This maple is about 90' from my house and over 100' tall. Most of the serve weather comes out of the SW and would likely push it straight back so not a major concern. I want to preemptively drop it to the left which clears any snags. I am decent about putting a straight tree anywhere I want it to go; however, how do you deal with a hollow/rotten trunk that doesn't permit for a basic felling cut and wedge use? Afraid the slightest cut and things could go wonky. Hollow/rotten at least 7-8' high.
I'd cut a very shallow notch down in the root flare where there is good wood. Then bore cut the sides and leave a back strap to release it. id probably have a rope in it toward the direction you want it to go and pull it over with a come along.
Look up cutting or "felling" a catface tree. Should give a few ideas and things to think about. A catface is never fun and each is unique to itself and general advice should be taken with a big grain of salt. Owl
Consider a scaffold or something. Cut it high over the hollow section and then take the shortened stump down with a bucket pushing it at the top the direction you want.
I second roping it. Get the rope as high a you can. If you have a helper with a tractor or truck that would be good. If your solo I've had good luck using another tree and a ratchet style come along. Be safe
Hollow trees scare me if I have to fell them especially if you don't know the center is hollow or rotted. The birch I took down the other day was kinda like that. Dead but the meat was good in the center as I cut the notch. In this case I'd rope it off and wrap above the felling cuts with a ratchet strap/come-a-long to minimize any barber chairing. Be safe, good luck and let us know how it goes.
Rope it as high as you can. Preferably at least 3/4 up the tree. Use a throw weight and small throw line if needed. Make a shallow Humboldt face cut low. Bore cut it to set the hinge and pull it over. There’s plenty of hinge material under that cat face. Probably want to use your worst chain as it will be very dirty cutting conditions. If you cut off a scaffold or out of a tractor bucket 8 feet in the air where are you supposed to run if/when stuff doesn’t go to plan?
My concern as well… unless you have some Spidey wrist mounted spider web slingin’ setup and the Spidey senses to accommodate.
Do not try to do it alone. Agree with the guys who say shallow cut and have a rope high with constant pull the way you want it to go with a friend and piece of equipment/truck pulling rope. Did exactly this with a 16" DBH cat face black birch 15' from my cabin the other year that looked exactly like your picture, worked prefect.
If I could fall it straight back from the view shown I'd cut it like any other tree . Maybe cut it most of the way and pull it over if I could. That's what I've done in the past. Right or wrong. I've done one the opposite way, too. (towards the camera). Any way, I'd have a rope on it for sure. I've been the one pulling on the rope, too. +1 on get the rope as high up for leverage.
Is there any lean to it or an over-weighted side? factor that in and use the lean if possible. What is the diameter? I usually go around a tree a couple times assessing the lean and drop zone and looking up for potential hanging limbs. Hard lean with a hollow stem complicates things. Escape routes look clear, but we can't really tell from this pic. I like Brad's barber chair prevention. I like a Bull rope up high on a 4WD truck or large tractor with some pre-tension. Big Shot with a toss rope to set the bull rope high as possible is a plus if available. Shallow face cut to maximize hinge wood due to the hollow. If the root flare gives extra wood to work with as mentioned above that could be worth considering. I'd probably bore cut (if you're comfortable with it) in to set the hinge wood at 10 to 15% of tree diameter probably from each side to ensure not making the hinge too small. I've accidentally done that on the far side of a felling cut but fortunately there were no bad consequences for me. Set wedges in the bore cuts before cutting the trigger wood at the back of the felling cut to ensure it can't set back on the bar if the lean isn't what it looked like. I've cut several trees that I planned to not actually have it fall while I'm at the stump. Dangerous trees I like to prep the cut then nudge it over from 150' away in my truck backing away in 4W Lo. It can be extra work prepping this set-up but better safe than sorry. I've had many go right where I've wanted them and the bull rope turned out to be unnecessary, but it sure is good insurance... Plan for safety as always. There's MUCH better fellers out there than me and assessing the situation from one picture is not a good practice. Take your time and think it through. It sounds like you've done some felling and the fact that you recognize extra precautions may be needed is great. If you aren't comfortable with the plan you come up with don't risk it. Safety, safety, safety. I'm a belt and suspenders kinda guy.
Just got back inside the house after delivering firewood all day. I much appreciate all the advice and agree I need to tie this thing up high with my come along and cut very low. If it falls straight back and gets hung on another tree that is no big deal since it keeps my house safe. I also will contact a buddy to the north of me has a big trackhoe that could push well above the hollow/rot while I am cutting. I never feel comfort cutting down standing trees even though I have done it maybe a hundred times. Like the stuff already on the ground.
