Widowmaker - the Mousetrap

[qwee]

The cutting scene - an 18 foot high rootball, 90 degrees to the ground, with 2 large trees (cuttoffs, 20' & 30' long, 30" & 35" bases) in the rootball. The 30' tree is on the ground at 6 o'clock position, and the 20' tree is up high at 1:30 (clock analogy) dangling in the air. I best not cut the bottom tree first or the top tree may come down on me with the rootball- a mousetrap. But if I stand on the bottom tree and cut the top tree the rootball may fall back to the earth with me on it. I'm not sure of the weight distribution. I think the bottom tree will hold the rootball if the top tree is cut but I'm unsure. What to do?

My first thought is to stand on the lower tree and cut about 15 feet of the 20 feet off of the top dangling tree. But I'm caught there on the tree if something happens. If I survive this top cut, I could then cut the bottom tree - the rootball will probably flop to the ground away from me. This is a dangerous situation - a mousetrap. Those trees are big and wet with enough weight to do some real damage. Any thoughts?

 

[Slimdusty]

Walk away from it, not worth the risk. Or cables/equipment and pull from a safe distance

 

[qwee]

The company has some heavy equipment, a big loader. I'm not sure how a loader helps me. We could rope/strap onto the top tree to the loader, then cut the bottom tree, and then back the loader off to see what happens. That is, where does the rootball fall? But the strapped tree hooked to the loader might decide to fall in the opposite direction of the pull. Such a mess.

 

[ScottLewis]

Pay up your life insurance.

 

[begreen]

One of the original moderators here had a wonky tree go south on him. He did most things right, but in the blink of an eye it went south and he became paralyzed from the waist down. Just walk away and let nature have this one.

 

[ScottLewis]

No kidding? One of our original moderators is a paraplegic due to a logging accident. How terribly sad.

 

[begreen]

Yes, fluke accident ended up tragically.

Where is Gooserider?

I am Gooserider's long-time girlfriend. He has had an accident involving a piece of tree falling on him. It has broken his leg just below the knee and broken some ribs, which tore his aorta and may have slightly punctured a lung. So, he is in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Lahey Clinic...

www.hearth.com

 

[qwee]

Poor guy. I once cut a large tree that had a 60% second top. When the tree fell, the 2nd top hit another tree and was redirected 90 degrees, it then hit another tree and changed course another 90 degrees - in a flash, it was headed right back at me. The top of the tree landed at my feet before I could even move. Yes, anything can happen.

These trees are at a warehouse where they cleared the land last year - so piled up in a field. The original person should have cut those trees lower. I better go talk to the owner before someone gets smashed by a tree. Maybe once he sees the potential danger (and potential liability) he will have the tree company drop the trees. Then they could safely be cut up.

 

[Toasty-Yote]

Newbie question here but what could happen if you just started taking off 16" lengths from the top of each? Seems that worst that would happen is that the trees slowly stand back up as the root ball settles back. I am not doubting that this is a bad situation that you should walk away from, I just want the lesson in how to read that kind of situation.

 

[bigealta]

Wow... Just read the 20 page thread about Gooserider. Such a bummer. Has anyone heard from him lately? Looks like he has not posted in over 10 years?

 

[ScottLewis]

Tore his aorta and punctured a lung. The aorta is the biggest artery in the body. Most patients with a torn aorta go to the morgue. A punctured lung can kill you but those are routinely treated in the ER>

 

[qwee]

Toasty-Yote, to chunk the top log I have to stand on the lower log. So, as I lighten the weight, the big root ball may fall down with me standing on the lower log. It won't be a gentle fall - it will be violent and long (15'). This is like a catapult. I've been working up the courage to give it a go. If I cut the lower log first, the root ball may fall forward. The top trunk is angled to fall right on top of me - ie the mouse trap. I have to remove the top trunk first. How brave do I want to be?

Well, I gave it a go today. I stood on the lower log and 'chunked' away at the top log. Chunk, chunk, chunk - no movement. It worked the root ball didn't move. I had trouble with the last big chunk - it has a couple of trunks joined together. My 20" bar was short for the job. What to do?

I backed my trailer up and stood on it to cut the lower side of the wood chunk. I cut away but it still wouldn't fall off. I moved the trailer out of the way and got back on top to make another cut. The big chunk loosened up. I rocked it back and forth and it came loose and fell. I lost my balance and ran down the trunk (I almost fell). The root ball didn't budge.

With that top trunk danger removed, I moved on to cutting the lower trunk. No way I can buck up the first 6' - it is too big. I started bucking the bottom trunk where it wasn't too big. I cut through the first round and the big root ball stayed in place. I guess the weight of the lower 6' trunk and the root ball angle is keeping it in place. I will return to the work site tomorrow to load the rounds and do a little more cutting. Hopefully, the rounds will still be there. I'll take a couple of pictures.

 

[3darcher2]

As an amateur scrounger who rarely cuts anything off the ground, I read this thread a few weeks ago but could not totally envision it.

Fast forward to this past weekend and I have a 10"black cherry with double trunks that came down in a windstorm last year that for some reason I quit cutting at a certain point, but it looked none the worse for wear. There was an as described root ball of a similarly sized silver maple I had already bucked last year next to it as well, and it appeared to just be resting next to the end of the log I wanted to continue to cut at about chest height. So I look around and decide I'll just take about 3" off this log end and see how it looks inside. As I got close to finishing the cut I stepped to the right another step as I was cutting the left end of the log.

In this thread, you know where this is going. The mousetrap closed. Fortunately, I was clear of it by a few feet but I instantly understood this predicament. I had reviewed the area and while i had looked at the trap, I really didn't think that was coming back shut. I'm glad I have stalked this forum enough to take a second look around at everything around me and see some danger even when it wasn't maybe readily apparent. Most of the dirt had washed off the roots and it wasn't crazy heavy or gigantic but just the same I didn't want to fight my way out of it. 5 years ago, I might have been down there for a while!

Just thought I would post to maybe help any other beginners and remind them to really double and triple check all the potential hazards before making that cut.

 

[CatfishHunter]

As an experienced yet still "amateur" woodsman, I would never stand on a tree to cut another. You're too close to the action and you don't have a quick escape path because you have to jump down.

I would take a come along / winch and attach it to a stout tree nearby, and then use mechanical advantage to pull down the stuck tree. If needed, some well placed partial cuts will allow the tree to pivot or snap once you use the come along / winch.

I'm glad to hear that you are still safe and posting!

 

[coal and wood man]

I have gotten to the point in life where I do not drop trees anymore. I have logs delivered and even though is costs a few dollars I don't have to work as hard doing something that I have done many times by myself that could have gone wrong. Not that logs are without risk but they will not come down on my head and I have a little more control over the jobsite.

 

[Rearscreen]

Yeah our experienced logger years ago got clobbered, spent months in the hospital and was on painkillers for years and finally had to
endure the withdrawal period. I hate messing with standing trees, even felled ones under unknown tension.