Dead Birch Tree (Widow Maker) Falling Down - Need Suggestions

[Ponypoor]

As a retired logger, if you are not experienced in cutting trees and are not sure where it will fall get help from someone who is experienced. In the thousands of trees I have felled I never cut one that I did not know where it was going to fall. Its called directional felling, it all starts with the notch you put in the tree on which way you want it to go. Then you may need to use wedges to help it go that direction. But you are right dead/ rotted trees are unpredictable on what they might do. Be careful.

I was about to make this very suggestion. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Ponypoor]

I want to thank everyone for their comments and just let you know what I ended up doing. It was a bit from a number of suggestions, which worked for me, and the tree is now down on the ground, and I was able to walk away with ending up on YouTube! I have few pictures to share along with final comments on some of your suggestions. Again, thanks for all the responses.



I have a number of 2-inch tow ropes rated at 3,300 lbs each. I had not considered pulling the tree down before reading your suggestion. Thanks.

Here was my initial tow strap setup. I had the strap wrapped around the trunk up about 10 feet high. Two straps, each 20-feet-long, giving me 40 feet from the tree. More than a safe distance for me to pull on the tree. I had planned on hooking it up to my vehicle, but when I tugged on the rope, I was able to move the trunk by armstrong. I knew at that time I would not even need to hook it up to my vehicle.

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I was all prepared to use an anchor tree and use some kind of redirection if needed. But when I pulled on the tow straps, the tree moved, so I knew it would not take much to take it down.



Although the tree moved when I pulled on it, it was still too strong for me to pull it down by myself. I cut a notch in the direction of where I wanted the trunk to fall...

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Then I did a back cut part of the way, but not nearly as far in as I would normally with a healthy tree. The wood was so rotted, that there was practically no resistance to the chain and I did not want to overcut and risk the dumb tree falling down on me...

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Exactly, but pulling the tow straps fell the tree exactly where I wanted it. All it took was one or two tugs from me and the tree came down. Here is a look at the "hinge" on the stump...

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Nothing pretty about that hinge. It was all rotted and punky. If I had not pulled it down, I'm not sure how the hinge would have broken and where the tree would have finally fell down.

Here are some pictures showing how far I was from the tree - 40 feet away. And then a close up of the top of the trunk to give you an idea of how rotted the tree was even 15-20 feet high...

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Yep, I made a shallow face cut and the back cut only went in part of the way. I did not want to take take this tree down with the chainsaw.



I decided to burn all that rotted wood. I moved a burn ring to the site and have started soaking the stump with oil/diesel mixture. I keep adding oil/diesel for a few days and let it soak in good.

Here is a picture of the whole tree on the ground. I cut everything up into about 12 inch rounds. The wood was really rotted out and each round weighs almost nothing...

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My tow straps have loops on both ends. So, I never had to put any knots in the straps. Honestly, the tree was so rotted out that I could probably have pulled it down with a 3/8-inch nylon rope. The tow straps are just much safer.

Again, thanks for all the responses and I just wanted to tell you all how it ended well.

Very glad it’s down. Those Poplars (Aspens) are what we call dirty trees they grow fast and shed branches like
Crazy - I’ve had them fall next to while out riding in the bush. Drives me bonkers cleaning up after them all the time.

Another dirty tree is weeping Willow. I get so fed up cleaning up after those trees. I always worry they’ll drop a big branch on one of the horses and injure them.