I'm not a professional and if David watched how I cut, I'm sure he would take this away from me. But I still have all my fingers, limbs, etc. so I'm lucky. One of my rules is always have an escape route and I learned that taking a step while trimming, a branch can kick up to trip you. Turn the saw off.
This 14" saw is big enough to cut most of what I need to clean up but small enough for me to realize that I better not try to cut more than it can chew. If I had a bigger saw, I might try cutting larger trees and then drop one on top of me. The wife gets an insurance check and I go through eternity realizing that yes, it was a stupid idea to cut that 3 foot silver maple in the SE corner.
I thinned out the cottonwoods and several leaning elms, all in the 6-8 inch range. For some reason, there is an overabundance of boxelders in the fence rows. Most have nice leaning branches. The ones that haven't fallen off yet, that is. Half a dozen of those in the 8-10 inch range came down, along with several of the leaning branches.
This one was down but was hung up on a couple of smaller boxelders and grapevines, my other annoying invasive species that I need to eradicate. I'm now buying Tordon by the gallon. After cutting the "hangers," I have this pile:
I used a bow saw and axe on some of the hung up branches. I didn't want a running chainsaw in my hands if the tree started to roll towards me. No issues though and I made it home. I still have a lot of clean up to do, but it's safer now that it's not leaning.
With the area opened up, I'm thinking that a few red oaks should go in there as well as a picnic table in the shade. I estimate a month of 8 hour days to get the fence rows cleaned up or maybe a half day for someone who knows what they are doing.
Those leaners can sure bite you. I'll do a video on small diameter leaners this weekend if the weather cooperates. Big trees are easier to cut than small ones once you get your head around them. Boxelder is an indicator for a good walnut site in downstate Illinois. I think it is in SE Iowa, too.
ReplyDeleteThe boxelders have taken over the fence line. Most are 12 inch or less but one of the larger trees is hollowed out but still alive. All are dropping limbs and lean on both my side and the neighbors'. Even 4 inch limbs were rotten in the middle.
DeleteI like the lumber because of the red swirls in the board but I've seen very few mature boxelders that were good enough for cutting into boards. I inherited a chest that my dad made and it's a very nice piece.
I've got some more of your videos to watch before I tackle the larger trees but I think I'll save the silver maple to a professional.
Thanks, David