Timber!

[C James]

I heat my house with firewood in winter, and I get the wood by chopping down trees on my property. Most often, they are Ponderosa pines, around 70 ft tall. Sometimes, they die with no help from me, and dead trees are hazardous; they can fall with no warning. One near my house died, and it was close enough to my garage to be a worry, so I decided that it had to go, and was in a very convenient location for firewood.

 

So, I got to work. I notched the thing the way I wanted it to fall, and started cutting on the other side. So far, so good. It started to move, and I jumped back, and turned off my chainsaw, expecting to watch it fall. It leaned over a few feet, and then it stopped. First time I've seen one do that, and I've felled a lot of trees.

 

It's darn dangerous to be near one when it goes (they can kick back at the base) so I had no intention of resuming my cutting.

 

Figuring that it was likely hanging on by a hair, I retreated to the house and got my 30-06 rifle. The idea; blast at the area of the cut. I figured that could tip the scale and let the tree fall by chewing up the remaining wood. Ten rounds later, nada.

 

Did I mention that I'm careful to fell trees in calm winds? OTherwise they can blow over in unexpected directions?

Well, a gust of wind came out of nowhere.. The tree didn't fall the way I'd cut, or back. It fell sideways. I now have lots of firewood. The problem is, much of it used to be my workshed, near my garage, where the tree landed. Oh well. coulda been worse, I could have flattened my garage, too.

[DragonFire]

That was too funny dude! It could only happen to a goat.

[Phantom]

Ya know... you can't go anywhere without some form of destruction in your wake!

 

 

Not to self... stay away from goats

[Benji]

I heat my house with firewood in winter, and I get the wood by chopping down trees on my property. Most often, they are Ponderosa pines, around 70 ft tall. Sometimes, they die with no help from me, and dead trees are hazardous; they can fall with no warning. One near my house died, and it was close enough to my garage to be a worry, so I decided that it had to go, and was in a very convenient location for firewood.

 

So, I got to work. I notched the thing the way I wanted it to fall, and started cutting on the other side. So far, so good. It started to move, and I jumped back, and turned off my chainsaw, expecting to watch it fall. It leaned over a few feet, and then it stopped. First time I've seen one do that, and I've felled a lot of trees.

 

It's darn dangerous to be near one when it goes (they can kick back at the base) so I had no intention of resuming my cutting.

 

Figuring that it was likely hanging on by a hair, I retreated to the house and got my 30-06 rifle. The idea; blast at the area of the cut. I figured that could tip the scale and let the tree fall by chewing up the remaining wood. Ten rounds later, nada.

 

Did I mention that I'm careful to fell trees in calm winds? OTherwise they can blow over in unexpected directions?

Well, a gust of wind came out of nowhere.. The tree didn't fall the way I'd cut, or back. It fell sideways. I now have lots of firewood. The problem is, much of it used to be my workshed, near my garage, where the tree landed. Oh well. coulda been worse, I could have flattened my garage, too.

 

..........Moral of the story;

 

Never send a goat out to collect firewood!

 

BTW, just a thought, are you sure it was a gust of wind? Or could it have been a large bird flapping its wings near the top of the tree???

Edited June 24, 2009 by Benji

[Graeme]

1. I'm glad you're okay. There was something else in the area that it could have fallen on -- you.

 

2. I have a healthy dislike for using power tools, because they're dangerous and I don't use them enough to build up a good set of automatic safety techniques. You're just reinforcing that opinion.

[TalonRider]

You were smart to stay away from the tree. Years ago, a friend of mine was cutting a tree down on his dad's farm. The tree fell the wrong direction and he couldn't get away and it crushed him to death. The tragic thing about was, one of his young son's was present and witnessed the whole thing.

[Graeme]

You were smart to stay away from the tree. Years ago, a friend of mine was cutting a tree down on his dad's farm. The tree fell the wrong direction and he couldn't get away and it crushed him to death. The tragic thing about was, one of his young son's was present and witnessed the whole thing.

My brother-in-law had a tree branch fall on while cutting down a tree, partially severing his arm. The fact that his thirteen year old son was with him, and was able to drive him back to the farm house was probably the only reason he survived. They managed to reattach the arm, but he's on pain killers for the rest of his life.

 

And he's an experienced farmer -- he wasn't taking risks.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Graeme

[C James]

That was too funny dude! It could only happen to a goat.

 

It actually hapened nearly two weeks ago, and I was a little steamed at the time (I'd put a fair amount of work into building that shed... I'd built it log-cabin style, thanks to having free timber.) However, I see the humor now, and all that really got totally KO'd was the roof. The logs from the walls can be re-used, all but one. I should have the shed restored in a few days. So, I had to post, as I figured ya'll would like a chuckle.

 

Ya know... you can't go anywhere without some form of destruction in your wake!

 

Not to self... stay away from goats

 

Awww. Poor me. So misunderstood.

 

..........Moral of the story;

 

Never send a goat out to collect firewood!

 

BTW, just a thought, are you sure it was a gust of wind? Or could it have been a large bird flapping its wings near the top of the tree???

 

Hrmmm! Now there's a point... I do often get Eagles and occasionally Condors here (I've seen just two, but they look huge! 10 ft wingspan) so, Talonrider might have been in the area... Jan, dod you crash that tree into my shed?

 

1. I'm glad you're okay. There was something else in the area that it could have fallen on -- you.

 

2. I have a healthy dislike for using power tools, because they're dangerous and I don't use them enough to build up a good set of automatic safety techniques. You're just reinforcing that opinion.

 

Thanks Graeme!!

 

I'm not overly fond of chainsaws. However, using an axe on a tree is IMHO even more dangerous. I do use an axe to split the timbers into usable firewood, for for the initial felling and segmenting I prefer a long-bladed chainsaw. I've seen the damage those can do when the chain lets go, so it worries me, but I don't see much of an option.

 

GREAT point on automatic safety techniques. I'll share a critical one now. Too many times, people are killed while felling trees. The

most common cause is not the tree falling the wrong way (that happens, though it need not be dangerous). The most common cause of death and injury from falling trees is running.

 

Too many times, an inexperienced tree-cutter will see or hear the tree start to move, and then turn and run. That is a great way to die. The reason is simple; with your back turned, you can't see the tree, or where it is going.

 

The best method for felling trees, IMHO, is WATCH them start o move, see which way they are going, and then move accordingly. Moving accordingly means move away from where the tree will fall. If it

[MikeL]

I, too, knew a young man who was cutting timber and had a tree fall on him and kill him. He left a wife and baby behind. Glad it didn't happen to you. I have too much time invested in reading Changing Lanes. Just kidding.

[Former Member]

Destruction does seem to follow you. Good thing I was only in Arizona for a week! Who knows what you could have inflicted...

 

But seriously, glad you are safe. I've seen trees come down real strange. We have to clear the dead ones from our property, too. The neighbors actually had a dead one catch on fire from a lightning strike once. What a sight! That got them and the rest of the neighbors to follow suit real quick.

Edited June 25, 2009 by jessiflash

[Rabble_Rouser]

Hey CJ,

 

Glad the only thing that got wiped out is a shed! Build yourself a pond and I'll ship you some beavers... you'll never know what's going to come down where but they do take them down at a constant rate with no worry about your chainsaw kicking back!

 

Steve