Today's mini project was a leaning redcedar, around 12" diameter. Had a mulcher come out but he left a bunch of stragglers. I suspect he's got PTSD from homeowners whining that he took out their beloved tree one too many times. Vanquished: Anyway, ezpz. I'm sure most folks know how to walk down a leaner, and this was an easy one but for those that don't: You do a wedge like normal, and then backcut from the top, dropping the bottom of the tree onto the ground and off the stump. From there you can use a winch or come-along to drag the tree backwards horizontal onto the ground. Here's the safety tip: pole saws aren't just for limbs! On risky cuts, you can perform 90% of your cut with a normal saw and then finish the job at a distance with a pole saw. They even make extensions so you can be very far away from the cut. Anyway, they're not great for every job but they come in handy a lot.
Nice take down. I find more uses for my pole saw but I haven't thought to use it like that. Thanks for the tip!
Great job sir. Safety first. I only have a Dewalt 20v pole saw so I'd be there half of the day trying to take down a bigger tree. Handy tool for sure.
The idea is you do most of the cutting with a normal saw and then finish the job with the pole saw at a safe distance.
Gotcha! My bad! Helps if I read the entire thing! I've got a technique I'll use (not on learner's) where I'll use a big saw to make most of the cuts, pound a steel wedge in the back and if need be use a small saw to nibble at the hinge until it falls. No risk of hitting the wedge and safer to beat feet when the tree goes over. Mostly used when I encounter a spar with not top weight and a lot of work to get it past the center of gravity.
It all depends on the load of the tree. I have tried this technique before on much bigger trees and got the bar pinched; like unimaginably pinched. There can be a lot of weight pushing back down on the stump. Getting one down can be very tricky at times. Glad it worked out for you...
I think this might depend on saw a little bit. My electric saw gets pinched constantly because of the kerf but my gas saw doesn't have the same issue. That said I think the 2 things that can be done to help avoid this is to use a shallower wedge cut so the wood doesn't move as much, and also as soon as you feel the cut closing up, back out. You can go back in and try to widen it up on a second pass.
