How to handle the bigger stuff and is this tree on it's last leg?

[Flavo]

I only have 2 trees in the middle of my pasture (plenty more on the sides) and this one is pretty darn big. If I can keep it for the horses shade I will. If it is going to fall on its own in the next few years then I'd might just fell it now. Tell me what you think. Also not sure if you can tell by the pics, but it has about a 5d lean to it.
The other part of the question is how would I handle the larger rounds at the bottom. I have no idea how heavy they would be, as my experience at this point is limited to much smaller stuff. I'm a small guy at 5'8 and 150#s and am wondering if I can even pick something like that up. Also how would I go about splitting it? Would something like that actually split w/ a wedge and sledge? Would one of those home depot rental splitters handle the likes of that? By the way, I measured around the tree and it's 9'.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

with out seeing it in person, I'd say you should be able to split it with an axe or maul no problem.

 

[TreePointer]

I've rented a vertical/horizontal splitter from Home Depot and split some pretty big rounds with it in the vertical position. What you can't split manually or by machine splitter, you can always noodle with a chainsaw.

 

[CTYank]

Looks like a sugar maple that got backfilled around its "root crown" some years back. Typically they then go into decline & die soon. The "mound" around the tree suggests that it's possible.

As to what to do with the wood, that depends on your anticipated use. For it to burn well in "EPA" appliance it needs to be DRY, so it needs to be bucked to length & split ASAP. Ideally you'd use a smaller (e.g. 35 cc, 14") chainsaw to remove the limbs and cut them to handle-able size, then a larger (60/+ cc, 20") chainsaw to buck the larger stuff.

Before lifting the larger ones, I might rip/noodle a groove as a starter for wedge & maul, to halve/quarter them where they sit. Then I don't even have to jackazz them up onto hydraulic. Chainsaw makes dealing with forks/knots much easier, too; they're not just for cross-cutting.

 

[Flavo]

so the consensus is that it needs to come down then?

 

[Willman]

Nice lean for dropping, Nothing around to hit. I would be expecting some hollow rot and proceed with caution. Plenty of escape routes. Pics when down and bucked please.
Get 3 wedges and a heavy sledge. Its all about mechanical advantage. Try rental places for a bigger saw. I also would be investing in safety equipment to protect my assets. Good luck.
Will

 

[Kenster]

Is the tree still alive? If it's still alive I think I'd leave it alone so it can provide shade for the cows. But if, and when, it has to come down, go ahead and buck it up to the right length for your stove. You can split the trunk with a good sledge and two or three wedges. A trunk that size may need to be quartered, not just halved, so you can get it up into your truck bed. If it is dead and has been dead for a long time it should be somewhat dryer, which will make it a bit easier to split and it won't be so heavy.

Looks like a lot of good wood. As soon as it comes down get it cut up and off the ground asap. Split it as soon as you can.

 

[Flavo]

The safety equipment is a must now. I have been getting along with out it until now. But from this point forward I will be doing a lot of saw work.
The tree is not dead yet. That was kind of the point of the post. I think it is on its way out but am not sure.

So w/ the 3 wedges you mentioned. Are you referring to splitting the rounds and I would use all 3 in succession? Or are you talking about while felling to wedge the tree from the blade. If so are all wedges created equally? can I just get a set from ebay? I have never seen them in my local hardware stores?
Thanks, Mike

 

[Kenster]

Flavo, with large diameter rounds I would tap a wedge into wood a couple of inches from one edge. Drive it in with a sledge until you begin to detect a good split in the wood. Place another wedge into the crack near the center of the round and drive that in. I alternate whacking the two wedges until they have completely split the round or are buried in the crack. At that point the third wedge is nice to have to further open up the crack. Once the round is split in half you may be able to split the halves into quarters with your maul, or you may need to use a wedge, or two, again. You'll want good metal wedges, eight to ten inches long. An inch and a half to two inches wide.
I have tried the torpedo (grenade, snowcone) type wedges. For me, they tended to pop out or fly off the round if you don't hit them just right. I took one directly on my knee cap one time. I dropped like a rock, certain I had crushed my kneecap. It took ten minutes before I could get to my feet again, sore but uninjured. I found my wedges in the tool room of my father in law but you should be able to buy them at hardware stores.

As for your tree. I'm not one to take down a living tree so really can't advise you on that. Personally, if it's not likely to do damage if it fell on its own, I'd leave things to nature.

 

[Wood Duck]

I don't see a reason that it needs to come down. There is some dead wood at the base, but trees can live for many years in that condition. Since there doesn't seem to be any danger if it should fall, I would leave it.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

if it's still alive, I'd leave it standing.

 

[mywaynow]

I understand the concern is that is falls during a summer storm when the livestock are in the pasture. I would say that the tree in the pic with the bark falling off is the most critical. If that bark has been that way for more than a couple years, I wouild go ahead and drop that one. Bark falling off is a good indication of serious problems, and after a couple years of partial death the roots will begin to give way. That is when she falls on her own. It in leaning so that is what determines the direction to drop it. You can break down the large parts into quarters as you buck the tree. Leave the trunk intact and start from the big end. Cut the overall diameter into 90 degree portions with the saw- don't cut all the way through the log. Use the saw to cut cross grain first, then end grain cuts to section off the quarter rounds. If it doesn't break off easily, use the sledge and wedges to assist it. I break off upper and lower quarters first then go around to the other side and go upper-lower there. Depending on length of your logs, a full round of live wood at 35 inch diameter could be easily 250lbs and up.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Another advantage of leaving it is you might get the stump/root ball for free.

 

[mywaynow]

Of course then you have to fill the whole and rid yourself of the root ball! Leave the stump tall for the horses to scratch themselves on.

How come no one has chimed in on what type of tree we are looking at? Looks like a Hickory to me.

 

[WhitePine]

My suggestion is to fence off one or two small areas in the pasture and plant some fast growing species native to your area for future shade. In the meantime, leave the alive and standing shade trees alone, and let nature take its course.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wow! Flavo, you have one of those wonderful problems!

Personally I would not cut it yet unless you need the wood. As you stated, it can be nice shade for the horses and they do need shade. It is alive and that is why I would wait unless the wood is needed. For sure felling that thing will be about as simple as can be.

So, how do you handle the wood once the tree is down? That you will find, is very simple and easy....if you do it right. Look at the following picture.

Notice I've unloaded the wood and all that is left in the trailer are the tools I take to the woods. In the rear of the trailer is one tool I really hate to be without. See the wood handle and the blue on the end of it? That is a 4' cant hook. Using one of these really makes moving big logs really easy. Now look at the next picture. Do you see the cant hook? How do you suppose I got those logs onto the dray? Very simple and easy with the cant hook. I learned many, many moons ago that a small man can move a huge log using one of these. When I was logging, I weighed around 155 or 160 (oh to be that again!) but I could move a 3' or larger diameter log that was 12' or longer all by myself without straining. Child's play.

So let's say you load the logs and haul them to your work area. How do you split them? First, please understand that just because these things are big does not mean they will split hard. I like sledge and wedge but a splitting maul will work if you use it right. Just don't hit in the same spot all the time. Strike the log on the far side and then strike it in the center and then towards your side. Sure, you have to strike it more than once but who cares? In the end you will not strike that thing any more than you would smaller logs to get the same amount of wood. I actually think you will split faster doing these big logs and I've never minded doing them.

Naturally, after an injury and with age I've graduated to the hydraulics and still find no problem splitting these things. Of course one does want to be sure to do it right which begins by setting the splitter in vertical mode. Sometimes a prybar or the cant hook can be very handy for turning them once on the splitter but again, if you do it right it is not all that difficult. Even with my back back I can split some mighty big stuff without straining myself too much.

Funny that a neighbor thought these hydraulic splitters were junk, but one day he finally asked if I thought our 20 ton splitter would split some huge white oak rounds. Of course it would! I took it to his place and although we worked together to wrestle them around, he was so amazed at the ease of splitting that he purchased a splitter the very next day.

Don't fear the big stuff. You will probably come to love it once you get the hang of it. And that is some fine looking wood you have there.

 

[smokinj]

You will not know until the foliage comes out.

 

[lukem]

I'd leave it until it no longer shades the livestock. That tree may not be "healthy" but it has a lot of life left in it.

 

[shawneyboy]

I would leave it for now. Wait untill the spring/summer to see how advanced the decline is. If it is rather advanced, a control take down may be warranted. It all depends on how advanced, if at all, the decline is. Meantime as was suggested prior, look into some fast growing natives to plant in it's place.

Shawn

 

[3fordasho]

I had a black walnut that started to loose bark around the base like yours. Soon the branches on the same side as the missing bark were dying off. Because it was only 10 feet from my garage and the "dead" side faced the garage I took it down sooner rather than later. After removal it became obvious that it would not have fallen over anytime soon as the wood in the base was very solid. No way of really knowing that before the removal however and with the proximity to the garage and a storage shed I feel better that it's gone. That was 5 years ago and some of the wood is still in my wood stacks or in my stove right now!

 

[Wood Duck]

Of course then you have to fill the whole and rid yourself of the root ball! Leave the stump tall for the horses to scratch themselves on.

How come no one has chimed in on what type of tree we are looking at? Looks like a Hickory to me.

I believe that is a Sugar Maple. Could be Red Maple, but the bark seems more typical of Sugar Maple.

 

[homebrewz]

Leave it for shade until it comes down on its own. Your horses will thank you.

This spring might be a good opportunity to plant additional shade trees. Local soil and water conservation districts sometimes have spring sales on root stock.

 

[Flavo]

Thanks so much for the info everyone. It will be incredibly useful as I move forward. I think I will leave it for now. This fall when we moved in it had plenty of life to look at it. A couple of dead branches if memories serves. I am pretty sure it's a maple of sorts though. plenty of maple leaves under neath it too.

As for the livestock I will post a picture of that too. I will probably be spending a bit of time in these forums and don't want to have the wrong info out there.

This is Frida and Jasper.

 

[Kenster]

Depending on length of your logs, a full round of live wood at 35 inch diameter could be easily 250lbs and up.

You got that right. I recently cut up a fresh, green Water Oak trunk that was about 30 inch diameter, 21 inch bucks. I had to quarter them to be able to lift them up into my truck bed. I weighed one of the quarter rounds when I got home. 76 pounds. That was the largest of the quarters that came out of that round but it would still make the round at least 275 pounds-- mas o menos.

 

[kettensäge]

I would bet it's full of ants. The dead area close to the ground could be a sign, especially if there was never anything to cause injury to that area. If so, it could fall over in a storm.