Felling a tree against its lean

I could use all the advice I can get. Got about a 16″ to 18″ tall birch that’s leaning the wrong way. I plan on trying to cut it down this winter.
It’s at the bottom of a hill and I was able to get up about 20′ and get a strap on it. I have some bigger trees up the hill that I tied it off to and used a come along to crank it in the direction needed. After all the cranking I still couldn’t get it plumb enough for me to feel safe enough to take a shot at it. Yep – I chickened out.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If it’s 16″-18″ tall and you’re trying to put a strap 20′ up…..well….I don’t know how to help???

(But on a serious note, wedges can work wonders in experienced hands)

Can you put a flag and strobe light on top it?

wedges, come along, a buddy to pull on another rope or drive the truck. use the wind to your advantage if you can.

It won’t take much pulling, wedge it on the side you want it to go, back cut into the wedge, have a ATV or something on the end of the rope just don’t go crazy with the pulling, cut and pull, cut and pull.

if you can get your hands on one,use either a double or triple block and tackle to multiply your pulling ability.
once its in place and tension held on it,start your cut paying attention to the tension on the block and tackle so that it controls the direction of fall.
if it gets any slack in it it can fall to to either side and get away from you.
of course you will need a helper running the block and tackle.
be prepared for the base to kick out on you.

Can you tie it off and and pull the winch line back out so you can keep cranking more. Maybe even give it a little back cut with no notch in it to help get it moving in the direction you want. With as cold as it you don’t want it to pop off the stump. Best thing would be to get a helper and a long rope tied up at least the twenty feet and run it around another tree in the direction you want it to fall and Then back as close to the tree you want to cut paralleling the same rope. When the the end of the rope is back to the other tie a loop in the first part of the rope so you can run the tag end back through the loop creating a pully without a pully . Have buddy pull that end. You can really pull lot with that set up.

If you have a few extra bucks it’s well worth hiring out if your not a expert in this category. I’ve been cutting trees since a kid and I have seen some pretty crazy things happen when a guy “thinks he knows” how to do something

I will say EPG your thread description was spot on. A person could read the title and imagine what you were doing to a tee.

Now, for the solution. Like BearCat89 said, hire it done and live to fight another day.

That’s what I do arborist, I’d help you out but I’m guessing your probably out of my jurisdiction . I wouldn’t pay more then two hundred bucks for it though, simple climb and chop, guessing you take care of it once on the ground, bringing bucket truck in going to cost more, get a few estimates I’ve seen unbelievable price differences from one company to another. Be safe

I assume the natural fall would hit something?

If you got a strap up high on the tree. Can you just take it down 5-6 foot at a time from the top down?

Otherwise, the strap on to the truck and pull in desired direction is the way to go,

-J.

If you have a lean on the tree, why not just pay it off?

Problem solved.

biggill wrote:

If you have a lean on the tree, why not just pay it off?

Problem solved.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

be prepared for the base to kick out on you.

This is no understatement. I did this once with a large oak leaning the wrong way. Tied a rope up 30’ or so and pulled with a truck. Thankfully I was standing to the side when I started cutting as half of the trunk split out while I was cutting. I don’t think I would be here had I been directly behind the tree when it popped like that. We fell the tree as planned, luckily I wasn’t harmed.

Watch some YouTube chainsaw fails before you attack. Learn what not to do.

I’ve cut down only a handful of trees in my life but I started with a 100′ cottonwood and a 80′ ash. Now any others are just twigs. Both with careful planning fell exactly where I thought. Maybe I got lucky? If you can get a truck on it, use straps or maybe chains if you feel comfortable. Also make sure it is in 4×4 and can get traction or it can get dicey. This is obviously a 2 person job. Trees can twist but if you get a strap or chain that does not stretch, most trees are no match for a truck. Timing is crucial…once it starts cracking, pull it where you want and don’t stop until it lands!

Can you just piece-by-piece it with a power pole saw to get it to a more manageable size to fell the trunk without strapping it?

Thanks for the info guys.
I have a few trees under my belt and feel confident I can do this.
Yes, this has to come down in a certain as to not damage quite a few objects.
I’ll try tying off higher on the tree with 2 different attach points. I’ll study up a bit more on wedges as I believe those will be a nice secondary insurance policy.
It’s in a spot where I am unable to get a vehicle or bucket too. So it will be all manual labor.
I tried paying off the lien but it’s still
there, I must have a bad title company, I also put a strobe at the top but the next day there were 12 wheelhouses at the bottom of the tree.

Hold my beer, watch this!!!

If your going higher, put on a deer tree climber, I use my lone wolf, climb to the top, haul up chain saw, with rope, cut , then cut going down , I have taken thousands of trees over the years, this works slick, doesn’t have to be big pieces on the way down. DK.

No matter which method or strategy you decide to go with, it’s imperative, at least for us, that you record the procedure on video and post here so we can all enjoy – and of course, critique.

I’d be very hesitant to use a truck much less and ATV…once you see it go wrong once, you’ll never be near that situation again!

I’d stick with Iowaboys tactics.

Another option would be to rent a scissor lift if possible and start high.

Nice Fella wrote:

No matter which method or strategy you decide to go with, it’s imperative, at least for us, that you record the procedure on video and post here so we can all enjoy – and of course, critique.

You’re doing it wrong!!!
No, rev it up first!!
Is that the correct knot for that type of rope?
What kind of fuel did you put in that thing?
You know the winds blowing the other way don’t you?
A poulan pro? Really?

You need to use a cable not rope to pull the tree with a come along. Ropes break and are dangerous!. A block 4 to one helps a lot.

For a big dangerous tree, I agree totally, sounds like a pretty small tree.

catmando wrote:

It won’t take much pulling, wedge it on the side you want it to go, back cut into the wedge, have a ATV or something on the end of the rope just don’t go crazy with the pulling, cut and pull, cut and pull.

Agree 100%.

Notch it, back cut it and wedge it and use enough tension to direct the trees crown, but not enough to cause problems with kickback on the base where you are cutting.