Snag advice

[MoDoug]

This red oak has been begging to be brought down and given a respectable long slow cremation, in pieces. Same with the dead hickory trapped under it. Is there a safe way to bring it down, or should I just let it be?

 

[Nealm66]

Well, either could buckle and the top could come back at you but I’ve cut a lot of similar scenarios without too much excitement

 

[Nealm66]

I would start at the butt of the smaller one and try to get it to drop at an angle that frees it . Then do same with the bigger one. Keep your eyes on it when you make a cut in case it buckles. Or if it’s super rotten, slam it all down with a tree behind

 

[Nealm66]

Have someone with you to be safe

 

[MoDoug]

I would start at the butt of the smaller one and try to get it to drop at an angle that frees it . Then do same with the bigger one. Keep your eyes on it when you make a cut in case it buckles. Or if it’s super rotten, slam it all down with a tree behind

I tried a considerably smaller one last year, it was snagged much lower than this one. I did an undercut, with the top of the saw blade, then a back cut, it then dutifully collapsed onto my bar and chain. How would you approach it from a cutting standpoint? Is there a way to do side cuts? By the way, I've been making good use of your boring suggestions in the other post, can that be used here?

I don't think it's rotten, otherwise I'd move on. I would have someone with me on something like this.

 

[St. Coemgen]

Such snags are called widow makers for a reason. As suggested, don't do it alone. And take care how you remove this hazard.

 

[MoDoug]

Such snags are called widow makers for a reason. As suggested, don't do it alone. And take care how you remove this hazard.

I agree, and I have a lot of respect for something like this. The tree is about 40 feet long and I wouldn't even think about working under the top end of it. I'm hoping there is some way to work on the butt end and move it enough to shift the weight to a side and bring it down. I don't think the hickory is enough to support it, but I guess I could work on it first to see if that would make a difference. It's the snap backs that are a concern, and on a non safety issue getting my bar trapped. The oak will drop to the left, away from the butt end of the hickory.

 

[Nealm66]

I tried a considerably smaller one last year, it was snagged much lower than this one. I did an undercut, with the top of the saw blade, then a back cut, it then dutifully collapsed onto my bar and chain. How would you approach it from a cutting standpoint? Is there a way to do side cuts? By the way, I've been making good use of your boring suggestions in the other post, can that be used here?

I don't think it's rotten, otherwise I'd move on. I would have someone with me on something like this.

Well, In the industry, if they were fairly sound, I would chunk them down from the root in a fashion that the butt walked at an angle that persuaded the top to release. I may even make little undercuts to emphasize lateral movement. I would have a clear escape path sawn clear of tripping hazards. You might find a come along combined with rope( to give you distance) handy . Just cripple it up and winch it from a distance to break it down. I have lots of practice running from crap coming at me but safety first even for me

 

[Nealm66]

If it pinches you, it’s an easy chop out with a sharp ax

 

[Nealm66]

I tried a considerably smaller one last year, it was snagged much lower than this one. I did an undercut, with the top of the saw blade, then a back cut, it then dutifully collapsed onto my bar and chain. How would you approach it from a cutting standpoint? Is there a way to do side cuts? By the way, I've been making good use of your boring suggestions in the other post, can that be used here?

I don't think it's rotten, otherwise I'd move on. I would have someone with me on something like this.

You don’t undercut the bottom. You undercut the top with a slight angle to kick the top away from the tree it’s caught in

 

[Nealm66]

Your last cut( or cripple) is the bottom.

 

[Nealm66]

Hope this helps to keep you safe if you choose to try it

 

[Nealm66]

This technique also makes everything drop away from you . Just watch out for crap coming at you and maybe a tin lid might be in order

 

[MoDoug]

You undercut the top with a slight angle to kick the top away from the tree it’s caught in

The top end of the snag looks like it wants to drop to the left of the tree it's caught on, and unless the hickory breaks, it would slide down it, also forcing the top of the snag to the left. Would the undercut with the slight angle be on the left side of it, crippling from the bottom right? Cut about 3 feet up the trunk, which would be about 1 foot off the ground?

I'm still assessing the time, effort, risk level, and reward to do this. Unfortunately a lot of the reward for me is in doing it, I love a challenge, but not at a risk of serious injury.

 

[Nealm66]

I wouldn’t count on the smaller tree and cutting the bigger first could create two tops coming at you

 

[Nealm66]

3 ft is probably a good start to assess how sound the are but then I’d go out further to gain more drift. At least get the smaller one broke down enough so the bigger one doesn’t break it down

 

[Nealm66]

Don’t watch them slide to the ground when they do. Watch the stuff up above.

 

[Nealm66]

The goal is to avoid walking them straight into the trap they are in. That can’t create a hazardous situation that shouldn’t be left

 

[Nealm66]

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Nealm66]

Man, I watched a couple YouTube videos of expert guys cutting trees down and see so many fundamental mistakes. Scary. Can’t watch

 

[MoDoug]

The goal is to avoid walking them straight into the trap they are in. That can’t create a hazardous situation that shouldn’t be left

This is a big concern, walking it toward the trap, and not bringing it down. I would feel responsible for it at that point and couldn't give up. Even if I don't tackle this, this is interesting and I've learned a lot from you that could help in the future, or even just in conversation with anyone else.

 

[Nealm66]

Glad to share. In truth, it’s the only reward I have for the miles behind a saw.

 

[SpaceBus]

Can you get a winch out there? Next best thing is a come along or hi lift jack and pull the snagged tree down. You can do it with a saw, but it's not as safe, no matter your experience level. Since you are asking us what to do, I take it you are inexperienced. We have many tightly packed conifers and this results in nearly every tree that comes down gets snagged up. On of my first posts on this forum was asking how to get a widow maker down in a similar situation to yours. Most folks will say "hire a professional" but that's not helpful. Eventually I got a tractor and 3pt skidding winch and just pulled it down. Dead trees tend to be less predictable than living ones, so I always try to not be near them when releasing any tension. There is a lot of potential energy in that snagged tree.

 

[MoDoug]

Can you get a winch out there? Next best thing is a come along or hi lift jack and pull the snagged tree down. You can do it with a saw, but it's not as safe, no matter your experience level. Since you are asking us what to do, I take it you are inexperienced. We have many tightly packed conifers and this results in nearly every tree that comes down gets snagged up. On of my first posts on this forum was asking how to get a widow maker down in a similar situation to yours. Most folks will say "hire a professional" but that's not helpful. Eventually I got a tractor and 3pt skidding winch and just pulled it down. Dead trees tend to be less predictable than living ones, so I always try to not be near them when releasing any tension. There is a lot of potential energy in that snagged tree.

Definitely inexperienced. I have a 12v winch, but I might as well go kick it. LOL Even my come along won't do much and I can't drive near it. A neighbor had a similar situation, it was a little smaller tree, we got the butt end dropped but still snagged. I got my F250 close to hook up my chain and strap, even with a 15 foot run, my truck barely budged it. It took several runs, and tearing up his yard (which I warned him about), before it came down. This is a big heavy tree, when these things finally give way there's no warning, they just go, like you say a lot of tension and energy.

 

[Nealm66]

It looks pretty rotten in your pic. I’m have no experience with that species. It looks like once you get the little one out of the way, releasing it from the root wad wouldn’t be life threatening but then it has your signature on it and it would need to be finished.