Think this will work to get my wood down??

[Woody Stover]

I talked to this guy a while back about getting a couple of trees down in his yard. A Black Oak fell into a White, busting out the top of the White and hanging up. He got the power company to trim some of the top off the Black so that it wouldn't hit the power lines, which are in the opposite direction of where the tree will be going, but they wouldn't take the trees down. I know a guy who has a small log hauler truck with a winch, and I think it has a boom as well. He might want to make a little money, which the owner would be willing to pay....he's wanted these down for a while. I'd like to help the owner out because I like him....plus, there's a bit of White Oak on the line! Need more o' dat.

Here are my initial thoughts, subject to change of course depending on what you guys see here.
Put a winch cable around the trunk of the White. (Wish Scotty was closer; He could scramble up the trunk of that White just like a monkey....albeit a very large monkey. ) Cut the Black loose from the root ball. Make a face cut on the trunk of the White where I want this mess to go, which is also where the White is leaning. Have the truck man put a little tension on the cable. Make a partial back cut, get out of the way, and let the winch pull 'er down.
The small Red on the left will have to be dropped so the upper limbs of the Black can clear.
(broken image removed)

You can see the lean of the supporting White here. In the pic it looks like the Black is leaning the other way, but not really....
(broken image removed)

 

[paul bunion]

Under no circumstances should you cut at the White Oak with the black leaning on it. I would cut the Black free and then winch it back or to the side till it falls off the White. Keep in mind that cutting the Black off the root ball is dangerous enough in itself. It probably is going to fall but it could easily roll or kick out to the side as it comes free.

 

[swagler85]

+1 I wouldn't be anywhere under that leaner cutting.

Cut off the black and winch it down

 

[Woody Stover]

OK, that makes a lot of sense. I hadn't thought of all the approaches possible with a winch/boom truck. Thanks, paul!
As far as cutting the trunk off the root ball, I was thinking a more vertical cut would be better. I will look at it more but I think it might roll right, as the left branch of the Black is in a fork on the White. You can see some of the fork branch on the White in the second pic. Depends on how the weight of the Black trunk is distributed, I guess....

 

[oldspark]

When I have trees like that I just make a cut in the leaning tree to weaken it and then pull it down with the tractor, the cut assures me it breaks where I want it to.

 

[Woody Stover]

When I have trees like that I just make a cut in the leaning tree to weaken it and then pull it down with the tractor, the cut assures me it breaks where I want it to.

That sounds good, too. I wouldn't even have to mess with the root ball....

 

[TimJ]

yea, what Oldspark says.....................Woody you can still try and work Scotty in on this

 

[clemsonfor]

Do not cut the white like said. Partial but the dead oak or cut off stump and winch it out of the white. You could get killed. Under that. Be dangerous if it was live but being dead puts even more danger in it!

 

[Plow Boy]

I had a similar situation a while back and even put it in my post(dead red oak). Except my expert cutting put the dead oak into another oak tree. I used my tractor and a strap and just pulled it away and off the live tree. Plz don't cut on anything under that man killing leaning tree !!

 

[Woody Stover]

+1 I wouldn't be anywhere under that leaner cutting.Cut off the black and winch it down

You could get killed......being dead puts even more danger in it!

don't cut on anything under that man killing leaning tree !!

Yeah, that thing has been like that for a few years. I think everything is still pretty solid, judging by the stuff that was cut off the top. Nevertheless, I'm getting a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach just thinking about being underneath there. This guy I know with the truck has a mill and no doubt has a lot of experience with this kind of thing. He should have some good input.

Woody you can still try and work Scotty in on this

He might be a thousand miles away but I bet if I were to dangle some Black Locust under his nose....

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can say this should be really easy but no way will I tell how it is done here in the forum. One really needs to know what he is doing lest some bad things happen. Good luck.

 

[Woody Stover]

I can say this should be really easy but no way will I tell how it is done here in the forum. One really needs to know what he is doing lest some bad things happen. Good luck.

Yep, and hard to get a good idea what kind of forces may be in play without standing there, looking at it. I think I could do it alone if my life depended on it. It is pretty stable, the way it's hung in the White, and I see no signs of rot. But since my life doesn't depend on it, no need to take unnecessary risks. I could be hurt or killed, or worse yet, my saw could be damaged!

 

[HDRock]

Cut off the black and winch it down

That's what I would do, Cut off the black ,hook up the Jeep and pull it down

 

[Woody Stover]

That's what I would do, Cut off the black ,hook up the Jeep and pull it down

Try to drag the bottom? That SOB is pushing 30"....it will be digging into the ground like crazy. And the top is really locked into the White Oak, from what I can see....

 

[HDRock]

Try to drag the bottom? That SOB is pushing 30"....it will be digging into the ground like crazy. And the top is really locked into the White Oak, from what I can see....

Not the root ball , Is the trunk 30" ?
Same as what oldspark said,, ( When I have trees like that I just make a cut in the leaning tree to weaken it and then pull it down with the tractor, the cut assures me it breaks where I want it to.)
but I would use my jeep , hell pulled a couple out like that with a car

 

[ansehnlich1]

If one has a tractor.....

First thing I'd try is run a chain around the bottom of that leaner and pull it straight away, see if that root ball will bust loose or not, if it does, I'd drag it til the beast fell.....patch up the lawn and seed it later..

Next approach would be to do a side notch at the base and run a chain around the trunk and yank it, hoping it breaks free at the trunk.

Unless one of those forks up top break off it looks like pulling straight away would be best. PLUS, when upper limbs snap under pressure you can get huge chunks of flying shrapnel

 

[jebatty]

Two years ago a neighbor hired a tree company to take down some dead trees around the house. A friend of the neighbor, being "neighborly," volunteered to help. One tree fell in the "wrong" direction and killed the friend.

Advice: let the tree guy handle it and figure it out, don't help, stay far away. This isn't your problem. Making it yours could be deadly.

 

[clemsonfor]

Man it do sent look 30"s in the pic. If it is I don't think a jeep pickup or small tractor can get nufd traction to pull it with truck digging in. I think u will have to cut it as higher as possible and pull the upper part. Before it is cut through perpendicular to trunk with truck.

 

[oldspark]

It's really not dangerous to carefully cut and weaken the trunk and hook a chain around it and pull it down, long chain or cable and you are far away from the tree, I am a chicken shiit and have no problem doing things like this.

 

[gzecc]

If you have a heavy enough truck/tractor, attach a chain to the butt end (root ball) and pull it down, straight away.

 

[Jags]

If you cut the trunk from the root it will more than likely just drop forward of the root ball. Once that is on the ground strap up the cut end and pull sideways (at a 90 from the stem). If that doesn't bring it out, pull the cut end away from the standing tree in line with the cut tree. The sucker will come out and flop on the ground like a northern pike hitting the bottom of a boat.

Caution is to be used in every (EVERY) step.

 

[oldspark]

I personaly don't like cutting the tree from the root ball, you ever seen the root ball stand up doing that, it will pucker your butt.

 

[Jags]

Me personaly doesn't like cutting the tree from the root ball, you ever seen the root ball stand up doing that, it will pucker your butt.

Yep - on a few occasions. And it is a VERY real possibility for this one. Caution. Caution. Caution and plan your escape route. The positive side to this cut, it that you can be at the end that is quite predictable.

 

[Jags]

True root ball story:
Had a dead tree along the river get tipped over in a wind storm. Large root ball that was very shallow. Neighbor started to make a cut at the stem/root. Decided he didn't like that and started cutting from the tip of the tree back to the root. Made it about half way when the tree decided to stand back up. As it went back to vertical the tree snapped off where the very first partial cut was made and catapulted a 15 ft section of the trunk about 40 feet into the river.

Remember that story and associate it to the stored energy in a root ball that wants to stand back up.

 

[Woody Stover]

Not the root ball , Is the trunk 30"?

Man it dosent look 30"s in the pic.

Yep, about 30" DBH.
I went and looked at it again this morning. Man, those clowns didn't even cut back the top of the Black far enough to clear the power lines if the Black were to fall in the direction it's leaning.

I think the easiest, cleanest way would be to cut the White and leave a fat hinge, then pull it toward the camera (and the open yard area.) You can see there are still leaves on the broken branches of the White. I think it is solid wood. The wedge and back cuts would leave the fat hinge parallel to the Black. With that hinge, and the root ball still in the ground firmly, I think the whole structure would remain stable. Alas, I hear you guys about not getting under the leaner. I'm no expert, I could be wrong, and it's not worth taking a chance.

The problem I see with cutting the Black off the root ball is that the further the wedge and back cuts are up the trunk, the easier it is going to be to fold that trunk in half (pulling it toward the camera in the first pic.) But the closer I am to the root ball, cutting low on the trunk, the more I can shield myself with the root ball. But with the cut that low, I won't have a long section of trunk to lever the root ball, and the harder it will be to fold it in half and break that hinge.

The guy that I want to help me isn't a tree pro; He has a mill and a small log truck, and I think tree pros get him his logs for the most part. Still, I think he has watched them enough that he probably knows quite a bit about how to handle various situations. He may have access to a big tractor but it would be easier to drive his truck over there, since we both live about eight miles from there.

OK, now how would you go about cutting the trunk? Would you make a falling type cut, with a face cut and a back cut, then break it by pulling toward the back cut to close the wedge, as I outlined above? Or should I just cut all the way through, perpendicular to the trunk, using plastic wedges to keep from getting pinched? I've got a 25" bar, so I can't just cut straight down (or up) and through...

I can say this should be really easy but no way will I tell how it is done here in the forum.

C'mon Dennis, spill the beans! I know you would like to see that wood stacked and drying but I can't do that until I get the wood. Don't worry, you can't be held responsible; In the end, it'll be up to me to decide what to do, and weather you are making sense or not.