Kevin, Chet, I need your advice again

[OneWithWood]

I have another small situation that I need to do something about.  This aspen was blown down in a storm and is now hung in another tree.  I have taken the following pics to give you some idea fo the situation.  Please advise me as to how you would approach this thing.

 

I thought I took a pic looking down slope but I gues I didn't.  There is no room to position the crawler below the root ball as the ground falls off rapidly. 
I do have a large block to redirect the angle of pull.  I have a throw line, a 5000 pound static line, and a good climbing rope but I am no climber.

My first thought was to cut a locking cut into the stem near the root ball.  This cut would be comprised of three separate cuts, one down, one up directly under the first but not connecting and a plunge cut closer to the ball severing the fibers.  Then winching the stem to the side and releasing the fork from the tree it is hung in.  I am wondering if I can make the locking cut without pinching the bar duting the plunge.

What would you suggest?

Tanks.

[Kevin]

There will be a bunch of end bind on that and probably some top bind which means you will want to release it from the bottom.
At the stump,I would notch the top, cut on both sides of the notch and release it from the bottom.
Watch for any side stress but it shouldn't be that great.
You'll end up with a little square of wood in the center of the tree which will eventually release as you cut up from the bottom.
Watch the bar doesn't get pinched, you might have to ream the cut just a little.

[OneWithWood]

Once I do that the stem will drop straight down and I can winch it to one side or the other to get it to drop to the ground?

[Chet]

As a safety precaution I would tie the butt off so it doesn't try to chase you down when released. A large chain hooked to the butt and tied off at a right angle to another tree or yer dozer might be a wise idea. 

[Chet]

More often than not, with something like that, the stump will tip back when released and the tree will slide back over the top.

[OneWithWood]

Hi, Chet!  Good to hear that ole' yooper voice again 

I could attach the winch cable from the crawler to the stem before I commence to releasing it.  I most definately will have a clear escape path and my dancing shoes on 

[beenthere]

OWW
When you get the winch attached to the tree stem with crawler off to one side, maybe pulling would roll the root ball out and that alone would release the tree....

and maybe not, if the roots are still tight in the soil. 
I was thinking of a parbuckle rigging, with the cable looped over the stem/roots and back to the drawbar. 

Otherwise, what Chet and Kevin said sure sounds like a plan too. Play safe. 

[Quebecnewf]

Check out my post on" how not to fell a tree" to see "how not to do it"

Quebecnewf

[Jeff]

If OWW's tree takes flight like yours did, I'd never go back in the woods.

[Chet]

Yup.........tie er down At yer age yer dancin' might not be fast enough ta git clear.    

[OneWithWood]

Ha-rumph!!

I am not any older than you . . . for another day anyway!

[Sprucegum]

Would any of you consider getting up to that fork and cutting one branch off so the tree can maybe fall to the ground on its own? I'm thinking you could stand in the crawler bucket, if it has a bucket.

[Chet]

I've done many that had to be done a piece at a time in order to protect something below. But in this case it looks to be totally unnecessary.

[OneWithWood]

I'm more sane than Kevin or Chet.  I likes to keep my feet firmly on the ground

[Kevin]

will drop straight down

Depends on the amount of end bind.
It may just drop off or come straight back agaist the butt in which case you might have to work it a bit after the final cut is made.
If there's a lot of overhang past the tree it's lodged in you may find that there's bottom bind and not top bind so becareful not to get the bar stuck in the cut.
On your final cut stand back a bit, reach out and cut with the end of the bar.

[OneWithWood]

Would there be any benefit to angling the cuts so there is a ramp for the stem to travel up over the stump?

[Jeff]

Isnt that something you could do after the release cut?

[Kevin]

I'd cut it first to see what it wants to do.

[Kevin]

Looking at this picture you may be dealing with bottom bind, compression on the bottom and tension on top.


Have a good look at it when you're there.

[Gary_C]

The last big job I finished, there were a lot of large blowdown trees that I had to deal with. The ones I tried to cut using the chainsaw never went very well because of the stresses those trunks were under and it was very difficult to read which direction the force was from. I got my bar pinched many times even from shallow cuts.

What I found was the best approach was to cut from the top down towards the stump. The problem for you in this case is you do not have a harvester to reach up and cut that top off. So I would suggest you hook a chain around that base near the stump and use the crawler to pull the roots free and hopefully it will then fall down so you can cut from the top down.

If that does not work, then try very shallow cuts and have an extra saw ready to free the first one. Just don't get all of them stuck like I did once.