Swamp mucking for ash...

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I've been dying to get at this fresh fallen ash in the back community woods. It's finally thawed out but the pond nearby has flooded the area to about 2-4". You have any tips or should I just get on my waders and start cutting (plopping really)? I only have about 1/4 cord for next year.

The tree is held up about a foot by the roots and one big branch 20' up. That's why it hasn't rotted away. I haven't figured out how to jack the middle after the stump is cut. Are there any other tricks if I don't have a timber jack? Maybe wedge a log in there somehow?

It's been raining about 5 days a week. We've had two days break, another 18 hours of rain tomorrow then clear for the weekend. I guess I should have grabbed it in February when the woods were mostly dried up and frozen (see pic).

 

[TreePointer]

Blow downs with root ball still attached can be very dangerous. There can be a lot of energy stored in the attached roots.

No need to jack it up after cutting the stump. Place the limbs/logs you cut from the treetop under the trunk before you cut it from the root ball.

With that being stated, it's difficult for me to devise a cutting plan without seeing it in person. I usually cut from treetop down toward the main trunk before I cut the stump. Keep your plastic cutting wedges handy, and a cant hook/peavey should help, too.

 

[Ashful]

I'd just wait till it dries out, unless you're hard up for wood, and worried it's going to walk.

 

[ohlongarm]

I've been dying to get at this fresh fallen ash in the back community woods. It's finally thawed out but the pond nearby has flooded the area to about 2-4". You have any tips or should I just get on my waders and start cutting (plopping really)? I only have about 1/4 cord for next year.

The tree is held up about a foot by the roots and one big branch 20' up. That's why it hasn't rotted away. I haven't figured out how to jack the middle after the stump is cut. Are there any other tricks if I don't have a timber jack? Maybe wedge a log in there somehow?

It's been raining about 5 days a week. We've had two days break, another 18 hours of rain tomorrow then clear for the weekend. I guess I should have grabbed it in February when the woods were mostly dried up and frozen (see pic).

I'd make sure that tree is ash looks like poplar,not looking like ash bark to me,good luck.

 

[gzecc]

I also question the ash ID. Look at the leaves on the ground. Are they ash leaves?

 

[Woody5506]

The bark does look more rigid than the ash I have. I've also never seen a timber jack until I googled it after you mentioned it......now I want one.

 

[Rangerbait]

First photo is your tree, zoomed in on the bark, second is an Ash that I harvested a couple of weeks back...I'm fairly new to the ID game on these east coast hardwoods, but they don't look like the same variety to me.

 

[Tar12]

Looks like BTUs to me...find some dead laying around or use limb wood and crib underneath it in 2 spots...be wary cutting the root ball free...it may or may not take off and rise...cut it very slowly until its free.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Thanks for the tips.

It is ash. I ID'd it earlier here. Alternate branching, buds resemble ash, there are green ash leaves around and it has the pith hole through the rounds. I can post some more pictures of the bark; this one is a little different from most of it. I attached one of the first splits from the branches.

Looking at some more of my pics the little one next to it looks like a nice 8" DBH X 25' ash tree too.

So what is the opinion? Cut the root first or start from the top? I'm worried if I start cutting the top it might lift back up and I'll need to fell it. I'll have wedges ready. I might even shove them in as I get half way through.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

First photo is your tree, zoomed in on the bark, second is an Ash that I harvested a couple of weeks back...I'm fairly new to the ID game on these east coast hardwoods, but they don't look like the same variety to me. View attachment 196702

View attachment 196703

The main species are white/american ash, green ash and black ash. They may have slightly different bark patterns. This one agreed is a bit unusual. A lot of it is the 'X' or aligator pattern. This section has a few longer grooves.

 

[Rangerbait]

The main species are white/american ash, green ash and black ash. They may have slightly different bark patterns. This one agreed is a bit unusual. A lot of it is the 'X' or aligator pattern. This section has a few longer grooves.

Tree identification is tough, especially here on the east coast in the winter/early spring with all of these deciduous trees. I'm from the Western Slope of Sierra Nevada Mountains in California; way fewer species to contend with out there, and most of them are conifers.

FWIW, I vote for cutting 'er free from the root ball as step 1 to remove the stand-up variable.

 

[Hasufel]

So what is the opinion? Cut the root first or start from the top? I'm worried if I start cutting the top it might lift back up and I'll need to fell it. I'll have wedges ready. I might even shove them in as I get half way through.

Any idea how long it's been lying there? Root balls can fill in and roots freeze in position after a while. If it were me I'd probably start at the top and work toward the root end, keeping an eye on any indication that it's starting to stand. I bucked an oak that never stood back up--after I cut enough of the top the rest of the trunk just floated in mid-air and made it really easy to finish. But it had been down for more than a year at that point.

 

[Rangerbait]

Any idea how long it's been lying there? Root balls can fill in and roots freeze in position after a while. If it were me I'd probably start at the top and work toward the root end, keeping an eye on any indication that it's starting to stand. I bucked an oak that never stood back up--after I cut enough of the top the rest of the trunk just floated in mid-air and made it really easy to finish. But it had been down for more than a year at that point.
View attachment 196708

It does not get much better than that!

 

[Ashful]

I cut every blow-down basically the same way, from 12" diameter to 50" diameter. Cut off the top, which I leave in the woods, and then start working the trunk from top down to root ball in 8' sections (16' sections, if it's under 24" diameter). I've never had one stand back up until I get to the final cut at the root ball, but I'm usually cutting stuff that's been down over a year.

If you start at the root ball, as some have been inclined to do, you can end up with one heck of a scary mess. I did that once, with a 44" diameter tree on a root ball that must have been 10 - 12 feet diameter. It started standing up on me, I got spooked and backed off, and was soon left with a 60 foot long log sprung hard under its own weight about four feet up off the ground while half cut thru , standing on a root ball that had set back down in its hole. Given the diameter of that one, I couldn't even reach the top of the log to make the necessary cuts, without setting up a platform next to the tree. Classic beginner's mistake, don't do it!

 

[Rangerbait]

I cut every blow-down basically the same way, from 12" diameter to 50" diameter. Cut off the top, which I leave in the woods, and then start working the trunk from top down to root ball in 8' sections (16' sections, if it's under 24" diameter). I've never had one stand back up until I get to the final cut at the root ball, but I'm usually cutting stuff that's been down over a year.

If you start at the root ball, as some have been inclined to do, you can end up with one heck of a scary mess. I did that once, with a 44" diameter tree on a root ball that must have been 10 - 12 feet diameter, and was left with a 60 foot long log sprung hard under its own weight about four feet up off the ground while half cut thru at a root ball that had set back down in its hole. Don't do that.

Wow, don't listen to me then! Haha...that sounds like a long day.

 

[Ashful]

Wow, don't listen to me then! Haha...that sounds like a long day.

I didn't see that you had posted to the contrary, and on a tree this small, it's not so critical. That was a very large tree, which really complicated my next several moves. Re-read my post, I edited to make it clear(er).

It was one of those days I knew what I had to do to fix the mess I had made, but didn't want to do it!

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the advice. After clearing a path and clearing some dangling hazards above, I decided to start at the top. I first cut this 6" dbh tree into 8' sections and floated to my friend to start bucking. I found no opposite branching. It had long thin conical buds. Some photos are attached. It split a little stringy. Felt slightly heavier than the ash but they are also about 60% filled with water

I had tons of trouble on the first ash cut. There was some type of diagonal force that slowly shifted direction as it moved. There was the bouyant force and several hidden stumps. First I started from the top and 1/2 through it pinched straight up. I pounded in a wedge and freed it up. Then I cut another 1/4 undercut and it got REALLY stuck. It pinched sideways for some reason. I spent over an hour getting it free. No access for wedges; the end of the tree was about 1/2 submerged. I ended up making a 2" wide cut just above it and managed to free up the husky. Then I finally got back to the main cut and while drooping down it managed to pinch AGAIN! It found a submerged stump 1" above the water. I cut the little stump to free it up and managed 6 rounds for the day, plus about a dozen rounds of the other ? wood.

It's now left suspended by a branch and the root. Was worried to make another cut. What to do next? I could try for an undercut but it won't prevent a lateral pinch.

After mucking back and forth it loosened up to thigh deep. I had waders but my friend only had boots and calf high wader socks. It was about 200' uphill over logs in the mud. Tiring but it looks to be decent wood. About the best I have access to at the moment....

Thanks.

 

[Tar12]

Your friend must really like you...

 

[Rangerbait]

It was about 200' uphill over logs in the mud. Tiring but it looks to be decent wood. About the best I have access to at the moment....

Thanks.

You carried the rounds out that distance? You're a freaking animal.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

You carried the rounds out that distance? You're a freaking animal.

Well... rolled. Four trips with a gorilla cart. I'll definitely have to divide up a lot of wood with the friend.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Here's what is left. I think I got about 1/4 of the tree including cutting off some bent pieces and the last branch. It's a little hard to see but there is a crushed branch on the left side supporting the end.

 

[firefighterjake]

This thread has made me realize how fortunate I have been to obtain wood in the way I do . . . I'm not sure I would still burn wood if I had to go through all of the above trials and tribulations.

 

[Tar12]

This thread has made me realize how fortunate I have been to obtain wood in the way I do . . . I'm not sure I would still burn wood if I had to go through all of the above trials and tribulations.

He is way tougher than I am...No way I would fight the mud and water.

 

[Rangerbait]

He is way tougher than I am...No way I would fight the mud and water.

Same...I have second thoughts about a tree if I have to walk more than about 50' from my truck [emoji1]

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Otherwise I'd be sitting around twiddling my thumbs on craigslist. I can't let more good wood rot away in my backyard!

Does the smaller stuff look like Sweet Gum to you guys? It seems to match the other signs. Average btu's anyway.