The top of a BIG oak tree came most of the way down a couple weeks ago. Last week my dad came up and helped me get it down. After we were done, he told me it was the scariest hang-up he's ever brought down, and he's been cutting wood for almost 50 years. The scary part was the sheer size of it, and the height it was hung up. The pictures don't really do it justice - the tree is 11 feet in circumference at chest height. The top 50-60 feet of the tree fell straight over, and the broken stub of the trunk wedged against the still-standing part about 15 feet off the ground. We got a rope around the leaner and tried to pull it down with the truck (the rope was loooooong!) My little half-ton chebby wouldn't budge it. I managed to get my 8n tractor around to the other side through the woods, and we were able to dislodge it - popped right out going that direction. The bottom of the broken off part had a big curve to it, which landed on another piece of the tree (the original top that fell out years ago) so most of was STILL 6 feet off the ground. But at that point, we were able to cut bits off the crown and "walk" it down. It was a little nerve-racking until it was finally on the ground.
The rounds from the bottom of what we cut up were over 2 feet across. It was a LOT of weight hanging up there, defying every physics law I'm aware of. Should be a good bit of firewood in 3 to 4 years.
The rounds from the bottom of what we cut up were over 2 feet across. It was a LOT of weight hanging up there, defying every physics law I'm aware of. Should be a good bit of firewood in 3 to 4 years.
