Scrounging trees around houses, I guess you are more apt to hit a nail or barbed wire, etc. Is this, generally, located x-feet from the ground or not so? If you hammer a nail at chest height, as the tree grows, does the nail move up? Hmmm... I suppose not, the tree grows from the top? Just curious.
The crown grows in height, the trunk grows in diameter. Metal can be anywhere on an urban tree; trunk, crotch, limbs. If you intend to cut a lot of it, its a gamble at best. Metal detectors only detect an inch or so. Doesn't help if you are cutting into a 20 inch diameter log.
If you drive a nail into a tree at about about 4' off the ground; in 40 years the nail will still be about 4' off the ground. But it will be found deeper into the tree, usually with unhappy consequences for a chain.
I'd say you are most likely to find metal in the first 7' since thats what the average person can reach. Also fence hardware and wire in the first 4' Clothesline and dog run hardware might be up higher
Do you guys often hit metal? Is it something you worry about or take precautions for, and, if so, what? I have been lucky in urban environments over the past few years and then struck barbed wire on my own land! Blame Great Grandpa! It sure didn't do my saw any good.
I dont cut many yard trees. I've been lucky not to hit anything metal. I have found nails while splitting though
As said above, nothing moves vertically in a tree. Branches don’t move up as the tree grows. Nor does the metal luring within. Some species like oak show metal as a purple stain that runs up/down through the tree. If you ever see purple there is metal somewhere in that log. As far as finding it; Things like clothes hanger pulleys, hooks for bird feeders and light fixtures can be found further up in a tree. Hillsides factor in also. If a yard drops off you might find a clothes hanger pulley metal might be pretty high up. Done in a few chains myself on tree service wood. One of the guys who brings me wood said he figures he will lose a chain on every job. After a few direct hits you will develop a ‘touch’ for hitting metal and know instantly when to pull off on a cut. The difference between a file job and ripped off teeth.
I get most of my wood from tree services who are removing yard wood. There is metal but I luckily only hit it 3 times this summer I think.
Found these today. I’d imagine a sign of some sort. Heads of the nails were buried about 4 inches into the side of this roadside ash. Came pretty close with the saw. I have mostly oak on my property and it’s been a farm for longer than I can trace. On oaks at least you can usually see a tell tale trace that there’s barbed wire buried in the tree. The bark usually has a slight horizontal line tattooed in it.
After working for a tree service for more than 20 years I can tell you the majority of metal that you'll hit is below 10 feet. You can also spot where the nails, lag bolts, fencing and other fun items are found by looking closely at the bark. Many times you can see where a foreign object is by the growth around said object. If there's a strange pattern in a condensed area cut above or below that area.
I don't worry about it. I'll be mindful of yard trees if I suspect nails/screws etc. Last nail I hit was the second cut in a hemlock that was an edge of the yard tree. I've hit nails/metal maybe six times this year including a sign bracket and a winch cable, both in log decks that I couldn't see the back side of the log when cutting. One yard tree I bucked had electric wires several inches in. Saw sliced right thru the copper. No juice going to it. I posted threads about both. I will post the links when I have my PC back from the shop.
Not just in an urban tree. Ran into this about half way through a 2 foot cherry I had taken down last year when our culvert and driveway was repaired. Good thing kids weren't helping, they might of learned some new terms of endearment.
I had come upon a bounty of fatwood, that lighter knot stuff that happens to form in a Doug Fir when it dies. The heartwood fills with sap, concentrating it as it “tries to save itself” and leaves a handy bunch of fire starter for one who figures out how to get it. I cut and split rounds and cut the fatwood out of them. When I sorted through pieces later, there was a 3-4 inch nail that was in the heartwood. The tree sealed it up so it looked like a knot all blackened. I couldn’t tell you how far up the tree this was but wouldn’t think it was far from the 3 to 12 foot span that which is suggested above. It was bloody luck that I didn’t hit it and had found several other screws and nails on other various cuts of wood too.
These were my posts about hitting big metal Yawner . Finally got my PC back. I like heavy metal, but my chain saw doesnt. more HEAVY metal! I have a bunch of pics of metal ive run into this year and will post a thread soon.
