User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 12:43:16 PM EST
[#1]
Old retired guy I worked for part time as a kid got killed on his tractor cutting the field. Just happen to be going under a tree when a big limb fell hit and killed him. Just bad luck.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 12:46:32 PM EST
[#2]
Been cutting them off and on for forty years. Have had to drop my saw and run like a little girl several times. Sometimes it takes me an hour or more to hook one up but I use two come a longs and a chain hoist. Always have two saws ready. Worst part is using a ladder to get up high enough to pull one. The come a longs are to pull out slack, the chain hoist to pull the tree. Notch, cut, keep putting in wedges behind the saw, pull a little more. Slow and easy. Lays them right down. Unless the tops break out or they get hung up it goes well.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 12:52:37 PM EST
[#3]
We just had a 5ft diameter oak taken down. I was out of town at the time, and sort of glad I was. The whole thing was brought down by a remote cutter, but moment arms being what the be, still a worrisome thing.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:07:35 PM EST
[#4]
Damn, brutal! Tough job man. I felled 10-12 trees on my property but nothing too huge. Mucho respecto for those dudes.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:13:42 PM EST
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Wow, fuck that . I use all the good GPS stuff too , summer curtails it's use much of the time . I couldn't imagine being told I have to be a logger as well as a surveyor. Beats the hell out of running a machete all day long! We have done 200-500 Ac. Boundary Surveys with 1 man in 2-4 days. I personally did 370 ac. with 42 corners in 3 days a few months ago. Would have taken 2 guys 2 weeks to do that one conventionally. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:16:42 PM EST
[#6]
I’m sorry to hear that Op. Dont hesitate to talk to a professional if you need to.
Things like that can stick with you for a long time and be very draining. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:24:10 PM EST
[#7]
Sorry man, that sounds awful.
I do occasional felling and pruning and honestly don’t realize all the things that can possibly go wrong. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:34:22 PM EST
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Trees are no joke Even after they come down. I'm pretty fucked to this day anytime I see a wood chipper cause back when I was 19 only got to hear about it, thank god didn't witness it, here was another young guy 18 yrs old on his first day. FIRST DAY ON THE JOB. Got sucked into a god dam wood chipper. I have issues to this day when I see crews trying to unclog one by getting a little closer |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 1:37:35 PM EST
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Sorry man, that sounds awful. I do occasional felling and pruning and honestly don’t realize all the things that can possibly go wrong. Always assume the tree is smarter than you and is plotting to kill you. If you don't do this as a job, you should be under no time pressure to get the tree down, take your time and try to identify all of the possible problems. Speed does kill. I once had a tree partway down in my backyard. I used the $60 electric pruning chainsaw from Harbor Freight to finish it off. It wasn't a huge tree, and the extension kept me out from under its branches and away from the trunk. It took forever to finish off that tree. I was happy to trade time for safety. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:03:58 PM EST
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I cut down a lot of trees on our 40 acres every year for firewood....old dead trees (like bark falling off) scare me the worse. I woke up in an ER years ago after felling a tree like that and apparently didn't notice the limb that broke off the tree and hung up in the canopy of another tree before it fell. My dad was with and said it was about a 5" limb around 15' long that hit me on the top of the head....if it would have been a live tree, I'd probably be dead. Somehow I managed to walk away from it with no injuries other than a concussion. Needless to say I bought a hard hat, spend plenty of time before hand assessing the tree, clear multiple escape paths to get away and as soon as the tree starts to move I get the fuck out of the area in a hurry. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:44:01 PM EST
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Hard hat doesn't help if it drives what's left of your head down into your chest cavity. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I cut down a lot of trees on our 40 acres every year for firewood....old dead trees (like bark falling off) scare me the worse. I woke up in an ER years ago after felling a tree like that and apparently didn't notice the limb that broke off the tree and hung up in the canopy of another tree before it fell. My dad was with and said it was about a 5" limb around 15' long that hit me on the top of the head....if it would have been a live tree, I'd probably be dead. Somehow I managed to walk away from it with no injuries other than a concussion. Needless to say I bought a hard hat, spend plenty of time before hand assessing the tree, clear multiple escape paths to get away and as soon as the tree starts to move I get the fuck out of the area in a hurry. True....all PPE has a threshold. My point was more around erroring on the side of more PPE than less. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:47:01 PM EST
[#12]
Tonight, we drink for Tommy. Rip.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:47:16 PM EST
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: True....all PPE has a threshold. My point was more around erroring on the side of more PPE than less. Once you protect the coconut from falling shit, then the neck becomes the weak link. Compressed cervical vertebrae will do a fine job of killing you. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:49:51 PM EST
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Tonight, we drink for Tommy. Rip. Yes Sir! |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:50:39 PM EST
[#15]
I had to bail out once leaving my saw where I was making the last cut. After the tree came down I found my saw crushed by the trunk, Could have been me if I hadn't sensed what the tree was doing.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 2:54:02 PM EST
[#16]
Was cutting a big limb with an extended saw as I stood on a ladder. Branch came straight down at me and I jumped off the ladder. Branch hit the aluminum step on the ladder and turned it into a V shape instead of flat. Scared the shit out of me, cause that would have likely killed me if it hit my head. I don't do stupid anymore.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:06:00 PM EST
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Been cutting them off and on for forty years. Have had to drop my saw and run like a little girl several times. Sometimes it takes me an hour or more to hook one up but I use two come a longs and a chain hoist. Always have two saws ready. Worst part is using a ladder to get up high enough to pull one. The come a longs are to pull out slack, the chain hoist to pull the tree. Notch, cut, keep putting in wedges behind the saw, pull a little more. Slow and easy. Lays them right down. Unless the tops break out or they get hung up it goes well. Along these lines - dropping trees is no time for macho ego driven bullshit. Be the safety Nazi gear whore that "wastes" more time planning the cut than making it... and always have a plan on where and when to safely drop the saw and run like a little girl. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:08:52 PM EST
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I’m sorry to hear that Op. Dont hesitate to talk to a professional if you need to. Things like that can stick with you for a long time and be very draining. Thanks. It has worried the hell out of me, the new guy that was with him more. We went back to the site today and made a little makeshift memorial on the tree. This helped. We still can't get the image of him laying there to go away, alcohol seems to help.... Talking to his mom was tough. He lived on her property and was very close to her. They came and got his truck today. I'm paying for the funeral. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:10:39 PM EST
[#19]
I am sorry that this happened, my condolences. I fell a lot of trees every year. It is never a simple process. And there is always a risk. There is no room for complacency when felling a tree.
To Tommy! 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:16:27 PM EST
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When you kill trees it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when it will happen. My uncle killed trees for a living and was taken out a couple of times. The last one was bad and fucked him up good. My dad talked him into quitting that and taking a cranberry marsh job that was safer. Not logging, not felling, not harvesting, not cutting. KILLING. Are you The Lorax by any chance? |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:21:56 PM EST
[#21]
When I drop a tree, I always stand at a 90 degree angle to the drop direction and move away in that same direction when it starts to go. I don't want to be in front of it or behind it. Beside it seems safest.....
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:24:06 PM EST
[#22]
Sorry man. thats terrible. 18 year old will be haunted. He will be looking for a new job too.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:27:50 PM EST
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When I drop a tree, I always stand at a 90 degree angle to the drop direction and move away in that same direction when it starts to go. I don't want to be in front of it or behind it. Beside it seems safest..... Pretty sure the pro recommendation is to have 2 paths both going 45 degrees away from the back of the tree. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:38:41 PM EST
[#24]
I saw this movie when I was a kid and this scene has haunted me and reminded ever since to be so fucking careful around trees.
It’s dubbed over in French (probably for copyright) but no words are needed… stay safe, friends. Sometimes a Great Notion 1971 starring Paul Neman.  Le clan des irréductibles Noyade |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:43:36 PM EST
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Pretty sure the pro recommendation is to have 2 paths both going 45 degrees away from the back of the tree. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: When I drop a tree, I always stand at a 90 degree angle to the drop direction and move away in that same direction when it starts to go. I don't want to be in front of it or behind it. Beside it seems safest..... Pretty sure the pro recommendation is to have 2 paths both going 45 degrees away from the back of the tree. I can see that too. Now that I think about it, I do tend to move away a little more toward the back. So I guess about a 60 degree angle. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 3:53:11 PM EST
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When I drop a tree, I always stand at a 90 degree angle to the drop direction and move away in that same direction when it starts to go. I don't want to be in front of it or behind it. Beside it seems safest..... Yes, having seen what can happen when they split rather than break at the hinge I want NOTHING to do with being behind one for any amount of time. Had a few times when I'm getting run down and trying too hard that I have to take a step back and decide the best way to continue. I watched a ton of the horror stories but man after you get 10 or 15 under your belt it still gets easy to be complacent. Had one that was to small for wedges really and was not leaning ideally that made life miserable for me after I over-did the back cut and it decided to sit down on my saw. That was a seriously not fun issue to un-fuck. Limbing is what scares me most. Arms get tired, it's never REALLY all that safe around the tree and sometimes it loves to spring off when something you didn't catch was under tension lets go. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 5:27:48 PM EST
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When I drop a tree, I always stand at a 90 degree angle to the drop direction and move away in that same direction when it starts to go. I don't want to be in front of it or behind it. Beside it seems safest..... 45* to the rear 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 5:33:33 PM EST
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I was just clearing some big trees yesterday and when I went to push one over it dropped a big limb on the cab of my excavator. Shit can be dangerous yo My brother-in-law (about 42 years old) was clearing a path to his deer stand with a tractor a couple of years ago. A big limb fell and hit him on the head. He was knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital. He died a week later without ever regaining consciousness. He left 2 grown daughters, a wife, and 2 grandsons. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 5:39:27 PM EST
[#29]
Couldn’t pay me enough to cut down a large tree.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 5:42:20 PM EST
[#30]
Trees are dangerous.
Kudos to those with knowledge to work with them safely. I hardly go into my woods now due to the large number of dead Ash trees there. It's just simply too dangerous. Typically I'd have a 10x10 canvas tent setup back there to chill in but not this year. Whole woods back there was Ash and every single tree is dead or dying due to the China Ash Borer. It would be a small fortune to cut them all down so best I can do is wait for storm to take them out. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 7:10:47 PM EST
[#31]
I've been trying to get some professional tree cutters to remove the oak tree in the photo below.
It's about 75 to 80 feet tall. The trunk is 37 inches in diameter. It hangs over the 13,800-volt power line. So far the cutters have looked at it and said, "I'll get back with you on a price." But they haven't. I'm thinking that the power line may be a show stopper. The power company said, "No way are we taking the tree down. We just trim limbs in a 10-foot radius around the 13,800-volt power line."  Attached File |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 7:15:43 PM EST
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Beats the hell out of running a machete all day long! We have done 200-500 Ac. Boundary Surveys with 1 man in 2-4 days. I personally did 370 ac. with 42 corners in 3 days a few months ago. Would have taken 2 guys 2 weeks to do that one conventionally. I do love the GPS for that reason, I can get shit done ! I did ~ 12 acres today , minimal machete work in 3 hours ? 12 corners I think . Where it really shines is a road topo, a mile in a Cleveland ghetto in 5 days |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 8:27:31 PM EST
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yes. We do a lot of boundary work with GPS. The new stuff works much better in the woods. About half of the guys around here do the same. While it does work much better than older equipment, it helps to open up the canopy a little. This is what he was doing. He had done it many times before. He got complacent and didn't move back when it began to fall. I spent 12 years in northern Atlanta mostly laying out subdivisions. We always cut the rear property lines out so we could true line the corners. We cut everything up to about 48" on line. I remember walking with water bottles full of gas and oil all day..... What county was this ? |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 9:22:21 PM EST
[#34]
A co-workers neighbor and friends got together to drop some trees.
Not long into it he watched the sheriff , fire department rescue and life flight helicopter come in for a landing. Somehow a tree got dropped on an old guy and swatted him like a fly. Lucky for him the ground was soft and it looked like a cartoon where they pulled him out of the ground. Its not a very forgiving learning curve and too many untrained people is an accident waiting to happen. Guy recovered with minor internal injuries. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 9:29:50 PM EST
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yep...other than crab fisherman in Alaska most dangerous job is logging. I worked at a sawmill for 9 years. We lost a logger in our area pretty much every year or so. Always an experienced guy. You can only tempt fate for so long I guess... |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 9:55:01 PM EST
[#36]
Ronnie Burke out of Broken Bow, OK was killed cutting down a tree back in 2014.
He was 60 and had been doing such things all his life. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 10:01:59 PM EST
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I do love the GPS for that reason, I can get shit done ! I did ~ 12 acres today , minimal machete work in 3 hours ? 12 corners I think . Where it really shines is a road topo, a mile in a Cleveland ghetto in 5 days We can break sections down in no time with GPS. Its a God send. Once you start running off a network instead of a base, it all feels like black magic. As someone who has cussed damn near every tree we survey by my condolences to the deceased and his family. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/11/2021 10:04:41 PM EST
[#38]
Sorry for your friend. Not a professional, only taken a few down and it makes me nervous as heck.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 2:33:20 AM EST
[#39]
This book is excellent in explaining many of the issues brought up here. Condolences to the friends and family. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 8:30:53 AM EST
[#40]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 8:40:53 AM EST
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: What county was this ? Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding, Bartow mostly. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 8:52:20 AM EST
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Not logging, not felling, not harvesting, not cutting. KILLING. Are you The Lorax by any chance? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: When you kill trees it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when it will happen. My uncle killed trees for a living and was taken out a couple of times. The last one was bad and fucked him up good. My dad talked him into quitting that and taking a cranberry marsh job that was safer. Not logging, not felling, not harvesting, not cutting. KILLING. Are you The Lorax by any chance? No, the Lorax kills rodents. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 8:56:12 AM EST
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We can break sections down in no time with GPS. Its a God send. Once you start running off a network instead of a base, it all feels like black magic. As someone who has cussed damn near every tree we survey by my condolences to the deceased and his family. Preach it brother, people look at me funny when I say I loathe trees . |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 10:57:50 AM EST
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I've been trying to get some professional tree cutters to remove the oak tree in the photo below. It's about 75 to 80 feet tall. The trunk is 37 inches in diameter. It hangs over the 13,800-volt power line. So far the cutters have looked at it and said, "I'll get back with you on a price." But they haven't. I'm thinking that the power line may be a show stopper. The power company said, "No way are we taking the tree down. We just trim limbs in a 10-foot radius around the 13,800-volt power line." https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/62111/Tree_jpg-2049136.JPG |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 10:59:50 AM EST
[#45]
Damn. Scary stuff. You gotta be on your a game when felling trees.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 11:11:11 AM EST
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Im a surveyor in ohio, was he cutting the tree for work? I'd refuse to do that , too dangerous . I'm a surveyor not a tree guy . Sorry for your friend Yeal, why was a surveyor cutting trees? |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 12:15:57 PM EST
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yeal, why was a surveyor cutting trees? Because they were in the way! Most Boundary Surveys of large, wooded tracts require more time spent on recon and set up than the actual measuring. I have walked many miles through the woods with axes, machetes and various saws. Sometimes we use bulldozers with forestry plows or a skid steer with a brush cutting head to clear the path. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 12:24:20 PM EST
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Tree branches are elastic, like springs. If a tree falls on its branches so that they are bent, but do not break, when they spring back the whole tree jumps toward the butt end. If you are in its way ....... you are SOL. Trees are heavy fucking things, and they are hard compared to squishy things like humans. When I was 12 or so I was trying to push over a 15 foot tall dead tree stump. As I'm pushing the tree is swaying back and forth. The top 5 feet broke off and came crashing down on my head and shoulder. Knocked my ass out cold and I stopped pushing trees |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 4:11:58 PM EST
[#49]
Gofundme:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/tommy-singelton-memorial-funds |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/12/2021 4:17:05 PM EST
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Sorry to hear about your friend. Taking trees down is something I’ll always pay a pro to do. My extent of chainsaw work is chopping up branches that fell on the ground. Yup. I won't fuck with trees unless they're something I can literally push over with my hands (after some cutting). Anything large, with multiple branches, or near the house - double fuck that |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
