Felling a big tree. Beautiful--dangerous! Video

[getitdone1]

Here's an exceptional video of a guy felling a big tree. Double-click for full screen and about like being there in person.

He's very skilled but I cannot understand why he doesn't use a safety belt. Beautiful mountain country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-SwpDKk ... re=related

For some reason when I tried the above link and double-clicked for full-screen I got "green picture" ----so.....if you have this problem hit the exc key and double-click again and good full-screen picture should appear. You can also click the box at lower right-hand corner for full screen.

Here's another video. This one's a big oak tree and houses close--done that myself, althought smaller tree. Here you have to be very sure where that tree falls !!!!! I'm tell'in you right now.....that pick-up is on the light side to be pulling that big of a tree. That oak was leaning a little TOWARD the houses. My dad and I cut down a catalpa tree about that size with 4020 John Deere tractor hooked to it with a cable. No houses close with this one, we just didn't want it falling into the road. That tractor with dozer blade and bush hog weighed about 3 times the weight of a pickup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5c2L4XVSpY

Came back to add: The comments below the video say it's a Ford Ranger. Of course that's even worse. I suppose they were pulling from the back of that little pickup and if the tree had started going the opposite direction it would lift the back up and then no traction and things would have gone real bad. Also think I saw a big limb angling back towards the house. It's not only the lean of the tree but also which side the most weight/limbs is hanging from. There's some other very good videos of this nature and some by real pros who often cut the limbs from the tree before cutting it down. Keeps it from hanging-up in other trees and makes it easier on yards. Also allows it to fall more accurately.

Don

[Pitchy]

Ollogger should know all about that, huh bro, dangerous work for sure.
Nice country alright.

[piller]

Trees seem to have a mind of their own when they fall. I have some relatives in Oregon, and yes they do work in the logging industry, and it is dangerous work. One of them flipped a D8 Cat. I have cut down a couple of trees, none with a trunk diameter larger than about 18 to 20 inches, and have not been hurt. Probably a lot of luck since I can't claim any skill, but I am willing to make a bunch of cuts and drop small pieces. These folks who can drop a tree right where they want it with just a few cuts have real skill.

[.45colt]

I have cut down some 120' plus oaks on My property,not even close to the Big stuff. in the second video the Kid with the saw doesn't have a hard hat on...just a matter of time.

[getitdone1]

I thought this was interesting:

http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/homeow ... w-old-tree

Instructions about how to estimate the age of standing trees. I've often wondered how old some white oaks are on our farm in Indiana. Here they mention a 'growth factor' which I've never heard of. Measure diameter of tree 4.5 feet above ground and multiply by this 'growth factor' to arrive at it's approxiamate age.
In the case of white oak they give a growth factor of 5 and give an example of of a 22" white oak thereby being about 110 years old--5x22 = 110 years.

Big trees are a living 'connection' to the old days and that plus their size and beauty make them special.

Don

[ollogger]

ive never cut a tree off of spring board, but ive cut close to a million
trees in 23 years of logging, biggest one was a 6 ft white pine in Wisconsin, used a 10 ton jack on it to lift it away from a creek should
of had a 20 ton jack, as the 10 ton ran outta gas & wouldnt lift any more, well the wind came up from the wrong way of course & blew
it into the creek anyway, after 3 hrs of cussing & hauling limbs out of
the water i went & got the skidder & made 3 drags to get it out
the guy that cut the yard tree scared the heck outta me
did ya notice the left hand hold on that saw?
ive had 2 bad run ins with saws there very unforgivng
but in the timber every thing will try to Kill you, Ive come close to
many times & sometimes it was my own stupid mistakes ollogger

[pokey]

looks like home.

[adirondakjack]

I'm nobody's logger, but I can use a plumb bob and eyeballs to see what's going on with the center of balance, top as possible, and using 3" cargo straps and a BIG ratchet strap to another tree as a "spring-loaded helper", get even a 36" hard maple 80 ft tall to drop into a 15 degree target zone between buildings. Did just that a few years ago. Only a 2" bit of roof flashing got nicked by a limb. To give ya an idea how heavy that maple was, it left an 8" deep furrow in the bone dry yard where it fell with a resounding "whump".

But yes, like hand loading beyond the books, you better know what yer about when ya pull the rope on the saw and start cutting, or they will end up planting YOU or you'll wreck something. My old man did logging as a kid, but even he dropped a 12" cherry tree through a stockade fence into his pool when he got arrogant and didn't eyeball using a plumb bob first. Sloping ground will fool you as to where vertical is.....

[2571]

Watching those first two youtube videos was as boring as watching paint dry. Interesting stuff but just watching some guy run a saw for 7:37 gets old.

I suppose a lot of y 'all are retired and have time for inactivity. :>)

Tree growth link was neat.

[ollogger]

I suppose a lot of y 'all are retired and have time for inactivity. :>)


Dont have any idea where that came from?
you musta watched it
ollogger

[earlmck]

the guy that cut the yard tree scared the heck outta me

Oh yeah! The logger cutting the big tree knew just what he was doing (except he sure had quite a "barber chair" there, didn't he ollogger?). The kid in the yard thought he knew what he was doing. Old tree with rot in it, multiple limbs, a "helper" too close, funny hold on the saw at times, no hard hat. Lots of potential for things going bad. The pull rope tied high in the tree was smart. And he did have unencumbered access all around the tree, which helps a whole bunch: my biggest "ooopses" with trees have mostly come when obstacles have caused me to be working from an awkward position.

Fun videos. Probably more fun for us fellers who have screwed it up a few times!

[getitdone1]

You guys saying the logger in the mountains cutting the big tree was not in danger puzzles me. I believe you are coming from a lot more experience than I have but isn't some kind of safety harness usually considered best? There's no question about his skill--or his balance! One of the neatest videos I've ever seen.

Seems to me no matter what your skill level even a small "kick-back" could send you flying.

A side note I'd like to mention: Many years ago I bought a really nice book--while visiting Sequoia Natl. Pk.-- about old-time logging of the huge Sequoia trees. On the front cover there's two loggers standing-up, fully, in the undercut!

Don

[Mac in Mo]

2571 Was it interesting or boring, make up your mind. You sure seem to have a bunch of negative comments at times. Maybe you are too bored?

Kevin

[Mac in Mo]

Don,

I'm not a logger but as a carpenter I work in the air frequently(or I did before the industry dissolved around here). As a residential carpenter, wearing a harness and being tied off is impossible most of the time. It just comes with the territory. I don't think the logger in the video is as high off the ground as it looks, maybe 6-7 feet. Thanks for posting the vids.

Kevin

[Pitchy]

You guys saying the logger in the mountains cutting the big tree was not in danger puzzles me. I believe you are coming from a lot more experience than I have but isn't some kind of safety harness usually considered best? There's no question about his skill--or his balance! One of the neatest videos I've ever seen.

Seems to me no matter what your skill level even a small "kick-back" could send you flying.

A side note I'd like to mention: Many years ago I bought a really nice book--while visiting Sequoia Natl. Pk.-- about old-time logging of the huge Sequoia trees. On the front cover there's two loggers standing-up, fully, in the undercut!

Don

Logging is very dangerous and there are different rules for different situations, you have to be able to get away from that tree if things go wrong. It would be hard to run if your tied to something with a harness.
I`ve cut enough trees to know how it goes, trees hanging up, kicking out at the butt, branches falling on ya, they used to call them widow makers.
If you don`t know what your doing at any job your going to get hurt, heck even if you do ya can get hurt.

[getitdone1]

I'll have to admit I found-out a little about the danger of logging when I got a broken foot from a smallish tree my dad was pulling off the stump with a tractor. I was standing on the back side of the stump and--somehow--when my dad pulled on it, it slid down the stump and on to my foot. Oh that hurt! Dad had to pry it off using an axe handle.

Cutting hedge (Osage Orange) with a crosscut saw was my first introduction to a crosscut saw. "Making fence posts" that would last for a long time. I had no idea, for many years, this was a wood the Indians rated first-class for their bows.

I've experienced the danger of dead limbs when bulldozing large trees in fence rows. We had a TD-24 International and built a protective cab over it. Those dead limbs would sometimes hit the top of that cab when I was shoving on the tree. Getting off the subject but I got that dozer stuck a couple of times. A guy told us we could hook a cable between one of the tracks and a tree and "winch" it out that way. Worked fine.

Don

[Bigahh]

Interesting to read the comments below the videos. Most likely from Kids who dont have a clue. That was what I would call a "Big OL tree" Wonder how old it was ?

[earlmck]

Like a lot of things, there was some "story within the story" that you had to have done some felling to appreciate. Such as the logger was not happy with that cut (if not for a video going on and him being under the lens he'd have done things a little different). What happened was a big chunk of the middle of the tree ripped out as the tree fell, messing up the bottom 4 feet of log and costing him some serious $. If not for the video he'd have been running the saw as the tree fell (not O.S.H.A. approved technique) to cut more of the "hinge wood" so that wouldn't have happened. If you watch to the very end of the video they show a picture of the stump that does not have that big pulled chunk (known as a "barber chair"). So between the time of the tree falling over and the part where they filmed the stump, the p.o.'d logger had got up there and cleaned off that "barber chair" so it wouldn't embarrass him any more.

Trees seem to have a mind of their own when they fall.

No, fortunately they don't. Trees go exactly where the feller tells them to go (unless they are rotten, which is a whole different ballgame). That's why they put sights on the saw, so he can aim the tree where he wants. Sometimes, especially when working from awkward positions, he doesn't realize he told that tree to go where it ended up until too late. But he can generally look at the stump afterward and say to himself "dangit Earl, you did again just what you told yourself to never do again". 'Cause the tree went where he told it, but not where he meant to tell it...

[Mike D.]

I've been on hand when Sugar Pines larger that that were felled. One sawyer and the tree would fall on the pin he set where he wanted it dropped. Up north there are redwood stumps that are over 10' in diameter that have springboard holes remaining after more than 100 yrs. No chain saws, just two men pulling a crosscut. Around here they used flat springboards, double bitted axes and double jacks to drive the wedges.

[pokey]

Like a lot of things, there was some "story within the story" that you had to have done some felling to appreciate. Such as the logger was not happy with that cut (if not for a video going on and him being under the lens he'd have done things a little different). What happened was a big chunk of the middle of the tree ripped out as the tree fell, messing up the bottom 4 feet of log and costing him some serious $. If not for the video he'd have been running the saw as the tree fell (not O.S.H.A. approved technique) to cut more of the "hinge wood" so that wouldn't have happened. If you watch to the very end of the video they show a picture of the stump that does not have that big pulled chunk (known as a "barber chair"). So between the time of the tree falling over and the part where they filmed the stump, the p.o.'d logger had got up there and cleaned off that "barber chair" so it wouldn't embarrass him any more.

Trees seem to have a mind of their own when they fall.

No, fortunately they don't. Trees go exactly where the feller tells them to go (unless they are rotten, which is a whole different ballgame). That's why they put sights on the saw, so he can aim the tree where he wants. Sometimes, especially when working from awkward positions, he doesn't realize he told that tree to go where it ended up until too late. But he can generally look at the stump afterward and say to himself "dangit Earl, you did again just what you told yourself to never do again". 'Cause the tree went where he told it, but not where he meant to tell it...

maybe we speak differently here?
that fringe that pulled out of the middle of the tree when it fell
would be called a tongue around here, while a barber chair would
be a tree that split when the back cut was in progress and lifted
and maybe spun the back side of the tree unexpectedly. very
dangerous for the faller. and either one would certainly upset
the logger and his boss.

barberchair.jpg

otherwise you make good sense.

[earlmck]

that fringe that pulled out of the middle of the tree when it fell
would be called a tongue around here, while a barber chair would
be a tree that split when the back cut was in progress

Bet you're right, pokey. I'm a juniper cutter: my stuff ends up as firewood and nobody gives a rip if it tongues or barber chairs 'cause it all burns the same. Been 20 years since I was around genuine fellers who were cutting for lumber and sometimes the memory gets twisted around as to whatchacallit. Whatever you call that "thingamajig", the logger had to be a bit p.o.'d about it, and here is some clown videoing it. And after going to all that work of springboarding the thing, too.

That's one of Murphy's laws: "You go all week without making the boo-boo, but get an audience for a minute and things go poo-poo."

[pokey]

"You go all week without making the boo-boo, but get an audience for a minute and things go poo-poo."

and one oh s#$t messes up 100 attaboys.

[ollogger]

where i came from we would call that a stump pull
but most of the time just a bunch of cussing yourself out, the stump pull is a prelude to a barber chair, cuz you you aint cutting as the tree is falling, each tree is different & hardwood is way more dangerous
than softwood IMHO

ollogger

[Sixgun]

I thought the video's were cool. That cat cutting down the big tree really knew his stuff.....what a sense of balance! The youngun cutting down the oak, along with the rest of his crew, well, should have had someone there with common sense. I've cut down enough hardwood trees to know what those buggers weigh and my inner thoughts on that little pick-up gave me a good laugh. I can see it now, the big tree going the other way and sling shooting that truck over the house.

Somethin' how we all have different points of view. Its nice to have a change of scenery from time to time. If you don't like it, turn off your 'puter and go watch "The View" ------------Sixgun

Good thing we have our resident professional logger here to set it right, Ollogger.