That’s a biggun!

[Crossroads]

I got a call today about a ponderosa pine that tipped over in our last wind storm a couple weeks ago. Apparently at 24' from the root ball it's 54". I'm thinking it's a bit to much for the wide head. I've pushed it up to 45", but this is beyond just challenging. 

[Southside]

Dang, just Dang!!  

[mike_belben]

So that means mathematically it should have right around 4,397 nails in it.  Id say you dodged a big bullet!  Probably a few of those in it too.  From the war of 1812. 

[Ianab]

Considered a chainsaw slabbing mill? Lucas / Peterson / Turbosaw can hook you up.

Might need a couple of spare chains for Mike's nails.  ;) :D

[nativewolf]

So that means mathematically it should have right around 4,397 nails in it.  Id say you dodged a big bullet!  Probably a few of those in it too.  From the war of 1812.

Maybe in the Shoshone battles around the civil war during the oregon trail days :D

[Crossroads]

Ha, I hadn't even considered the nail probability lol it is located downtown Coeur Dalene, so I'm sure it's loaded. 

[mike_belben]

Theres probably 'klondike thattaway' signs buried in the burls  ;D

[handhewn]

Just spent over an hour typing and lost my post regarding this topic. How do I change time cut-off so this never happens again :-[

[moodnacreek]

Just spent over an hour typing and lost my post regarding this topic. How do I change time cut-off so this never happens again :-[

I have had that happen so bad the only way I could post is to do short ones.

[moodnacreek]

On a tree like that, if it is really sound and if you have a tractor with forks and lots of time the thing to do is quarter it with a large chainsaw. Then saw those quarters on you sawmill to make 1/4 sawn lumber. I have done this with sugar maple and red oak that where way too big for my sawmill. Miserable chainsaw work and every board needs to be edged but by far the best quality lumber.  I had always thought of building an up and down sawmill to quarter monster logs. The blade for this dream would have to be custom made with insert teeth as you would always be finding metal.

[mike_belben]

Type it out in notepad or word or pages etc then copy paste reply immediately.

[handhewn]

See post "tree to ceiling" from couple days ago for reference. I have same exact problem. I have sawn such logs (see "tree to ceiling") and I did it this way: Cut two slabs off opposing sides of log such that your longest chainsaw bar will reach the center of the log following the snap line mark you put on each side of your log on the two clean faces. Roll log/cant as needed such that you always saw straight down with chainsaw. First three cuts made  (slab slab, exact center) before rolling 180 degrees for last cut You end up with four pieces, two slabs and two cants. Cut cants as desired for your saw. I like to cut half cants into 12" wide by whatever my current saw will cut. For example, 12" by 24" by 9' so I can cut 24 ea. (more is better) 1"x 12"x9' boards that are KEPT IN ORDER out of each cant. Kinda like book matching on steroids. See examples in "tree to ceiling" ceiling pictures. You will find these sell quickly for high dollar as they come only from old growth.
 I will be doing this again soon and my question for you guys is, What angle do I want on my chainsaw teeth to do such major ripping? And, can I buy new chin with this angle. See pictures in "tree to ceiling" for examples of such pre-cut cants loaded on old army trucks.

[JoshNZ]

Just spent over an hour typing and lost my post regarding this topic. How do I change time cut-off so this never happens again :-[

Hit Ctrl A, Ctrl C once in a while and it copies everything to your clipboard. If you lose it paste it. (or command on Apple)

[azmtnman]

Just spent over an hour typing and lost my post regarding this topic. How do I change time cut-off so this never happens again :-[

There are 2 login places on the login page. The 1 on the bottom you can adjust how long (in minutes) you're logged in.

[azmtnman]

I got a call today about a ponderosa pine that tipped over in our last wind storm a couple weeks ago. Apparently at 24' from the root ball it's 54". I'm thinking it's a bit to much for the wide head. I've pushed it up to 45", but this is beyond just challenging.

That's a huge Pondo!!! 
The biggest one we've cut was 38". It was 328 years old. It was killed in a fire in 2011. Means it started growing in 1683! I'd love to know how old that one is! 
   

[Crossroads]

The guy on the phone gave me an age of the tree, but I think he was counting at the point that the city bucked it off as it's still connected to the roots. Is the ring count different at the butt than at say 24'? I've never given that any thought. 

[Ianab]

Is the ring count different at the butt than at say 24'?

At 24 ft the ring count would start when the tree reached 24 ft tall. Not sure how fast those trees grow initially, but I'm guessing 10-20 years to reach that height? So the stump end would have 10-20 more rings / years. 

[mike_belben]

Hmm.  Didnt know that.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Never thought of that!  Here assuming newer trees automatically update their ring count as they grow.  :D

[Crossroads]

Makes sense

[Woodpecker52]

Old timers just drilled holes in the logs and inserted black powder did not mess around.

[Crossroads]

I have about 5# of black powder, but In today's can't buy anything ammo related climate, I'm not going to use it on a log lol

[handhewn]

Back in the 70s I asked "Old Gus" about this as he had logged in the North woods (West coast in the teens) about how they moved the huge trees he so often talked about when they did not have such big equip. He said "dynamite" which he also referred to as "powder". He said it worked but there was much waste in using this method but nothing else could be done. For instance, spiral grain rendered high loses. He said they would just keep drilling and blasting until logs were small enough to be moved with whatever equip (or horses) you did have.