Sketchy tree cutting

[osage outlaw]

For the last two weeks we have been chipping away at this huge dead tree leaning over my Dad's garage.  My niece is moving into the apartment above it later this year so he wanted to get the tree down before it fell and destroyed the roof.  This afternoon we decided to try and get most of it down.  My Dad came up with some redneck ladders and steps set up.  We had no choice but to drop a few limbs on the roof.  We put some moving blankets, a truck bed liner and anything else we could find up there to try to protect it but we still had three limbs poke through it.  The right fork of the tree we brought down in one big piece.  We cut it half way and then had 5 people pulling on the rope to get it to bust off.  We all went flying backwards and I ended up right in the middle of the fire pit    The only thing left is the main trunk.  Its coming down in pieces Thursday if it doesn't rain.  We all thought it turned out pretty good.  The roof needs a few patches and we have some sore muscles, rope burns, and scrapes.  It could have been a lot worse.

[bubby]

Dang Clint i guess you got a set, must of been a little pucker factor doing that

[osage outlaw]

That's my Dad in the tree Bubby.  He's nimble for an old feller.

[Eric Krewson]

Did you have room to drop the whole tree in a direction away from the house?

I cut 10 trees next to my house, most were leaning toward my house. A few log chains, a 50 ft heavy cable and a come-along allowed me to drop them in any direction I wanted them to go.

[IdahoMatt]

Man Clint that is getting it done.  Love the red neck ingenuity .  Nice work
 

[osage outlaw]

Not really Eric.  The  entire tree was leaning straight towards the building.  It was a lot bigger than the other trees around it.  There were some smaller hackberry trees next to it but they bend so much they wouldn't have held it.  I wish there was an easier way to do it but there just wasn't. 

[osage outlaw]

Thanks Matt

[lebhuntfish]

Man buddy that looked like a rough one. I almost dropped a giant Walnut on my grandpa's house one time when the wind suddenly changed direction. It was so big my 20in bar wouldn't cut through it even when we rolled it over. Ended up using an old 2 man saw to cut through the last 16 inches or so. By the way the wind finally cooperated and all was well. Except for about 40 foot of barbed wire. Patrick

[stickbender]

     You can keep cutting sections of the those limbs off, and then cut a very narrow wedge in the side that is leaning towards the house, and start pounding in steel wedges, till it is straight.  You can run a cable from the top limb to another tree at the base.  Maybe a couple of cables, to secure it.  Then pound in more steel wedges,  till it starts to lean in the opposite direction, and cut a wedge cut on the back side of the first wedge cut, but a little below it. I had a logger friend of mine in Montana, take down a huge twin red fir, that was leaning way over towards my shop.  It was only about twenty feet or so from my shop.  It would have went through it like hot knife through butter.  Anyway, they just cut a slice on the leaning side, and pounded in a couple of wedges, and then as it straightened up, they cut a wedge cut on the opposite side, where I wanted it to fall, and then they pounded in some more wedges, and over it went, exactly where I wanted it.  It was leaning pretty bad.  It had a fork that divided the trunks up, about five feet up.  the diameter was about 2 feet or more, and was about 60-70 feet high.  I was worried about a good wind sending it over, and through my shop, so I asked him if he could show me how to do it, and he came over with his Son n Law, and they just went to it.  Well I guess they showed me how!   He has done a lot trees that were leaning pretty badly.  He said a couple really had him sweating, as to weather or not he was going to be able get it straightened up enough to fall where he wanted it, and not through the people's house!  Good luck with that.  It looks like it has some weight also.  Be careful, those trees, can surprise you, and kick out and cause some nasty damage.  I almost got clocked, when I cut down a tree for fire wood, and it fell perfectly, but it landed on some of the neighboring trees, and they sprung it back at me, and it kicked out from the cut, and tried to get me.  Always have a clear path to move out of the way.  Make sure there are no limbs or other debris, lying around, where you are working.  When you need to move, you need to move fast!   Good luck.
                                    Wayne