Thread: The cut needed to fell this?

You are on the right track but you need to make a good assessment of the crown and lean to ensure the red area is the natural direction for it to fall. (Normally the hollowed out section would be the belly cut but not in this case from your diagram).
I would proceed as you have described. Leave enough holding wood for control and also to avoid the weight of the tree slumping down and squashing the stump. Avoid using a wedge if there is a chance dead limbs or crown may fall.
There are a large number of factors that can only be assessed by you on site so take care.

Note: This is advanced tree felling and should only be attempted by a competant person.

regards
Stopper

I agree with Stopper. Dead trees are notorious for misbehaving

Felling an old dead tree is more difficult than a sound tree. We fell by forming a hinge and that controls the rate of fall, but in this instance the "hinge" is hardly there. It will not have the same degree of strength. Take care and make a rigorous assessment of the tree. I'd definitely have somebody on hand to assist.

If you canot decide reliably the way it will fall, you may have to consider reducing some of the canopy. This is another difficult operation to perform.

Regards
Paul

RSG
This really comes down to a measure of expertise and experience. A sense of scale would have been handy. Does the tree lean in any direction? If it does lean towards the red “fall” area so much the better.


Without seeing the tree it is impossible to give advice re: felling.


If you are in anyway hesitant, then leave it alone – seek an experienced tree-feller. If that is not possible – then do as we do in the NSW RFS; burn it down. You may lose a little firewood, but live to enjoy the warmth.


Regards


Brosh

Thanks guys.

It does lean toward the red area and while there are other trees around it, they're only small so it really shouldn't get hung up in them and is otherwise has a pretty clean drop zone.

It's been a while since I've checked it out and I should be heading up that way tomorrow to get a decent look. If I'm particularly concerned I'll take a couple of pics and see if I can get some measurements out of it.

Use the big yellow wedge

The guys that have posted advice are spot on. They don't call these types of trees 'widow makers' for nothing. The simple vibration of the saw doing the first cut can bring old rotten limbs down, so be very careful. If your not sure, don't touch it. To put it bluntly, there is no use being a hero and ending up with a tree on top you! Cheers.

Originally Posted by tassietimbers

there is no use being a hero and ending up with a tree on top you!

...again


I haven't gone out yet due to the weather. Hopefully tomorrow.

At the least dont wear your red shirt. Wear gold or blue you may come home injured but you'll come home

Well it seems that I got my wires crossed with the tree attached and a smaller but similarly hollow 2m trunk I put down this morning. It's a lot more closed in than I remembered but it's still ok to wipe out some of the surrounding trees when it falls although I'm not sure about actively clearing too much of the area. It's my neighbours property and I'm doing this as a favour but I suppose if it's necessary I should be able to talk him into it.

I'm surprised this thing hasn't already fallen itself as I'd guestimate only about 5" of thickness at the back of the hollow (which appears to go all the way up). I feel that it already has good weight and lean in the direction I need it to go and has no canopy to speak of save for just a few thick (killer) branches higher up.

I think I'd have to clean up a little around the back of base so I'm not reaching in over it and make myself a clean getaway path. I've also read about wrapping the trunk well above the cut with something like a couple of ratchet straps to contain it if it splits which I think is a pretty good idea, particularly for this one.

I'm aware of the risks, but still pretty confident that I can do it if I take it nice and easy. Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm reading it entirely wrong so I'm still open for suggestions from the more experienced here.


fubar: I might just do that...and put a few extra rank pips on my collar just incase

Sorry mate you cant remove it its a habitat tree. suggest growing weeds around it and stacking branches and green waste around it till the next bush fire. And do some thinning to promote growth for future mill logs PLEASE. Thanks

Forgive me, but I don't follow.

There's zero life in the tree itself besides the moss in the base, within private residential property, burnt out up the guts from the last bushfire 12-15 years ago, a fire/fuel threat espscially given it's dryness, as well as (I imagine) a physical threat if left alone for too much longer (years).

As for what creatures big and small that could be living in it, I honestly don't know. There's no foliage or shelter other than the hollow trunk, but that's not to say that it's completely vacant.

I'm totally happy to oblige by whatever laws there are but I need to understand them first so I can at least explain to the owner why I can't do it.

From the look of your photos trying to put a scarf in the front may be the most dangerous, as the tree may give way as your cutting in. If the natural lean is good enough, you could cut a small slice, maybe a foot long in the back on the left hand side of your diagram, then come around in the clear and cut from the back on the right hand side, essentially doing the back cuts without a scarf. The trees own weight then just cracks the front portion of the rotten stump out as it falls under its own lean.
Obviously this method only applys to a select few trees, and is probably not recognised as a proper falling method, but it works and can be done safely, keeping you clear of the fall zone if the tree crumbles. But hey, it is only a suggestion from what I can see in the photo's and some others may not agree but again, if you are not sure, leave it alone. Cheers

I agree with TassieT and his approach, but watch out for the following when only doing cuts from behind.



If the tree starts to fall and doesn't break all the way thru the hinge, the trunk can head backwards in the direction of the blue arrow.
If you believe it is too dangerous to put a scarf in the direction of the fall (and it does indeed look too dangerous to do that) then even just placing a 50 mm deep nick in the front just below the level of the hinge (red arrow) will help.

To control the direction of the fall I would only make about 4" cuts on one side and then 4" on the other and repeat that sequence until it starts to fall.

BobL is right. Just nicking the front well help the front of the tree fail where you want it to. His diagram is also correct and "slabbing up" as it is sometimes called can catch any faller out and can happen very quickly, so make sure you are doing the cuts standing beside the tree, not behind it and that you have clear exit paths to from each side of the tree as well. If you are nibbling at boths sides alternatively, the tree may let go when you are on either side. "Slabbing up" can happen in when there is excessive lean, to much hinge wood, poor wood strength, etc hence there are other safer cuts to do in those situations, such as a back cut release.
Cheers