I asked my aunt about 2 dead oaks in a pasture behind her house, she said go ahead. Tree #1, this is what I found & I got it down. It has been standing dead for about 12 years. I believe most of it is ready to burn as soon as I get it bucked & split. Apparently my cousins son & a buddy tried “hacking” it down a few years ago, junked his dads Husky 357 & caught the tree in fire in the process. Here is the next one to come down when I get time.
I was pretty leery of it, it didn’t lose any debris when I was working on it. Chit was flying when it hit the ground though. Yes, that is some of Mother Natures finest growing there.
There is a small creek that runs right behind this one. I am thinking I will probably use a rope/puller & some wedges to try and keep it out in the pasture. I will have to better assess the lean next time I am there.
12 year dead standing can be rough on chain(s). I put my oiler on full blast when I do dead standing red oak. I don't care if I waste a little oil. It seems to help keep the heat down cutting petrified heartwood. Even if there is a little moisture in the center it dries out pretty darn quick from my experience.
How the heck do you catch a tree on fire while cutting it down? Too bad for the saw and tree, but youre reaping the rewards now. Glad it came down safe. Probably ready to burn as well. Did you check the MC on the heartwood?
I thought I had my moisture meter in the pickup but didn’t so I will do some checking when get it bucked, split & hauled home. I have to think that they dulled the chain/chains & got everything hot. If they seized the p/c in the saw they must of really been getting after it. My uncle said that’s what happened, he saw smoke & the tree was on fire & it looked like it started at the base. I think they probably had the “saw dust” pile smoldering, didn’t notice & walked away.
Good grief, that first one could go right in the stove! Great score. I'm guessing someone make a notch then thought maybe they put it on the wrong side and were too scared to make the back cut.
Maybe they straight-gassed the saw, didn't know it needed a mix fuel. Personally, with so many widow maker limbs, I would probably not take that tree without having another set of eyes to constantly watch it as I cut. And I probably wouldn't do it at all. Yes, it would probably turn out ok but what if it doesn't? Trees are dangerous. I was talking to a man yesterday who is 82 years old, a local tree man. Small enough in stature and wiry enough, he was a good tree climber for people around here. Something happened to his knees, I forget what and he was in the hospital and got a staff infection and had a heckuva time getting over it, it was really bad. He lost 20 lbs, he now weighs 140 lbs and he said he doubts he will ever be able to get the 20 lbs back. Said his tree cutting is likely over. He has always been in such good shape! Anyway, he was talking to me about trees and shook his head about how many times he has done something 'wrong' and it almost cost him dearly. What brought on that conversation was him telling me about a mutual friend we have who lost three fingers to a log splitter.
Sorry for them, but it looks like they did you a favor in the process Bet you’ll have the whole tree processed in the time it took them to attempt felling it!
I took the moisture meter today, pieces that I checked ranged from 15% - 22%. I made a Swedish candle out of a 5” dia. piece, I can’t even get it to light with a oxygen/acetylene torch…. Maybe my meter is off or Oak just doesn’t make good candles.
Now we know how that fire could have been much worse. Glad you got it down without a hitch and not someone else.
I got the 2nd dead bur oak down this evening, my back cut was less than stellar but I laid it down right where I wanted it to go with some wedges & rope/winch. It’s about 34” at the base cut. There is going to be a lot of firewood in this one. The earth shook when it hit the ground.
