Next victom, Highly valuable black walnut

[hackberry jake]

A retired co-worker told me if I help him bring this tree down without landing it on his house, then I could have the logs. 

  


 
I sure hope it doesn't have much metal in it being a yard tree, but its worth a shot  8)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I have had logs like that before Jake. If it belongs to me...I can deal with the metal when it come to Walnut.

Now on the other hand.....if you drop it on the house......metal won't matter to you anymore.  :D :D :D

[beenthere]

The worst scenario is that it lands on the house, and you don't get the logs. Go for it.  ;D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

The worst scenario is that it lands on the house, and you don't get the logs. Go for it.  ;D

:D :D :D :D :D :D Funny Brother Been.   :D :D :D :D :D :D What the heck Jake......go for it. :D :D :D :D :D

I can't stop LAUGHING........Take your camera Jake.....film at 11.

I got tears coming down my face...... :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[tyb525]

Make sure the homeowner makes the felling cut!

[T Welsh]

DanG Jake, First you get a free Cherry,know your temping us with a free Walnut :D. Be careful not to scratch the house and be safe and cover yourself and take pictures. Tim

[pineywoods]

Long cable, big tractor...

[drobertson]

ten four on the long cable, it does look doable, and might be one of the rare ones that have no metal.

[sumday]

If you have room to pull it with cable or strap, do it. I've done several oaks that would make at least two of that tree, hanging over my house, with a strap and my son pulling/directing the fall with my truck. And as beenthere said.....

[WDH]

A retired co-worker told me if I help him bring this tree down without landing it on his house, then I could have the logs. 

What happens if it lands on the house?  He keeps the log?   :D :D :D  Hard for you to lose in this deal!

(Note to self and to Jake:  There is no way that this log is metal free  :D).

[JSwigga]

a walnut that close to a house...I can't imagine the amount of metal in that thing.  Hopefully the upper will be nice a clear for you.  Good luck!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

(Note to self and to Jake:  There is no way that this log is metal free  :D).

My Dad was cutting a metal bar once and found a piece of Walnut in it.  ;D I guess they go hand and hand.

[mikeb1079]

i may be a bit jaded here but that's alot of work and risk for some walnut logs.  wait a minute....i'm not doing the work or taking the risk.....on second thought, go for it jake!   ;D ;D

[Tree Feller]

I'd go for that deal. A rope or cable tied to a tractor or truck will pretty much eliminate it falling on the house. For a Walnut that size, I'd tolerate the odd nail or three, also.

Go for it, Jake!

[hackberry jake]

I said "highly valuable". I didn't say wether it was in th form of walnut lumber or scrap metal... Hehehe  :D

[Solomon]

a walnut that close to a house...I can't imagine the amount of metal in that thing.  Hopefully the upper will be nice a clear for you.  Good luck!

Every now and again you get a tre like that , that's clean and clear.   Keep us posted Hack.

[Paul_H]

The house would cushion the fall and save out the tree.The best place would be where the two roofs meet at the porch.I saw a video once where a fella used the porch of his house to save out a large tree and you could hear his wife's shouts of joy in the background.Good times.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Tell the family to pack their suitcases and come outside when you fell it.

[Jemclimber]

Please don't use a rope attached to a piece of equipment like a truck or tractor on a tree that size. There is no way of knowing the amount of force you are applying to the rope. You are much better off attaching the rope to a secure anchor point like another tree and using a come-a-long, Maasdam,  or Z-rig along with wedges to pull it over.  I cant see the top of the tree and can't judge the lean by the pics,  but getting your attachment point as high as possible or even 2 attachment points is better.  Use the tallest ladder you have if you don't climb, and remember to not cut through your hinge.  On big trees getting pulled over I sometimes make relief cuts on the bottom side of big branches so they fold as the tree drops instead of cracking  them or making the tree roll as it hits the ground. Good luck.

[WDH]

We will definitely need a video!

[WIwoodworker]

Pretty cool looking tree Jake. As nice of a tree as it is though I wouldn't take the risk unless I knew for sure what I was doing (ie trained/experienced). I would be less concerned about dropping the tree on the house as I would be for the person's safety making the cut. To fell away from the house you'll be standing behind the tree or next to it but if something goes wrong you're pinned between the tree and the deck with no escape route. Safety first friend.

[Delawhere Jack]

Tell the family to pack their suitcases and come outside when you fell it.

The voice of experience?  :D

[ArborJake]

 It's hard to tell from your picture but it looks like a large leader goes out over the deck. If so trying to drop that tree directly away from the deck could cause it to twist on the stump. You would need leverage on that lead.

[Slab Slicer]

It's hard to tell from your picture but it looks like a large leader goes out over the deck. If so trying to drop that tree directly away from the deck could cause it to twist on the stump. You would need leverage on that lead.

My thoughts exactly. Would be nice to see more of the top of the tree, with reference to where the house is, but that leader could present a problem. Now if you were a climber, had a couple of pulleys, a porta-wrap, and some good rigging line, that leader could be taken off first in pieces.

All kidding aside, if you decide to go for it, be smart, and be safe.

[Okrafarmer]

Come on now, of course it's worth it. We all know the tree is worth more than the house, right?  :D My uncle's cousin's ex-daughter-in-law's new boyfriend said somebody offered them $150,000 for that tree once, but they held off, waiting for the market to come up.  :laugh:

[GAB]

If you could get a logging winch on a tractor, and a good winch operator that would lessen the risks.
Also is using a bottle jack to give it some direction a possibility?
Haste makes waste and in this case it could also make splinters, and/or an open house.
Be safe,
Gerald

[Finn1903]

Go for it!
Not an impossible job.  Make sure you use a good 5/8" bull rope to something heavy to pull with.  Don't use a lowes or worst yet a harbor freight briaded rope.  Also maybe a block to re-direct the rope to pull with something heavy out of the fall line and on good traction ground. 
Just don't cut the hinge on the back cut.  On the back cut, use the saw to steer the tree.   
Worst case, hinge fails you trash the deck.  Then you can build a new deck out of the black walnut!

[hackberry jake]

Well, bad news. He got bit by the "highly valuable" bug. I guess his neighbor came over and said it was worth major $$$. Now he is looking for a buyer for the tree. Funny thing is, he said his neighbor said "Now thats one big oak tree!" and he informed him that it was a black walnut. Thats when the neighbor told him it was so valuable. It really sounds like this neighbor knows what he's talking about if he thought it was an oak... You win some you lose some. It's about 40" dbh, so I would have a time getting it sawn up anyways.  :( :-[ :-\ :'( :embarassed:

[Dodgy Loner]

So he's looking for someone to pay him for the privilege of removing the tree for him? There's a quote by P.T. Barnum that I'm trying to remember...something about suckers? minutes? ??? Help me out here guys... ;)

[Ianab]

I wouldn't give up. More of a postponement than a cancellation.

You notice the neighbour didn't actually offer him any money, or even put him in touch with a buyer...

In a few months the tree will still be there, your deal will be the only one still on the table, and start to look good again.  ;)

Ian

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I don't know where it is unless I search it....but it's time for this guy to watch the "WALNUT CARTOON". 

[5quarter]

Jake...when he calls you back in a few months after he's failed to find a suc...,I mean buyer, Tell him you,d be glad to...for $1500.00.  ;)

[Finn1903]

deja vu...A guy who brings me logs spent allot of extra time taking down a nice black walnut, blown over into another tree, the tree was straight and a good size.  Even gave the guy a break on the removal, since he was to haul the log off and it was a black walnut.
So, he gets it on the ground and a nosy neighbor comes over and starts talking about how much that log is worth.  Now the guy wants to keep the log, so my friend collected the pay for taking down the tree and left. 
I told him to give the guy my number and I'll come over and mill the log in his driveway.  After a trip charge and hourly rate, paying out of pocket twice for the tree to get down then into lumber, then trying to sell the lumber, how much is that black walnut worth again?
And, in the future, if they want to keep the log, give them my number.  The wood is useless to the homeowner when the log is laying on the ground along side of the garage and no way to move it. 
Win some, loose some.

[Delawhere Jack]

A guy just across the river in NJ had an english walnut for sale on Cuckoo's List. About 1/3 smaller than that and not as straight, also close to his house. He was only asking..................... Drum Roll................ $10,000!!!!! :D :D And for that modest amount, you get to top it-drop it and cleanup the mess......

Jake, I'd wait awhile, and when he gets no takers, do the math for him. May work, may not. Some people refuse to abandon pipe dreams.

[WDH]

I knew all along that it was a super highly valuable black walnut  .  The ones right up next to the house are the most valuable of all  ;D.

[customsawyer]

I am with Danny a tree that close to the house has got to have lots of value.

[T Welsh]

I see this monthly in the tree service side of the business. I will not offer any amount until I see the tree cut. We get paid for the take down and I tell the customer its yours to do what you want with it. I will let it sit where it drops and its on them. after about a month or so they call back and try to sell it back to me, I usually say I offered a fair price to you when we had the equipment there to move it and now I have to bring it back to get the log out and the price is less the equipment and labor charge. My time and equipment doesn't come free. Its the million dollar Walnut syndrome  :D. Tim

[ArborJake]

 

I see this monthly in the tree service side of the business. I will not offer any amount until I see the tree cut. We get paid for the take down and I tell the customer its yours to do what you want with it. I will let it sit where it drops and its on them. after about a month or so they call back and try to sell it back to me, I usually say I offered a fair price to you when we had the equipment there to move it and now I have to bring it back to get the log out and the price is less the equipment and labor charge. My time and equipment doesn't come free. Its the million dollar Walnut syndrome  :D. Tim

Not just on Walnut logs either. It's sometimes hard to believe the tree's people think have value for timber. I do the same as time and often times go back to pick trunks left for firewood when it's " alot bigger than it looked now that its on the ground."  That guy will probably call you back hackbery.

[Brad_bb]

You guys don't know what sarcasm is, do you?

I loves me some "highly valuable black Walnut".  But seriously, how the heck do we break this myth once and for all?!

[T Welsh]

Education and common sense. The 2 most valuable things missing in today's society. Then add greed and you see why this happens. Tim

[red]

you need to Thank the neighbor

[Tree Feller]

I loves me some "highly valuable black Walnut".  But seriously, how the heck do we break this myth once and for all?!

We have to wait until the Thousand Canker's Disease has started killing off all the Black Walnuts the way the EAB is doing the Ash trees. The market will be flooded with Walnut lumber and it will be as cheap as Pine.

Of course, once the majority of Black Walnut is gone, it will then become even more highly valuable than those nosy neighbors think it is now.   :D

[dboyt]

Couldn't resist, had to look up the cartoon.

This wasn't the one I had in mind, but it makes the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTgQHWQoatg

aah, here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agcLlKcXp40

[hackberry jake]

 :D  :D  :D I'll have to show him those videos. I hadn't seen the first one yet. :D