Staying Alive While Cutting A Deadly Spring Loaded Hickory

Susan and I went back to the timber today and took down this lodged and loaded hickory. We discussed it beforehand and decided to do it without the tractor if possible, because many of our subscribers do not have access to a tractor for problems like this one. It all worked out great, but pulling it with a come-along would have been easier if I had angled the cuts a bit, allowing the log to slide sideways easier. We live and learn! A big Thank You to everyone for watching the preview to this one, and for the comments!

[@bodeans59]

Another great video, I have learned so much from watching your channel

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Thank You for watching and commenting! There was a bad chainsaw accident in Iowa over the weekend. We try to spread the word on how to handle these situations without injury.

[@eddevarona8448]

When you make your second cut from the underside, if you offset it about the width of the saw bar from the top cut, the weight of the tree will break off the last little bit and the tree will drop without pinching your saw and without a need for a wedge. Offset it toward the top, that way as it drops the top of the cut portion won’t push into your saw bar and pinch it. Works for me anyway.

[@dougreid2351]

A saw bar width ABOVE or BELOW the top cut?

[@eddevarona8448]

@@dougreid2351 it depends. I’ve done it above and below. Less chance of a pinch if the undercut is above the top cut but you have to be careful because that tends to bring the saw downward toward your leg with the top portion of the tree. Cutting below also works but you have to be ready to pull the saw back so the top portion of the tree doesn’t pinch the bar.

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

That was so cool! So many ways to cut a tree!

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Thank You for watching and commenting! Trees that are loaded with tension and compression require a good plan. A lot of people get hurt by trees like this one.

[@jimschlaugat6475]

You always have great educational content. Stay safe out there.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Thank You! We are always glad to see pop up in Comments!

[@geraldclancy7534]

Wow.That tongue and groove cut is amazing!

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Thanks For Watching and Commenting!

[@nhmountains5683]

Nice work David. Thank you for showing this and giving great details on the process. There was definitely tension on that log.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Thanks! The moment I saw that tree I knew we had to share it. Just yesterday in Iowa news, a contractor was seriously injured when a tree fell on him. The risks are real.

[@nhmountains5683]

Definitely need to never let your guard down. I just read an obituary about a local arborist who’d been in the trade for 42 years was killed at work. Even those little limbs can have enough tension to kill/hurt you if you’re not careful. Thank you again for posting your videos. I’ve learned a lot from you.

[@user-ss7mj1sp2k]

Good job. Take your time and think things out

[@twostep1953]

Dang! We appear to be the same age, but I'm sitting at home watching this and you're out cutting down trees!

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

We need to pick up wood and split it tomorrow. It's great!

[@oddlyspecific186]

ive got a huge black locust cracked over on a cherry thats leaning on a pine tree over my neighbors fence. This seems like a fairly safe option to attempt. great video

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Take some photos or video and share it. This is the kind of problem that people like to see and solve! You can drop a link in a comment here.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Real life situation. Usually, the lean tree is crushing a nice oak on my place, and I gotta get the leaner down!!!

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Yup, and you hope you can do it without damaging the good one! I was lucky here, and the mockernut needs to come out to give room to a nice oak.

[@JohnZimmerman-yu8og]

I'll have to try that never used wedges when cutting them

[@JS-oy6nn]

Videos like this give people the confidence to work outside their skill set, and bad things usually happen. It situations like this where the property owner wants the job done while trying to save a few bucks from paying skilled labor I will tell you the emergency rooms are full of people just like you. Do yourself a favor if you’re not Sure, pick up the phone and call someone who is skilled.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Watch again. This channel saves lives.

[@dorkbrandon4422]

This man lives by the wedge dies by the wedge

[@chrisw5742]

That one I would yank off the stump with a BIG comealong with a BIG snatch block. I just did the same thing with an even bigger tree on my land. It was still hung so I used my Silky polesaw to cut the branch it was hung on and it dropped right to the ground.

[@John-Anderson]

Safest thing would be take this out with a polesaw from a safe 15 foot away. Ive taken out widow makers bihher then this with a crappy 20 volt pole saw with the smalleat 8 inch bar and they make 80 volt ones with 10 inch bars now a days and you can retro fit a even bigger bar. Or just cut from.both sides.

[@ScottWorthington]

After the whole tongue and groove, I saw something in your first vertical cut. Toward the end of the cut I saw that you were standing back s bit farther than normal, causing you to reach forward more than would usually be recommended. My guess is you weren't entirely sure what would happen when the cut completed and wanted to keep as much distance as possible between you and the tree. Job well done. Thanks for sharing.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Yes, when you are doing these cuts that cause the tree to drop, there is no time to move back, so you want to keep your feet clear. Also, if chunks fly from the top when it moves, they come right to where you are standing. I have been smacked that way! Stuff always rains back in on the stump. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@geraldclancy7534]

Another great video.Thanks so much..

[@glengobel7673]

His chain will stop the split but I would never cut anything in the top bottoms up lol

[@DavePawson]

A come along? = block and tackle?

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Come-alongs typically come with one snatch block, so you can pull with two lines. Mighty handy to have. The tractor makes life much easier, though! Thank You for visting and commenting!

[@mikeadams2339]

Great info even with a tractor i might not be able to get that cose to work on it. Thanks

[@MrThenry1988]

Most jobs like this go pretty smooth till ya turn the camera on. Lol. Good show man.

[@pantera-ms5jq]

How to make a 1 minute job in 1 hour. Ye i know, safety and so on. But that tree i can cut safe without rigging. I run fast strong powersaws with long bars. That helps to prevent getting pinched and keep at distance from danger.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

We have had many comments from viewers who have limited equipment options. This video is for them! Did you see that last week in Iowa a cutter was seriously injured while cutting a tree in the derecho area? We like to show methods that will keep people safe. If I was in a hurry on this one, I could have done my setup cuts and popped it over with the tractor. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@pantera-ms5jq]

@@DavidN23Skidoo Understand, but got to brag, no tractor needed :) It's good that you helping them survive yet another day.

[@ronaldwilkins6056]

@@DavidN23Skidoo I heard an arborist got launched out of his bucket across the river in Clinton Iowa recently.

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

@@ronaldwilkins6056 That upper bucket arm has a lot of flex to it. Many years ago, a guy near Paintsville, KY was using his bucket truck to lift a pole out of the ground. His strap failed, and you know the rest! That reminds me of a true story from one of my old steam engine magazines. A young man was on the operating platform of a traction engine that was running a thresher when the boiler exploded. He was found some distance away, still alive. His last words were, "I was above the trees."

[@gerryplante2651]

I want to try that dovetail someday. I usually do an undercut but I need to use my wedges more. Looks easier. I noticed you threw your axe down. I do the same unless I can lean it against a nearby tree. Having lost my favorite hand axe many years ago and learned a lesson I neatly spray paint a reflective orange spot or band on every hand tool and chain I take into the woods.

[@bobd3089]

Cut from bottom up in that situation the saw will never pinch

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

This tree was suspended at both ends, plus loaded sideways, so the top and the side near the camera were both compressed. There was a big sideway push on the tree that had to be respected. The big rule in bucking is to cut on the compressed side first. It can be a puzzle when you have a tree loaded two ways.

[@d3700]

Exactly. Cut from bottom up. This guy doesn't know what he is doing.

[@tooge47]

I would already have had this tree on the ground

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

This video is about assessing unusual risks and doing a safe takedown without resorting to using the tractor. We have had many requests for dealing with such a situation. Thank you for visiting and commenting! Now that I have done this once, if I do it again I will angle those cuts a bit so the tree will slide out of the cut easier, and put the wedge in before the final cut.

[@glengobel7673]

Let it split into the ground not your face

[@bobd3089]

He has a tractor use it

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

"many of our subscribers do not have access to a tractor for problems like this one."

[@dannyshupp5878]

What the hell is doing

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Lodged trees are a hazard to the cutter, and this one has the additional problem of heavy side loading. It's a dangerous situation that a homeowner or landowner might face, and this is a solution that can be handled without expensive equipment.

[@bobd3089]

He's dangerous

[@DavidN23Skidoo]

Most work with a chainsaw is dangerous, and making trees fall down is too. Learn, and mitigate the risks.