Tree felling vids

Gnarly! That was a huge pick.

When picks make that big crack sound, I both love and hate it. Scary in a thrilling kind of way.

Exactly. I noticed it didn't seem to faze Reggie at all based on how he used his saw. He's either immune to it, or knew it meant nothing cuz he trusted his rigging set up, or he knew he was being filmed and didn't want to show any trepidation. Or all 3. War Reg.

cory said:

Nice short vid. Good camera op too, who is it?

So the job with the 100t went well? That was quite the beefy, bushy top.

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It went well Cory. Long day though. Tree was much bigger than I expected. Lots of mass. Only seen one other madrone comparable in size to that one around these parts.

We had ordered a 100t....but what turned up was a 160t

Really like the crane operator. Fast talker. I asked him how much he could lift at the furthest point of the tree and he barked ' whatever you think is big I can take fuckn 10 times that'

What a star. Refreshing.

Unfortunately we didnt have the room to go bigger than the top in the video. Just a narrow street with primaries on the far side.

Fat madrone

I wonder what it costs to have a crane that big and that new. Do those guys do tree work to stay busy?

Gotta love lot of extra capacity. Dense wood for these parts. How does that compare to hardwood density back home? Video will be cool to see. That looks like a big madrone.

Any concern about a stem splitting with that top peeling over, cutting in only from one side? It looks like there was not a section of straight grain below that, which would reduce splitting.

I had a trunk split the other day on a maple crane-out. I'd tied the stem below the cut with rigging rope before cutting it. Worked out. I was almost cut through, when it started splitting, and coming tight on the rigging rope. I'd started by cutting a couple inch deep kerf on the compression side, then made the main cut on the tension side, at the instruction of the CO. Bailed out when it had split. CO broke the little holding wood free. Not a big deal. Far from ideal.

I was using a SRTWP trunk choke with the Hitch Hiker, which theoretically would have releases if the spreading trunk brought the Running bowline tight. My secondary TIP was also on my bridge ring, keeping me out of the circle of death.

Any thoughts/ advice appreciated.

Should have chained it, and rigged it better, evidently.

I ask about coming in from only one side, which is common for crane picks. I had a lot of leaning picks, and tried cutting a little on four sides, then following through the middle 'square' of holding wood. Worked okay. Like cutting a lot to keep it from splitting. In the vein of cutting the corners off with a Golden Triangle for felling hard leaners.

Any thoughts/ advice appreciated.

Big tree, big crane Reg. Look forward to the longer edit.

I've had that happen Sean, gut told me to put a second sling on. Should've listened but all's well that lands well. I thought the same thing when I saw his pic, another sling on the other leader as a back up

Please say that Madrone wasn't cut up for firewood.

RegC said:

I asked him how much he could lift at the furthest point of the tree and he barked ' whatever you think is big I can take fuckn 10 times that'
View attachment 58027View attachment 58028

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He must run with the computer disconnected.

woodworkingboy said:

Please say that Madrone wasn't cut up for firewood.




He must run with the computer disconnected.

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How do you use it, Jay?

I've been told to expect to loss about half of milled madrone to defects, as it warps and twists a lot. I have some 3" slabs air drying for years now. The miller said to bring the slabs back to be re-cut when ready to do something with them. They're meant for slab table tops, or something.

Fun stump to grind!!!

SouthSoundTree- said:

Gotta love lot of extra capacity. Dense wood for these parts. How does that compare to hardwood density back home? Video will be cool to see. That looks like a big madrone.

Any concern about a stem splitting with that top peeling over, cutting in only from one side? It looks like there was not a section of straight grain below that, which would reduce splitting.

I had a trunk split the other day on a maple crane-out. I'd tied the stem below the cut with rigging rope before cutting it. Worked out. I was almost cut through, when it started splitting, and coming tight on the rigging rope. I'd started by cutting a couple inch deep kerf on the compression side, then made the main cut on the tension side, at the instruction of the CO. Bailed out when it had split. CO broke the little holding wood free. Not a big deal. Far from ideal.

I was using a SRTWP trunk choke with the Hitch Hiker, which theoretically would have releases if the spreading trunk brought the Running bowline tight. My secondary TIP was also on my bridge ring, keeping me out of the circle of death.

Any thoughts/ advice appreciated.

Should have chained it, and rigged it better, evidently.

I ask about coming in from only one side, which is common for crane picks. I had a lot of leaning picks, and tried cutting a little on four sides, then following through the middle 'square' of holding wood. Worked okay. Like cutting a lot to keep it from splitting. In the vein of cutting the corners off with a Golden Triangle for felling hard leaners.

Any thoughts/ advice appreciated.

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Never worked on a madrone before I came to BC. They seem a lot like eucalyptus, both alive and dead.

No I wasn't worried about splitting. But it wasnt a maple either. Notice I made 2 cuts, side and back to make a hinge of sorts. I had 3 slings in that top already, but it was always going to shift to one side before lift off. You can also use an undercut to pretty good effect in that situation, but I was more worried about the pie shooting out and onto the conservatory, or the green house underneath. We should've had boards for that reason because there was lots of dead and dying stuff up. But it was all good as it turned out.

Jay, every log was hacked into 16s at the request of the HO.

Thanks, Reg.

For mine, the pretension tension was too low. I'd thought of a small face cut, after that hard leaning "warm up" tree, to ease into the crane, if too low of tension.

As the layout happened, that hard leaning, understory tree was in the best position for starting my way into the maple stumps sucker clumps that had grown into respectable height trees.

So much to learn.

For any type of woodworking, Sean, but since wood movement is pretty much a given with that species when drying it, and not many large trees show up, it generally finds a use for smaller things. Madrone is difficult to dry without twisting, but whatever use you can find with what you do get out of a log can reward with most beautiful material. Once it becomes well seasoned, it becomes reasonably stable, has been my experience. A large tree like that is especially valuable because the bigger logs enable milling thicker slabs which after they do dry, flattening them off still yields a good degree of useful material. A Madrone table could be something very special. The rarity of a tree like that for woodworking material is a shame not to be appreciated, if possible. A number of west coast woods aren't much regarded as ones for woodworking use, but in fact they are very valuable for that purpose. Boatbuilders and furniture makers seek what are the good ones out, as well as use for architectural furnishings. Using local material in a home seems to add something. Asking around should generally turn up someone who will jump at the opportunity to get their hands on a valuable tree like that.

Sean, you might be describing what we call the "pencil cut" here, notching in from all sides to leave a post in the middle for crane picks. You can be seeing what the pick is going to be doing as far as twist or lean before it leaves the cut, and respond accordingly. Especially good for lesser experienced guys that have a tendency to get their saw stuck. A guy like Reg, he doesn't need to be messing around and wasting time with the pencil cut, but i think it can have it's place.

RegC said:

Fast talker. I asked him how much he could lift at the furthest point of the tree and he barked ' whatever you think is big I can take fuckn 10 times that'

What a star. Refreshing.

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Utterly classic line
Had he done any trees before?

cory said:

Utterly classic line
Had he done any trees before?

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Yeah he was good, and quick.

SouthSoundTree- said:

How do you use it, Jay?

I've been told to expect to loss about half of milled madrone to defects, as it warps and twists a lot. I have some 3" slabs air drying for years now. The miller said to bring the slabs back to be re-cut when ready to do something with them. They're meant for slab table tops, or something.

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Sean: Check out the Urban Hardwoods site. They're in Seattle. We sell em logs once in a while. They covet Madrona, but I've got absolutely no idea about how they cure the slabs so well. Straight as can be. Beautiful stuff.

Oh, and Reg: Man, that was huge man. You know your stuff. Man I'd be scared to go that big if I had a 20,000 ton Manitowoc.

Nothing to it! Just make the cut!

If you boil the hell out of madrone, it will dry stable.
Ionce took a class with Oregon turner Dale Larson. He invented a method to cure rough turned bowls from Madrone burl that works really well.
He boils them for 5-6 hours!!!!
I'm looking at one of his bowls as I write this, beautiful work.
The guy was an absolute wizard with a small scraper, could get a fantastic surface with hardly any sanding at all, very inspiring.

Cool

I pulled this photo off the web. Madrone wood on a Claro Walnut base. Madrone sometimes has the characteristic flecking like you see in a wood like Sycamore. A nice piece as well. Hate to see good trees go up in smoke.

I don't think I've seen quartersawn madrone before.
Had you not told what it was, I would have guessed sycamore with a fungal stain.

That was one hell of a pick! Reg you know your stuff. That instant when the top lifts off always gives me a rush of adrenaline. I also tend to duck a little out of nervousness. Can't wait to see the vid of the rest of the job