Snatch Blocks No Chainsaws

S

SemperFi88

Treehouser
Joined
Mar 20, 2023
Messages
4
Location
Georgia
So, before anyone thinks I’m crazy, based on the thread title, let me just say I’m dealing with the Fed Government! I’ll keep it as short as I possibly can.

I’m a retired USMC Sniper (enlisted) and Infantry Officer (meritorious commission). I’m currently residing on a portion of a military base that’s located on a massive lake that is ultimately overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers. On this property there is a mix of hardwood (oak) and loblolly pines. The mix is probably 80% pine 20% hardwoods. I also work on this property, as the supervisor for Roads and Grounds. The property has about 150 RV sites, 15 cabins, numerous tent sites. The COE representative came through 3 weeks ago and marked 16 loblolly pines that they have determined “must” come down. Here’s the kicker, but “we” can’t use any power tools ( a chainsaw). Yes, you read that correctly! My first response was that I’m not Paul Bunyan. I have utilized snatch blocks, while in the Marine Corps, to create mechanical advantage to retrieve mired 7 ton vehicles, etcetera! My ultimate question is this: is it possible to safely fell 16 loblolly pines, the biggest being approximately 33-36” diameter and 70-80 feet tall, using snatch blocks, synthetic rope, and a tractor as a puller? If so, what’s the best rated blocks and rope to use? Should I “tie” off about midway up the tree?

Any expert advice is much needed and appreciated.

Mike
 
Welcome to the forum!

I'm interested in hearing what people say(I'm *not* the expert), but I see a crosscut saw in your future.
 
SemperFi88 said:
So, before anyone thinks I’m crazy, based on the thread title, let me just say I’m dealing with the Fed Government! I’ll keep it as short as I possibly can.
Click to expand...
Mike can you give a bit more detail on the why you can't use chainsaws? I can then perhaps help you.
 
Welcome Mike!
Does a battery chainsaw qualify as not a power tool? What about explosives? …. Maybe partner up with some entity that could use it as a training exercise?
 
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Have Carlos stop by with something of the belt fed variety and ap rounds and have at it. :D

Tell him you have access to an unlimited supply of Pop Tarts.
 
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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9
stikine said:
Mike can you give a bit more detail on the why you can't use chainsaws? I can then perhaps help you.
Click to expand...
Certainly! The truth is, we have chainsaws and we use them regularly when trees are blown down, which is often around here. So, I asked the COE the same question, and I was told that it was all the COE could do to get the local EPA office to agree to “letting” us remove the 16 trees but the stipulation is NO Powertools! It’s the stupidest thing ever but it’s expected when dealing with Fed Agencies. I do have a JD 310K Backhoe and I can use that to take out roots prior to pulling them down. I’m a SA, so I said “I may be wrong, but I thought a backhoe was a power tool!”
 
I wouldnt even think to touch those without a saw if there is anything they can hit
a wrecker company maybe? most wreckers have 50 ton or so combined between the 2 main winches, 100,000 pounds anchored 50ft up a tree and the roots dug out will probably make it go, just wont be fun getting the winch line up there and if the tree damages the cable or hooks you will probably be held liable

yee ole crosscut saw FTW here
maybe a hydraulic saw skirts the "power tool" definition because the engine/motor isnt hand carried? can run one off your backhoe with a little plumbing to add fittings


tannerite

get some beavers
silky katanaboy, if you want a more sleek design than a 2 man crosscut
 
Why do you think that they are prohibiting "power tools".

Horses are power tools... 1HP each...haha.
 
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No chainsaws ? Even the Amish use chainsaws , what's up with that ? All a snatch with a tug is for insurance because it should follow the hinge .A two man cross cut and a double bit cruiser axe was what they used 120 years ago .Let them stand mother nature will eventually put them on the ground .Work smarter not harder --2 cents worth .
 
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  • #14
Al Smith said:
No chainsaws ? Even the Amish use chainsaws , what's up with that ? All a snatch with a tug is for insurance because it should follow the hinge .A two man cross cut and a double bit cruiser axe was what they used 120 years ago .Let them stand mother nature will eventually put them on the ground .Work smarter not harder --2 cents worth .
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I wish I could let them stand. Each tree has been deemed a “danger” to RVs that will park in those spots. The facility is an Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) location. Most people assume that these facilities get money from the Govt to function, but they don’t. They are Non Appropriated facilities, meaning they have to create their own money to pay support staff, improvements, etc., and they don’t have the funds to hire a professional company to remove the trees. It’s only a matter of time before one of these trees crashes through an RV and kills somebody. It’s absolute stupidity that we can’t just drop them with a chainsaw. I’m thinking if I use the backhoe and cut through much of the roots, leaving enough of them to hold the tree upright, that I could pull them down with mechanical advantage. What I don’t know is if I should Amsteel, or something else and what size/rating of blocks.
 
just my $0.02, im not a lawyer
I would go to whoever is saying you can't use a chainsaw, explain carefully why you cannot do it safely without, and just flat out refuse to do it without saws, rigging up stuff and digging it out will be much more dangerous than cutting them down with saws IMO

very danger
 
Or just cut them down with a chainsaw, and if anyone asks, say "frig if I know :shrugs:"
 
Explain to the feds those trees ancestors were used to build slave ships therefore the trees are racist symbols of white supremacy. Once that’s leaked to BLM those trees with be burnt where they stand.

1679591582364.jpeg
 
C4 is not a power tool!

Apart from joking, a 30 mm dyneema rope and enough pulling power will bring anything short of a mature redwood/sequoia on the ground.
 
Thank you for your service, and welcome to the forum. Ax and saw is my vote, much cheaper, safer, and likely quicker than the rigging for this setup. They had steam winches and wire rope at their disposal back in the day and they still cut by hand, so they likely figured out that that was the best/most profitable way. I would also look into hiring it out, by bringing in a professional to deal with hazard trees they often can be exempted from stuff like that for safety reasons.
 
I like axe and saw also. My background is handsawing, but not so many at such a big diameter. I might get tired of it before 17 trees were completed, but it would be a cool experience to at least do some of them that way. You'll also have the hand tools forever. They'll never let you down. No cords, no batteries, no petrol. When everything else goes tits up, your axe and saw will still work. Good insurance.

edit:
This looks like something I'd buy if I didn't already have one...

Code: 
https://www.amazon.com/Lynx-One-Man-Crosscut-Saw/dp/B07RCV9TGD/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=crosscut+saw&qid=1679590812&sr=8-2
 
I was half joking, half serious about getting some group to bring it down with HE as a training exercise. Handsaw and ax would sound less crazy/easier to sell. Maybe get a crew to use handsaw and ax as a training exercise so as to divide the muscle pain. Having experienced, skilled trainer on site and all proper safety protocols just as important (more important?) with hand powered tools.
 
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