#12 Stump/Tree Pulling FAIL with snatch block pulleys 5:1 Mechanical Advantage [4K 60FPS]

[@ianshand6094]

Hey Brian (?), some great videos of man versus trees. Who would've thought watching someone pull down trees, or pull out stumps, in 4K no less, would be so riveting? Because most of your viewers are men, we can't help ourselves in offering up suggestions and solutions - after the fact 😂. No wonder our wives get frustrated with us 😁. You're doing a great job. There's nothing wrong with failures, as we all learn, and get a good chuckle as an added bonus. From this video, we've learned why some trees snap in a storm and others pop right out. Different species of trees have different characteristics and require different pulling strategies. By the time you get halfway through pulling all these trees on your property, you're going to be able to consult yourself out as a tree removal specialist. Looking forward to seeing how you get the stump out on this one. From an appreciative viewer in New Zealand. Cheers, Ian.

[@brainhomestead6]

Ian, I appreciate everything you said! I’m uploading another fail video right now and I’m getting frustrated. I just broke a strap and it’s really bugging me. I’ll get it eventually, but not yet.

[@caotropheus]

Thank you for the video. It looks like to avoid trees to break like this one, you need to pull not just from a single point but from two or three points along the trunk. Just like you said, better to use two trees as anchors as well. I do not know the species but I am certain that some species tend to break the trunk and leave the roots inside the soil (for regeneration) and other species will just be easier to uproot.

[@brainhomestead6]

Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to go back to the drawing board. It seems the hardwoods are better for this method, but it does seem like I should be able to figure out a reliable way to do this.

[@yaykruser]

@@brainhomestead6Maybe attach it as low as you had it in the end and use more pulleys?

[@brainhomestead6]

@@yaykruser yeah, that’s what I’m going to try. The next tree I’m going to put more effort into prep work.

[@78shaney]

Thanks for showing the fail

[@brainhomestead6]

No problem. These videos never do as well, but guys that are looking to use this method like seeing different things that can go wrong.

[@billparrish4385]

Seems like if you auger a few more holes to cut through horizontal roots, leave a garden hose running overnight to thoroughly soak the remaining ones plus the taproot, and strap to it with either lower or multiple points along that softwood trunk, it should ease out of there. It would appear the softer wood is what allowed the trunk to snap like that versus the previous hardwoods tolerating a high attachment point. Also noticed your tires starting to slip there at the end of the pull. Not sure what your equipment budget is, but a couple more snatch blocks with the requisite cabling and treesaver straps should remedy that through the extra mechanical advantage. Finally, a rope dampener blanket across those cables, especially driving that tractor in line with all that force on them, would seem like a must. At those loads, a broken cable whipping back seems like would cut you clean in two, bro. If it was me driving that thing, my entire neck and back flesh would be visibly rippling with the heebie-jeebies! lol Stay safe!

[@brainhomestead6]

Thanks, man! I do have more snatch blocks and cables, but I haven’t had to use them for whole trees before. I’ll have to get some more straps though because I just trashed one.

[@wayneswonderarium]

FWIW those are synthetic rope so they aren't nearly as prone to snap back

[@brainhomestead6]

@@wayneswonderarium yep, they don’t hold as much energy, have a higher break strength, and easier to work with. They can’t handle nearly as much abuse though.

[@keanmeyer7877]

Mr. Brain, another riveting video! I love the suspense because you are just not sure what is going to happen. Failures are good to see too. A couple things that I think would improve your video: One, I was excited to see the time lapse of the setup from 3:43 - 5:12, but I'm wondering if you spliced in the wrong segment....because to me I don't see anything change. Two, I liked the auger segment, with the time lapse, but after the first hole was dug, I think the time lapse could have been sped up maybe another 4x. Watching you do all of the holes felt a little long. I watch a fair amount of videos by Andrew Catamara and he really has a good feel for when to super speed up the time lapse. He usually starts out at a slower time lapse and then speeds it up more to shorten a long segment. Here is an example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onSngqZjfJ6KrJI. I can't wait to see how you solve this video. I'm stumped on what you'll do next. 🙂

[@brainhomestead6]

Thanks for watching and the suggestions. I’ll have to go back and watch the first time lapse because I did have two and i didn’t use one because nothing really happened, so you are probably right. I didn’t know if I should put the whole auger segment in there and I kept speeding it up to cut down on time. I like your idea, start slow then greatly increase the redundant holes speed. It’s been raining here for the last two days so it will take a bit before I can attempt it again.

[@dddarnell]

Your vids are great and I will use what you've taught me to pull out some of my own trees soon. Have you tried using an old wheel to direct the force up as opposed to horizontal? I've seen other vids do this with various levels of success. The force might be too much on the wheel for the larger trees.

[@brainhomestead6]

I think if I were to do that, I would need a tractor tire.

[@gunslinger8718]

I am a new subscriber and watched all of your stump pulling videos today. It would be good if you would show routing each cable end around the pulleys. Are you using one cable or multiple cables?

[@brainhomestead6]

I am using multiple cables, I usually try to show the routing.

[@AnthonyClark-ci6vu]

Brian I have some trees around 12 to 14 inches in diameter. I have a 75 hp 4 wheel drive tractor. What would you recommend the working load limit be of my snatch blocks, ropes, straps, chains? Thank you so much for taking time to post these videos I find them very educational

[@brainhomestead6]

It’s really hard to say because it depends on soil composition, what kind of tree it is, etc. I’ve been finding out there’s no catch-all setup for doing this.

[@yaykruser]

I think thats the first time a tree won 😁 I think one could attach a truss to the tree with ratchet straps to avoid breaking, but its probably easier to lower the pulling point. I am planning on building a 20-30 ton stump puller that works like a giant lashing chain. ( a left and a right threaded screw getting pulled togeter by a long nut) Can you borrow me a few stumps to test it out when its built?😅

[@brainhomestead6]

Well, I’m sure I’ll have plenty left to do!

[@seanseoltoir]

It doesn't really matter whether it is a hardwood or softwood, what matters is the root structure / depth... A tree with roots that spread out along the surface is going to be easier to pull over than a tree with deep roots... And that is more dependent on the species of the tree and soil than whether it is a hard or soft wood... I notice that a lot after hurricanes around here on the Gulf Coast...

[@brainhomestead6]

I’ve actually been surprised that I have an easier time the harder the wood is and may soil here is just clay and when it dries, it might as well be concrete.

[@seanseoltoir]

@@brainhomestead6 -- Around here, we have clay and it really sucks digging post holes in it... If we haven't had any rain in awhile, it can dry out to be like a rock, but if it is wet, it won't come up your post hole diggers or shovels... But you figure that you only need to "dig a couple of holes", so no reason to rent a power auger... Until you get a visit from Mr. Heatstroke... :( How the trees get their water also determines their root structure... If they getting a lot of light surface waterings, the roots will spread out along the surface... If they are not getting as much water, they will seek it out deeper -- assuming the water table is within reach... I'm not an expert in this, but I've noticed a few things over the decades of living in areas frequented by strong thunderstorms and hurricanes... We had a lot of trees blown over by the recent Hurricane Beryl and all the ones that I've seen so far seem to have roots that are growing along the surface, not deep... Which, considering how people set their irrigation times, probably indicates shallow surface waterings...

[@brainhomestead6]

@@seanseoltoir being in northwest Georgia we get no in between it seems. Either the wettest year on record or the driest. I’m editing another video right now and will probably post it early next week or maybe tomorrow if I get a chance to finish editing it.

[@seanseoltoir]

@@brainhomestead6 -- I thought that all you had in Georgia was *kudzu*...

[@brainhomestead6]

@@seanseoltoir I have no idea what that is…

[@richardgerman9351]

Brian , can you tell us if using a 13000 lb electric winch could produce sufficient pulling power to take down similar age trees (80' white pine trees maybe 15 to 20" diameter) using Mechanical Advantage systems up to 42:1? How much difference can the tractor improve on pulling power.. what is your profession full time?

[@brainhomestead6]

I’m a laser engineer and I work from home. I’m not sure I can intelligently tell you if a 13,000lb winch could work on that tree with 42:1, but my instincts say yes if you can find enough anchor trees. I think the pulling force with my tractor is on 4000-5000lbs if I had to guess. Im going to do that big pine next after I change my procedure a bit, so I’ll be able to give you a more intelligent answer then.

[@richardgerman9351]

@@brainhomestead6 thanks Brian and much appreciated. I have lake front property at Lake Anna in Virginia. Its only a 1.2 acres plot however there are many white pines I will be taking out between now and Nov 2030 . Once I retire I am considering purchasing a compact tractor similar to yours to help me manage trees and landscaping. But until retirement I have the winch

[@brainhomestead6]

@@richardgerman9351 I figured the hardwood trees would be more difficult, but that’s not the case. It’s the softwood trees that are being the biggest pain so far. Mine are yellow pine.

[@richardgerman9351]

I am a Microbiologist. Love the science n engineering talk

[@brainhomestead6]

@@richardgerman9351 I know what you mean. I like most things science related, except organic chemistry.

[@pauls4708]

why not use more leberage ie more mechaninal advantage like your earlier videos?

[@brainhomestead6]

I am going to, but the problem was the anchor trees because I heard one popping already and the stump never moved. I got it figured out now to spread the load and make it a compound system. It rained 3” in the last couple days so it has to dry out a bit first.

[@joshgross8741]

Waging war with the trees.

[@brainhomestead6]

One tree in particular is winning the battle.