Dropping Hung Up Trees

[xman23]

After hurricane Irene and a few other storm's this summer came thru North East PA, there are rolled over trees everywhere. Most are stumps pulled out of the ground and hung up in another tree. There must be a name for this, but here I will call a double hung up tree. I do have other names for it but........ The stump in the ground won't move and the top is hung up in another tree. My problem is how to make the first cut and not get the saw stuck. I took one down a few weeks ago, and did my signature big "v" cuts. Yes I do know this is very dangerous. I am very careful to understand where the weight of the tree will make it fall.

How do you guys get these trees down?

Tom

 

[Danno77]

Do you have a big truck or tractor?

 

[xman23]

No big equipment. I do have a 1 ton tugit, Your sugesting to pull it down? In many cases it would take a lot to move them. I would rather cut it down.

 

[bogydave]

Like you said, "very carefully".
Tough, dangerous ones, I cut 1/2 way thru in 2 or 3 places (a foot or so apart) on opposite sides, then hook it to the truck with a long rope & pull slow until it breaks / splits at the cuts.
You are right though, very carefully! Think it through, before cutting. Some stumps want to jump back vertical real quick.

 

[Heartwood]

There must be a name for this

Widow-maker.

 

[mayhem]

A seriosly long ass chain or cable wrapped as far down the base as you can get it and pull the thing at about 90 degrees to the direction it fell. Only other way I do these is to drop the tree its stuck on. I'll do one hanger because the suspended tree is always off to one side and so long as I can clear a good escape route on the other side I'm generally game to give it a shot, but when the second tree turns into a second hanger I'm getting out the truck and the 3/8 chain.

 

[smokinj]

Bull Rope!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

With all due respect, asking and giving recommendations on trees like this is not really appropriate on forums. Trees hung up top and bottom take special consideration even different from what has been posted on this forum previously. This is just too darned dangerous to only take advice and then do it. You need someone with experience to handle it or at least be there when you do it. I could do it but that is the reason why I won't say how it would be done.

 

[stee6043]

I had such a tree barber-chair on me just a couple weeks ago. Fortunately, I knew it was going to happen and it was a rather small tree. I hate hung trees. I avoid them like the plaugue. Unless I cause them....ha.

 

[Thistle]

Old Red Oak snag 20" diameter at edge of ravine,mostly uprooted several years ago,hung up in 14" diameter 50 ft tall standing Bur Oak snag. Guessing a couple tons weight/pressure.

Gonna tackle both in a few weeks if it stays dry & schedule cooperates. Wish me luck,though I've seen & done worse when I was younger & wee bit more agile.... ;-) That monster Shagbark with split top 30 ft over my head hanging by a thread & folded over like a cheap suit last October for example LOL

 

[begreen]

There must be a name for this

Widow-maker.

Definitely can be an unpredictable situation. Unless properly geared up for this situation, I would pass. A fellow out here just lost his life trying to tackle a bad tree while out scrounging firewood. At 45 yrs old, and cutting for years, he thought he had enough experience to tackle it and ended up dead wrong.

Some trees are better to leave to the forest to recycle.

 

[Danno77]

I try to let nature take care of widow makers for me. It doesn't always work, but if they live out in the timber where nobody will be hurt, then I can leave for a couple of years if need be. Wish I lived closer to dad who has the equipment to show those trees who the boss is.

 

[xman23]

Dennis, I understand and respect what you are saying. Before asking here I debated was this the right place to ask such a question. I didn't know this has come up in the past. I concluded that most of the serious wood burners here are felling trees on a regular basis. There are true experts here that have wealth of knowledge Better we all understand how dangerous this is rather than individually learning by trial and error and some getting hurt. Hopefully we can discorage some from doing this.

Mayham, I to pull the bottom of the hungup tree 90 degrees until they fall. But this is a stump in the ground rolled over with the top of the tree hung.
Mayham, this could be Dennis's issue here. Are you saying stand under the top of the hungup tree and cut the tree down it's hungup in, with a small calculated excape route as it is all coming down. I'm not doing it.

Bogy Dave. That sounds like a good solution, pulling a piece out of the middle by forcing it to split. The few of these I've done I cut top, bottom and sides all in one spot. Nothing moved just pinched the saw, hence my big "V" cut. The next time I was thinking of using wedges to stop the gap from closing. What do you think?


Tom

 

[lukem]

Friend of mine died taking out a snag. Unless you will LITERALLY freeze to death without cutting this tree up for firewood, I would leave it be. Leave these up to the pros or the guys with heavy equipment. Just my opinion.

 

[bogydave]

Well Tom;
I lost a saw with a bad fall on a leaner, Saw got stuck, I ran, the tree twisted, popped up & came down on the saw. I was lucky that I ran & the saw was the only loss.
If you need to cut farther into the tree because the stresses are binding the saw, there is allot of stored energy there that can release in an instant, well it sounds dangerous & I wouldn't want to be close when it does.
It's not that many of us have not cut down dangerous trees with no serious problems, but realize the dangers & do a good "risk assessment".
I'd work on the safest side of the risk that I can, long distance with ropes & chains, rent or borrow equipment if needed.

Now, I don't cut blow downs or dangerous leaners, I don't run as fast as I once did.
I'm like BWS, Dennis is right, to give advice on falling an unknown tree/s without actually being there to
assess the potential risks is not appropriate. I gave you how I attacked a few, but I was there, running the saw,
watching the cut & tree closely & I was the one at risk, I had no one even close. The trees had to come down & were on my property.
My method worked for my situation, to say it will work for yours without doing it myself would be a mistake.

Be safe

 

[red oak]

Well Tom;
I lost a saw with a bad fall on a leaner, Saw got stuck, I ran, the tree twisted, popped up & came down on the saw. I was lucky that I ran & the saw was the only loss.
If you need to cut farther into the tree because the stresses are binding the saw, there is allot of stored energy there that can release in an instant, well it sounds dangerous & I wouldn't want to be close when it does.
It's not that many of us have not cut down dangerous trees with no serious problems, but realize the dangers & do a good "risk assessment".
I'd work on the safest side of the risk that I can, long distance with ropes & chains, rent or borrow equipment if needed.

Now, I don't cut blow downs or dangerous leaners, I don't run as fast as I once did.
I'm like BWS, Dennis is right, to give advice on falling an unknown tree/s without actually being there to
assess the potential risks is not appropriate. I gave you how I attacked a few, but I was there, running the saw,
watching the cut & tree closely & I was the one at risk, I had no one even close. The trees had to come down & were on my property.
My method worked for my situation, to say it will work for yours without doing it myself would be a mistake.

Be safe

Have to agree with Dennis and Dave on this one. Hard to really give advice without seeing it - and I hate hung-up trees anyway. One thing I will say is I would NOT cut the tree it is hung up in - I have heard several stories about people getting killed doing this. I would find someone in your area with experience in these matters. Good luck and be safe!

Ed