Neighbor lady has several dead standing trees she has been wanting cut down. I cut one a couple of weeks ago and split that up for her. There were two smaller ones that had blown over already, and I bucked those up early this week. This afternoon I decided to tackle an old hollow red oak. I've been side stepping this one due to it being hollow. Plus side was it was away from any structure minus a temporary power supply for some lighting. I sounded it with my fiskars, and made a bore cut up about 4 feet confirming the hollow. I made a shallow notch, started the back cut till I felt it break through. Pulled the saw out, and set the wedge. About 10 good licks with the fiskars and I heard it start to crack. I stepped back and let gravity do the rest. Missed my mark to the left by about 5 feet, but no harm no foul. I threw a few pieces on the wood hauler trailer before calling it a day to enjoy some homemade enchiladas.
Had to read the title again. Lol. At first I thought it said “Dropped a dead standing oak ON my neighbor.” Glad that wasn’t the case!
I dropped an ailanthus in that shape once. Looked perfect from the outside and I didn't realize it was hollow until I was well into my back cut. Nothing to do at that point but keep cutting and hope it doesn't fall on anything important. Definitely gave me the willies. You might want to trade that straddle-type ATV for something with a proper seat like a Deere Gator. It will be more comfortable for you or anyone else with cajones big enough to knowingly drop a tree in that condition. Good work!
