Taking top without limbing.

[Tayer]

I’m taking the top of a large white pine soon and was thinking of removing the top before removing any lower branches. My thinking being it will help to slow the piece and require less basal friction. Obviously it could get hung up but besides that are there other concerns I’m missing and is my idea of letting the limbs help to slow the piece valid?

 

[Reach]

If you’re rigging out the top, and plan to drop it through all the lower limbs, I think you’re just asking for it to get hung up. If you’re just felling it, you can do it, but you had better have a really big landing zone, because that top may roll off the lower limbs sideways or flip over completely and land somewhere other than where you aimed it.

 

[chiselbit]

Plus if it does get hung up you have the added enjoyment of unhanging it. Possibly requiring getting in under the load to cut limbs and then risking those limbs falling on your target. I’d say clean all the limbs off and keep the size of the top proportional to your rigging system.

 

[Jonny]

Or the limbs breaking and hitting whatever you want to avoid by rigging. White pine is brittle weak stuff.

 

[27RMT0N]

Everyone has made good points here which I fully agree with. Quite frankly I see no benefit to doing this unless you could just let it fly (as in not trying to catch it on a rope) and were keeping the lower portion of the tree for some reason. If your rigging setup is done correctly, there is simply no reason for a jury rigged 'solution' like this.

 

[JeffGu]

Unless you just need a Xmas tree.

 

[cerviarborist]

Unless you just need a Xmas tree.

That's kinda smushed on one side.

 

[JeffGu]

Just speedline it to your back patio, then get all your gear in the house before the neighbor gets home.
They'll never notice the missing 6 feet. Nobody looks up unless something craps on them.

 

[Tayer]

I guess I should Have mentioned the rest of the tree stays for privacy/habitat. So part of the not limbing is an attempt to save as many branches as possible. So my thought was pop the top unsnag it And prune off dead branches.

 

[Mowerr]

I guess I should Have mentioned the rest of the tree stays for privacy/habitat. So part of the not limbing is an attempt to save as many branches as possible. So my thought was pop the top unsnag it And prune off dead branches.

Where abouts in the north east are you? I'm in New York upstate...

 

[rope-a-dope]

I had a feeling you were going to be just topping it. Because why else would you need to leave all the limbs?
In this position, I would probably try to limb the top as much as possible to make it skinny. And not rig it down at all unless there is a clear path without lower limbs (or zero drop zone).
Of course, you could also prune out select limbs to clear the way for the top.

 

[Tayer]

Where abouts in the north east are you? I'm in New York upstate...

North shore of Massachusetts.

 

[27RMT0N]

If the tree is being topped (and ignoring the 'topping discussion') and material needs to come down on ropes, the best way is a speedline. That way you are just sending material out and over the limbs you want to keep rather than risking the hassle of hanging up brush, or breaking what you intended to save. If you don't need to lower/rope anything, either climb high and cut/toss small pieces, or strip a section of the trunk above your intended final height, about as high as the longest branches, then drop a big top from the bottom of the gap you made. That way only a bare trunk is brushing through the limbs you want to save, reducing/eliminating breakage of what you want to save. Obviously you have to be comfortable taking pretty big tops and have the space to do it for this method.

 

[Tayer]

If the tree is being topped (and ignoring the 'topping discussion') and material needs to come down on ropes, the best way is a speedline. That way you are just sending material out and over the limbs you want to keep rather than risking the hassle of hanging up brush, or breaking what you intended to save. If you don't need to lower/rope anything, either climb high and cut/toss small pieces, or strip a section of the trunk above your intended final height, about as high as the longest branches, then drop a big top from the bottom of the gap you made. That way only a bare trunk is brushing through the limbs you want to save, reducing/eliminating breakage of what you want to save. Obviously you have to be comfortable taking pretty big tops and have the space to do it for this method.

Thanks speed line probably is the ticket.

 

[Serf Life]

Reminds me of that video Murphy posted, tear cut the top but leave it hanging to have more weight on one side for felling...

 

[Daniel]

Don't try this:

I was trying to preserve the limbs of the adjacent tree. hole was big enough to fit the top, but I wouldn't have set it up like that if I wasn't working from the bucket truck, with the ability to set a line and get out of the way before calling for the pull

 

[rico]

Once again you feel the need to post this vid of a slice/salami cut being used on a top....A very dangerous cut for a climber to make when topping a tree....Sure hope the OP, or anyone else, doesn't do something as silly as take a cue from you and go get themselves hurt.....

 

[dsptech]

Where abouts in the north east are you? I'm in New York upstate...

Mower, where abouts are you?
Marshy and I are in the CNY.

 

[Chaplain242]

Once again you feel the need to post this vid of a slice/salami cut being used on a top....A very dangerous cut for a climber to make when topping a tree....Sure hope the OP, or anyone else, doesn't do something as silly as take a cue from you and go get themselves hurt.....

I have done this quite a few times on even bigger tops, and it is dangerous. Last resort and usually used where getting the top through the canopy has issues. It is a risky technique.

Bad made worse is when nothing is put in the face/kerf and the grains grab and pivots the top just like a normal felling hinge - I wont do this type of cut without sliders installed in the kerf - bar width deadwood twigs work well in a kerf. But I wont combine a notch into the process - seen it go bad, and huge pushback on a spar is not what I consider safe.

If I feel I have to do this, I lean the top over above where the slice cut is installed using kerf cuts and cut wedges or use dead twigs as wedges. I also set pull line to stop the top rotating back over the spar.

That little bit removed for the notch in the shown slice cut, easily grabs the grains and then hinges the top over, and then the top is no longer in control, or even semi-control (as a slice cut would behave)

 

[RogerM]

how big/ tall of a piece and what's the final "privacy/habitat"
height supposed to be?