Question
I have been felling some diseased Douglas fir trees (100'+) the past few weeks. I am interested in learning about felling a tree with a diameter of about 5' at a point 10' above the ground. We want to leave the lower 10' of the tree upright and attached to the stump so that I can carve a bear out of it. I have the climbers, saddle, and flip rope to make the climb and a Sthil MS 660 (36" bar) to make the cut. Any caveats that I should know about? Is this sort of thing ever done or is it foolish?
Forum Responses
(Forestry Forum)
From contributor D:
I'm not an expert at tree felling, but I've felled a few that I thought were big. Everything I've ever read says to never climb a ladder or such to fell an entire tree.
I've seen guys top down entire trees, though, using a rope rig, but they do it in small pieces. The only way I could make sense of doing what you are doing is if you top down the entire tree, and only take the trunk a manageable piece at a time, like 104s or even smaller if the wood is junk. Even this sounds extremely risky to me, but it sounds safer than climbing and felling the whole tree which might kill you by heart attack before the tree hits you or cuts your rig as it falls away with your leg torn off your torso.
How about topdown cutting with a cherry picker? They make some of them pretty long and you'd probably be able to get a good idea about the best position for the box before the cut. It doesn't sound like much fun, but topdown with a picker sounds a lot safer than the rope bit and anytime I'd ever use any saw with a 3' bar would be from a stationary position, too. The danger with a cherry picker is clear, too. If the log doesn't go as planned, it could hit the picker and down you'd go. I guess in that consideration, you might want to tie off the picker to the rest of the tree.
Don't make your decision on my advice, as I'm not qualified to answer beyond a general opinion. For that damn bear idea, I'd never for an instant consider climbing up 10 feet and felling the whole tree with a 36" bar. If it was a good practice, someone would have written about the right way to do it, but I've never seen anything in writing on it, so my hunch is most guys would think it insane.
For all the work involved, compared to a straight drop, maybe it'd be better to take it down and then re-erect the ten foot section using concrete or something in the bottom and a crane.
Make sure you only allow a one man spotting crew at the site with you and make sure you have ordained rules about that person's role and where they must stay on the site. Those are going to be some pretty big chunks coming down a long way. If you are felling in a residential area, it would be wise to ask for a neighborhood police officer to keep onlookers out of harm's way as well. I always seem to attract a crowd when I'm doing dangerous stuff and it is really unnerving when people say, don't worry, I'm a long way away, when they are too close.
Just a little fun falling log physics. The cants that fall from the highest parts of the tree will be going over 55 mph when they hit the ground.
Now, the not fun part… Anyone that is hit by even a small piece of this tree will die. The human body cannot withstand 10 or 100 pound projectiles hurled at it with that much velocity. Ironically, when the pieces are falling, the safest place to be is in the tree.
Good luck. That is a bigger tree than I've ever taken down.
Having felled large timber for 15 years in the Pacific NW, I can say I would much rather stand on a springboard I can get off of than be tied into a stump with a climbing rope. It also sounds like a lot of work to start from the top and work down when your only goal is a 10' high stump.
You could make all the cuts in the tree and leave a strap in the back to cut last or fall against the lean so the last thing you did was pound the wedges or pump the jack.
I have to tell you that it's not a walk in the park and don't even approach the job if you are not used to climbing, heights, big saws and most important, tree felling.
If you are going to do it, by all means take the branches off, but leave the ones which are pointing the direction of the fall just for assistance. If you've never climbed before with a saw, don't make this job your first. It could also be your last.
If you're going to do it anyway, use a cherry picker. At least you have the chance to get yourself in the best position to cut and also get away if things go wrong. I would not recommend anyone to use a 066 up higher than 10' or so. Topping with an 066 is just mad. Get a smaller saw, otherwise your arms will be like jelly when it comes time for the really important cut a the bottom (10').
Make sure you have a good, deep birdsmouth cut - at least half the tree, and the cuts should meet exactly. The felling cut should slope downwards to end with a good size of hinge about 4" thick and about 2" above the bottom birdsmouth cut. Be sure to cut the centre out of the tree from the front of the birdsmouth before you start the felling cut.
Personally I would not take this tree down in sections. Just top and then do the major fell.
