In all my life, I've only cut down "live" trees. Got a line on some standing dead EAB Ash that's essentially "drive-upable". Don't know that I'll be able to get in on it, but I'd figure I'd axe sooner vs. later. What do I need to watch for cutting standing dead trees vs. standing live trees is essentially what I'm axing. Any input is appreciated.
Most of what I get is down already, but most standing dead trees definitely require a spotter in my novice feller's opinion. Falling limbs and unpredictable "break" due to punkiness or hollow trunk always seemed too risky to do alone, for me.
The longer its been standing, the more dangerous it is.. I wouldn't think that a hollow tree would be your biggest concern in a mid sized 10-18" standing dead ash that was killed by EAB. Many parasites attack and kill already weakened trees (hollow, damaged, drought stricken, overtopped).. Unfortunately, EAB gets everything.. So something that was perfectly healthy last year could be dead as a doornail this year.. That said, cutting within a year or two of death of these ash, you should still be able to get a good hinge in solid wood and and be able to put a tree where you want it with proper technique (within reason barring excessive lean). As others have said, make sure you look up and be ready to move due to falling branches.. I'd recommend a pull rope 1/3 of the way up the tree just in case the hinge gets too thin so you don't cut through it. Look for signs of carpenter ants or termites to indicate that the tree is less than sound. If you have a question about a specific tree, post a couple of pics of it here for the masses to debate over the best way to get it done... Be safe..
All I cut is dead standing Red Oak and all of the above need to be looked for. I find that most of my trees have lost there branches for the most part. The bigest worry I have is hollow trunks do to carpenter ants. I have found that if I tap the trunk with a hammer you get a hollow thump from the worst ones. This let's me know if I need to be extra carefull and slow with the first cut. That said we should always be aware of the dangers any tree could present. Good luck on getting in on this. You will find that dead wood is great wood when it comes to seasoning time.
Two years No leaves EAB tree from two weekends ago... solid as could be just brittle with a few small hangers and a s**t storm of dead toothpicks to rake up when it hits the ground
Many places, state cutting areas, all you can cut is dead standing or down trees. Out West dead standing lodge pole pine is the staple wood. A different animal , but use good technique & awareness As with any tree, Real important to keep looking up as the tree falls . Escape route is cleared. Pay real close attention to the wedge & hinge cuts, When pounding wedges , look up for falling limbs or tops Nice thing, wood it a lot lighter to handle, & seasons fast ... many times ready to burn. Ash is prime wood !!!
I cut a lot of 5+ years dead ash. They seem to toughen up a bit and need a slightly (1/4" to 3/8" thinner) thinner hinge. The hinge also seems to break/snap rather than pull/ stretch about half way through the fall. Around my AO carpenter ants leave ash alone and hit the black cherry, oak, and both locust varieties.
Other thing I find with dead standing with Red Oak anyway is chains dull faster. Some times I will buck up some logs at night and many times you can see sparks fly do to the wood being so dry.
Echoing the comments above, standing dead just requires more care and attention, as you have 'widowmakers' above you in the form of dead branches that can snap off at any point. We don't have EAB here in VT yet, but I still cut a lot of dead ash. Got to get to it within a year or it starts to rot fast. I have never found a hollow ash tree. Hickory, on the other hand, seems to be hollow all the time.
That is correct. I cut about 20 to 30 dead lodge pole a year. The most common thing a I run into is the base is starting to rot. I have a tendency to make my face cuts a little deep and I usually spot the rot before I make the back cut.
I think you should use a chainsaw instead of an axe. Would be safer. Sorry man. Can't believe no one said anything sooner.
I've been cutting a LOT of dead standing ash lately killed by EAB. I've noticed the trees sometimes act a little different than an ash that died naturally. Normally, when an ash tree dies it falls naturally from the top down, meaning first the small twigs will fall off, then larger branches, then the larger limbs, all over a period of a few years leaving you with pretty much just a trunk. So when dropping one, you have to watch out for the weak dead limbs that could fall on you, but the trunk is still completely solid. EAB killed ash works like that 90% of the time. But in some cases, the entire trunk will get weak and the trunk will snap long before it loses all it's twigs. There's about 4-5 ash trees in my woods that have fallen completely on their own after only being dead 18 months or so. Luckily all the ones I've cut down myself have been solid, but I'm EXTREMELY cautious when dropping them and there's a couple that look bad enough that I refuse to drop.
We started cutting the white ash in 2002 and have cut well over 90% of our firewood with dead ash since then. We did not have a problem with falling limbs until about 4 years ago, which puts it around the 10th year range. Then around 3 years ago we started finding ash trees falling on their own because they rot at the root and then tip over. Most of the wood is still good though and in this bunch of white ash we've had only 2 we have not cut up because they had fallen and turning punky. We could have cut them and burned but was not needed as we still have plenty to cut up yet. There are some others that have fallen that we won't get but they are only in the 2-5" diameter range so not worth monkeying with because of all the good stuff still left to get. In all my years of logging and cutting firewood, I have found only one white ash that had carpenter ants in it. That one had broken off about 12' up when a bad wind storm went through. I left it for several years and that is no doubt why the carpenter ants were in it. I do not ever remember cutting a hollow ash tree.
