Whittled on this sucker all weekend. Cut approx 2 cords out of just the top. Haven't tackled the heart of the trunk yet. Not sure my 20 inch saws can handle it!
Looks like you did just fine with the image. That is a big oak! I'd bet a 20" bar would be enough to tackle that but what saw do you have that bar on? Remember that you don't have to have the bar go all the way through to get it done. Looks like there is not big root ball so should not have to worry so much about it standing back up as you cut it but we can't see the whole thing in the picture so please be careful.
Ive actually got 4 saws with 20 inch bars on them. 3 husqvarna's and 1 sportsman. All 50CC or bigger. I know Ill have to cut both sides or the trunk but even at that Im not sure if we will be able to reach all the way through without somehow rolling it... Thats the problem. This thing is huge. Picture does it no justice lol. I was able to cut it back to where it first Y's out and those cuts were all at least 26-28 inches thick.
Cut some limbs and stick them under the trunk to prop it up. It's off the ground now, make sure to keep it that way.
You also might want to hammer into the root ball a few branches, to keep the trunk horizontal. As Backwoods Savage mentions, that root ball might want to tip back into the hole as you work back along the trunk. The weight of the trunk is what is keeping it horizontal.
From what I can best tell about the root ball is its pretty well dislocated with the exception of just a few smaller roots. We will definitely get some logs and jacks put under that sucker before we start cutting. Way to dangerous not to do so.
Also this tree fell in a pretty upper class neighborhood so as we were working on it Saturday we have 3 other people who live in the area stop and offer us more "free" wood. Several other red oak and white oaks didnt fare very well in the massive wind storm we have back in early March
Yes sir! This in particular has went to 5 different families so far. I sell firewood from November until March so its been a little hectic the last few weeks.
X2. Excellent advice. Ifs it already off the ground its half the battle. Thats a HUGE plus in my book. The trunk i was bucking yesterday had no clearance and i ended up hitting dirt twice. Couldnt roll it either. Can you rent a larger CC saw with a longer bar just for the trunk? That is an enormous tree Donny Price
