Felling a Huge Maple Tree During My Lunch Break - Stihl MS661C & Bobcat T770 Cut Down Big Tree

[@Richard-jq8fx]

Great job!!! Fm. Lathrup Village Michigan 🚜🥾

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Great video

[@digdrivediy]

Appreciate it Brock.

[@allaboutperspective650]

You seem to have about the same level of experience as I do when it comes to felling trees, I know that your brother-in-law is just 😁at us.

[@curtwhite876]

Nice job, feller! You should take that 661 with the 36" bar down to Tim and Christy's, they have a HUGE tree down behind the house. Don't forget the scabbard.

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! I'll get a longer one. That would be a great trip and I'd love to do it. If all goes well, you may actually see that happen. Stay tuned and thanks for watching Curt!

[@sassafrasvalley1939]

Well sir that was a most satisfying video! Success all around.. on the ground safely, valuable logs and tree cookies for lunch! It don’t get no better’n that!!!! I am by no means an expert but, I do know a simple hack to stop your bar from getting pinched when cross cutting... when you are finished falling the tree. Pick up those felling wedges and stick them in your hip pocket. As soon as you get deep enough into the trunk, grab one of those wedges and drive it into the top dead center of the kerf. Keep sawing. Once you get close to the break through point, drive the top one in a bit more so it is good and snug. Take a look at the top. Is the log going to roll left or right? Drive the wedge into the side as close to your bar as you can get it. As you finish the cut, you’ll either find the log doesn’t shift and the saw goes right through... or, you’ll have a few extra seconds to jerk the saw out of the kerf. I’ve found that it works about 90% of the time. Since I figured that out the number of frustrated jerks on a bound up saw and bent bars have gone down considerably. Watching you replace that chain and bar reminded me... Growing up, my dad always did the saw maintenance. After I left home, I didn’t get close to a chainsaw for about 15 years. Then we decided to buy a piece of mature hardwood property. It was completely full of mature oak, hickory, walnut and sassafras. Of course I needed a chainsaw. I ordered a brand new Stihl 028AVSEQ.... top of the line Wood Boss!!! It was complete with the case, an 18” and a 20” bar with chains. I traveled out of town the next week and dreamed of getting home to start clearing a road into ‘Sassafras Valley”. My wife picked up the saw and brought it home. Friday evening I carried it to the basement, put it on my workbench and opened the case. With the manual in hand I studied all of the features and maintenance tasks that I needed to know. One thing that I noticed was that the dealer had put the bar on upside down. I thought, “What an idiot!.” So, I turned it over. The next morning I got an early start. Arriving at the property I followed the instructions ... set the chain brake, figured out the choke & throttle lock and with one tug on the rope it started. I tapped the throttle, learned that you have to release the chain brake to do any good. Then I watched as the chain moved. I was getting excited now, it wouldn’t be long until I was slaying timber like David attacking the Philistine. I put on my gloves and walked to the first tree. As I revved it up... the engine bogged down. I double checked the chain brake. It was released. So, I shut it down. Grabbing the chain I found it was almost seized up. Time to get out the owners manual... half an hour later I came across a trouble shooting chart that suggested chain tension could be the problem. I was really worried about the chain coming loose and mangling my leg.. in my zeal to prevent said worry, I had erred on the side of safety. It was tight enough to pass for a barrel ring. With scrench in hand I began tinkering with adjustment. As I finished, my younger brother showed up. He had almost no experience around chainsaws. So, I gave him the grand tour of all the state of the art features packed into an AVSEQ! Anxious to get started, I put him in a safe place behind another tree. Once again, one pull on the rope and the saw sprang to life. With the chain brake released... satisfaction and a sigh of relief washed over me as I saw the chain move freely. But, not really wanting to throw safety to the wind... I watched it carefully. It was vibrating a bit but seemed to stay in the track well enough. I squatted to make my first felling cut on an 8” diameter post oak. I expected a new saw with a new bar and a brand spanking new chain to slice through it like a spoon through cranberry sauce. Neil... it didn’t. It chewed through the bark and quit cutting... I pushed harder it threw out a little bit of sawdust. I knew something was wrong when smoke started coming out of the shallow kerf. I pulled it out, shut it off and said a few adult only words. Obviously, the self oiler was defective and I was about to burn the chain up. My brother came over and asked what’s wrong. I picked up the saw and as we headed for the pickup, I told him my dilemma. He did his best to help me salvage my self esteem and come up with plan B. I put the saw in the tailgate so we could see how bad I’d damaged the saw. He handed me the water jug and looked down at the bar. Then he said, “You have the chain on backward.” Eureka! The day was saved! The saw’s reputation was regained. My self esteem? Not so much... my brother who had hardly ever picked up a chainsaw... now had an advantage at every family gathering! I still get tickled when I read comments telling the poster that they have their bar on upside down.... oh, and that 028AVSEQ... it still cuts every bit as good as it did in 1986 when I bought it!!!

[@digdrivediy]

Appreciate it Dave! Those tales of chains on backwards are always funny for many and really embarrassing for at least one. We had a similar situation with a friend of mine who after receiving his newly sharpened chains back from the saw shop, discovered they didn't cut worth a darn and quickly stomped off with "dull chain" and saw right back to the shop to give them a piece of his mind. There just isn't a good way to back yourself out of that corner when they politely tell you to try the chains again after flipping them around the opposite direction. His pride took a major blow but it was funny enough that he shared with others and that story has always stuck with me. I've been lucky to not do it yet *_yet_* , but I would never be dumb enough to think it couldn't happen. I'm glad your brother was there to pay witness and offer a kindly reminder of the incident just when it's been long enough that you may have forgotten about it! Glad to hear that 1986 is still going strong. My Dad and uncle Kenny bought two new Stihl saws and they may be 028s as well. Same vintage. Still running strong. I bought my first brand new Stihl saw in 1998. It is an 036 Pro and at the time it was a huge purchase for me. It is still my main firewood cutting saw and can be seen in several of my videos. This MS 661C that you see here was my second brand new saw purchased exactly 20 years later in 2018. It cost almost three times the first one so it was still a pretty solid blow to the firewood tool fund. It sure is nice to buy something for life though and there aren't a whole lotta power tools out there that you can say that about anymore. Thanks again for the great story. I'm behind on at least one video of yours that I need to get over and check out. My week away put me behind on things a bit but I'm starting to catch up.

[@sassafrasvalley1939]

@@digdrivediy I don’t think I want to handle a saw that big anymore. I bought a 310 two years ago because I wanted the larger chain pitch. I run a 24” bar on it and have trouble keeping it out of the dirt. I am working on a batch of short observations for my next video... then I have one coming out on a build for Cap’n Kleeman. This YT stuff is turning into work! Take it easy...

[@digdrivediy]

@@sassafrasvalley1939 That sounds very cool! I'll keep my eyes peeled for that one! Uh, yeah I second the "work" comment!

[@TheHobbyShop1]

You guys made short work of that giant. I liked having the Bobcat with a cable to ensure things went as expected. Nice work!!!

[@digdrivediy]

Always makes me feel better to pull a little bit.

[@johnhamilton9229]

Great angles of footage of the fell.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks a lot John. I think that shot ended up being worth the effort. Thanks for the comment.

[@thorbock1941]

Ain’t nothing in the world that can beat a Stihl

[@digdrivediy]

Oh yeah!

[@blackdogexcavator21]

That's a man killer saw right there. The guys that hump those things all day in the woods for a living are beasts. Nice job bud, tree is down and everyone went home safe with all their appendages. Mission accomplished.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Blackdog. Yes, you are certainly right. That saw is a beast to run and makes me feel pretty weak by the end of the day. I'm thankful to only need it once in a while but sure is nice to have when you do. Always appreciate your support here.

[@Stratos53100]

The true lumberjack guys that climb them with straps etc 35+ ft in the air, Absolutely, My bad back would crater just thinking about it

[@javiertorres-bb8lf]

Great editing.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks!

[@edsecorr7812]

Great job keep up the great work love your videos thank you

[@Thecowboy1950]

Done good you got the tree down safe

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks William!

[@pc5569]

I cut down some of mine when they are dead but no expert by any means. You put it right where you wanted it so a win. The cherry rounds will certainly make something very nice.

[@Stratos53100]

Great one, Good angles, Using the Wedge blocks was key glad to see you using those, the relief cuts were excellent, Not ending up on a fail's video 10 out of 10. Those Cherry slices will make some superb table tops. As mentioned on Part 2, I'm sure it was a huge loss to lose the shading & looks of those Massive things.

[@digdrivediy]

He's hoping to make several items from both the cherry tree and the maple. Thanks for the nice comments as they are greatly appreciated over all the comments that just tell me what I did wrong :). Thanks for watching!

[@roncorbin1500]

Good job Neil

[@digdrivediy]

Thank you Ron!

[@horatiobeaker]

Beautiful wood.

[@digdrivediy]

Pretty good stuff. He saved the logs for future projects!

[@rodneysweetnam8653]

Hi Neil - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. Interesting video. You certainly are in flat countryside there. I have a vacation property that's beside a cemetery. When folk ask me for directions to there I tell them I'm in the dead centre of town!

[@digdrivediy]

That's a good one Big Rodders! Someone else commented about not wanting to live near the cemetery and I said, "well, the place is crowed but they're all really quiet neighbors". It is incredibly flat around here. Where I live was a prehistoric lakebed, so it is table top flat. At least there are trees in this little town. If you go west of here just 10 miles it is all clear, flat farm ground with only giant wind turbines to break up the landscape. Thanks so much for watching!

[@tonynieuwlandt5407]

Thanks again

[@digdrivediy]

It was pretty fun actually. Wished I had the whole day to help clean it up is all.

[@ejkjr.4694]

Looks like a great job on the ground no one hurt

[@digdrivediy]

Appreciate it sir. Yeah, it went pretty smoothly really. I was only nervous until it hit the ground 😁

[@ilmo2313]

That was a great job. I think that you do some of the best video editing. Top notch. I especially liked the camera mounted to the tree as you were felling it.

[@digdrivediy]

I really appreciate that ilmo. I was worried about that camera if the tree decided to roll but it was something I always had in the back of my mind to try. Turned out pretty sweet I thought too. Thanks for supporting the channel.

[@brandon_2468]

Great videos. Shop tour and detailed backhoe video would be cool. Explaining story how u found it etc. and features. 👍👌

[@digdrivediy]

Those are good ideas. I've been thinking about the shop tour. Guess I'll need to get things cleaned up 😁 Never thought about doing a backhoe spotlight but that could work as well. I'm always looking for video ideas so really appreciate hearing that someone might be interested in that stuff. Thanks a bunch for watching.

[@scottsoper]

Nice job!

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks!

[@allomallo9958]

skip to 4:05 you welcome

[@digdrivediy]

Good work!

[@richardstockwell9637]

any one you can walk away from is a winner nice job

[@digdrivediy]

You're right about that! Thanks Richard 👍

[@davidshipulski4532]

Nice saw! Good job!

[@joecopsey4425]

Neil, good job! You only hit the dirt once. Lol notch not bad scared me there for a minute but you cleaned up! Must be nice to get a 2.5 hr lunch! Lol

[@digdrivediy]

That saw is nice David. Thanks so much!

[@digdrivediy]

Hey thanks Joe! Nice to see your name on here. I took that big long lunch break and never ate any food! Thanks for watching :)

[@BuildALotAcres]

That was a big ole' monster. Should make for a ton a nice firewood!!!

[@digdrivediy]

Oh yeah. A lot of wood in this beast for sure!

[@cyndikarp3368]

Well done by all.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Cyndi!

[@russellbelton8213]

Hi Neil your channel is fast becoming my favourite 🤩 keep up the great videos see you on the next one 🇬🇧😘

[@digdrivediy]

So nice of you to say Russell. You're moving to the top of my "favourite commenter" list too then! 😉 Although I'm really fortunate to have quite a few really great, loyal commenters now. It is nice to hear the feedback. Thanks for being on board.

[@khtractors]

Hey I’ve just recently found your channel! I can tell from only watching a few videos I’ve been missing out! That was one big maple for sure. Great job👍.

[@digdrivediy]

Hey thanks K&H. Just getting caught up on comments and man I appreciate the kind words. I still gotta go dig that maple stump out which is gonna be a challenge too!

[@khtractors]

@@digdrivediy that will be a massive stump!

[@mateuszcelmer6180]

hey Neil, at 0:57 into the video you open what looks like a plastic ammo can. i’ve never seen one with a tray like that! did the tray come with it? know the brand by any chance?

[@JohnSmith-kz1ll]

On those bigger pieces drive your wedge in before you cut all the wat through helps alot from pinching the bar. Those things aren't cheap, and that heavy wood can bend a twist it.

[@digdrivediy]

That would have been smart of me to do! I certainly need to employ that trick more often in the future. Thanks John that is a great suggestion.

[@Paultimate7]

Good fell! I liked how you kept cutting the tree *while it was falling* instead of gtfo though. lmao

[@digdrivediy]

Well, I didn't want to make a barber's chair in front of the internet!!

[@andrewsamanthamadison3320]

Man, again editing on point! Saw looked like she was taking you for a little bit of a ride when you’d throttle it. I never used a saw that large (261 here). Looks like fun!

[@digdrivediy]

That saw is a real handful. It is borderline too much for me with that 36" bar on there. Normally I run it with the 25" lightweight bar and it is much more manageable and has so much power. It is fun to run but not every day! Good fun in short bursts.

[@locksnkeys]

Not bad!

[@eddiemortontapman7252]

Are y’all on eastern time or central time and wasn’t Indiana one of two state that don’t observe day light saving time ?

[@digdrivediy]

We are on Eastern time and we do observe daylight savings time. There was a time when we didn't observe it but that was likely 20+ years ago now. There are some parts of Indiana up by Chicago that are on Central time and a couple down south by the Ohio River.

[@tonynieuwlandt5407]

Maybe we could meet for lunch again this week to dig out the stumps

[@digdrivediy]

That's not a bad idea. If I can get the backhoe over there we can plan on doing that. I need to find a 1 foot bucket for the backhoe to make it a little easier on things.

[@1ton4god]

@@digdrivediy I'll keep an eye out around here and I know there's a bunch of buckets laying around my neck of the woods. Also I got a pretty good idea of how I can get it to you... Come over there to pick my shut up :-) potentially my new old welding helmet:-)

[@TheDannyp86]

Just found your channel. Enjoying the videos 👍 only thing on this video, once the tree starts going get out of there on the 45 degree. You carried on cutting and was a bit close to the butt when it was down. Seen many examples of folk admiring their cuts only for the butt to kick back and even kill people

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks for checking out the videos. Daniel. That's probably some pretty good advice.

[@CairnCreek]

The go pro on the tree above was spectacular. Don’t you sometimes wish you could give the drone controls to someone else. Haha

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Jeremy. I"ve always wanted to try that but figured I would ruin a camera or at least a mount. Felt like this tree was a good opportunity to give it a shot. Yeah, I really wish I had an entire camera crew with me on most days! Good thing that drone will hover unattended! Appreciate you watching. Gotta go watch the wood shed Part 2 video now...

[@casycasy5199]

when you were cutting the stump,backcut it and you won't have to put wedges into hold it up.the chips from cutting will hold it up.go to cttontop3 channel and watch his video on it it work great.nice job

[@digdrivediy]

Ahha! That's a good tip. I'll be sure to check that out. It's hard to keep it straight when you're trying to cut cookies like that.

[@hollandduck79]

👍🇳🇱 Thanks for the video

[@digdrivediy]

You bet! Thanks!

[@ruutocka3536]

If you like cutting down big trees, I have a willow tree in my yard that is about 3 times the Diameter of that Maple tree you cut down. Your welcome to come cut it down any day.

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! I'm not crazy about cutting down the big ones anyway so I guess I'll have to respectfully decline that invitation! Would be sorta fun though tackling something that big! Willows don't make good firewood though but they are pretty trees. Big huge root systems I believe also.

[@johnpyle8027]

Neil you looked as good as Buckin Billy Ray! Well almost. lol I've been watching for about a year and didn't know you had a "job". What do you do?

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! I'll take it as I love watching Buckin' Billy Ray! He's a cool dude. Yep. Everything you see on this channel is just side work for me. I am an agronomist and work for an Ag Consulting business (G&K). We work with farmers, soil sampling their fields and then providing them fertility recommendations. I filmed a whole week of work so very soon I hope to do a "a week in the life" of type of video.

[@DirtBrute]

Nice job 👍. Did anyone notice you were gone ? Lol

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! No, I don't think anyone noticed I was gone :). Although my boss may have watched this video so I didn't think this completely through... lol

[@DirtBrute]

@@digdrivediy 😂😂

[@1ton4god]

Love the intro music is that something you guys did?

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks so much. No, this was something I got from a music providing service. They have some catchy tunes. Picking music to use is one of the hardest things to do. Wish I could just use regular music.

[@1ton4god]

@@digdrivediy Oh No Doubt. Definitely could pick some really cool Tunes if they just let us use regular music.

[@kenriches7403]

Ya did well , what ya gonna do with the cherry pieces ?

[@tonynieuwlandt5407]

I’ll be using the cherry to create epoxy river tables

[@digdrivediy]

Tony's got some cool woodworking projects in order once this new barn is built. I think I can get one more off of there as well Tony. We'll take a look when I come back to dig the stumps.

[@kenriches7403]

@@tonynieuwlandt5407 try to post a vid of that

[@kelsehills2902]

0

[@digdrivediy]

🤔

[@supertrooper7403]

Cemetery in the backyard? No thanks.

[@digdrivediy]

Haha! The place is crowded but they are really quiet neighbors! 👻👻👻

[@supertrooper7403]

@@digdrivediy Now THAT is funny Neil!

[@rugerfarming2529]

you better stick to your day job. and eat lunch on your break. wouldn't make it cutting timber.

[@digdrivediy]

Haha! Yeah, I don't plan on quitting the day job. (I mentioned in the video I was no expert) However, this one fell right where I wanted it to. Plus, you have to remember that even the most experienced feller didn't start out an expert. Thanks for watching!

[@garrettnelson2293]

@@digdrivediy Ah you did a great job with that fell for not being experienced. Two cuts across the front and a rope for good measure isn’t the end of the world especially when you got somebody else’s house to worry about. Old guy I worked with used to tell me if the tree is on the ground and you walk off the property without getting chased ya did good!

[@1ton4god]

Okay time for me to critique your mistake sir!!! This video was an utter failure! You you utterly fail to complete the mission set before you... you didn't eat lunch:-) PS:🍅🌮🌯🥓🥩🍔 you know me I'm all about the vittles.

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! You're so right. My cousin Traci brought out some brownies when the tree was down and that was all I had for lunch. I should have put those in the video! Best part of the day for sure 👍