this post was submitted on
90 points (68% like it)
168 up votes 78 down votes
shortlink:

reddit.com

unsubscribe881,505 readers

~58 users here now

This subreddit is archived and no longer accepting submissions.

created by speza community for
to anything interesting: news article, blog entry, video, picture...
message the moderators

MODERATORS

reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. reddit learns what you like as you vote on existing links or submit your own!

89
90

How not to cut a tree down (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by cloon_tang

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on
all 30 comments
sorted by:
best
best
top
new
hot
controversial
old

[–]thegunisgood 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

But the tree clearly fell.

[–]ficklehearts 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

correct. i believe that is valid way of cutting down a tree.

[–]stopcryingyoulikeit 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Plus he got down from the ladder pretty easy and the house is in one piece.

[–]ficklehearts 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

so...it's the only way to cut down a tree?

[–]ScornInc 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

He didn't hit the power line or smash the house's roof...so this is a win.

[–]Drowlord101 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That happened to me once. (specifically, chopping off a very large limb, which hit the ground and rolled into my ladder, knocking it out from under me). I am a lot more cautious about trimming tree limbs since then, and I'm a lot more aware of how much wood can weigh.

[–]Sandvicheater 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Well at least it didn't land on his house.

[–]NoSalt 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

At least the tree didn't hit the house.

[–]zestynickels 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yeah for real. Major props to that guy for not damaging either of those houses. I'd bet money that the average redditor couldn't do that.

[–]daysi 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is why you should be hiring me to murder trees instead of doing them yourself.

[–]InactiveUser 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is why you should have insurance and use dynamite.

[–]Timboflex 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought it was gonna hit the house. As dangerous as that was, I have to say, it looked kinda fun.

[–]lucasm822 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Featured on TruTV's World's Dumbest 2 weeks(ish) ago...

But still appreciated.

[–]Megatron_McLargeHuge 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

ctrl-f fail ... 0 of 0

Woohoo, the internet has grown up!

[–]Do_Uh_Barrel_Roll 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i bet i could cut down one hundred trees..

[–]shea241 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Did he punch the ladder with his face? I think he punched the ladder with his face!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That loaded in perfect slow motion for me.

[–]slowdeatha 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Mild Darwinism.

[–]Marashio 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

He's really lucky he didn't get hit by that saw.

[–]Skooj 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Aw man, memories of Bob Sagat making high-pitched commentary from America's Funniest Home Videos here.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I love how the guy holding the ladder gets out of the way. He saw that coming.

[–]sardinski 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Pro tree cutters would have around 10 guys on that job. The part being cut off would be belayed with ropes so it could be lowered gently to the ground. They'd probably also cut much smaller sections.

[–]daysi 10 points11 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I murder trees for a living. We would not have ten people on the job, we would have two. One climber (me) and one rope man. I would be attached to the trunk by belt and spurs and would cut and drop the branch in two foot sections until the stem was short enough to fell from the ground.

Don't talk about what you know nothing about.

[–]b4freedom 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I don't understand why people feel the need to cut off big sections at a time. You have to cut it up anyhow, cut it small as you go.

I did see some pro cut a 4' wide tree and drop a 1' section from about 15 feet up. It rolled away and ended up going down a long steep street. Bounced up, ran over two parked cars, and then t boned a mini van stopped at a nearby intersection. Luckily nobody was hurt. The minivan driver was confused and couldn't figure out how a 4' wooden "wheel" came out of nowhere and hit his car.

[–]daysi 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Generally you shouldn't be dropping a wheel without halving or quartering it so the pieces don't roll; you can also cut wedges instead of wheels for the same purpose . A 1' thick section of a 3' bole can weigh a few hundred pounds if the tree has a lot of water in it; that's easily enough to kill a person or cause massive damage. But really, if you're doing a tree that size in a populated area you should have a crane to rig off and a bucket truck.

[–]daysi 1 point2 points ago*

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You always want to cut the largest section you can safely cut. The reason for this is that using a chainsaw when you're in harness (especially a large saw on a large tree) is very, very tiring, and if you already have dozens of cuts ahead of you then you need to conserve your energy. Still, nothing is worse than cutting a chunk you can't handle and damaging something or getting hurt.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I cut a tree down near a car, and it landed right on the trunk.

The car wasn't harmed....

[–]dpark 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

As kampfy said, you must be hiring unioned tree cutters.

I've watched "pro tree cutters" remove a larger tree than this. They didn't have ten guys. That would greatly increase the risk of accidentally hitting someone on the ground. They cut two foot sections and dropped them (while no one was beneath). They did use ropes to hold the pieces so they wouldn't drop unexpectedly, but they didn't lower them to the ground gently. They did lower some larger limbs with ropes.

These guys are clearly not skilled or properly equipped for this job, but the pro tree cutters you're hiring seem inept as well.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So what you're saying is there's a tree cutter union.

[–]InactiveUser 1 point2 points ago*

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

They do cut smaller sections. Usually the right size for splitting and simply push it off.

The branches are guided by no less than 6 ropes with half having 2 blokes on them. The branches are winched down until the last branch falls. Every piece of every tree is landed exactly where it needs to be.

I watched a crew of 10 take out 36 massive gum trees in just 2 days. The trees were 40 meters high (about 3/4 of a mobile phone tower). 3 trucks took chips for garden mulch and the trunks were cut into a pile some 2 meters high and 10 meters across. 20 people took a tonne or more of fire wood each over the next 3 weeks.

3 people could stand on the base trunk.

(Gum trees (Eucalyptus) are made of wood grained steel)

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. © 2012 reddit inc. All rights reserved.

REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc.

π Rendered by PID 17352 on app-03 running c9c2ee1.