Ash hung up in Maple

[boatman]

We were felling dead ash yesterday and I got one hung up. It is about 16-17dbh, straight and at a 45 degree angle now. The top is stuck in a big Maple. The ash is about 5-6" at that spot 80 feet up the tree.

We spent at about 2 hours with a 2 ton come along dragging the heel back and forth 30'. Lifted the heel right off the ground and jumped on the chain. Hooked up a tractor and jerked on it.


It's still there. I am thinking about bringing a 12 gauge slug gun and showing that tree who's boss.


Or is there a better way?(7mm Mag?)

P.S. We don't want to fell the Maple. No pictures of it right now. Soft ground too.

[Burlkraft]

Check with Beenthere, he's an expert in this kind of tree trimming 

[bill m]

Without being there to see how it is hung up and no pictures it is hard to say what is best. You could try 2 chains wrapped around the base with 2 come alongs , 1 pulling  left and 1 pulling right to try to roll the Ash out of the maple.

[Kevin]

It will depend on how the ash is hung in the maple and what you have available for equipment.
You can cut the hinge on the off side and they will roll out on their own or you can roll them out with a long canthook.
You can put a rope in the top and pull it out sometimes.
I've used my log arch to raise the butt and pull the hung tree ahead from a safe distance.

[northwoods1]

Well one other trick is that you can sometimes get the tree turning over when your pulling on it causing it to roll out or break off caused by the way you hook on to it. It is easy to do with a cable choker. Do you know what I'm talking about if not I will explain further. If its hanging 80' up at 5" -6" diameter with that size of a tree leaning at a 45* angle there can't be much holding it I mean I think you should be able to get it out. Is the foliage on? If you have something heavy enough to pull with just keep pulling until the maple looks like it can't take it anymore, otherwise if the tree is setup in a relatively safe way you can cut it off with the saw couple sticks or a log up if you stand on something like a skidder even a tractor, there are safer ways to do it even if it is a tree with a lot of weight on it that has a chance of splitting, you can make a safe 2 sided notch that will break the tree off clean so it falls straight down, then if it doesn't fall try pulling on it or rolling it out. just don't do this :  
http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=post;topic=46532.0;num_replies=3

[JohnG28]

Have you got a throw line?  I would think if you could get a line on it near the top where its caught up and then try pulling on it from there that you will probably be able to pull it down, either with the come along or tractor.  Good luck to you.

[tjdub]

You could chain the butt of the ash to the base of the maple.  Then put your tow-line up higher on the ash and pull it with the tractor.  Just make absolutely sure your line between the tractor and the ash is MUCH longer than the tree is tall.  There's nowhere to run when you're pulling a tree down on top of you.

[Kevin]

tjdub;
You would be pulling at a bad angle possibly generating too much force on the pull line.
If you could set a redirect block high up it would reduce the load on the line but if the tree went sideways you could snap the line or worse.

[CX3]

Or is there a better way?(7mm Mag?)

Thats funny.  Good luck with the tree and dont pull that maple over on top of you it could happen real easily. 

[barbender]

I've had one hung like that before, they were just locked together.  The crotch of one tree was locked into the crotch of the other, no amount of pulling was going to free it. Like CX3 suggested, all I was going to do is pull the standing tree over on myself. So, I got out my 12 guage, some 3" duck loads I had laying around, and after about twenty shots it finally came down

[terrifictimbersllc]

Picture would help.  I pulled one like that recently for a customer, where I rigged 3/4 rope from truck to base of a tree which the leaner was pointed at, to the leaner (3/4 pulley with timber hitch), securing it with a chain on the leaner and tied the rope to the chain (cats paw knot for rope on chain).  Was nothing really for my F-350 4x4 (hooked to tow hook, just backed up a little in 4wd). If it had started to spin the tires (it did not) I would have got out one or two more pulleys for mechanical advantage between the anchor tree and the leaner.  Each time I pulled the leaner would go to the base of the anchor tree, and then I would cut off about 6 feet and repeat (did that 3 times before it came down).

[captain_crunch]

Big Fire at base of tree with one hung  in it

[Gary_C]

Here is what you guys need to save the tree.

MasterBlaster System


They use those industrial kiln guns all the time in the cement industry to shoot kiln rings out without cooling the kiln down. You can get 8 gauge ammunition for that purpose. 

[barbender]

They use one up in the stacks at the local power plant to knock down the accumulated fly ash. I'd like to pull the trigger on one just once

[DRB]

I have had good luck with 12 gauge slugs breaking hung trees off.  Ash is brittle a couple slugs in the right spot and it may break on its own or you may weaken it enough it will snap when you pull on it again.   I would not recommend a high power rifle since the bullet will travel a long ways when fired into a tree top and may pose a hazard. A shotgun slug will not go far if you miss but be aware of the direction you are firing and what is beyond you in that direction. A high power rifle may be a hazard over a mile away a slug under a quarter mile. What ever you do don't stand right under when shooting at it when they break they fall fast.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I remember a warm summer night in northern Indiana.  We were watching bats fly around the circle yard at the farm.  My dad got out the 12 ga and shot pretty much straight into the air.  About a minute later a bat fell out of the sky about where he was standing.

[cheyenne]

I would cut as much off the ash as safely possible then hook her up to the tractor & give her a jerk.......If she's hung up so bad she still won't come down you could climb the maple with a buck saw ..........Cheyenne

[barbender]

I used the birdshot cause I didn't want a solid projectile coming down on someone, a shotgun slug falling out of the sky could put the hurt on someone If you have a full choke and the tree is hung 60 feet up, that only 20 yards. It takes a few shots. How big is the tree where it is hung up?

[cutterboy]

This past July I was cutting down a large red oak for my band mill. Well, the dang tree didn't fall where I told it to and got itself hung up in another big oak. I tried pulling it down with my tractor but it wouldn't budge. I then cut the butt log off at 8 feet which was scary because of the angle of the tree I had to have the chainsaw up high, but I managed. I tried pulling with the tractor again with no luck. I decided to cut another log off the tree. Now the angle of the tree was steeper than before and to get an 8 foot log I'd have to cut with the chainsaw over my head, and that is just too dangerous. Or I would have to stand on something, but I like to have my feet on the ground so I can run. So, I ended up bucking that tree up into four foot lenghts, and finally after cutting the fifth four-footer off I was able to pull it down.
  I got a lot of nice clear lumber off of that tree even though most of the boards are rather short.

     Ralph