9' Lombard Bites the Dust!!

[rbtree]

Huge poplar being removed by Seattle Tree Preservation. Some vid from yesterday, day 4 of probably 5, five man crew, plus stump grinding! Wow! 2nd costliest removal I've ever heard of. #1 was a 35k tree in New Zealand years ago.

They rent my 13 hp ported 3120 now and then. I brought it over, and stuck around and played cameraman! Great crew. Too bad the crane broke. It'll be fixed Monday, but they have to move the wood a good 15 feet to get to a reasonable radius for their new old 23 ton National. Over the house with a 23 tonner? Yikes!!

The tree was about 150 feet tall, and 9'4" in diameter. Produced close to 100 yards of chips.... will might fill 3 40 yard dumpsters with wood once they get finished.. and a boat load of stump grindings....though, as can be seen in the vid, it's way rotten!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0-c3G7VjHVs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://youtu.be/0-c3G7VjHVs

 

[atw]

That's pretty cool.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's gonna be a FUN stump to grind! Too bad we couldn't see the original tree...

 

[atw]

So what was the cost on that removal?

 

[woodworkingboy]

Samson!

 

[rbtree]

atw,

You'd have to ask John...... but it was a regular customer. They'd thinned the tree three times......I think it's time and materials...and might push 25.......



....k ... plus the stump and hauling the grindings.

 

[rbtree]

Samson (Graeme McMahon) and a crew of Sheilas coulda done it in a flash!!! And I'd have loved to have been behind the lens!!

For a poplar, the tree was a nice specimen....repeatedly thinned.....

but a big lead had done recent damage to their back covered patio area....and it was time to say, Sayonara, babeee.

I know I have a picture or two of it, but wouldn't know where to look!


I bid 6 of them today, all were 110-135 feet tall, but only one was over 40" dbh, 2 were a mere 12" or so....easy to brush out, then pick the tops including brush with a 38 ton crane, and the wood..... I bid $3700 labor, figuring two 5-6 hour days, crane on 2nd day...then $ for crane and wood removal via self loading trash truck.

 

[rbtree]

That's gonna be a FUN stump to grind! Too bad we couldn't see the original tree...

There's so much rot that they might be able to whip it out in an hour...plus chip removal....... and that wall should be broken up and out of the way, as it isn't staying..thus they were trying to smash it to break the concrete.

 

[Al Smith]

What in the world makes those things get so big on the west coast .The largest one I ever saw might have made 70 feet and 2 feet at the base in these parts .Fact they seldom make it 20 years before they die .

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Water....

 

[flushcut]

And a mild climate, makes for a longer growing season.

 

[Al Smith]

Well yeah but it still gets cold in Oregon and Washington state .The tall poplars aren't native here .They were just grown as fast windbreaks etc .Often times backed up with pines which aren't native either .Oaks and sugar maples aren't very good windbreaks .

 

[flushcut]

Lombardy Poplar get pretty tall around here, the tallest I have ever seen was around 80/85' in a wind break as they usually are.

 

[rbtree]

That's tiny out here..

Here's a shot from the 3 biggies we did. One of the tops we lowered was ~55' long..... this one a bit less...
The three were 7', 6', and 5' at their bases...and 148 feet tall, measured by laser....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/2724906915/

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/2724906915/" title="LG1H8557 by rogerbtree, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3045/2724906915_fc22df888f_o.jpg" width="800" height="1200" alt="LG1H8557"></a>






The whole set can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/sets/72157606451192509/

 

[rbtree]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/2724907073/" title="LG1H8559 by rogerbtree, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3041/2724907073_8342430c09_o.jpg" width="800" height="1200" alt="LG1H8559"></a>

 

[MasterBlaster]

First class work, to say the least! No jacklegs in your club!

 

[cory]

A big tree co doing a $25k removal and they have to borrow your saw? They should splurge and get their very own

 

[rbtree]

Here's a video that Oxman shot, from the big poplar job from 5 years ago, that the images above are from

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cYVMEqaN9Ww" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[treesandsurf]

cowboy dave!

jp

 

[woodworkingboy]

That Poplar top being lowered is a classic shot.

 

[Mick!]

Lombardies fairly common here, though not as big as that! I like taking them out, easy rigging and the tops tend to glide down nice and slow. Chipper likes them as well! Don't like topping them in the wind though, (tomorrow's job)
Shame the wood is rubbish.

 

[Bixler]

One of my all time fav vids right there, Oxman has fun with that camera

 

[woodworkingboy]

Rubbish...? Sometimes considered a utility hardwood like a number of others, you can also find parts of some historical acoustic guitars made from Lombardy Poplar, it has good sound qualities. Said to be like Alder in that regard, but sustains sound better. Still today some brands, like Jackson guitars (Randy Rhoads, Dave Mustaine) considered a good to great make, will sometimes use Lombardy for their solid bodies. Some of the Fender Strats had Lombardy bodies, sometimes called Black Poplar, the 'Italica' being a cultivar. Fiddles and jazz guitars are sometimes made from the species. Much has been used for furniture and architectural purposes. Not generally considered a very attractive wood, it often gets stained or painted. Some carvers like it. The wood has it's uses.

 

[rumination]

Seems like just about every kind of wood could have a good use. I'm always disappointed at how much good wood goes to waste.

 

[climbernz]

Here's a video that Oxman shot, from the big poplar job from 5 years ago, that the images above are from

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cYVMEqaN9Ww" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

"that was a Hero Tree" , your damn right mate .
Great stuff Rb tree, how long did that one take?
With a job like that it takes experience and skill to get it down safely and efficiently.
looks like a good team there.