# Tool Talk >  Sliding-log trick for felling a hung tree - GIF

## Jon

Trick for felling a hung tree. Works 100% of the times I've seen it on the internet.



Previously:

tree remover GIF
tree processor GIF
Tree tying machine
Moving a 40-ton oak tree
1964 Tree stomper by R.G. LeTourneau
Tree stump corer

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## SRQSid

It seems like the small pole should be sort of chisel-pointed but it looks kinda blunt-ended. Am I missing something? 
In New England, we called them "Widow makers".

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## hansgoudzwaard

This is unsafe and not recommended. Stupid? Yes.

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## NortonDommi

End of cut has been notched and the wedge is just to lift enough to get started, basically that end of tree is on a rail. The watchers are well sheltered by the standing trees they are behind. Just shows how skilled your average forestry worker is.

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volodar (Nov 2, 2018)

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## Captn Roy

Oh Ya, Big time talent at work here. They don't call these hang ups Widowmakers for nothing. The LumberJack, Forestry Worker who is doing the work is doing everything by the book. Notice the scuffed up log on the ground just below the cut. That was put there as a base guide. It did just what the worker put it there for. That tree slid along it as he had planned. The tree landed right where he wanted it. Controlled the landing perfectly. 

Also notice how he approached the tree to release it. Legs not too close, leaned over and put a hand on the tree to feel the release as he tapped on the lightly shimmed base. A few taps and he felt the release, moved to safety and watched the fall and slide. Experience in this trade ALWAYS means the difference between life and death. I hope the others watching take what they've seen very seriously. The lumberjack not only got it down. He put it where he wanted it. You must take the time to do the required steps with patience and always be methodical. Many lives depend on it. Everyone goes home at the end of the day!

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## Paul Jones

Captn Roy,

Thank you for your comments. Number one priority is everyone goes home at the end of the day safe and sound!

Regards,
Paul Jones

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## Jon

Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## ranald

_ see all the "Learners" are where they should be & "not" behind him but I wouldn't like to be that close despite the other trees to protect them. Looks like a pine with a very straight "bole" & probably a relatively small crown . We have many hardwoods here and they can have large crowns( esp Eucalypts, Corymbias etc) & can "roll" when being felled: very dangerous. The guy who taught me lost his very experienced brother with such a roll. the compression in some branches can out weigh the tons of weight in the tree itself. That guy in the film certainly knows his stuff.
L_

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## Jon

The wrong way to do it:



Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Jon

Not the worst thing I've seen on LiveLeak:



Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Frank S

What was he thinking? Was he thinking that a 1/2 ton Ford pickup was going to be able to haul a 9 ft tall 3 ft average diameter hunk of wood that could have been anything from 36 lb cf to 63 lb cf say it was 49 Lb cf and give the benefit of doubt on size and just say 8 sq ft times height of 9 ft making it around 3500 LBS at the smallest it might have been 6 sq ft average times 9 ft and say by some stretch of the imagination it was white pine 35 lb cf that would have still been close to 1900 lbs doable for a 1/2 ton ford of that vintage if the chunk of wood had been gently laid in the bed which it was not.

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## Jon

Similar level of crazy, but much better planning:



Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Frank S

Viewing these I sometimes get to thinking that maybe the world has gone completely off its rockers, but then I am reminded of some of the stupid things I have seen and actually took part of when I was of that age or more probably younger than most. Things like putting the High school Principal's VW on top of the school GYM or literally riding our motorcycles on the rails of the Rock Island railroad. Or turning the wheels around on the tractor and straddling the irrigation ditch with a Large Vee plow to clean it out. That one actually had a purpose though. Me and my cousins were assigned the task of cleaning out the ditch we figured it was easier than having to shovel laa of the dirt out. However that didn't excuse us from trying to drive the tractor over the iron railings of the bridge that crossed the ditch.

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## owen moore

Ok, you killed the beast! Now what are you going to do with the carcass?

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## basil3w

How'd he get it 'out' of the truck?

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## somyunguy

> Not the worst thing I've seen on LiveLeak:
> 
> <video controls autoplay loop>
> <source src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmt-forum/felling_log_into_pickup_truck.mp4" type="video/mp4">
> Your browser does not support the video tag.
> </video>



And then there are these guys! Probably in Brakpan!

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## PJs

Well that didn't quite go as planned. Broken/bent axle and pumpkin, springs, shocks, driveshaft?, and a Bent frame! Scrap wood and scrap truck...likely buried together with a cap stone with some words of wisdom...hopefully.

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## PJs

> And then there are these guys! Probably in Brakpan!



Is the guy saying as he gets out, comes around and looks..."I lived, but crikey my truck is dead"...nobody else is saying much but the whistle tells it all.

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## Toolmaker51

Wrong way? 
Not if you haven't funds for a Flying Wallendas clinic...but that's a tree, feller'. Ya falla?

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## Toolmaker51

> And then there are these guys! Probably in Brakpan!



I believe technique of chopping tops in vehicles is performed differently, including removal of glass FIRST. Plus they'll never pass tech exam at Bonneville with a palm tree in back.

You could watch this in reverse. The studious postures of onlookers, and astute examination by the driver of aftermath tell whole story. But now, it's not a bakkie; or a fronty...

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PJs (Sep 16, 2018)

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## ranald

Some Mothers do 'ave 'em!

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## Paul Alciatore

I believe that is illegal in 49 out of 50 states. 

In "The Land of the Fruits and the Nuts"* they will double your welfare payments for it. 

* Archie Bunker






> Similar level of crazy, but much better planning:
> 
> <video controls autoplay loop>
> <source src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmt-forum/slide_in_truck_bed.mp4" type="video/mp4">
> Your browser does not support the video tag.
> </video>

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## Jon

Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Frank S

> <video controls autoplay loop>
> <source src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmt-forum/dropping_tree_section_into_truck.mp4" type="video/mp4">
> Your browser does not support the video tag.
> </video>



The guy on the ground is yelling up at the guy with the chain saw "can you believe that just happened"

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## ranald

> The guy on the ground is yelling up at the guy with the chain saw "can you believe that just happened"



LOL. Very funny. Extremely talented.

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## bruce.desertrat

Heh, what they're not showing is the fifteen trailers and four pickup trucks he demolished learning to do that  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Drew1966

Wow. Just wow.

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## PJs

That's an 8.9 Triple Salchow in my book...Merry Christmas!

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## Jon

Recall the recent Traffic cone pickup tool, that we thought might be a reversed GIF of a traffic cone depositing tool (still not sure). Maybe this is a reversed GIF too, and they're really _building_ a tree?



Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Frank S

good one Jon

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## PJs

LOL big grin...you may be rightish... :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Toolmaker51

> That's an 8.9 Triple Salchow in my book...Merry Christmas!



Here's another skater's triple for PJ's. Or any others hep to Salchow

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PJs (Nov 2, 2018)

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## volodar

> <video controls autoplay loop>
> <source src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmt-forum/dropping_tree_section_into_truck.mp4" type="video/mp4">
> Your browser does not support the video tag.
> </video>



I'm sure that was carefully planned, certainly well executed - and many tries, as well. An unlikely, but interesting method of loading a trailer. I'm curious about the "brakeman"...he doesnt seem to be anchored...the log "appears to be" MANY times the guys weight...yet something allows the log to be lowered at the crucial moment... and what is the braking device? Won't be my figure eight. Photoshop? I'll have to ask our daughter...

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## volodar

> Trick for felling a hung tree. Works 100% of the times I've seen it on the internet.
> 
> 
> 
> Previously:
> 
> http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/t...0797#post73160
> http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/t...2559#post76571
> http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/t...3833#post78829
> ...



I'm curious about the shape of the track...'cause it looks like a round log...and I don't see any constraints to prevent the butt from jumping off. Looks very natural, though. Uses butt of axe to knock off a support...walks away the way I do. In this case, I'd have removed the chainsaw from the scene. More here than meets the eye?

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## Frank S

> I'm curious about the shape of the track...it looks like a round log...and I don't see any constraints to prevent the butt from jumping off. Methinks there's more here than meets the eye.



volodar what you are not seeing is they had chain sawed a grove in the butt of the hung tree. the track is nothing but another much smaller tree inserted into the grove of the hung up tree then the logger cuts away the final portion of the hinge left to direct the fall of the tree when it was cut. The grove causes the tree to ride the rail so to speak. Once it has moved 20 feet or so there in no force in nature that stop the tree from sliding down even after it comes off the rail.
Dangerous work but folks love their stick built homes here in the US

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volodar (Mar 30, 2019)

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## volodar

> volodar what you are not seeing is they had chain sawed a grove in the butt of the hung tree. the track is nothing but another much smaller tree inserted into the grove of the hung up tree then the logger cuts away the final portion of the hinge left to direct the fall of the tree when it was cut. The grove causes the tree to ride the rail so to speak. Once it has moved 20 feet or so there in no force in nature that stop the tree from sliding down even after it comes off the rail.
> Dangerous work but folks love their stick built homes here in the US



That would certainly work. We have a number of dead or dying doug firs and hemlocks on our steep acreage - caused by what we consider a drought in our rain forest on southern Vancouver Island. Some will become firewood, others to remain as wildlife trees. The ocean below will again become more visible.

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## Chips O'Tool

How do you saw a groove in the bottom of a hung tree, especially without breaking it loose and killing everyone present? How do you shove a smaller log into the groove? Amazing.

I have a clever device I use to dislodge trees that are stuck. I call it a "tractor."

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## Jon

Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## bruce.desertrat

High School Bully Tree _"Why are you hitting yourself!"_

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## Toolmaker51

I had no idea, shrubbery could be _so_ territorial.

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## ranald

some never learn even with a clip under the ear..................... and over the head. Is there a brain in there.?..needs a frontal labotomy. LOL

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## Frank S

I have a little different approach to things 
I have used the loader of my Ford 755B with the forks attached to pull out over 50 mesquite trees so far some with a 20 ft deep tap root 

I true great who must have had me in mind when he wrote this song


By the way he had the correct initials as well LOL

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## PJs

Absolutely Hilarious!!

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## Toolmaker51

> I have a little different approach to things 
> I have used the loader of my Ford 755B with the forks attached to pull out over 50 mesquite trees so far some with a 20 ft deep tap root 
> 
> I true great who must have had me in mind when he wrote this song
> 
> 
> By the way he had the correct initials as well LOL



Frank the Crooner's parents had some deep premonition, he born ~30 years earlier...

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## Jon

Nice compilation of difficult and perfect tree fells.



Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## ranald

That's experience at work!

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harleyron74 (Dec 11, 2019)

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## Jon

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## neilbourjaily

Wow. What a use of mortise and tenon.

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mwmkravchenko (Dec 21, 2019)

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## owen moore

Boy Howdy! I wished I had seen that 3 years ago when I had a big hickory hung up and we had to pull it with a tractor That's a good idea!

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## mwmkravchenko

> Wow. What a use of mortise and tenon.



And a great bit of thinking on keeping it hung up until the second leg on the left side gets cut away from the stump. Pretty ingenious thinking there. This I will remember.

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## Jon

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## NortonDommi

This is zip-lining not sliding a log. Log sliding is taking the butt out in a controlled direction when cutting in dense wood or dealing with a hang-up.

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## hemmjo

When I first saw the photo to start this thread, "Zipline Rigging a Tree Limb" I instantly imagined a Darwin Award applicant.

But that is actually a very good way do that job. 

The guy in the woods has some skills also. He is not just a weekend lumber jack.

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## neilbourjaily

It is the way to limb and top a tree in close quarters. A man took down a spruce planted 70 years ago right next to our house that eventually leaned against the house. It was about sixty feet tall and thickly limbed with much of it overhanging the house. He set a zip line and brought it down in an afternoon with one helper to keep the landing area clear.

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## Rikk

Another great reason for zipping limbs is to move the ground work area from under the tree to a safe distance away. I would do this often when I had a lot of limbs to cut. I'd haul up a dozen straps and caribiners and it would take a few minutes to position each individual cut, so it gave my groundies time to disconnect, cut and chip the branch while being safely away from what is normally the drop zone. About the time they were done, I was ready to send another. The chipper was about 10-20' from the end of the zip line. 

On a normal job, I would spend half my time positioning and cutting, then the other half waiting for a drop zone that was free of humans. Zipping saved enough time that it was worth the effort. Less grunt work all around. Dragging branches 50 or 60 feet all day can wear out the strongest ground crew.

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