How Would You Tackle a Large Tree Trunk?

[ChrisN]

I have been working on several trees a friend had taken down in his backyard. I've trucked out 6 tightly packed Ford Ranger P/U loads out so far and have one "wicked big" Ash tree trunk left to cut into 18" lengths. Here's the rub: This trunk is 30 or 40 feet long and tapers from about 30" at the base to 24" at the "narrow" end. It is laying on a slight downhill and is more or less flush against the ground the whole length. Does anyone have suggestions on how to cut it up? I was going to cut most of the way through and then try to roll it, but this things weighs several tons and doesn't budge. It's in the Connecticut woods and the ground is infested with rocks. I'm using a Husky 455 saw and have a 20 ton hydaulic splitter at the work site. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[bruce]

maybe wrap a chain around it and pull it,, or find a spot where the saw will go threw and cut it in half and pull

 

[zogboy]

I have been working on several trees a friend had taken down in his backyard. I've trucked out 6 tightly packed Ford Ranger P/U loads out so far and have one "wicked big" Ash tree trunk left to cut into 18" lengths. Here's the rub: This trunk is 30 or 40 feet long and tapers from about 30" at the base to 24" at the "narrow" end. It is laying on a slight downhill and is more or less flush against the ground the whole length. Does anyone have suggestions on how to cut it up? I was going to cut most of the way through and then try to roll it, but this things weighs several tons and doesn't budge. It's in the Connecticut woods and the ground is infested with rocks. I'm using a Husky 455 saw and have a 20 ton hydaulic splitter at the work site. Thanks for your suggestions.

Cut it most of the way thur like you say, then hook a chain to it and pull with the little truck, it should snap .
You may need to do this several times to complete the task.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Hey zogboy,

You anywhere near Utica?

The thing I've noticed about cutting chunks out of big trees like the one you describe is that there are gaps in the ground where you can usually get the saw undernearth and cut it into manageable chunks. If you can get it into smaller logs, say 4 or 6 or 8-footers, then you can turn the and complete the cut that way. I use an cant hook, but you can pull it with the Ranger like zogboy recommends, or get a get something long and strong and try to roll it with the increased mechanical advantage. It's a lot of work, but that's half the fun. Ash is nice wood to burn, too.

 

[babalu87]

Timberjack, I got one for Christmas and love it

Get it into smaller pieces like Eric says

Too bad I dont follow my own advice
Cutting up a Dead Red today and dulled out the saw at 13,500 RPM on a piece of granite!
Granite > steel

While it was sharp it was throwing nice coils of Maple , I actually have more than I though on my property

Thanks for the sharpen after every tank advice Eric
One or two passes and I'm back in the game.....................until I hit granite!

 

[Herb]

one thing that I do, since I work alone, is to lift the trunk with a wrecking bar (solid steel, 6' long bar) onto a hyraulic car jack. Sometimes, for leverage, I'll even put a 6' long x 1 1/2" pipe on the end, as a "persuader." (an old plumbers' trick)

Once I've got the log on the hydraulic, I'll put a block of wood underneath so that you can cut it into rounds.

 

[woodpile]

If you can use the wood as lumber, mill some boards off the top using a Granberg or Ripsaw mini-mill. Ash is good furniture wood, if you like the look of ring-porous lumber. Lots of furniture sold as oak is really ash.

Just to be rediculous, you could always split it with black powder:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Splitting_big_logs.html

If you earn the nickname "stumpy", please forget it was me who JOKINGLY suggested it.

Scott

 

[ChrisN]

Thanks for the suggestions. The log is all cut up into 18" lengths now and waiting for my two teenage boys to attack with mauls and wedges.

 

[bruce56bb]

omg......i couldve used some black powder today! 3' white oak logs. today was HOT(65*) so the chunks werent frozen and maul would not dent them. i had to nose the saw into them just to get the wedge started into them. i was splitting them in half just so i can lift them into the splitter tomorrow. wore myself out and saving the splitting for tomorrow. i wonder where i can come up with a bunch of black powder for future use?

 

[woodpile]

White oak yearns to be furniture. Get a Stickley catalog and see what I mean. Hire a sawyer to quarter-saw the stuff. You can still burn the wane and scraps.