Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Dagnab it...

I couldn't find this picture yesterday when it would have helped.


That is a 90' tall Southern Yellow Pine tree I cut down at my old place because it was in the path of a building I was moving. It's maybe 20" in diameter at the base and I took it down by myself. The gap I had to drop it in was quite narrow so I used a tow strap and a come-along. Properly done you can drop a tree precisely where you want it to go.


Here is a side view of how I rigged it up - I used a ladder to get the strap as far up the tree as I could. Then I cut the notch, tensioned the whole system, started the relief cut, applied more tension, and once the center of gravity is headed in the correct direction all one has to do is finish the final cut with some precision. That is actually the tricky part. 


This is a much larger white pine I cut down at my neighbor's house. Boy was he surprised! Same deal - anchor a tow strap/come-along system, apply tension and away you go. Large trees can be felled accurately and safely by one person working methodically.

My brother, who is a smart ass, says "Sixty's yard was clear cut, eventually."






21 comments:

Rabel said...

Now you're just showing off.

ricpic said...

If she has come along skills it's better than Viagra.

The Dude said...

You are absolutely correct. Good thing I did all that work years ago when I could. Now I prefer napping to lumberjacking.

But I meant to add yesterday that small trees can fool you - I had that happen to me when I helped a friend take down a small cherry tree in his back yard. I cannot tell a lie - that sumbitch really wanted to crush us both before I was able to push it where I wanted it to go.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Chip Ahoy said...

The videos that play after the one you showed yesterday are interesting too. A whole bunch of them, dudes taking down gigantic trees. And you think, oh, poor tree, whey did they pick that one? Then the camera shows the environment and there are miles and miles and miles of mountain ranges upon mountain ranges of similar trees.

The Dude said...

Trees have great economic value, and they regrow. If one takes the long view then it all works out, but as someone who has ridden through old growth forests on a mountain bike, then returned a year or two later to find Stump National Park, well, that can be upsetting.

One of the reasons I use local wood is that I can keep an eye on how well the forest is doing. Heck, for 10 years now I have barely had to leave my yard or my neighborhood to find tons of free wood.

This is a subject I could go on about ad infinitum, ad nauseum. I better save some pictures and words for future posts.

AllenS said...

I heat my garage, shop, and my house with trees. You just can't beat wood heat.

edutcher said...

Shades of Sam McCord.

The Dude said...

I drove a Corvair, once.

deborah said...

Allen, did you give up on corn? I love wood heat. I love the smell of oak piled up by the wood stove.

AllenS said...

Deborah, buying that corn stove was one of the dumbest things I've ever spent my money on.

windbag said...

A friend once commented that if he can see a white pine from his house, it needs to come down.

The Dude said...

I concur, windbag, they are terrible trees down here. In Maine it is a different story, but the ones along my property line have done a lot of damage to my property - and they belong to my neighbor. Argh!

AllenS said...

60, you seem to live in the land of the tall tree.

The Dude said...

AllenS, it's not uncommon for trees to get over 100 feet tall here - whether pine or hardwood, they grow well here.

But all of this is relative - were DBQ ever to pipe up she would tell us about real trees - where she lives there are trees that are over 350 feet tall, which make my trees look like saplings.

I bought my 088 from a Canadian tree guy - when I told him that we have red oaks 6 feet in diameter here he was amazed - he made his living sawing oaks and maples and he had never seen one that large up in the Great White North.

ndspinelli said...

Allen I know a guy who went corn and is now back to wood. I think corn stove makers had great sales people and horseshit engineers?

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

That is a good chain saw.

The Dude said...

I agree, Evi, in fact, after 17 years of use I would say that is a f*cking great saw. It just keeps cutting and cutting and my heirs will inherit it, it is that good.

MamaM said...

What do Sixty G and Pooh have in common"

They both hum through work endeavors and apply careful thought where needed:

On the futility of worry:

“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this.

The Dude said...

Pooh was cool.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
deborah said...

"I agree, Evi, in fact, after 17 years of use I would say that is a f*cking great saw. It just keeps cutting and cutting and my heirs will inherit it, it is that good."

It's badass, that's for sure.