Dead ash next to the horse farm fence. I don't know if you can tell how much downhill the land is. Sure don't want to bust up the fence, even it equals job security! I want it to fall parallel to the fence so I'm thinking to notch it aboht 70° up hill, plunge cut it, drive a wedge in on the fence side pointing up hill then cut the strap. Think it will work? Front side Back side
^^^^^ What they said. Looks to me between this tree and that locust widow maker in your other post you need to get yourself some nice rope and a maasdam puller
We all know its obviously safest to fell a tree down hill. But someone built a darn fence there! Up hill would be second safest. Parallel with the hill can be very dangerous because of log roll. Having felled a "few" trees in the hills of Oregon, this is something I see trip people up sometimes. The grade or angle of the terrain has little impact on the actual lean of the tree itself. To me, in the pics the lean appears to be minimal. The terrain just fools your perception. Holding any improvised plumb bob (ex. A straight stick, like the twigs Eric VW uses to walk on) from your outstretched arm and hand will give you a good judge of the lean even on broken uneven terrain. Like walt said it's always hard to judge lean from 2d pictures. If the lean is the same in person as it looks in the pics, your plan sounds good to me Ralph. Except that if you want the tree to land parallel to the fence I'd move the notch closer to perpendicular with the fence. walt called it again on the hinge I'd leave it fat and use the fence side wedge to finish the fall. I'd also make your notch open faced so the hinge stays intact until the tree is on the ground so as to minimize the danger of the tree rolling. Having the tree point slightly up hill will minimize the danger of the tree rolling as well. That is how I would do it based on what I see in the pictures. But what matters is what you are comfortable with Ralph. If your uncomfortable with the fall, it couldn't hurt to toss a rope into the tree to help pull it where you want it. That'd be cheap insurance in my book. As always be safe brother Ralph.
Thanks for the sound advice. After the company departs I'm going to spend some 'quality time' re-evaluating that tree. I'd rather drop it up hill but, at first look, I thought the slope and lean were a bit much. I'll take the plum bob and check out the lean and make a determination then. I also figured on removing the lowest limbs with the pole saw before I drop it. Because most of what is on a hill I usually use an open face notch or a bore cut.
Open face and bore cut are a a safe bet for most fells. Sounds like you have a solid plan, and just needed a little nudge in the direction you were already leaning.
I like pulling trees down when I need them to fall a certain way, over the years I have used my cable quite a few times. A good rope will work also but wont take abuse like the cable. I have no idea what a cable or rope would cost now days.
I like to use old semi truck tie down straps and sewn them with loops at the end. I can add or subtract how many i need to get the correct length. Like these guys said cheap insurance. I'm blown away by all the great info on this site!
Another idea could be to stick with the easier, safer plan of felling your tree straight down hill; but first, remove the 12-16 boards and 2-3 posts of the three to four sections of fence that would be in the fall path. When you are done with the tree, put the posts back in and nail up the boards again.
Might be a little more work to take down the fence, but at least it will be there when the tree is gone. I like it!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
