I have a fallen tree in my back yard, probably poplar. It has fallen in between two other trees making it difficult to cut up. The high part is about 6 ft off the ground so a sudden drop is possible. The low part is accessible but I am not sure how to cut it up without getting the saw stuck. Any ideas? Maybe a jack on the bottom part? It is maybe 16 inches across.
Hard to see everything from your pic, can’t tell where the pressure is. If you have wedges, cut halfway in, stop saw, hammer in a wedge than finish the cut.
May not be the safest, but I’d cut it from the uphill side and make my cut as close to the small tree as possible. Be ready to step to your right when it falls as the base of the trunk of the big tree may cause the log to roll toward you. Good luck!
I never use a wedge. I will start a regular cut but before half way through it is time to cut from the bottom up rather than top down. When making the top cut, keep a close eye on the kerf. You can also stop at 1/3 then get that saw below the log and cut with the top of the bar and go up.
It's poplar, just pile some brush around it, a little charcoal lighter and a match. Forgive me I couldn't resist
In my mind this tree is easy. And of course there are always several ways to skin a cat. But if I was going to cut it into firewood, I would probably start at the bottom (low end of log) and start by cutting it on the top and far side a little bit from the up hill side, then I would drag the tip of my bar down the near side and cut a ways, then come up from the bottom for the final cut, of course the first cut might not have enough room for the bar to go under the log, in which case, I would not finish that cut, and I would just move on up a stove wood's length and do same thing. If you have air underneath the tree, I would just keep cutting stove wood lengths off if it, until I was mostly done cutting up the tree. The tree will drop a little every time you cut a piece off, but if done right, your saw will be clear and not get pinched. However, if you don't want to do that, then I would still make cuts at stove wood lengths starting at the bottom and watch the gap as I cut down from the top, and stop before I got pinched and keep moving up hill on the tree, until I got close to the two trees holding it, then I would probably start a cut at about a 20 to 30 degree angle from the top down, sloping away from the low end. I would keep a close eye on it, and might stick a wedge in the top of the cut if I thought it needed it, and I would also probably make the last of the bottom cut from the bottom of the log, while standing on the uphill side of the ground, but that would be a judgement call to make at that time. The log should fall clear, just be ready to pull your saw out of the way as it breaks loose. This is also one of those cases where I like a longer bar, to be able to stay farther away from the tree as I make that cut. That way probably the worst thing that will happen is I won't get my saw clear, and the tip gets shoved into the dirt by the falling log, but that probably won't happen. Then I would finish bucking up the log, using my cant-hook to roll the log over if I needed to and I would try to roll the log where the uncut part is on top, then I would probably stick my bar in the existing cuts and come up with the bar to finish the cuts on each piece of stove wood, being careful not to allow a kickback, but of course one needs to individually evaluate each and every cut, and make the best decision on how to do it. Once again I prefer a long bar for this kind of cutting. Stand up a buck, as they say. It's safer and easier on the my back.
Start at the lowest point and buck 4'+/- sections off. If you are not comfortable going 4', single rounds can be done with the same result. Cut from top first 1/2 -2/3 way through making sure saw doesnt bind. As stated you can use a wedge to keep the kerf open to prevent binding. Then under cut from bottom to finish the cut. 4' section will drop to ground as will end of trunk. Repeat until you can free up bind. Work from the uphill side. Be sure to clear brush, saplings, prickers etc. from the work area so you can move quickly and safely should you need to. Pic of trunk i bucked showing wedges in kerf. Here's a link to a leaner i felled with the same basic idea JackHammer A Beech Named Eileen! Work safe and let us know how you make out.
Yeah, it is a little hard to see. The tree is quite heavy and has pressure in large amounts on both ends. This is the first scenario I have been in exactly like this and I think I have been doing it mostly correct- really just working cuts from the top and bottom and using wedges as spacers. I worked on it a little a few weeks ago before I got snowed out. If I start from the low end of the tree, I think the trunk will wind up fully supported by the forked trunks. I would like to use some sort of a jack or lever to support it a little better. I may work on that a bit. Based on the comments, it sounds like this is not impossible.
This is great, thanks for taking the time to break this all down. I had a tree drop 2-3 ft a while back and it was a reminder of how heavy these things are. Better to be safe. I think you are right, I will need to make some judgement calls. From a technical standpoint, this is starting to make sense.
You could hammer in Y-shaped limb under it and then cut the trunk, but you are adding more complications to it, and might cause it to shift unexpectedly, not sure it would be any safer. Maybe a sturdy Y-shaped limb hammered in under it, and also a rope to hold it from falling sideways after you cut it, to keep it from falling towards you, but I think it's an unnecessary extra step and complication. The main thing is just make sure it can't fall on you. Getting your saw pinched is a minor problem compared to getting yourself pinched.
Like most have said, I would cut it up into rounds just like it sits, starting from the ground end, cutting about 1/2 ish through then finishing the cut from the bottom and repeat tell done. Looks like the bark is coming off like a elm, but hard to see from photo
I had a tree job i did back in December that i had to support. Tree landed on garage roof and i had to support it as i cut from top down so once i got beyond the roofs edge it wouldnt drop and damage the siding.
I don't know how much saw you have, but I'd do like Lastmohecken said & just undercut every round to stove length. No chain in the dirt & no pinched bar. Cut from the uphill side & watch for any sudden shift. I actually use my right thigh as a lever point on the rear handle if the saw to take some strain off my left arm.
Yeah that's pretty much what I did. I got a round stuck in the fork there and I noodled it. Everything else was pretty clean and easy. ...except maybe moving those rounds!
