A couple minutes later the guys all started pulling on the rope and the tree came down. Fortunately, the tree came down a little to one side of the line of guys as they all scrambled to get away from it. It missed the neighbor's house by a good 30 feet so that was a relief because in my judgment it was a keystone cop type of operation.
A couple of them appeared to have been slightly injured but all were still able to continue, and they descended on the fallen behemoth with a chorus of chainsaws. First they removed most of the branches and then they cut it into firewood sized pieces. With the price of lumber and the number of people with portable sawmills around here this seems like a huge waste, but it is not my tree, so it is none of my business. I am just glad that their operation apparently resulted in no serious injuries or damage to a house.
I have cut down dozens of large trees in the last few years, most very close to structures. Some had to be sectioned down from the top. I climbed to a much higher spot to place lines on all that did not need to be topped and sectioned down. I used pulleys for a change of direction and mechanical advantage, on those lines. I have a little electric powered winch on my garden tractor with a wireless remote, but I didn't want it damaged thus the change of direction on the lines.
I’ve learned a lot from watching this guy’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLIEYvHMS8U&t=1926s
8. There is nothing unmanly about dropping the chainsaw and running away.
Or extracting information from a flunky working for a competing organization.
Rule #1 when hiring a tree surgeon.....verify they are bonded and insured.
Oh this ought to be good.
Waiting for all the experts commenting.
Just finished a USFS Sawyer class. My sense of humor is really waning on this stuff. It’s amazing what a knowledgeable person who thinks things through and takes their time can safely do.
My number one rule on chainsaw safety is not to put gas in it. I’ve used and misued tools that would seem much more dangerous but I won’t touch one.
I spent 16 years doing ‘maintenance’ work on the Appalachian Trail. The sawyers have to be “certified” every 2 years I think. Ours were particularly cautious ... downed trees “under pressure” are exceedingly dangerous. To add to the risk/danger, we were often miles from the nearest trailhead & rarely had cell service. We carried significant first aid kits. I looked it up some years ago & the average chainsaw accident injury was 110 stitches. There were some ‘close’ calls, but mostly because people along to move debris weren’t paying attention and staying far enough away.
Here at home, we cut down some damaged limbs (large ones) a couple of weeks ago - used pole saws. Tricky - had two large limbs that twisted as they came down & if not paying attention & moving in a hurry, it would have been easy to get “swacked”. The experience on the trail is invaluable as far as being aware of safety precautions - accidents can still happen, but so far so good.
"With the price of lumber and the number of people with portable sawmills around here this seems like a huge waste"
My neighbor cut down a 100’ x 30” pine last weekend and it went 90 degrees off from where he was wanting it to fall. It went through the power lines and into my yard, starting a small fire. Luckily no one was hurt or killed and no structures were damaged. The replacement of the power pole and transformer, as well as communications lines is probably going to be expensive. Felling trees that large is not something to be approached lightly.
One did the cut while one watched the tree, and we already determined our escape path planned.
Fingers toes, legs, heads kids and so on.
What you saw was the typical landscape company tree removal, except for the idiots - the chunks usually end up in a brush pile and is later ground to mulch - if the company has such a market - else to the landfill with it.
For amateurs, buy leg chaps and hard hats with protective face gear, along with steel mesh gloves and mesh vests.
May not be much to cut, but it only takes one ‘kick back’ to send the chain off the rail and into some part of the operator, or even the whole rail with the saw still running as it takes off most of you leg or arm or even the careless worker or kid helping you ; never ever let anyone within 6 feet of you while you are cutting and then only behind you.
Right out of high school, I got a job with a friend’s family construction business building 6x6 pressure treated deadman retaining walls throughout a group of subdivisions with varying terrain. With almost no prior chainsaw experience, I was given a 5 minute intro to a Homelite XL and a 1 day apprenticeship in wall building before being sent off on my own. Did it for 2 years and never received a saw injury. Not by skill or safety, but sheer luck. All that gear mentioned in the article, well...I had the boots. Much different view now.
Never look up why chainsaws were invented. Yeow.
