Hey all, the forecast was for rainy weather today, but a clearing opened up, so I decided to start on one of the trees to come down. I'm no videographer, and had to install software to link the separate videos, but let me know what you think.
Thanks Midwinter I was hesitant to post it, but as long as the link worked I was happy. MikeyB thank you, the house isn't spectacular, but the property has so many opportunities. I'm glad you guys liked the video.
Oh yeah!! With this wood being planned for 2020-2021 I think it'll have plenty of drying time. I've got a lot to drop this year, I just hope I can get it all down in a timely manner, and safely of course.
Now you need to get a stand for your phone... so we can get some action shots...... or a film crew....... ... That was very enjoyable video, there sir
great video Chaz , great looking wood as well. Getting scarce to see ash holding onto its bark when cut. Nice country out there too. How much do you have to fell yet?
Well, the property is 22 acres, with most all of it wooded hillside. Attached is a screenshot from the county GIS maps. The long slash that runs through the woods is the natural gas pipeline. They will be installing a second pipeline in the coming years, so an additional 50 foot of treeline will be coming down. That should put us on about a 7-10 year plan once it's all CSS The property.. The gas line from the ground.. All trees on the right will be dropped, going in 50 foot. 25 foot is permanent ROW (Right Of Way) for the gas company, 25 foot can be replanted. Gonna be a big project to undertake, but it'll keep us warm for many years. I just have to figure out where to put it all.
That was a nice vid, Chaz . Are you planning to start cutting for that new line, or let the gas Co. do it, then go in afterward? Knowing they're coming, would be hard to resist getting a head start.
We are keeping the logs. Chaz is going to start building a stage area. They will not bring the logs over the pipeline. But they did say they would make sure we had access to the wood. We are going to meet up with a rep from the company to discuss what we would like to have done. They have also paid us for the right away and the logs.
You hit the nail on the head. Already have 3 friends lined up and we're gonna have some fun out there. No set date as yet, still needs a bit of coordinating. I've been eyeing the trees nearly every day after work, and trying to devise a plan of attack. This is another reason that putting in the lower crossover last year was so important. Something I'd have hired out if we hadn't purchased the tractor. There's downed ash across the gas line that will season well, and anything we drop and CSS will have 2 summers or longer before it sees the stove. Gonna be a busy year. Edit.. there are some heavy leaners that I likely will not tackle, but want to drop as many as possible ourselves.
Got the tree dropped today, things didn't go as planned. Honestly, I seriously thought about not videoing the rest, but if nothing else, it can be a tutorial on what NOT to do. So, in the video, I state that I nearly cut through the hinge, which looking at the tree is quite incorrect. I DID cut through the hinge, and I guess fortunately I'm double blessed as I've always heard "God takes care of fools and idiots". So, with that out of the way.. I do think my plan of attack was appropriate, just poorly executed. Also, I state in the video that I need to purchase some wedges, as I really wished for some when I still had a nice 1 inch hinge, and the tree was not inclined to cooperate. Please feel free to critique, as that is the primary reason I did these videos.
I assume you were going with the lean of the tree? Even though the tree didnt go where you planned, it didnt get hung up or kick back and landed in a nice clear area to limb and buck. My suggestion: next time lay out your cuts carefully with a piece of chalk...something ill do even though ive been felling for years. I dont always trust my "eyeballing". I only recently began using wedges for felling, even though maybe 10% of my wood is from cutting trees down. I make my own out of scrap 2x4 lumber. Its a learning experience and were only human. I cut down two 6" DBH sugar maples in my processing area in January and hung em both up! I felt like a dummy!
Yes, the uphill portion was leaning while the downhill side was much straighter, so I felt it would naturally head that direction. I wanted it sideways, so if I left more hinge downhill it should "rotate" that direction. Even though I had approximately as much hinge as I wanted downhill, leaving no hinge uphill left it rotate further than I planned. I hope that makes sense. I'm still learning, and have a lot to tackle, so i'm trying to get as much input as possible. I think the chalk idea is good, I think it can help me better visualize, and hopefully help keep me on the "path".
