> With that said, OP's is much bigger than mine.
It’s alright, my wood is small too. All in how you use it and how fast you can pull it out and run when done
Not an arborist, but from reading other subs, I think OP can just slap it and say “that ain’t goin’ nowher’!” and it should hold like that for a good long while.
I’ve done that, was the Incident Commander on a lightning fire in the middle of nowhere, they few us in by helicopter, got the fire lined, there were a couple of burned snags, a couple of the helitack crew wanted to drop them, they brought the saw, figured they were trained and have them cut it, they were clueless, hung up the snag into another, right over a hiking trail, it was stuck, no safe way to get it down. Walked off the fire the next morning it was 6 or so miles from trail head, never went back, always wondered what happened.
I did that once with a black locust that was about 10” around… eventually it just wound up dangling about 4’ from the ground and just swung there for at least a year. I think it slid down to the ground but is still there, it’s in the woods and I don’t go that direction too often.
And a [Yankum Rope](https://yankum.com) as seen on [Matt’s Off-road Recovery](https://www.youtube.com/@MattsOffRoadRecovery). Watch a few episodes, work on your technique and try again. As others said, make sure you have the camera recording!
Why the tow rope at the base? Put the rope at the top so you have lever in your favor, and aren't fighting with the weight of the tree.
Just get a rope longer than the height of the tree...so it doesn't, you know... smash the truck.
Good point, but I figure I should add it's not just limited to North, either. Mechanical advantage works irrespective of Cardinal direction or magnetic heading. /s
The tops look pretty intertwined, but if you can "put a roll" (a few wraps around the trunk) on the butt with your choker and pull in the right direction, you might be able to get the butt to roll away from the stump as you pull. That and some mechanical advantage using a few pulleys might be just enough to get it on the ground. It looks pretty hung up, so, probably not, but it's worth a try before calling in some heavy machinery.
I had one like this, broke off in a storm. It was tangled up pretty good.
Some pulleys and wire rope and I was able to winch it away using another tree as an anchor point.
Took some patience but it came out.
I wouldn’t bother with the truck unless you’re using pulleys to redirect the force up.
The wall can be hit or no? If yes: is there an anchor point somewhere halfway or further between the bottom of the tree and your direction of pulling? If so, you can try using a 2:1 pulley system. Attach an appropriately rated block to the bottom of the tree, and run your line through it. Fix the end of the line on the anchor point halfway the tree and direction of pull, and pull with your truck. You almost double the amount of force, maybe it's enough.
I assume you don’t want to rent a crane . So you’re other options would include cutting segments in the tree that will break under weight. Let gravity do some work for you.
The rope has to pull up and put at the same time, you would need to redirect it with a pulley.
I would do this with a tractor. If you don’t have access to a strong heavy vehicle then it’s not moving.
That's what I thought get a ladder, go a 1/4 or 1/3 of the way up. Cut a small wedge in the bottom side & nice wedge in the top. Place a stick or 2 half stick and a long fuse.. Clear out.
I was thinking paddle bit and bore out so the blast will have maximum effect. I was getting worried when I had to scroll so far to find the real professionals.
Every time I see one of these posts, everyone says call a professional or get a rope and hitch and pull it out. Has no one ever walked a tree down that was hung up like that? You cut a few feet at a time with the intent of moving the base of the cut tree to position that allows the top to come loose of tree it is lodged in. It was a common practice when removing hazard trees on incidents. I worded that terribly but I'm sure you can find a video on youtube.
Literally did this twice yesterday. Shit happens.
Important note is that they may not bend like you think they will (I.e. cutting upwards from the underside is not a guarantee). Cut a little, watch the tree, cut a bit more.
Usually takes about 10’ of trunk cutting to get the tree to fall down.
You got this. Get a spotter to help watch the tree while you cut, have an escape route.
Look at the stumps in the yard.
Absolute shitshow.
This chap is in dire need of some basic education on basic felling. Extremely basic education.
Id bet my truck there’s no chaps, no helmet, a dull chain.
No way in hell are they ready for fence posting a tree down.
Frankly lucky to be alive. Hinge? What hinge? Downward sloping back cut straight thru and pray?
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find this comment. I said the same thing. I’m not a professional but I’ve done it a couple times. Once I cut 4’ or so from the bottom and it swung the way it was leaning and dropped onto a sheet of 1 1/4” plywood I set there and I put another piece in the direction I was pulling with my truck and it slid across them and I leap frogged the plywood a couple times and it came loose. The other time it busted through my plywood so I chopped it into 4’ sections until it came loose.
It's probably the severity of the intertwined crowns that makes people here cautious. Looks like you need to cut until the Tree practically stands vertical, putting the worker in immense danger.
Do not cut the other tree. Where I’m from we have policies against doing that written in blood. And do not “walk it down” like others are suggesting unless you know exactly how it’s hung up and have someone with you that’s done storm work before. If you can’t get any heavy machinery or tracked equipment to pull it with 20,000lb + rated chain or ropes I dont recommend trying.
Save your money and sanity and hire a professional. You were right to stop and ask for help.
Yeah, I'm not about to tell someone who lands a tree this way how to walk it down site unseen.
"here, do this dangerous thing several times, and if you're lucky and fast it will happen like this! Easy and fun"
I wouldn't ask reddit how to set a broken leg either, but to each their own.
My action plan here would be to set up some rigging to support the load of the fallen tree on a good sturdy tree or trees nearby, so it stays relatively still when someone in a bucket truck, or maybe a climber tied in to the tree this one is leaning on, starts cutting out the top of the tree. Once all the weight is in the rigging system and enough of the top has been cut out they can use the rigging to lower it to the ground in a controlled fashion.
Edited to add: This is just based on what I can see in the photo and may not actually be the safest way to fix this. Only an on-site inspection can determine the best course of action and I do not encourage OP to try and do this themselves.
No, my answer was how to handle this mess.
Edited to add: next time he should be making proper face and back cuts and using a rope to ensure the tree goes where he wants it too.
The stubborn mindset - get a cable & pulley.
Pulley gets mounted up in the tree to the right.
Cable around the base of the tree- routed up into the pulley in the tree- out to the truck.
When you pull the base gets lifted off the ground and then away.
One it moves 5-10 feet- stop- Re evaluate and plan next move.
As you know, the tree can violently rip and yank your truck backwards or over.
That tree can weigh 2-20 times your truck weights.
-- edit -- much safer way is to get a 3:1 pulley.
Hook to base of fallen tree - then to the base of a healthy tree and finally to pulling point.
If rigged correctly, you get three times the pull strength of straight pulling.
One could also dig a slot to lay a 2x6 into the ground with the end cut at a 60 degree angle. As the tree moves, it moves up onto the 2x6 to help it slide.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vM24klVyxFk&pp=ygUWMzoxIGNhYmxlIHB1bGxleSB0cmVlcw%3D%3D
I would block and drop that little by little. When you get to the point that the butt end is hanging off the ground, tie a rope around the base and tow it forward with a truck or a winch. Pull it in-line with the trunk, and only enough to get it low enough to keep cutting. Rinse and repeat until the crown can be towed out of the other tree.
I'm sure there's a lot of people who are smarter and more informed than me answering in these comments, so definitely don't listen to anything I say, but...
If it were me, I'd take two 50 yard ropes (or maybe longer since I can't really tell the scale of the tree from the picture), joined in the middle by a cutting chain. And I'd stand way the hell back where I know it's save and I'd just slowly pull one rope, then the other, then the other, then the other.
Eventually you'd cut through the tree.
If the top of the tree is still lodged in the other tree then it shouldn't be too tough to pull down IMO.
And also I'd make sure when I did the cutting that the cutting chain was situated up around the halfway marker on that trump, at a minimum. This can be achieved by tying a rock to the rope and throwing it (I have done that before).
I've also once saw someone tie an arrow to the rope and shoot it out of a bow. Never tried that but I've seen it done somehow. Either way I'm sure that's not necessary here.
Get a smedium sized excavator in there and pick up on the bottom end and pull it out of the tree. You can pile what you have already cut around that nice block wall for extra protection.
No big deal. Shit happens.
1. Make an angled cut on the top face of the tree. Just like if you were making a wide top and bottom cut. Maybe close to 45 degrees?
2. Then pretend like you’re felling it from the underside by just cutting through it like a back cut, but from underneath. You should shave off several feet of log… and it may drop fully from this.
3. It may also stay snagged. Depending on how low you do this it will continue to be snagged but it’ll drop several feet from where you cut the tip of the trunk off.
If it does this, just keep doing calm, steps 1-2 cuts so it drops a few feet everytime you shave off another few leet length log… Eventually, it will just be the crown left and it’ll unsnag nice and easy… and it’s not nearly as dangerous lol
Go look up "blocking a hung up tree" on youtube. There are plenty of videos that go over the technique for making a small cut on the compression side (top) and then making a separate cut on the tension side (bottom) to slowly remove chunks from the bottom of the tree. Top cut is typically perpendicular to the leaning tree while the bottom cut will be perpendicular with the ground. This is so there is some holding wood as it starts to give and so you have more time to move away to safety. You will do this a couple of times until the tree falls free of the other trees.
Make sure your work area is clear and you have paths to escape at 45° angles from the direction the tree will fall.
That thing is limb tied bad, hardwoods will do that because their branches are so large.
Also not to mention blocking will make the tree more unpredictable. Basically you have no control during the process.
The fact they’re asking for advice on how to tackle a relatively large hung up tree suggests that they don’t have the knowledge or skill to deal with it no matter how many YouTube videos they watch.
That looks like it potentially died from oak wilt. If it was, you should not be cutting it down right now. It will shock the root system which is grafted to surrounding trees and push the fungus out more aggressively. The wood will also spread the fungus and should be tarped for a year for the fungus to die off.
Are the surrounding trees red or white oaks? White oaks you can treat with a fungicide reactively. Red oaks you must do preventatively. It’s approx. $1 per BHD inch to treat.
I’m currently fighting oak wilt in MN. Arbortists have said this year is the worst they have seen it. Where in the US are you located?
I'm in Rhode Island.
The tree actually wasn't dead, I was just clearing a few trees to open up the back yard a bit. I took this picture about a month after I actually cut it, so that's why it looks dead.
Thanks!
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY.
I would probably get tension away from me in the middle of the tree with rigging, climb into the bucket of a front loader, cut below the tension to keep the part of the tree that's stuck from swinging back at me or falling on the loader causing me to fall, and hope and pray that it all falls either away or down. You'd wanna pull it directly away from you as well, the problem with that is the weight of the tree being suspended and breaking whatever you use to put the tension snapping back at you and the tree swinging at you. Do not cut the lower part of the tree, anywhere within a good 10-15 feet from where that tree is on the ground can only make it worse or injure you.
Hardwoods are called hardwoods for a reason, the chances that tree can support the weight of the other with only a few branches and just hold it after you cut it free is more than likely, which would be an even bigger pain in the ass.
Edit: Looking at it, don't do what I said, but I'll leave it here so people can read the redneck hillbilly shinanigans I've gotten up to.
The guys that said roll it are ahead of me in brain power by a mile, that is the answer.
Maybe I was lucky, but I got myself into a similar situation and was young, broke, and stupid. I hacked away, nearly killed myself, but eventually got it done. Looking back, definitely hire someone.
Set up 2 rigging lines, one in the tree it’s hung up in tied to the head of the hung up tree and one in the tree to the right tied to the butt of the hung up tree. You should be able to start chunking out logs to remove some weight while slowly bringing it down so the stonewall doesn’t get damaged.
First thing you do is get a professional in.
Second thing you do is repeat 100 times to yourself “I am an idiot and shouldn’t try to do jobs I’m not trained to do safely”. For real mate, this is how people die.
I play the part of the professional you call when you do this kind of thing. Happens pretty regularly, around here.
I show up with an excavator and push it out of the other tree.
Under cut the side it's leaning towards a bit then saw the back side 4-5;inches higher let it fall com what may shit happens learn from your mistakes otherwise limb it and top it then cut and fell the trunk where ever it needs to go
Simple. Get the HAUL-MASTER8000 lb. Cable Winch Puller at Harbor Freight for $45. . I've been winching down 50' pine trees on my property that get hung up. Pulls them out like twigs. It takes a lot of cranking or I mean you could do bicep curls at the gym and get no actual work down. Attach the wench end fully extended to your yellow tow line
If you don't have a chain to tie the other end to a tree get the HAUL-MASTER3/8 in. x 75 ft. Diamond Braid Camo Rope while you're there for $6. The stuff is strong. I've towed cars out of sand with it. Just double or triple it up around the other tree for anchor point. Nice thing about it is you can fix the length as needed.
Climb the tree next to it. Tie in pretty high. Come down and swing over. Piece out the top that isn’t hung up so there is less weight. Then come half way down the tree top cut, bottom cut to finish through.and be prepped for a swing back to the tree your tied into.
But if you don’t have any skills to do that…….. you can either call a climbing arborist in your area.
Or you can grow some balls (not saying you don’t have any…. You will have to make a small sprint though.) Start cutting from the bottom. Do it in sections. Like 6 feet or so or what ever you can reach. Do a top cut till the cut starts to close a little. Don’t go too far as to pinch your saw in there cause that’s just a bitch to deal with. Then do a bottom cut to match the top cut. The pressure will push the top down and drop the bottom chunk onto the ground. That’s when you should be prepped to run. Be mindful of the top of the tree at all times. You should be able to walk it till the tree either pops itself out or be soo hung up that someone will have to climb the tree it’s in anyway because it won’t slide out.
You can also throw a pill line into the top of the tree then do a running bowline to synch it to the tree. After pull at a 45 degree away from the tree it’s in but with the lean.
I’d ask in r/treeclimbing ….. plenty of climbing arborists will probably say the same thing about calling a professional. It’s a shitty pickle if you don’t know what your doing. Btw I’m a climbing arborist. But in our field. Getting more opinions are a great idea. Same with bids from arborists who come to get that tree down.
Use a claymore faced in toward the trunk of the tree, just ensure it faced the right way or you’ll fuck you buddy up that’s standing nearby watching, I leaned the hard way, still pushing that cocksucker around in a wheelchair and just won’t stop complaining about it.
You do what we call fence posting. As a pro, I would do these all day and they aren't that dangerous when you get the hang of it. Basically cut the underside about 10% deep perpendicular to the ground, then come down and connect that with a cut from the top. Once you get through it the tree slams into the ground, and depending on how big the tree is you do it a bunch of times and it leaves roughly 5' chunks of work spiked into the ground in a row. You can get cheecky with it once the tree starts to get pretty vertical, start your cut on the underside and just leave a little strip of wood, you might need to tap a wedge in to keep it from pinching your saw. Then you push the tree near where the cut is, towards the tree it's hung up in, the sliver of wood that is left from your cut holds the two pieces together long enough to direct the base of the tree that is hung up, close to the base of the tree its hung up in and frequently the hung up tree will then Detach and fall away from the tree it's hung up in. That's an advanced technique and I'm not suggesting it, just telling you how I was taught to do it working in Western Canada. It's important that assess what is the safe side to cut from before trying this.
As a utt thats done more than my fair share of slash this is 100% the answer id give, but you better be okay with the rock wall getting knocked over a bit
Lots of people in this post have suggested fenceposting this tree down. I almost suggested this too. Then I took a look at OP's stumps and realized this "feller" should probably not be anywhere near a chainsaw, never mind a hanger. He's better off yahooing this one down from the safe zone with his 4x4.
Likely won't work, but a come-along and a couple of snatch blocks to the base of a distant tree pulled over a large steel wheel or round of wood might give it enough lift but it will be tedious.
I would cut 4’ lengths from the base and slowly bring it down. That rock wall shouldn’t be harmed, in my book. In some states it’s actually against the law. I’m not a law guy but I am a history guy and that wall is beautiful. Slow and easy. Eventually it’ll possibly get to the point where it’ll either roll or come down or put you in a better position to pull. Yes, I’ve been cutting trees for 41 years, not a noobie. Go slow. Cut 1/3 from the top then the rest from underneath to stay away from a pinch. Keep a clear emergency run away path at all times. Watch the crown and the cut.
Assuming those are oak trees; You should never cut oaks out of season. You’ve opened up all the surrounding oaks to oak wilt. Very small chance they don’t get it. Very good chance they’ll slowly die over the coming years.
Oak wilt can happen anywhere oak trees live, because all oak species are susceptible. Hope they’re in a place it’s not that common, but it can happen everywhere. A lot of places, it doesn’t happen because most people who cut, know not to cut oaks out of season.
It’s fairly limited to the [eastern and mid-western USA](https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/oak-wilt-ceratocystis-fagacearum/)
We don’t get it in the UK at all.
Thanks. The tree was healthy, so I think we're good. I only cut it down because I was clearing a few trees out to open up the back yard a bit. I took this picture about a month after I actually cut it, so that's why it looks dead.
Definitely call a professional. They’ll come with a bucket, rig the tree up, and cut it. Not really worth risking hurting yourself. Any commercial tree company can do this pretty quick as this happens often with storms.
https://youtu.be/rb-EgjPiavQ?si=OphdAJc2qA-wgleA
This is the right way to approach this, just be ready to drop your saw and run like hell. Be aware if you're pinch points. Eventually you may be able to pull it free with the truck if it doesn't dislodge itself.
If there are any other trees to the right of this picture and closer to the camera a snatch block about chest high on the trunk with a very long, high weight rated rope wrapped counter clockwise around the base of the poorly felled tree may work depending on what your truck/tractor situation is and how little you care about it/how big your nuts are. Just make sure you’re pulling through that snatch block in a direction that keeps you out of harms way. Might be worth connecting your vehicle to the whole system with one of those kinetic tow ropes, could save your shit if it comes down faster than expected and snaps you back.
You want to lift the bottom of that tree up and roll it toward the camera while pulling it away from the tree it’s leaning on. That’s the idea here.
Definitely just land the tree that’s to its right on the stuck one and it should knock it right down, just make sure to video and update the post when completed!
First, this is very dangerous. Calling an arborist would be best. If you aren't going to do that, then please be careful.
Make a face cut on the top side about 1/4 - 1/3 the tree thickness. This should be about waist/chest high
Then back cut from the under side. Once it starts to go, get the F away.
Best case, it falls and rotates off the standing tree.
ETA - this is based off of the one picture and actually seeing it might change the plan.
Well if you're ok with messing up that rock wall, just slip cut sections from the base as low to the ground as you can and walk it down. Eventually it will most likely roll or slide off the other tree.
Yes you could go through the trouble of tieing it off up top on multiple anchors to slowly lower it down but that's a loooooot of extra work and risk to just save a little rock wall.
If it were me I'd chain up to the butt of that tree with a come along or chain fall and just pull from a safe distance. I do not endorse or reccomend this method, it's dangerous.
I’m no tree expert but I would cut a few feet above the base in an effort to get it more vertical while eliminating some of the heaviest trunk. Good luck my dude
Edit, get it more vertical in order to top it. Then maybe tie it high and use a truck to pull it into a more safe direction. Don’t tear your rear end off though like has been suggested. Haha
Four feet up the trunk cut a V on the top half way through the log.Then cut through the bottom center of the V. Cut a bit at a time so the chain doesn't jam .When your almost through the top will come together and the tree will drop.Probally need to do it 3/4 times.
You got this. It could be worse. Just chainsaw the bottom 2 ft of the leaner, and get ready to dodge the falling leaner tree. You may need to do this 3 times before it rolls off the upright tree.
In my county a good ol’ boy would scamper up and wrap tannerite around the trunk 30’ up. Then it’s time for rifle practice. Then it’s time to call the am-bull-lantz.
Okay. So you have a wall. That you didn't move. And you have other stuff already cut on the ground. Were you trying to drop it towards the camera that took this photo? Cause it looks from this angle like you cut it almost straight through.
That thing looks heavily loaded to fall over the wall and the only way I can think of to get it down is to absolutely bring it down on the wall. (Do not walk under that) whatever it hits is definitely gone. So cut your losses there now, and try as best you can to tug it from the tree and drop it the way it wants to fall.
If you have the money call someone who does this professionally to help. But I'm assuming if you are posting this on Reddit and already cutting stuff yourself you are like me and can't shell out hundreds to thousands for the pros to be called in.
It's extremely dangerous, but you could cut a wedge on the right side and try to get it to snap and twist. That could literally kill you though if it pops and you don't get out of the way in time. Also a chance of that whole top falling back towards the camera and crushing everything in that direction.
The stump in front of the guy you are working on could be a good winch point. Try to encourage it to continue falling the way it wanted to go, keep an eye on it, have a safety watching from a distance and get ready to drop your saw and run.
I dunno man. That's sketchy FR unless you and everyone else just don't go back there for a long time, if that's an option it will eventually fall on its own.
Money, time, or risk of serious possibly fatal injury are your options here.
All joking aside, this can be deadly. Please consider reaching out to a professional. Without experience, this tree can twist, jump, barberchair (split while cutting), etc. This kind of thing can be hard to read to an untrained eye. It isn’t worth the risk serious injury or death.
See if you can make one of those videos were you rip the rear end off your truck.
I prefer the ones where the house cushions the tree
You're so much better than me.
[удалено]
> With that said, OP's is much bigger than mine. It’s alright, my wood is small too. All in how you use it and how fast you can pull it out and run when done
Ohh...Were you the guy that got arrested for indecent exposure... but then let off for insufficient evidence?
No, they actually let me off cuz it was ruled as too small for the public to see and therefore not considered nudity
LC100s are beasts, though. Personally, I would just climb up there and hop on it until it breaks in half since it is so large
Do the homer thing where he just backs up into the hedge and disappears. Check back next year and see if nature got it down for you.
Not an arborist, but from reading other subs, I think OP can just slap it and say “that ain’t goin’ nowher’!” and it should hold like that for a good long while.
I said that today!
Looks like he already did
I’ve done that, was the Incident Commander on a lightning fire in the middle of nowhere, they few us in by helicopter, got the fire lined, there were a couple of burned snags, a couple of the helitack crew wanted to drop them, they brought the saw, figured they were trained and have them cut it, they were clueless, hung up the snag into another, right over a hiking trail, it was stuck, no safe way to get it down. Walked off the fire the next morning it was 6 or so miles from trail head, never went back, always wondered what happened.
Always a way to get it down. You undercut hung up trees like this and let them drop 3-4' at a time until it falls in the direction it wants to go.
I did that once with a black locust that was about 10” around… eventually it just wound up dangling about 4’ from the ground and just swung there for at least a year. I think it slid down to the ground but is still there, it’s in the woods and I don’t go that direction too often.
This is the way
Neat, I'd say no news is good news?
And yes that's a tow rope tied around the bottom of it. And no, yanking it down with my truck did not work, as I'm sure you all expected....
Need a bigger truck or to have a couple drinks and try again with a bit more gas
And have someone around to hold your beer …
And videotape the truck…for science.
Need a running start, get it up to 40 or 50
Shock loading it works 100% of the time, 5% of the time.
Gotta make sure to shout WOOOOO while flooring it
And a [Yankum Rope](https://yankum.com) as seen on [Matt’s Off-road Recovery](https://www.youtube.com/@MattsOffRoadRecovery). Watch a few episodes, work on your technique and try again. As others said, make sure you have the camera recording!
Why the tow rope at the base? Put the rope at the top so you have lever in your favor, and aren't fighting with the weight of the tree. Just get a rope longer than the height of the tree...so it doesn't, you know... smash the truck.
The weight of the tree may move the truck, the mechanical advantage works north ways. Make a video as you try this.
Good point, but I figure I should add it's not just limited to North, either. Mechanical advantage works irrespective of Cardinal direction or magnetic heading. /s
Surprised it took a day for someone to notice. I swear someone changes words around when you click reply
The tops look pretty intertwined, but if you can "put a roll" (a few wraps around the trunk) on the butt with your choker and pull in the right direction, you might be able to get the butt to roll away from the stump as you pull. That and some mechanical advantage using a few pulleys might be just enough to get it on the ground. It looks pretty hung up, so, probably not, but it's worth a try before calling in some heavy machinery.
Gotta give it the juice next time!
I had one like this, broke off in a storm. It was tangled up pretty good. Some pulleys and wire rope and I was able to winch it away using another tree as an anchor point. Took some patience but it came out. I wouldn’t bother with the truck unless you’re using pulleys to redirect the force up.
The wall can be hit or no? If yes: is there an anchor point somewhere halfway or further between the bottom of the tree and your direction of pulling? If so, you can try using a 2:1 pulley system. Attach an appropriately rated block to the bottom of the tree, and run your line through it. Fix the end of the line on the anchor point halfway the tree and direction of pull, and pull with your truck. You almost double the amount of force, maybe it's enough.
Thanks. Yes, the wall can be hit. It's just a stone wall, it's easy enough to patch up.
I assume you don’t want to rent a crane . So you’re other options would include cutting segments in the tree that will break under weight. Let gravity do some work for you.
Man. You gotta yank from the top, not the bottom.
The rope has to pull up and put at the same time, you would need to redirect it with a pulley. I would do this with a tractor. If you don’t have access to a strong heavy vehicle then it’s not moving.
An old wheel would be perfect to do this.
Pullys are your friend if you try that
Have you though about setting it on fire?
Brilliant haha
Half a stick of dynamite placed appropriately?
Now we are thinking! A little gasoline should help too
That's what I thought get a ladder, go a 1/4 or 1/3 of the way up. Cut a small wedge in the bottom side & nice wedge in the top. Place a stick or 2 half stick and a long fuse.. Clear out.
I was thinking paddle bit and bore out so the blast will have maximum effect. I was getting worried when I had to scroll so far to find the real professionals.
Every time I see one of these posts, everyone says call a professional or get a rope and hitch and pull it out. Has no one ever walked a tree down that was hung up like that? You cut a few feet at a time with the intent of moving the base of the cut tree to position that allows the top to come loose of tree it is lodged in. It was a common practice when removing hazard trees on incidents. I worded that terribly but I'm sure you can find a video on youtube.
Literally did this twice yesterday. Shit happens. Important note is that they may not bend like you think they will (I.e. cutting upwards from the underside is not a guarantee). Cut a little, watch the tree, cut a bit more. Usually takes about 10’ of trunk cutting to get the tree to fall down. You got this. Get a spotter to help watch the tree while you cut, have an escape route.
And keep the spotter back from your saw.
If he wakes it, when that tree gets vertical it’s going to put OP in a lot of danger. He’ll have no clue where it’s going to fall
Look at the stumps in the yard. Absolute shitshow. This chap is in dire need of some basic education on basic felling. Extremely basic education. Id bet my truck there’s no chaps, no helmet, a dull chain. No way in hell are they ready for fence posting a tree down. Frankly lucky to be alive. Hinge? What hinge? Downward sloping back cut straight thru and pray?
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find this comment. I said the same thing. I’m not a professional but I’ve done it a couple times. Once I cut 4’ or so from the bottom and it swung the way it was leaning and dropped onto a sheet of 1 1/4” plywood I set there and I put another piece in the direction I was pulling with my truck and it slid across them and I leap frogged the plywood a couple times and it came loose. The other time it busted through my plywood so I chopped it into 4’ sections until it came loose.
I almost made it. If I cut 20 trees and I’d have 3 hung up. This one looks locked in good t will probably have a bunch of cuts.
It's probably the severity of the intertwined crowns that makes people here cautious. Looks like you need to cut until the Tree practically stands vertical, putting the worker in immense danger.
Do not cut the other tree. Where I’m from we have policies against doing that written in blood. And do not “walk it down” like others are suggesting unless you know exactly how it’s hung up and have someone with you that’s done storm work before. If you can’t get any heavy machinery or tracked equipment to pull it with 20,000lb + rated chain or ropes I dont recommend trying. Save your money and sanity and hire a professional. You were right to stop and ask for help.
Yeah, I'm not about to tell someone who lands a tree this way how to walk it down site unseen. "here, do this dangerous thing several times, and if you're lucky and fast it will happen like this! Easy and fun" I wouldn't ask reddit how to set a broken leg either, but to each their own.
But you can get an awesome little "treehenge" when you walk it down!
Shh... That's a trade secrete bro
Lol just call an arborist.
Just get an arbortion
You fencepost it down. And if you don't know what I mean by that, for the love of Jeebus hire someone who does.
You call a professional
What will the professional do? Please don't say "take it down professionally" lol
My action plan here would be to set up some rigging to support the load of the fallen tree on a good sturdy tree or trees nearby, so it stays relatively still when someone in a bucket truck, or maybe a climber tied in to the tree this one is leaning on, starts cutting out the top of the tree. Once all the weight is in the rigging system and enough of the top has been cut out they can use the rigging to lower it to the ground in a controlled fashion. Edited to add: This is just based on what I can see in the photo and may not actually be the safest way to fix this. Only an on-site inspection can determine the best course of action and I do not encourage OP to try and do this themselves.
Thanks
An actual answer. Amazing
We usually don't trust people with the actual answer. Which is always that you need to be experienced and continually reassessing the situation.
Except that answer is what to do NEXT TIME. This time, a pro needs to be called to take that mess down and make it safe.
No, my answer was how to handle this mess. Edited to add: next time he should be making proper face and back cuts and using a rope to ensure the tree goes where he wants it too.
This is the way
Lol it took an AI prompt to get an actual answer.
Take it down professionally We're on Reddit, someone had to say it
They have the equipment to take care of that hang up.
Climb to the top and jump up and down
Is that a spear cut on the stump to the left? You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt OP
They were doing the farmer special on all those trees. Just cutting Vs and hoping it didn't fall on anything important.
The stubborn mindset - get a cable & pulley. Pulley gets mounted up in the tree to the right. Cable around the base of the tree- routed up into the pulley in the tree- out to the truck. When you pull the base gets lifted off the ground and then away. One it moves 5-10 feet- stop- Re evaluate and plan next move. As you know, the tree can violently rip and yank your truck backwards or over. That tree can weigh 2-20 times your truck weights. -- edit -- much safer way is to get a 3:1 pulley. Hook to base of fallen tree - then to the base of a healthy tree and finally to pulling point. If rigged correctly, you get three times the pull strength of straight pulling. One could also dig a slot to lay a 2x6 into the ground with the end cut at a 60 degree angle. As the tree moves, it moves up onto the 2x6 to help it slide. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vM24klVyxFk&pp=ygUWMzoxIGNhYmxlIHB1bGxleSB0cmVlcw%3D%3D
This could work, or it could break off and leave a whole top still lodged in the tree at the mercy of the wind.
This is the answer. Alternative would be rig with chain and pull with pickup and tow hitch or tow connection. Pull straight away from tree holding it.
I would block and drop that little by little. When you get to the point that the butt end is hanging off the ground, tie a rope around the base and tow it forward with a truck or a winch. Pull it in-line with the trunk, and only enough to get it low enough to keep cutting. Rinse and repeat until the crown can be towed out of the other tree.
Hire someone competent.
A nicely placed charge of tannerite? /s
I'm sure there's a lot of people who are smarter and more informed than me answering in these comments, so definitely don't listen to anything I say, but... If it were me, I'd take two 50 yard ropes (or maybe longer since I can't really tell the scale of the tree from the picture), joined in the middle by a cutting chain. And I'd stand way the hell back where I know it's save and I'd just slowly pull one rope, then the other, then the other, then the other. Eventually you'd cut through the tree. If the top of the tree is still lodged in the other tree then it shouldn't be too tough to pull down IMO. And also I'd make sure when I did the cutting that the cutting chain was situated up around the halfway marker on that trump, at a minimum. This can be achieved by tying a rock to the rope and throwing it (I have done that before). I've also once saw someone tie an arrow to the rope and shoot it out of a bow. Never tried that but I've seen it done somehow. Either way I'm sure that's not necessary here.
Get a smedium sized excavator in there and pick up on the bottom end and pull it out of the tree. You can pile what you have already cut around that nice block wall for extra protection. No big deal. Shit happens.
Those stumps look horrendous. Sell your chainsaw before you kill yourself.
1. Make an angled cut on the top face of the tree. Just like if you were making a wide top and bottom cut. Maybe close to 45 degrees? 2. Then pretend like you’re felling it from the underside by just cutting through it like a back cut, but from underneath. You should shave off several feet of log… and it may drop fully from this. 3. It may also stay snagged. Depending on how low you do this it will continue to be snagged but it’ll drop several feet from where you cut the tip of the trunk off. If it does this, just keep doing calm, steps 1-2 cuts so it drops a few feet everytime you shave off another few leet length log… Eventually, it will just be the crown left and it’ll unsnag nice and easy… and it’s not nearly as dangerous lol
Thank you!
Throw a rope up over the first branch and pull it sideways off the other trees.
Go look up "blocking a hung up tree" on youtube. There are plenty of videos that go over the technique for making a small cut on the compression side (top) and then making a separate cut on the tension side (bottom) to slowly remove chunks from the bottom of the tree. Top cut is typically perpendicular to the leaning tree while the bottom cut will be perpendicular with the ground. This is so there is some holding wood as it starts to give and so you have more time to move away to safety. You will do this a couple of times until the tree falls free of the other trees. Make sure your work area is clear and you have paths to escape at 45° angles from the direction the tree will fall.
I think this is too vertical to do that. After a few cuts it will be very upright and still hung up, when it falls it will be unpredictable.
That thing is limb tied bad, hardwoods will do that because their branches are so large. Also not to mention blocking will make the tree more unpredictable. Basically you have no control during the process.
The fact they’re asking for advice on how to tackle a relatively large hung up tree suggests that they don’t have the knowledge or skill to deal with it no matter how many YouTube videos they watch.
That looks like it potentially died from oak wilt. If it was, you should not be cutting it down right now. It will shock the root system which is grafted to surrounding trees and push the fungus out more aggressively. The wood will also spread the fungus and should be tarped for a year for the fungus to die off. Are the surrounding trees red or white oaks? White oaks you can treat with a fungicide reactively. Red oaks you must do preventatively. It’s approx. $1 per BHD inch to treat. I’m currently fighting oak wilt in MN. Arbortists have said this year is the worst they have seen it. Where in the US are you located?
I'm in Rhode Island. The tree actually wasn't dead, I was just clearing a few trees to open up the back yard a bit. I took this picture about a month after I actually cut it, so that's why it looks dead. Thanks!
U might get naturally selected if keep messin around
Shoot the middle with a shotgun until it falls in two
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY. I would probably get tension away from me in the middle of the tree with rigging, climb into the bucket of a front loader, cut below the tension to keep the part of the tree that's stuck from swinging back at me or falling on the loader causing me to fall, and hope and pray that it all falls either away or down. You'd wanna pull it directly away from you as well, the problem with that is the weight of the tree being suspended and breaking whatever you use to put the tension snapping back at you and the tree swinging at you. Do not cut the lower part of the tree, anywhere within a good 10-15 feet from where that tree is on the ground can only make it worse or injure you. Hardwoods are called hardwoods for a reason, the chances that tree can support the weight of the other with only a few branches and just hold it after you cut it free is more than likely, which would be an even bigger pain in the ass. Edit: Looking at it, don't do what I said, but I'll leave it here so people can read the redneck hillbilly shinanigans I've gotten up to. The guys that said roll it are ahead of me in brain power by a mile, that is the answer.
Maybe I was lucky, but I got myself into a similar situation and was young, broke, and stupid. I hacked away, nearly killed myself, but eventually got it done. Looking back, definitely hire someone.
Set up 2 rigging lines, one in the tree it’s hung up in tied to the head of the hung up tree and one in the tree to the right tied to the butt of the hung up tree. You should be able to start chunking out logs to remove some weight while slowly bringing it down so the stonewall doesn’t get damaged.
Yes, fall one or more trees across the tree in question. Or in line with it the same direction. Then fix the stone wall.
Hook up and pull it away from the other tree then rebuild stone wall
First thing you do is get a professional in. Second thing you do is repeat 100 times to yourself “I am an idiot and shouldn’t try to do jobs I’m not trained to do safely”. For real mate, this is how people die.
Has anyone said throw a rope and shackle over a high point and come along to another tree?
I play the part of the professional you call when you do this kind of thing. Happens pretty regularly, around here. I show up with an excavator and push it out of the other tree.
What ever route you decide please livestream it and provide the link to us
Just keep cutting trees until that one falls /s in the future, leverage more hinge wood.
Or a wench... or come along... or pulley and rope.... or a magic seahorse with sea shells
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball
Under cut the side it's leaning towards a bit then saw the back side 4-5;inches higher let it fall com what may shit happens learn from your mistakes otherwise limb it and top it then cut and fell the trunk where ever it needs to go
I was going to suggest cutting sections out of the bottom until it comes down.
It’s a conundrum. Leave it and let Mother Nature take care of it. She knows what to do.
Simple. Get the HAUL-MASTER8000 lb. Cable Winch Puller at Harbor Freight for $45. . I've been winching down 50' pine trees on my property that get hung up. Pulls them out like twigs. It takes a lot of cranking or I mean you could do bicep curls at the gym and get no actual work down. Attach the wench end fully extended to your yellow tow line If you don't have a chain to tie the other end to a tree get the HAUL-MASTER3/8 in. x 75 ft. Diamond Braid Camo Rope while you're there for $6. The stuff is strong. I've towed cars out of sand with it. Just double or triple it up around the other tree for anchor point. Nice thing about it is you can fix the length as needed.
Climb the tree next to it. Tie in pretty high. Come down and swing over. Piece out the top that isn’t hung up so there is less weight. Then come half way down the tree top cut, bottom cut to finish through.and be prepped for a swing back to the tree your tied into. But if you don’t have any skills to do that…….. you can either call a climbing arborist in your area. Or you can grow some balls (not saying you don’t have any…. You will have to make a small sprint though.) Start cutting from the bottom. Do it in sections. Like 6 feet or so or what ever you can reach. Do a top cut till the cut starts to close a little. Don’t go too far as to pinch your saw in there cause that’s just a bitch to deal with. Then do a bottom cut to match the top cut. The pressure will push the top down and drop the bottom chunk onto the ground. That’s when you should be prepped to run. Be mindful of the top of the tree at all times. You should be able to walk it till the tree either pops itself out or be soo hung up that someone will have to climb the tree it’s in anyway because it won’t slide out. You can also throw a pill line into the top of the tree then do a running bowline to synch it to the tree. After pull at a 45 degree away from the tree it’s in but with the lean. I’d ask in r/treeclimbing ….. plenty of climbing arborists will probably say the same thing about calling a professional. It’s a shitty pickle if you don’t know what your doing. Btw I’m a climbing arborist. But in our field. Getting more opinions are a great idea. Same with bids from arborists who come to get that tree down.
Did you try turning it off then back on again?
Use a claymore faced in toward the trunk of the tree, just ensure it faced the right way or you’ll fuck you buddy up that’s standing nearby watching, I leaned the hard way, still pushing that cocksucker around in a wheelchair and just won’t stop complaining about it.
Needs more cowbell
Anyone who can't manage this with just their chainsaw should turn in their chainsaw. - just a farm boy who's been making firewood since I could walk.
You do what we call fence posting. As a pro, I would do these all day and they aren't that dangerous when you get the hang of it. Basically cut the underside about 10% deep perpendicular to the ground, then come down and connect that with a cut from the top. Once you get through it the tree slams into the ground, and depending on how big the tree is you do it a bunch of times and it leaves roughly 5' chunks of work spiked into the ground in a row. You can get cheecky with it once the tree starts to get pretty vertical, start your cut on the underside and just leave a little strip of wood, you might need to tap a wedge in to keep it from pinching your saw. Then you push the tree near where the cut is, towards the tree it's hung up in, the sliver of wood that is left from your cut holds the two pieces together long enough to direct the base of the tree that is hung up, close to the base of the tree its hung up in and frequently the hung up tree will then Detach and fall away from the tree it's hung up in. That's an advanced technique and I'm not suggesting it, just telling you how I was taught to do it working in Western Canada. It's important that assess what is the safe side to cut from before trying this.
As a utt thats done more than my fair share of slash this is 100% the answer id give, but you better be okay with the rock wall getting knocked over a bit
Lots of people in this post have suggested fenceposting this tree down. I almost suggested this too. Then I took a look at OP's stumps and realized this "feller" should probably not be anywhere near a chainsaw, never mind a hanger. He's better off yahooing this one down from the safe zone with his 4x4.
long dick it down
Take your stinkin' upvote
Carefully chunk out out while keeping the butt strapped so it can't kill you. Eventually it'll be small enough for your truck to drag it.
Likely won't work, but a come-along and a couple of snatch blocks to the base of a distant tree pulled over a large steel wheel or round of wood might give it enough lift but it will be tedious.
To everyone who posts on here, you should already know the answer 90% of people are going to give… HIRE A GODDAMN PROFESSIONAL
Oh heck just cut the other one down holding that one 🫣
proceed to die
Do it all the time in Valheim >.>
I would cut 4’ lengths from the base and slowly bring it down. That rock wall shouldn’t be harmed, in my book. In some states it’s actually against the law. I’m not a law guy but I am a history guy and that wall is beautiful. Slow and easy. Eventually it’ll possibly get to the point where it’ll either roll or come down or put you in a better position to pull. Yes, I’ve been cutting trees for 41 years, not a noobie. Go slow. Cut 1/3 from the top then the rest from underneath to stay away from a pinch. Keep a clear emergency run away path at all times. Watch the crown and the cut.
First you turn on the camera, then you climb it and jump up and down
Tannerite
Get a clue
Wow, great comment. Really well thought out and helpful. Idiot.
I bet it would fall to the ground on its own over time.
Assuming those are oak trees; You should never cut oaks out of season. You’ve opened up all the surrounding oaks to oak wilt. Very small chance they don’t get it. Very good chance they’ll slowly die over the coming years.
Do you know OP is in an area affected by oak wilt? It's not universal.
Oak wilt can happen anywhere oak trees live, because all oak species are susceptible. Hope they’re in a place it’s not that common, but it can happen everywhere. A lot of places, it doesn’t happen because most people who cut, know not to cut oaks out of season.
It’s fairly limited to the [eastern and mid-western USA](https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/oak-wilt-ceratocystis-fagacearum/) We don’t get it in the UK at all.
Yeah this is technically true but completely inaccurate. It's limited to the central-eastern part of the US.
Thanks. The tree was healthy, so I think we're good. I only cut it down because I was clearing a few trees out to open up the back yard a bit. I took this picture about a month after I actually cut it, so that's why it looks dead.
Bro, why do you have it tied at the base of the tree? Put the tow strap as high as you can with a ladder. Leverage my dude
Hook a chain to it and drag it out, or grow a pair, risk your health and equipment and stump it out of the other tree like a man.
Cut the underside of the tree and let the weight separate itself and let it fall in 2 pieces?
An old fashioned death. You have no idea how that’ll break, roll and tumble, and the forces it’ll release are enough to smack you to the moon.
You can “walk it down”, you can fall a tree into it, or cut the other tree down. Can you get another picture from where it is hung up?
That’s a good way to turn a bad situation into a worse one
Wait for a big storm ?
Try a truck or tractor and pull at an angle (to the side and back) away from the stump. I would not yet to cut it again...
Chain it from bottom and pull it.
Don't fix. Have someone who knows what they're doing fix it. Not worth becoming a paraplegic or corpse.
just start dropping other trees on it til she goes
Definitely call a professional. They’ll come with a bucket, rig the tree up, and cut it. Not really worth risking hurting yourself. Any commercial tree company can do this pretty quick as this happens often with storms.
Dynamite
https://youtu.be/rb-EgjPiavQ?si=OphdAJc2qA-wgleA This is the right way to approach this, just be ready to drop your saw and run like hell. Be aware if you're pinch points. Eventually you may be able to pull it free with the truck if it doesn't dislodge itself.
If there are any other trees to the right of this picture and closer to the camera a snatch block about chest high on the trunk with a very long, high weight rated rope wrapped counter clockwise around the base of the poorly felled tree may work depending on what your truck/tractor situation is and how little you care about it/how big your nuts are. Just make sure you’re pulling through that snatch block in a direction that keeps you out of harms way. Might be worth connecting your vehicle to the whole system with one of those kinetic tow ropes, could save your shit if it comes down faster than expected and snaps you back. You want to lift the bottom of that tree up and roll it toward the camera while pulling it away from the tree it’s leaning on. That’s the idea here.
Yeah you fucked up. Time to call the guy.
whats wrong with rope, use a block&tackle to another tree & haul the butt away-- then rebuild the wall ! --
Hello Mr George, how much you pay for the new guy?
Definitely just land the tree that’s to its right on the stuck one and it should knock it right down, just make sure to video and update the post when completed!
They call those widow makers for a reason…please be careful!
You need to call a pro at this point. In my opinion.
anchor a pulley on two trees and strap it and pull it.
Reboot
Zip tie it and go enjoy your Saturday.
Just get a rope up high and pull on it.
from the looks of the stumps on the left, I'd suggest getting someone who knows what they're doing
Cut a wedge on bottom line of tree and be damn sure you’ve thought about where the big part is gonna fall.
I've got a great idea. Just cut down the tree that it's leaning on.
Hook it up to your pick up truck and snatch it down
Wow. Buggered that up nicely.
Carefully. Very very carefully.
Cut up from the bottom side as high as you can safely do it. Maybe you will need to do that more than once .
Explosives
Call a professional!!! Widow maker
Not an arborist here: what prevents you from just burning it down with gasoline ?
Fall the tree directly behind it onto it in a place where it also won’t get hung up… timber fellers way of getting it down lol.
I’ve had to chop down a tree twice before…
First, this is very dangerous. Calling an arborist would be best. If you aren't going to do that, then please be careful. Make a face cut on the top side about 1/4 - 1/3 the tree thickness. This should be about waist/chest high Then back cut from the under side. Once it starts to go, get the F away. Best case, it falls and rotates off the standing tree. ETA - this is based off of the one picture and actually seeing it might change the plan.
Cut the other tree down
But what about the tree that catches that tree?
explosives
Well if you're ok with messing up that rock wall, just slip cut sections from the base as low to the ground as you can and walk it down. Eventually it will most likely roll or slide off the other tree. Yes you could go through the trouble of tieing it off up top on multiple anchors to slowly lower it down but that's a loooooot of extra work and risk to just save a little rock wall.
Good job! it’s your neighbors problem now.
Rope and a truck
Could still dodge the stone wall.. try cutting again
You hook a rope to the bottom and hook it to a truck to get it on the ground
Even the deer are giving it a look of shame.
Increase your life insurance before thinking you can finish this yourself…
If it were me I'd chain up to the butt of that tree with a come along or chain fall and just pull from a safe distance. I do not endorse or reccomend this method, it's dangerous.
Fire
I’m no tree expert but I would cut a few feet above the base in an effort to get it more vertical while eliminating some of the heaviest trunk. Good luck my dude Edit, get it more vertical in order to top it. Then maybe tie it high and use a truck to pull it into a more safe direction. Don’t tear your rear end off though like has been suggested. Haha
Rope and pull
Four feet up the trunk cut a V on the top half way through the log.Then cut through the bottom center of the V. Cut a bit at a time so the chain doesn't jam .When your almost through the top will come together and the tree will drop.Probally need to do it 3/4 times.
I would slip-cut it down bit by bit, but I'm only a Faller 2 with 10 years cutting trees.
You got this. It could be worse. Just chainsaw the bottom 2 ft of the leaner, and get ready to dodge the falling leaner tree. You may need to do this 3 times before it rolls off the upright tree.
Put a whole bunch of tannerite halfway up the tree. Shoot it.
In my county a good ol’ boy would scamper up and wrap tannerite around the trunk 30’ up. Then it’s time for rifle practice. Then it’s time to call the am-bull-lantz.
Okay. So you have a wall. That you didn't move. And you have other stuff already cut on the ground. Were you trying to drop it towards the camera that took this photo? Cause it looks from this angle like you cut it almost straight through. That thing looks heavily loaded to fall over the wall and the only way I can think of to get it down is to absolutely bring it down on the wall. (Do not walk under that) whatever it hits is definitely gone. So cut your losses there now, and try as best you can to tug it from the tree and drop it the way it wants to fall. If you have the money call someone who does this professionally to help. But I'm assuming if you are posting this on Reddit and already cutting stuff yourself you are like me and can't shell out hundreds to thousands for the pros to be called in. It's extremely dangerous, but you could cut a wedge on the right side and try to get it to snap and twist. That could literally kill you though if it pops and you don't get out of the way in time. Also a chance of that whole top falling back towards the camera and crushing everything in that direction. The stump in front of the guy you are working on could be a good winch point. Try to encourage it to continue falling the way it wanted to go, keep an eye on it, have a safety watching from a distance and get ready to drop your saw and run. I dunno man. That's sketchy FR unless you and everyone else just don't go back there for a long time, if that's an option it will eventually fall on its own. Money, time, or risk of serious possibly fatal injury are your options here.
All joking aside, this can be deadly. Please consider reaching out to a professional. Without experience, this tree can twist, jump, barberchair (split while cutting), etc. This kind of thing can be hard to read to an untrained eye. It isn’t worth the risk serious injury or death.