OK
When dealing with back-leaning trees in power line proximity, felling really makes you anxious! My brother and I worked hard to put together a (relatively) safe procedure.
equipment:
1 ton, 25 foot strap-puller
4-inch nylon tow-strap, 40 feet length, looped at each end
75 feet of 365 lb working load rope
ladder
chain saw, sledge, felling wedges
eye, ear, head protection, etc.
The "hard" back-leaners, we decided to LEAVE ALONE until we eliminate the weak-link of the rope. (We're getting more tow-strap.) We may fell those trees 90 degrees to their lean, in order to keep from over-stressing the safety line. We will read more on this, first.
Anyway...
We attached the puller strap to the base of the anchor tree. The rope ran from the puller to the tow strap. We tripled the rope back on itself, mostly to make the setup a more convenient length; this may not increase working load, as knots significantly reduce break-strength of ropes. The other end of the tow-strap was looped around the dead tree about 18 feet up.
We spent about 45 minutes (per tree) clearing a lane from the dead tree to the anchor tree, and clearing escape paths as well. We did not want brush-snags and fraying to be a problem.
We kept the notch cuts just under 1/3 of trunk diameter, then alternated between back-cutting and strap-pulling. When the back-cut was deep enough, we used felling wedges to lift the trees over, per the suggestion of others on this site. (Fearing kickback & barber chairs, we didn't want to put too much force across the grain with the puller.)
It's a slow, pains-taking procedure. I usually have fun cutting firewood. Frankly, THIS WAS NO FUN; each tree was a relief when it went where we planned.
Regards,
Dexter
When dealing with back-leaning trees in power line proximity, felling really makes you anxious! My brother and I worked hard to put together a (relatively) safe procedure.
equipment:
1 ton, 25 foot strap-puller
4-inch nylon tow-strap, 40 feet length, looped at each end
75 feet of 365 lb working load rope
ladder
chain saw, sledge, felling wedges
eye, ear, head protection, etc.
The "hard" back-leaners, we decided to LEAVE ALONE until we eliminate the weak-link of the rope. (We're getting more tow-strap.) We may fell those trees 90 degrees to their lean, in order to keep from over-stressing the safety line. We will read more on this, first.
Anyway...
We attached the puller strap to the base of the anchor tree. The rope ran from the puller to the tow strap. We tripled the rope back on itself, mostly to make the setup a more convenient length; this may not increase working load, as knots significantly reduce break-strength of ropes. The other end of the tow-strap was looped around the dead tree about 18 feet up.
We spent about 45 minutes (per tree) clearing a lane from the dead tree to the anchor tree, and clearing escape paths as well. We did not want brush-snags and fraying to be a problem.
We kept the notch cuts just under 1/3 of trunk diameter, then alternated between back-cutting and strap-pulling. When the back-cut was deep enough, we used felling wedges to lift the trees over, per the suggestion of others on this site. (Fearing kickback & barber chairs, we didn't want to put too much force across the grain with the puller.)
It's a slow, pains-taking procedure. I usually have fun cutting firewood. Frankly, THIS WAS NO FUN; each tree was a relief when it went where we planned.
Regards,
Dexter
