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Felling Trees

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#1,301 ·
I have a leaner on my property that's giving me some heartburn. It's a big pine caught in the branches of another pine. If/when it falls, it won't hurt anything other than blocking my (gravel) driveway. But I'd rather take it down on my own timeline when it's convenient, rather than getting stuck at the house on the way to work or something one morning after a storm. I feel like I should just hire a crew to do it vs risking it myself, but as always I'm reluctant to spend the money. Wife says I'm cheap, but I prefer to call it frugal! Have you guys had any success pairing felling wedges with a rope tied to a truck/atv/come-along? I'm talking about plastic ones something like the cold creek ones (http://www.chainsawstoday.com/the-best-felling-wedges-what-i-recommend/) not the metal ones. Or is this risky/frowned upon?
 
#1,302 ·
I'd have to see it, but I'm also too cheap to pay to have a tree removed...

I'd give it a shot unless I thought it was too dangerous, and then I'd just let time do its thing (assuming it can't hurt anyone or damage anything when it ultimately does come down).

Note: I'm not pro, just a DIY homeowner (with around 20 years behind chainsaws), so I'm pretty conservative when it comes to widow makers, so I'd leave it alone unless it looked REALLY easy to pull / aim / drop.

You need to make a few more posts so you can start posting pics, so we can see what you're dealing with.

Mike
 
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Discussion starter · #1,303 ·
A couple years ago my Grandson and I watched a crew removing most of a copse of Tulip Poplars for what I guessed then would be a new house build. (Reference to this Post -> https://www.mytractorforum.com/threads/felling-trees.1342611/page-44?post_id=12751880#post-12751880

It turned out we were right and a fine new house was built there with only a few of the big old Poplars remaining. Well this morning, I heard the familiar whine of saw and chipper, so I walked down the driveway to find another crew taking down even more of the Poplars. Now with a house nearby, they were using a tall grapple and a man cage in the trees.

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Even though I cut lots of trees, I stick to standing dead. It always hurts my soul to watch live and thriving trees being removed.
 
Discussion starter · #1,304 ·
Here is a 46 second video of the original clearing for a house about 2½ years ago:


And here is a late day picture before they took these four down to the ground:

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Only two of the original are still standing.
 
#1,305 ·
@DarrenD If you have to ask about wedges and pulling over trees, Don't DO IT.

I am not trying to be harsh, but felling trees is hazardous and you are talking about a leaner that is caught in another tree.

Do the simple thing, let it be, gravity will not forget. An inconvenience down the road? Besides the odds of it falling when you are not home is slim.
 
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#1,306 ·
HHHMMMMM They are out there! :oops:

 
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#1,307 ·
@DarrenD, If it’s already hung up I doubt wedges are going to solve the problem. Pulling it might. There are lots of details you haven’t shared that make a difference. I suggest getting some quotes. You might be surprised how reasonable it would be for a tree service just to get it on the ground with no clean up, especially if they can do it as a filler job for cash. It could be a nice way for them to make a little more on a day they finish a bigger job early.
 
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#1,309 ·
This guy make really small wedge cuts doesn't he? :unsure:

 
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Discussion starter · #1,310 ·
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent a little time today "falling" a long tall pine tree that broke off about 4' above the ground, then tilted into several neighboring tall pines. This tree is in the grove of pines at my daughter's home. It broke and tilted a couple months ago, but was leaning away from her home, so we just let it alone to see if it would crash to the ground itself - it didn't!

Here is a still shot of the tree for your assessment:

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The tree wood was deteriorated. And, I decided to throw a line (ok sling shot a line) as high as I could into this tree. Unfortunately, I have a good video, but I can't seem to edit it on my aging Dell. Sorry guys. Trust me, it went up and over. I have a much shorter (2:33) video of my Son-in-law and I setting the static line in the target tree. (If you notice, about mid video a squirrel high-tails it up the tree we are trying to take down. My grandson spotted it live and comments on it:


Having set the rope, we put a soft shackle on a sturdy tree and started cranking. First hand, my grandson:

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Then I took over and cranked the come-along. Here is a 2 minute video of an old guy casually pumping.


You can notice the wind is swirling all around and these tall pines sway together.

Now, for the final minute of cranking, and for this my son-in-law finished the duties. And ducked behind the protection tree at the last second:


And, finally, I limbed and bucked it for outdoor fire pit use some future year:

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I'll see if I can coax some video editing out of my old Dell. The slingshot worked great.
 
#1,311 ·
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#1,315 ·
I didn't see it when branches were falling next to you while you guys were trying to rig the pulling line, nor on the winching crew. I probably wouldn't have thought about it unless I'd seen those falling branches (and of course, the tree hitting the camera)...

Mike
 
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#1,316 ·
Is my computer screwing up, or did both @77cruiser and @jonathco forget to actually post the pictures of their helmets? Because it looks like both made mention of helmets, and talked as though they posted pictures of one, but I'm not seeing any pictures of helmets, other than the one @mikeinri posted.
 
#1,317 ·
Nice job Jere. I bought a slingshot about two years ago, but have yet to use it. I've been finding enough trees already on the ground that I don't think I've actually had to drop one since buying the slingshot.
 
Discussion starter · #1,318 ·
Just Jeff said:
Nice job Jere. I bought a slingshot about two years ago, but have yet to use it. I've been finding enough trees already on the ground that I don't think I've actually had to drop one since buying the slingshot.
Click to expand...
I find the sling very handy. Especially in tight quarters. I guess my computer has cried uncle on loading the whole sling file for editing.
 
Discussion starter · #1,320 ·
A couple weeks ago I reported the neighbors that built the house at the end of my driveway took down four of their last Tulip Poplars, leaving only two of the original 20 or so in the copse. Well, this morning I was working on resolving a sticking exterior door from our 4 season room and heard the familiar sound of chainsaws and chippers. So, dreading what I would find, I walked down the driveway and found a highly mechanized crew finishing up the last two:

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They were making quick work, so I used my iPhone to capture this video of one of the larger tops being removed, lowered, and fed into the dual axle chipper:



And, as a wrap up, I pulled the sticking door off, it was sticking on the bottom. I've addressed this issue with sander and plane in the past. This time, I pulled out the circular saw and took an eighth inch off the bottom. It now swings easily and silently. All's right in my little world
 
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