How to get a Dangerous leaning tree down

[@johnndavis7647]

There's nothing more dangerous than a dead tree. It's difficult to predict how they will break when you cut them. I like that little iron pulley thing you had to lower the weight. Never seen one before. I always just wrapped rope around a nearly tree and lowered heavy things that way. I sometimes used a slingshot and a weight on a fishing rod to get my line over tall trees. It's easier and faster to get your line exactly where you want it.. I used hand cranked winches a lot to get trees to fall exactly where I wanted them to fall. By digging around and cutting six inches out of the main roots I could winch a tree over and the whole stump would pop out of the ground. There's a lot of tricks to tree work and more than one way to do any job. At the end of the day, nobody gets hurt, and the fastest way makes you money. Thanks for the video.

[@michaelgow8050]

Mick Gow ( Central Coast ) I am a Tree Surgeon and instructed for TAFE for quite some years. One of the things I introduced was a few days of "Strom Damage" which I created at a property I managed. I figured it's one of the more dangerous things we have to do, so better to learn and practice it in a controlled environment. We also actively practiced Climber Rescue. Our Storm Damage exercises entailed trees up to 700mm girth, deliberately fallen into another. We used a very similar technique to get them down...often with everything coming down on a rope. One comment I will make....once you got going ( you being the guy on the saw ) things got more dangerous, once the butt end was in the air, and the remainder of the tree....which was continuously raining down dead bits of crap, was now swinging around. Even though you only had two operators ( other than perhaps someone on the camera ) you could alleviate this added risk by attaching another rope to the butt end ( above your next cut ) this can be tied-off to another tree. This will greatly limit the amount of swing and therefore reduce the risk of the tree rearing upwards or sideways. If it's hard to read which way it might swing?....just use yet another rope, they're very quick to set and can save an awful lot of trouble. As I used to say to my students...."Branch-work can look like Puppetry, and YOU are in in full control" Another comment...the offsider looks VERY familiar to me?? Good job and great little video. Cheers Mick

[@Aussie-Emlyn]

Depending on fence construction, unclip wires so they can rest on ground. Put decent winch or big tractor on tree to tear it down, clean up, clip wires back up. No workers put at risk. Relatively low cost. Dead trees are widow makers.

[@TreeClimberHarry]

Yeah if the whole thing was coming down that'd be the go!

[@maxwebster7572]

I was thinking the same. That seemed excessively dangerous.

[@andym1594]

I've hired stuff out and I've rented excavators. Loggers know what they are doing and often come at the same price as renting the excavators. I did a dangerous leaner next to a power line with an excavator. It took me half the day. A logger would have been done in an hour.

[@thelastdetail1]

From the 3rd big butt piece onwards you were in unnecessary danger, cutting a dead tree directly under a broken tree, out of which you could have been hit by any number of falling pieces beyond your control. A butt-tied winch and tow set-up (Fireman´s winch, 4x4 vehicle , or Tractor) would have been optimal. It would have dragged the tree out of the other one and not placed anyone in danger. You could then cut it up safely. 50kg of dead wood on the head is a long goodnight, best to avoid the risk.

[@mst5632]

There is always more than one way to skin a cat. As the Groundie (apprentice) said, he could have climbed it, topped it, cut it down. There are pros & cons to each method and I see two cons with winching/pulling it out. The point is that this mate is obviously a professional arborist & knows what he is doing so he went with what his knowledge & experience have taught him. The danger is not from falling branches as he got closer to the live tree. The danger is from not knowing that, wearing PPE, and not constantly looking up. I have seen so many fell a tree, never look up while cutting, then watch the tree fall all the way to the ground. When your cut moves the tree or makes it go, you move back safely and get your eyes looking up, not level or down. I almost never fell a tree that doesn’t drop dead branches or strike nearby live branches so the danger is from not looking for that stuff. If you are looking you can easily move out of the way.

[@John-Adams-Can]

My exact thought! My arborist neighbor would be three days into this and i would have it down in 5 minutes with a 🚜.

[@mst5632]

@@John-Adams-Can He said he did it in about 30 minutes. You’re tractor method would have left a trench through your lawn and would have created a thousand pieces to pick up dropping from 25’ up (that old dead tree would have shattered if it wasn’t brought down with control.) Your clean up would have far exceeded his. I take a knowledgeable arborist over a dude with a tractor any day.

[@barkershill]

Let’s hope no one from his insurance company sees this , or his premiums could go up like a rocket

[@TreeClimberHarry]

@thelastdetail1 it was the dynamic loading of the piece that shook the dead branches out, that's why I legged it out of there after each spear cut. Once the load was static there was alot less risk of falling branches, Hence felt safe enough to be under it. Butt tying it and winching it out you'd still need to make a few spear cuts before it would have pulled out too. And we had no tractor, also limited vehicle access as it was wet and boggy.

[@marcofemto9417]

Awesome job! We've gotten many emergency jobs with that situation a couple of times and tried the sketchiest methods. Now I'll do it just the way y'all did in this video 🤘

[@DiViLi2]

Sawing dead trees is dangerous. Good job, my friend.

[@f9qo]

Ever think of getting yourself a fixed line puller like a Tirfor? Both the 3/4 ton and 1.6 ton ones are what I have. Lots off application to use on leaners and hung up trees and whatnot. They can add a lot to tree work safety, and sometimes expediency.

[@glennstevenson6242]

That happened to me 45 years ago. I used the old 303 saw. Had it down in no time!

[@David-uk1kb]

Great job, you did the job exactly how I would have done it. Wicked dangerous job, that one. God bless and be safe

[@bossman6174]

Great job, well done. That is why you bring in a pro like Tree Climber Harry. You can fiddle with this yourself. Even if you have a tractor to pull the bottom out, it would still be a dangerous job.

[@samday6621]

I would’ve (not attempted) undercut only and sacrificed the fence. 😁 The vertical dead tree hanging by rope scared me. Sawing down wind is also problematic. Well done.

[@Spagyr]

What is problematic about sawing down wind?

[@samday6621]

@@Spagyr Saw chips and dust swirling around your face. Even if you can still see and breathe it adds another element like you want to rush through it.

[@boomerau]

For mine similar to what you did. Just used a chain on a tractor to control each cut and clean away the cut sections so they aren't blocking escape. It wasn't in the open so it was a pain.

[@Hammerdak]

If you take the time to cut a small wedge out from the underside, like when normally felling a tree, then your bar won’t get pinched when you do your top cut. It’s more predictable and you won’t run the risk of bending your bar in the pinch.

[@andym1594]

I had an old timer do one of these (much bigger fir tree) next to my house. After a wind storm the root ball had been dislodged by a nearby tree up rooting (100+ ft) doug firs. He did a block on a nearby tree and climbed up the good tree to get it near the top. He roped off to his truck and backed it on the other direction. with the rot in this tree, you couldn't have used that method. Dropping in place was best.

[@capecodarbortech]

I did a similar situation a few years ago . Rigged dead tree into another dead tree then backed the line into a live oak for extra reinforcement.. once I cut the dead tree from ground the other dead tree uprooted and swung towards house and windows .. the live tree stopped both of them before hitting house 😮😮😮 .. it was very close call but no damage 🎉

[@Yorkie285]

It's like watching a PPV event. Good job

[@EasterBunny325]

I had a similar situation. One cut, hitched to my vehicle with a fifty foot rope and pulled from the base.

[@willtricks9432]

That is what tree work is all about, assess the risk, trust your tools and your crew, then get on with it stick to the plan and wear a hat. Cheers

[@tomn8tr]

What is that pulley / brake called? That looks very interesting to me...

[@TommieJean-l4c]

Those beautiful young men with little fear and a lot of experience did a feat of magic❤️

[@nicholasgloc8555]

Use a fishing rod and reel with the throw line far more accurate and controllable.

[@jacked-666]

Reading these comments 😬 everyone's a arborists. 😅 Excellent job 💪 without a tractor.

[@darelvanderhoof6176]

Any favorite numbers?

[@2001Artfull]

Nice to see how the Pros do it. I learned something here. Thanks.

[@maxzzzie]

I'd do the same. 2 things i saw so far (i'm at 4:50) You call a running figure of 8 a bowline. And i saw the rope have loads of loops as you pulled it up. Bad packing away? Or usual for that line? Good job though. Thats a tricky one.

[@miketheclimbingbeaver]

It looked like a running bowline with a backup, i.e. Yosemite bowline.

[@aaronottobre4865]

So cool!!! That's awesome! 👌🙌🙌

[@ebbyjones3177]

nice work! What did you charge for that job?

[@BarryTanenbaum]

You cut like a Pro!

[@ArcaneArborWolfe]

Nice work Harry!

[@nateinindy3460]

Cutting begins at 7:00

[@Yorkie285]

*****You guys are the BEST*****

[@Longtimerolling]

Not to bad, rough and ready..

[@Vixtorz]

Just tell it some depressing stories about your childhood and especially the one about your uncle’s babysitting. That will get it down fast.

[@haroldhorton2603]

They were lucky

[@mik3y80]

What Sthil ya using there mate? 661? have the 500i just maybe looking at getting a bigger bar.

[@TreeClimberHarry]

Yeah 661 with 32inch. 500 rips with that bar too

[@exxr]

Looks like an MS660 not 661.

[@BarryTanenbaum]

Excellent job well done!

[@bcnyt]

sling shot,fishing reel,the ham radio antenna hanging method....

[@peelnation]

did get your neck injury while working?

[@TreeClimberHarry]

Tweeked it working, made it worse deadlifting🤦‍♂️

[@minerblue9641]

Pretty slick.

[@sunseeker6088]

This is serious not the way to ring down this tree………pull the butt forward

[@spinecat]

nice job. I've got something similar.

[@noimagination99]

Nice work!

[@brianprobert3090]

Not exactly how I would've done it but hey..... My first step would have been to remove the lowest limb of the upright tree so it didn't interfere with the leaner movement.

[@arboristBlairGlenn]

Good job!

[@fouracrefamily9801]

Nicely done.

[@rickstafford5316]

Nice work guys

[@stokermeister3]

If the dead tree is rotten then cutting it might cause it to explode 😢

[@lucar.923]

Could have been a bloodbath! 😱😱😱

[@Ron-j3t]

Id get the tractor and work with what left, good job

[@Treeman012]

Good job

[@rb-ex]

no thank you. i dont like this thinking-inside-the-box operation at all. once you made the first cut, all you had to do was tie a long rope to equipment and drag the trunk until the whole mess is flat on the ground. it digs up a few yards of turf, but no big deal. you'd be nowhere near the danger zone when it came down, and you had plenty of room to run with that thing. all that elaborate rope tossing and tying was a waste of time and just commits you to a bad method that insures you are in danger at critical moments

[@arboristBlairGlenn]

Butt cuts in three foot sections

[@arboristBlairGlenn]

Those last cuts were pretty sketch

[@weavercattleco]

Easily could have hooked a tractor and chain up to it and pulled it down 😊

[@TreeClimberHarry]

If you have a tractor 😅

[@Dave-ei7kk]

In farm country there are tractors all around that you can hire or rent. If not that, use a winch powered by a car battery or small gas engine.

[@ron1219]

Agree, I’ve done this a few times and tied the pull line up high in another tree that’s somewhat inline with the leaner. Tie it before the first cut as it becomes more unpredictable each time you drop it. Setting the pulley up high in the anchor tree gives the leaner upward lift and prevents it from burrowing itself down into the ground.

[@fishrrelaxing9361]

Way too much dead wood hanging.. no safe way to cut this from the ground. You need a lift to trim them up or you need to winch the one tree to the ground first..

[@hollybeaumont5953]

that's how I'd do it

[@andrewjohnstone7700]

I'd use... TANNERITE....! Harder to predict which way it will fall, but you are 50-100 yards away so dont really care.

[@JohnKirchner-oi1oz]

Should have been wearing your helmet from the beginning

[@adow555]

Marty's been thru jail

[@rjbrewer57]

most dangerous profession

[@Morbius1963]

Clever

[@julianalderson3938]

What youre doin is better.

[@SepticWhelk]

Unimog and 10 ton winch LOL .

[@terrapod4898]

...or an IH3588 with turbo-charged 167hp 7.6L 6-cyl diesel engine weighing 17620 pounds with a rear lift capacity of 7500 pounds. That lodged tree would be down on the ground in 10 seconds.

[@apistosig4173]

fell the supporting tree to safely take both tree down where wanted - me thinks.

[@dwainseppala4469]

No. Just no.

[@cliffordmakings2816]

Mate, what’s with your chainsaw technique? All thumbs, arms stretched out, cutting above your shoulders! Bit of a farmer with some roping skills and an expensive helmet 😂

[@thescythian321]

Stupid and dangerous method you used. Youre lucky to be alive.

[@TreeClimberHarry]

@@thescythian321 I didn't delete your comment, lol what was it?

[@thescythian321]

I replied but it got deleted. I guess yt doesn't want it pointed out there is a certain responsibility in these "instructional" videos. Namely that some fool might try this and get squished.

[@KarlBunker]

It's easy to call someone's method "stupid and dangerous." Not so easy is explaining how it was dangerous and how the same thing could have been done more safely. But why bother with the not-so-easy approach when you can fluff yourself up by using cheap insults. right?

[@thescythian321]

@@KarlBunker it has been pointed out in detail why the method used was both stupid, unnecessary and dangerous in other comments by Tree Fellers with more experience than me. I would have been simply repeating what they said. Anyone with experience would have been alarmed by the way the tree was hanging after several cuts, depending on a dead tree to hold its weight, then (if that wasn't bad enough) he keeps cutting bits off until the tree is a 'see-saw' above his head and by then we were simply shaking our heads in dismay. Dead trees are dangerous and there is no 2nd chance if one falls on you. The young fellow was trying to play video hero when he could have made one cut and pulled the tree out safely with his ute. I just hope no one copies this craziness and gets squished. Thanks for your comment.

[@patricklandis3910]

It’s not that difficult I’ve not knocked down dead leaning trees millions of times it’s easier than anything to see a little bit of common sense and yours your brain