What would you do with this tree?

[edge-of-the-woods]

This guy went down last year in a storm. I'm tempted to go after it, but the fact that it's caught in that other fella has me thinking twice. Should I try something fancy,or am I too much of a newbie to attempt this?

There's about 6' of trunk between the cracked stump and the Y in the other tree.

 

[ElmBurner]

Seems like the standard advice is to put your notch 90 degrees to the broken top and pull it over sideways with a rope/come-along/truck/whatever.

Once it is down, the danger is (mostly) gone.

 

[NateB]

This guy went down last year in a storm. I'm tempted to go after it, but the fact that it's caught in that other fella has me thinking twice. Should I try something fancy,or am I too much of a newbie to attempt this?

There's about 6' of trunk between the cracked stump and the Y in the other tree.

View attachment 166601

If you don't feel comfortable doing it don't do it. Find someone with some experience to help you through it. It is a great chance to learn. If it were me I would start on the end that is on the ground. You will most likely brake one of those small trees in the V. If the stump and the tree are not connected, I would cut the stump off first.

 

[TedyOH]

Looking closer it doesn't look like the stump and trunk are connected? Start as high as you can on the trunk and work to the top if that's the case. If it still connected I'd work from the top of the tree to the trunk, one cut past the V then fell it.

 

[barmstrong2]

Looking at the pic... It looks like the fallen tree is barely resting atop the trunk, pushing the trunk left. I would probably go for the trunk first, cutting the notch on the left and the back cut, very carefully, on the right, at 90 degrees from the fall. Watch for any movement in any of it. When the trunk goes, the tree will probably come down quickly to the right. Or, I might take the tree on the left side of the V first, as the fallen tree could be loaded between the two. I would absolutely have a clear escape 180 degrees out from the fall.

As others have said, if you're not comfortable with your ability, get some help with it.

 

[Hasufel]

I took down a tree almost exactly like this last weekend, with the crack about 10 feet up. I was a little worried about standing too close because I couldn't really tell how the thing would fall so instead of a chainsaw I used a manual pruning saw (the kind that comes on a long pole). I was able to stand back and hack through the bend pretty easily. It was a bit more effort than a chainsaw but in my case it took only a few minutes to detach the broken trunk, and I felt much better keeping my distance.

 

[tiswood]

Start at the point in the ground. Cut or pull it off if you have a machine to do so. If not cut chunks back until it's down or cut up . Then drop the stump. If you cut it back in chunks at some point it will fall. That's what you have to watch for.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Start at the top, or what used to be the top. Buck it back towards the Y until you have gone as far as you can. Now you have harvested a bunch of wood with very little danger, and you have greatly reduced the weight of the tree. If you don't feel comfortable with the next step, stop here. You got some wood, and you are still intact.

Ready for the next piece?

Now, put a stout rope on the log just after the break, next to the stump. You want the rope at about 90 degrees angle to the log. If you have a come-along or rope puller, use it to put some tension on the rope. Secure it to a handy tree, close to the ground.

Now notch the stump at 90 degrees to the log, in the direction of the rope. Do your back cut, then pull it over.

 

[TedyOH]

I really don't understand, if the main part of the tree trunk is not connected to the stump, it is obviously being held in place by the two trees making a "V" - start cutting as high as you can and work to the V, this would be a dream blow over for me, no sore back!

 

[Fred Wright]

I've cleaned up a few trees in this situation. Take your time and don't work beneath or above anything. These guys can be unpredictable.

Agreed, start cutting where it's on the ground. Cut upward partially at first to avoid getting your saw in a bind. Finish with a downward cut. Should be straightforward to the fork or Y tree. Once you get to the Y, you may wish to pull the remaining trunk down with a tractor or comealong.

 

[Jags]

this would be a dream blow over for me, no sore back!

There is nothing dreamy about the unpredictability of this tree. Until the main trunk is disconnected from the stump there is a real possibility that one side or the other of the V tree could peel right off. Maybe not and you are left with a nice elevated tree to work up, but I wouldn't take that chance in the beginning.

Start at the tip top - work your way back knowing that the tree is gonna try to move on you as you take weight off. If there is any possibility to get some mechanical force on the break point, I would be looking to yank that trunk from the stump. That is how I worked up this big boy:

 

[firefighterjake]

^^^ What Jags said . . . work from the top and move towards the base . . . being aware that there may be considerable weight on the tree so work slowly and methodically so you don't pinch your bar.

 

[bag of hammers]

From the pic it looks like there's not a lot holding it together at the break. I'd start at the top, as mentioned expect it to want to move on you, could be especially interesting if the hinge lets go while you're working. I'd really wanna pull that down if possible, in my case I'd probably try a comealong since I have no toys. I have no issue taking my time slowly picking around any semblance of widow maker. Gotta respect gravity, even 6 feet up. Also not afraid to walk away and get some help if need be.

 

[Wood Duck]

If the stump and fallen trunk are still attached, I'd do what BlueRidgeMark says. If not, start on the end that is held up in the air. Either way this doesn't look too bad from my living room, a long way away from the situation, based on one small photo from one angle. If I were there I'd take a good long look and decide if I feel comfortable before I cut.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Dang! That's a lot of good advice! I better get a better pic of how the trunk is compared to the stump.

 

[TedyOH]

I kinda blew it up a bit, I see nothing holding the two pieces together, as Duck said, looks pretty safe to me from the picture if in fact it's not connected.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

If the stump and fallen trunk are still attached, I'd do what BlueRidgeMark says. If not, start on the end that is held up in the air. Either way this doesn't look too bad from my living room, a long way away from the situation, based on one small photo from one angle. If I were there I'd take a good long look and decide if I feel comfortable before I cut.

Agreed. My advice was based on the assumption that it's still attached. Either way, I don't think this is a big deal. Just watch the forces involved. Be aware of which way that wood wants to go, and take it slow.

 

[xman23]

All good advice from the brothers. I'd remove weight from the top (on the ground) down. I think the stump is still attached. So next I would use a tugit to pull the bottom off the stump. Once the bottom of tree is on the ground, you can back cut 6 ft pieces working your way to the V trees. Don't be tempted to get on a step ladder and saw this thing in the air. Be careful.