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Cutting hung tree in sections from ground

Started by Bill E, January 21, 2007, 11:19:40 PM

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Furby

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It's green when they are online and darker color when they are not online.

Ga_Boy

The Bull lines that I have seen are either 5/8 or 3/4.

I opted for the 3/4 inch line.  Pick up 2-3 snatch blocks and you are in business. 

Any good Arborists store or web site will have what you need.  I use Fresco Arborists.  They are easy to deal with. 



Mark
10 Acers in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Kevin

Larger lines won't feed through the rope puller.
The 1/2" tree master is rated over 7k lbs. when new.

Ga_Boy

My Bull Line and snatch bolcks are rated to 16,000 pounds.  I had three blocks but now I am down to two. 

I stressed one of them right up the faliure point when we par buckled those big White Oaks. :o

We did not realize how much tension we were putting on that block till we had that crotch log on the trailer.  Then again this thing is 7 feet wide and 10 feet long.  It is a four way ctotch, the limbs were tiny, they only measured out to 30 inch diameter. :D

This thing is so oddly shaped that we had to slide it up the ramps, it would not roll.  That is how we stressed the one snatch block....that was a lot of pulling. 8)



10 Acers in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Kevin

It's good to know the rating on the blocks.
You are only as good as your weakest link.
The bearing blocks are better but won't take a shock load as well as a bushing block.
All depends on the purpose.

rebocardo

> Any better options?

The best option is not to put a chainsaw at all to the trees. My SOP is to get a cable as high up into the tree as possible and pull it sideways with my truck out of the tree. Sometimes I use another tree for a snatch block to get a good pulling angle. If the tree is off the stump or a rootball, then I pull it backwards.

The one time I could not do this as the tree fell into a crotch 50+ feet up was I pulled it backwards with my 4x4 1971 Ford F-100 390CI granny 4 speed. I already had the tree wrapped with chain to prevent a further barberchair. I cut an angle on the backside so it would not dig into the ground, then I cut the hinge all the way through expecting the tree to jump the stump at any moment. Then I dumped the clutch and yanked it off the stump (chain was wrapped so it would twist the tree) and went as fast as I could before the tree butt caught up with my behind because I only had 20 feet of chain left for the pulling.

If it looks like the only way to get it down is to cut down the tree it is caught up in, I pass and let them call a company to remove it with a climber or heavy equipment for $2000+.

Somethings are not worth doing as even a 2" branch can kill you.





Bill E

Hello all,

I really appreciated the advice from Kevin and everyone else on how to get hung trees down safely.  I bought two pulleys, rope, webbing and a couple of shackles.  Thought you might want to see the set up at work.

The first two pictures show a hung tree that came down using a come along.  That's my daughter supervising a safe distance from the hung tree.




This second hung tree was tougher, but I could get to it and use my truck for pulling. 


Had to cut it from the stump and there was a lot of sideways pressure in the tree.  Felt kind of spooky, but I cut from the back side so I was away from where the log and/or stump were going to go.


Top was jamed in between two trees so the base came off the ground until I changed the direction of pull.


Tree safely on the ground.


Thanks again all.

Bill

Kevin

Nice job Bill, looks very safe.
You might consider a face shield when winching.
Is that a rope puller you were using to winch with?
What were your plans for the wood?

Sprucegum

This has been an interesting thread. Thanks for the follow-up pictures. I always like to see what other folks' woodlots look like. Where do you keep the snow?  :D

Bill E

Thanks Sprucegum and Kevin,

In the first two pictures I was using a rope puller -- and would have felt better with a face shield.  Did get a new helmut with faceguard and ear protecters -- and chaps -- last week and used them today.  (Would like to get a protective jacket and gaiters too -- see them all over the place in UK web sites but not very many in the US.  I feel vulnerable sawing with my neck exposed after reading some of the accident reports.)

In the second set of pictuers I'm pulling from the rear bumper of my pick-up truck.

Good lessen there -- With the log on the ground, the chain was burried.  I dug it out partway and then pulled on it with the truck.  It came free -- but flew about 30 feet before it landed on the ground along with the heavy red hook that was attached to the rope.  That was well short of the truck and no one else was around -- but a fellow at WesSpur suggested it would be better to just tie the rope to the tree instead of using hook and chain.

The first log is starting to rot and will be firewood.  I'll mill the second one into boards -- but I havent figured out what I'll do with them after that.

Sure glad to have this forum.

I grew up in Minnesota, Sprucegum, but here in Western Washington we live in the rain and visit the mountains when we want the white stuff.

Bill




Kevin

Bill;
One advantage to the rope puller is the additional amount of rope you can add to the system to incorporate a mechanical advantage on the hard pulls as long as you don't exceed the working load of the equipment being used.
You end up putting more rope in the system but the advantage makes the pulling much easier.



For that second one,  start cutting pieces off the bottom making it shorter taking some of the weight off it then pull the shorter tree section back like you did with the first one.

You can see the compression on top and the tension on the bottom of this tree compared to the straight red line.
You would start your cut on top and finish the cut from the bottom to prevent the bar from being pinched.


Bill E

Got it Kevin - two to one advantage by putting a pulley at the load like you have drawn.

On the second tree there was just as much bend right to left as there was up and down.  As the top came down the wind must have been pushing it to the side and the trees it fell between kept it there.  You can see how the the base of the log and the stump are pushing off towards the front side the camera is on in the fourth picture down.  The cut had opened up on the front side and the back side of the log was lodged as tight as could be against the stump.  That's all that was holding the tree up in the air.

When I pulled the tree off the stump it lodged in soft ground and into the hillside a bit, so I did cut two sections off the bottom before I could get the right pulling angle to a pulley.  I thought that is what others were warning not to do though earlier in this thread.  Or maybe they mean when the hung tree is closer to vertical.

Thanks,
Bill

Kevin

I agree, they're all different and sometimes take more time assessing than time spent cutting.
For your slings, use them in a basket fashion when you can for maximum strength.

rebocardo

> When I pulled the tree off the stump it lodged in soft ground and into the hillside a bit

Yea, forgot to mention when I put the angle in the butt so it does not sink or dig into the ground, sometimes I also put down a couple of pieces of 1/8 plate steel where I -think- the tree will pull to off the stump. The log will usually ride along with the metal until the tree is on the ground.

Seeing the video of the arch in action, I think I might finally get around to buying one.

BTW: nice looking woods.

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