High-post cut

[woodbutcher]

I'm trying to clear trees off a fencerow, and I recall reading a post about cutting trees so they will fall in the desired direction even when they lean another way, but I can't find it in the archives. It was called high-post cut. Does anybody remember that post?
Butch

 

[rustyfarmall]

The only sure fire way to make that tree fall in the correct direction is to attach a chain or rope to the tree and pull it in that direction, and if the tree is big enough, even that method does not always work.

 

[Anonymous-0]

(quoted from post at 14:31:32 01/03/09) The only sure fire way to make that tree fall in the correct direction is to attach a chain or rope to the tree and pull it in that direction, and if the tree is big enough, even that method does not always work.

I flattened a Stihl saw with less than 20 minutes runtime, a chainlink fence, small greenhouse, a bunch of garden plants, and almost my tractor with me on it with a cherry tree and that hairbrained idea :roll: :roll: :roll:

Never forget Murphy's Law.


Dave

 

[Anonymous-0]

on line I saw a site selling a long pole or bar with a turnbuckle or bumperjack in the middle. There was a hinged foot pad on each end. One pad was attached to the tree above head height. The other ends pad had a digging tooth or two to catch in the ground or a hole for a pin to anchor it in place. You were to cut the tree and jack it up and over center as it was cut a bit at a time.

 

[Wild Bill]

That is exactly what this guy was doing and it killed him...did not quite work out to be a sure fire way of doing things.

When a tree decides it is going a certain way, there is not much you can do about it.
man killed by falling tree

 

[Brodes]

Norwood Industries manufactures the tool described in an earlier post. I have never seen one used in person but the factory video makes it look invaluable.

 

[Eric SEI]

I was cutting some pine trees that were shading my Mom's
blueberries. I miscalculated and the tree pinched the saw. My Mom
trusts my BIL more than me on these matters, so I called Tim and
he came over. While I was getting chains and the come-along he
pushed the tree over. That was embarassing.

So Tim cut the next tree, and it fell right into the blueberries. I felt
better.

 

[Anonymous-0]

how big are the trees???use a wedge and some rope, if they are on a fence line they can't be to big,are they

 

[2x4]

Sure I remember. I wrote an answer using the term "high post".

 

[Anonymous-0]

This method would work well- -IF the tree isn't leaning too far. And if the tree isn't too big. Position your tractor opposite the direction the tree is leaning. Use several log chains to connect the tractor to the tree- -like 8 ft. above where the cut will be. Take up slack, and use a fair amount of tension on chains. Cut appropriate notches in tree, but only to the point where the tree could still stand by itself. Then pull it over. Vary these procedures according to need. MAKE SURE the chain length is such that you don't drop the tree on the tractor or yourself!!!

 

[woodbutcher]

Thanks, Dave. I am reminded of it daily.
Butch

 

[supergrumpy]

heavy leaners are nothing to mess with casually

long bull rope in good condition tied way up in the tree attached to very heavy vehicle works for us and even then it is a last resort

drop the tree in the direction it wants to go, talk to your neighbors if it will drop on their land, if house or building is involved then piece it down or leave it alone

life is short enuf as is

 

[MarkB_MI]

Here's the earlier thread on this topic.

I've cut down close to a hundred large oak trees, and I still consider myself to be a rank amateur. As everyone else said, it is dangerous even if you know what you're doing. I've run into a number of hollow trees that would not fall anywhere close to where you would expect. If I have any question about where a tree will fall, I use a snatch block and about 300 feet of half-inch nylon line. I chain the snatch block to a tree in the direction I want the tree to fall; running the line through the snatch block allows me to place my tractor anywhere, out of the direction of the tree fall and a long ways away. Even pulling the tree this way is not fool-proof. There's a lot of stretch in nylon rope; a stubborn tree can still swing wildly on its way down.
High post thread

 

[woodbutcher]

Hey, thanks Mark.
That's the one I was thinking about. I always give the tree I'm cutting plenty of room when it's about to fall, but the more I cut, the better I get at aiming them.
Butch

 

[Goose]

When I was a kid, there was a big old dead cottonwood on our neighbor's land by an intersection a half mile north of our place. A telephone line ran around two sides of it.

The neighbor wanted to take it down, and got my dad to help him. This was before chain saws so they chopped with axes. The neighbor hooked a cable up in the tree with his tractor (Oliver 88?) on the other end. The plan was when they had it almost chopped off, my dad would take the last few licks with the axe and the neighbor would dig out with the tractor to pull the tree over onto the field.

My dad took the last few licks, the tree started to fall, and the neighbor had forgotten to put the tractor in gear. The tree fell in the opposite direction, right through the telephone lines, pulling the tractor backwards with it.

My dad and the neighbor found a telephone that worked, called the telephone company, and then stood in our yard like a couple of kids till the phone company had the lines fixed before they went back to work on the tree.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I think I remember that pine trees and blueberry plants are not compatible. Somehow the pines hurt the blueberries.

Paul