Brought down a dead pine tree this morning

[Nick Mystic]

A few month ago I noticed a standing dead pine tree about 100 yards behind the house right along a trail I hike with our dogs every day. Since I finished working up that 32" diameter oak tree last week ( I got a bit over 2 cords from it) I decided to bring down the pine today and wrap up my logging for the season.



It was about 75 feet tall and 16" in diameter. After I cut it and counted the growth rings I saw it was about 90 years old. Pine bark beetles got it.





I had a fairly open spot for where I wanted to drop it.



It fell right where I wanted it to, however, when I did my cut I came out about a half inch below my front wedge cut and the hinge didn't break free initially. The tree fell about 30 degrees and then the top branches got snagged just enough on a nearby tree to become a widow's maker. Fortunately, I was able to cut through the rest of the hinge and when the tree jumped off its stump it came free and fell to the ground.



It took two tanks of gas, but I managed to get the entire tree limbed and cut up. I brought out the two largest rounds with a wheelbarrow, but the trail is somewhat downhill and I had to keep letting the wheelbarrow down onto the ground and use the rear feet to slow down my descent. After about 50 yards the trail flattens out enough I can wheel the barrow normally the rest of the way up to the house. Since the wood is right on my morning hike's path I'll probably just carry one round home each day on the way home from the hike.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Glad that turned out good Nick. Sounds like it could have become nasty.

I like that downhill. Surely makes moving the wood much easier.

 

[Hills Hoard]

awesome work....i was going to ask about the hinge you cut, but glad it worked out! fantastic bit of property you have too

 

[basod]

That SYP will be nice shoulder wood next season
Should be bark free and ready to rock

 

[MarkinNC]

You know how to fell judging by your stump. I really like pine and I have two of them down at the neighbors that I plan on burning this winter. I have not C/S/S but I think it will be good in 6 months. We have a lot of oaks dying in these mountains.

 

[bogydave]

Gonna be some "light work" after handling all that oak.
Good wood, & should be ready way before the oak is
Nice pics

 

[Woody Stover]

It fell right where I wanted it to, however, when I did my cut I came out about a half inch below my front wedge cut and the hinge didn't break free initially. The tree fell about 30 degrees and then the top branches got snagged just enough on a nearby tree to become a widow's maker. Fortunately, I was able to cut through the rest of the hinge and when the tree jumped off its stump it came free and fell to the ground.

Hangups add unpredictable forces to the equation. I don't like messing with them at all. Too many things can go wrong. Normally I start my back cut, then stop and check it from different angles, maybe leaving the saw (stopped) in the cut to help me see the plane and make sure it's going to come in above the hinge where I want it to. If the cut is off, I start over. I may start laying out the back cut with a string and marking it with chalk....

 

[Nick Mystic]

Yes, I think it is a good idea to keep track of where your back cut is in relation to your wedge cut. When I cut down that large 32" diameter oak tree a few weeks ago I even painted on the tree both my wedge cut and my back cut since the tree was too large to see where I was cutting in relation to my wedge.



This pine tree was small enough I didn't think I'd have a problem just "eye balling" it. I don't know for certain if cutting a half inch low on my back cut was the cause of the hang up or not. Once the tree was down and I was cutting off the dead upper limbs I noticed that they were like velcro when they came into contact with other saplings nearby. I might have ended up having to cut through the hinge even if my back cut had come out above my wedge cut.