One of mine came from Oregon and the other from northern California .These have became collectors saws . I bought both before they were as popular as they are these days .
I have terrible luck with ebay.  I am always out bid even with nano seconds to go.  One day someone will lighten my pocket.  
 

Al_Smith

Eventually one will fall into your lap .However in my opinion a 125 mac won't have that much if any advantage over an 880 Stihl .In addition to the two 125's I have I also have a 2100S Homelite and a 084 Stihl .There isn't that much difference in any of them on long bars .To add to take those big guns don't see much action ,shelf queens .The novelty of running a large saw wans after about one hour on the trigger .

Real1shepherd

Not sure of the efficacy in searching for a CP/SP125 when you could use something more modern like a Husky 2100/2101 or even a 3120 in big Cottonwoods......or dare I say some of the more modern Squeal big cc saws.

But hey, it's your money to spend..... ;)

Kevin

snobdds

I know, there are other and more modern options.  I guess at this point I am going to try every big saw I can to see what cuts these the best.  So far I just stay on top of the dead trees and fallen branches with an 880 and 461.  However I like my 461 at the cabin for those trees, so I'm always taking it back and forth.  My dealer has a new 395 and 3120 in stock, might pick those up to try out.  Here is my endless supply of wood...



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Real1shepherd

Yeah, old Cottonwoods are at the end of their lives all over NA.

I look at it like rather than something really new....use something from the later 70's and 80's that we used in the PNW for large bark timber. No EPA restrictions to speak of and not hard or rare to find. Prices would indicate that a CP125, for example, is hard to find in running condition.

As I said in another thread, the 3120 carbs can be modified to put in an adjustable HIGH spd jet.....and depending on which model coil you have, an 'unlimited' module if you want. The only advantage of a 3120 over a 2100/2101 is that they are still made and most parts available. Some have said the crank on the 3120 won't withstand high rpm's....so you'd have to be careful there.

Kevin

Al_Smith

It looks like a catch 22 situation .You could pony up a kings ransom for modern high cube saw .You could try and find a vintage super saw but keeping in mind if you do you had better be a mechanic and resourceful  also .Then you have to ask yourself just how many 4 feet in diameter cottonwood trees will you cut .
You don't really need 60 inches of bar and 100 plus cc's of power for a 4 foot tree .An 80 cc and a 32"bar would do the job just be a little slower .Then again it it's for bragging rights go for the gusto . :) 

Real1shepherd

Not about bragging rights, it's efficiency. A big cc saw with enough grunt/torque to run a 36" bar will easily cut up to a 6' Cottonwood. And you'll have a bar length more versatile than a 60".  

I have vintage 80-87cc Jonsereds saws with 28"-32" bars. But if I was cutting anything over 3' diameter, I defect to a larger cc saws. That's what they were made for and when saws like the Husky 2100/2101/3120 really come into their own. Just to say that vintage, big cc modern saws are just shelf queens, belies what they can do in decent timber.

We're not talking about average size today's timber for the average Joe.....we're talking about OG Cottonwoods and their removal.

Kevin

Al_Smith

Just how many cottonwoods are 6 feet in diameter ? Plus just how many would a normal person cut ? Maybe I'm mistaken living on the eastern side of the USA but our eastern black cottonwoods seldom get to 6 feet in diameter .3 to 4 feet would be more in line and 100 feet tall .As far as large cubic inch saws you can  cut firewood with them as far as I'm concerned .Good exercise if nothing else . ;D

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