From: liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid   
      
   Don Y  wrote:   
      
   > On 11/27/2025 6:55 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:   
   > > Don Y  wrote:   
   > >   
   > >   
   > >> I had a tall tree in the front yard that I wanted to fell.  There was only   
   > >> one likely direction to drop it -- straight across the street -- where it   
   > >> wouldn't OBVIOUSLY hit some other structure.  But, still no guarantee that   
   > >> it wouldn't span the distance and clobber the neighbor's property directly   
   > >> across from me!   
   > >   
   > > Starting from the bottom, take the branches off one-by-one   
   > > (symmetrically, so as not to off-balance it) until you can get a ladder   
   > > near the top.  Then cut off a small section of the top, using ropes to   
   > > make it fall away from your ladder.  Then cut a bit further down etc.   
   > > until it is a manageable height.   
   >   
   > [That's how I felled the Mulberry tree in the back yard -- with a bow saw   
   > and ropes (by myself).  But, it was only 25 ft tall so entirely manageable.   
   > There, it's "bushiness" was the bigger problem than its height.]   
   >   
   > After the measurement exercise, it was apparent that I couldn't drop the   
   > tree "straight" across the street as it would have ended up crashing into   
   > the neighbors fence/yard/swimming pool.  So, I had to drop it diagonally,   
   > across the roadway.   
   >   
   > I fastened a pull rope about 20 ft up the trunk and enlisted 4 neighbors   
   > to "coax" it in the correct direction, after having appropriately placed   
   > front and back cuts to encourage it to fall that way (the distribution of   
   > the foliage at the upper branches made it difficult to determine how it   
   > would WANT to fall).   
   >   
   > After it fell, quickly cutting it into 10 ft sections so we could haul it   
   > off the roadway and let traffic resume.   
   >   
   > [The tree was 80 ft tall.  No way I was going to carry a chainsaw even   
   > *15* feet up the tree in an effort to "top it".  That's a job for an   
   arborist!   
   > Neighbors hired a guy to take out 3 Ponderosa Pines -- each over 100 ft   
   > tall -- in our adjoining back yards.  The guy was like a monkey CLIMBING   
   > the tree with a chainsaw hanging off his belt, lopping off branches as   
   > he ascended until he could top it and work his way back down!]   
      
   I have actually 'felled' a tree from the bottom up:  I cleared the   
   lowest branches and then made two horizontal cuts about 18 inches apart   
   in the trunk, with wedges taking the weight to avoid trapping the saw.   
   With the tree roped to its neighbours to keep it vertical I knocked out   
   the section between the cuts so that the tree dropped straight down   
   about 18 inches..  I kept going like this until it was all down.   
      
      
   --   
   ~ Liz Tuddenham ~   
   (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)   
   www.poppyrecords.co.uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)