Don't you just hate it when this happens?

[Brucer]

Even though I'm on dial-up, I've watched that video a few times, trying to figure out exactly what he was doing. The resolution isn't that great, but it looks to me like he cut a very small wedge out of one side and then cut across the tree at 90 degrees to the first cut. No hinge whatsoever.

Interestingly enough, the day LOGDOG posted this I had just cut down a Western Red Cedar behind my house. Didn't think to take pictures because I only saw this after the tree was down, limbed, and bucked up. The tree measured 81' from back cut to the tip, and the 24" bar barely made it through.

The tree I took down was to give me room to fall a second tree that shades my garden & greenhouse in the afternoon. I did that today and took some pictures.



This was a tricky tree to take down. Chain link fence behind it and the box housing my electric fence charger right where I would stand to make the back cut. The ground also falls away on either side.

Take note: wedge still on the stump, backup chainsaw at hand, substantial hinge to control the fall. You can't see the wire rope I used to make sure it went in the direction it was supposed to. For you experienced fallers I made a mistake. Can you spot it? It actually looks worse in this picture than it really is. Everything else I did compensated.





Besides the usual personal safety gear, I have a few other tools I use to deal with a difficult tree. In the foreground, two 3/8" wire rope chokers and an 8000 lb come-along. On the pallet, various clamps and anchors, brush cutters, and a ladder (to attach a choker high enough up the tree for good leverage).





On the pallet, in the foreground: Heavy link for connecting two choker eyes to give me a really long pull; Snatch block rated for 1/2" wire rope; Grab hook and eye to attach the come-along anywhere on a chain; Heavy duty cable clamp to attach the come-along anywhere on a wire-rope choker.

In the background: two grade 70 logging chains to wrap around anchor trees. One is for anchoring the snatch block, the other for anchoring the come-along.

Everything except the come-along is rated for more load then the chokers. The chokers are rated for more load than the come-along. That way I know exactly what's going to break if things go badly wrong.



If the tree is less than 100 feet tall and I can find a good anchor that far away, I can do a straight pull by linking the two chokers. If the only good anchor is too close to the tree I attach the snatch block to the anchor tree and then turn the choker 90 degrees to a second anchor where I attach the come-along. That puts me well off the direction of fall and gives me a lot more time to get out when the tree starts to go.

Usually I can tension up the wire rope before making the back cut and it will just ease the tree along its way as I complete the cut. In tricky cases I may have to winch the tree over.

[Ianab]

I made a mistake. Can you spot it?

Wedge looks a bit big, and the back cut a bit high, but those aren't show stoppers, and the tree still went where you wanted it.  ;)

Difference between you and the bunny in the video, you had some simple equipment, an understanding of the laws of gravity, and a sensible plan to get the tree down, so it worked. 

Ian

[Brucer]

Yep, the face is too deep. It looks worse than it is because the hinge is pretty thick -- I was no where near the centre of the tree. If the tree was unbalanced toward the back I could have had a problem.

The back cut is deliberately high. WRC is a pretty weak wood so I want to have a longer hinge. That way it will bend quite a bit further before it breaks, keeping the tree under control for most of its fall.

[Dodgy Loner]

I usually make a high back cut like that when I will be pulling a tree down with ropes. This helps to ensure that the tree falls only after I start pulling on the rope - and not when I am making the back cut.

[metalspinner]

God turned off that man's chainsaw several times for him to reconsider what he was about to do.  No doubt he ignored little voices in his head along the way, too.  Sometimes we don't listen to obvious signs of warning. :

[doctorb]

I am sure that the do-it-yourself spirit lives on in many on the FF, but, when a big tree is that close to your house, HIRE somebody who knows what they're doing, after you admit to yourself that you don't.

[beenthere]

Don't think we know that this wasn't someone hired to do that job. Qualified to do it....no.

He may have missed or ignored any signals from above, just to save face and in hopes that his "plan" would turn out ok. We never will really know, but the end results are pretty obvious and painful.

I'm thinking if this was the lady (doing the recording) 's husband, she would have had some entirely different comments on camera. From that, I take it the guy with the saw wasn't related

[Ron Scott]

Also always be sure that they are insured and have references of similar jobs done in a satisfactory manner. ;)

We are always being asked by landowners to take down their hazard yard trees in addition to the trees that we are harvesting on their woodlands. We refuse to cut such trees and refer them to the tree service pros. I've even lost some logging jobs over this, but its not worth the risks near homes and residential buildings.

[metalspinner]

Was that a cherry? :D

After watching the show again, I noticed his saw was fairly small for such a large tree.  It didn't sound very impressive, either. :

[Warbird]

If you look closely at the trunk, it appears he made many wedge cuts around the base of the tree before he made the felling cut.

[Troublermaker]

Many years ago a buddy and I was riding around drinking one Saturday afternoon. He said go by a friend of ours who was going to cut a big red oak and wanted to barrow the wood splitter that we had build. We got there around 4 and he was just getting ready to cut the tree. It was something like that tree in the video. Except for it being a house there it was an old 2 car garage. The elect line came right across the front of the garage to his house from highway. This red oak was may be 30 inches on the stump and with a big limb hanging on the side of the garage. When we got there him and his friend was just getting started. They had been fishing that morning and drinking beer all day. Any way when we got there he had all ready notch the oak and saws part the way thru it. When he seen us drive up he cut the saw off and grab his beer to come over to talk to us. I had park way out the way. When he got over to the truck I told him he better get that tree on the ground and then we could talk. Well he jump up in my face telling me he knew what he was doing. About that time a breeze sprung up and with that big limb hang on the side it fell on that old 2 car boarded up garage. But it didn't go fast it was like in slow motion. All we could do  was watch. When it over he had a big oak tree on top of his garage and the wire carrying elect to the house pull off house. I about fell off the tail gate laughing and he wanted to know what was so funny? I told him since he knew what he was doing we was going down the road. That been over 30 years ago and he hadn't spoke to me since then.   

[LOGDOG]

Sounds like a guy I knew up in WI that had notched a big Birch and started the back cut but then decides he needs to file his chainsaw. So he sits down under the the side of the tree that had the notch in it. Doopty, doopty, dooo ...  creak, creeaakkkk, timberrrrrrr ..... He got up but didn't make it out of the way in time before the top caught him and swatted him to the ground.  :