Taking top without limbing.

[Christrees]

Yeah I know where your at too...your right it's far, I been there a time or 2. Lmk if ya wanna meet up sometime maybe somewhere in between... I think @Jonny is in Buffalo or somewhere close to you.
It's hard finding guys that do this for rec in New York.
But if you do decide you'd like to come out this way sometime I've got a lot of land and spots we could climb and not get in trouble.

Oh wow awsome...yeah that would be. Cool. And yeah johnny was one of the first gew guys i met on here. Really good guy. I dont just do rec. But i love to do rec because i have the time to try new things. And work on things i feel would make me faster in my profession. But cool man. Its nice to meet you.

 

[Mowerr]

Oh wow awsome...yeah that would be. Cool. And yeah johnny was one of the first gew guys i met on here. Really good guy. I dont just do rec. But i love to do rec because i have the time to try new things. And work on things i feel would make me faster in my profession. But cool man. Its nice to meet you.

Word

 

[Tayer]

Saw @Tom Dunlap post this on a separate thread through it applied here is anyone cares.

I haven't done it myself but I've heard some guys will leave a limb or 2 on the stem below the top to help with the shock.

That's a good strategy too.

The more mass there is in the trunk the more energy it takes to put it in motion. First day physics class. Dampen the load.

too often we get in the mental mode of 'pruning' a removal. Better to leave some mass down low and work in horizontal layers rather than concentric layers.

 

[dspacio]

I was removing a spruce over a historic stone wall lately, and left the three lowest limbs that spread right above it (on that side, tree leaned over the wall). It allowed me to lower things more quickly (natural rigging, self lowering a lot of it) and have the branches catch them. It was a bit of work for the ground guy to fetch them out, but we all agreed that was easier than dealing with a busted, irreplaceable cemetary wall.

 

[southsoundtree]

I've left a wedge of port Orford cedar branches over a roof (barely over). The wedge was about 6' tall.
Dropped all the limbs above it on the wedge, which allows them to roll right out from over the roof to the lawn. No rigging. No cut and chuck.

 

[burtonbc1400]

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?

For a full removal, I sometimes (not usually) take out the top out as the first step for a couple reasons.
One reason is to dampen the load. With all the branches on the tree, I barely feel the top coming off at all while negative rigging. Also maybe this is safer? especially with new groundies.
Another reason is convenience/mental . I just set my tie in point and cut it out. Go back down and finish the rest of the tree. Maybe it's just me but when I'm climbing back up stripping/rigging the limbs, I feel the job is so much easier/faster when I know the top/everything above my tie-in is done already. I'm already at the top.
The main thing to realize is that if you're hanging the top, or even just letting it go with all the branches still on, you're going to want to put a tagline in it to yard it out because it is very likely to get hung up.

 

[dspacio]

For a full removal, I sometimes (not usually) take out the top out as the first step for a couple reasons.
One reason is to dampen the load. With all the branches on the tree, I barely feel the top coming off at all while negative rigging. Also maybe this is safer? especially with new groundies.
Another reason is convenience/mental . I just set my tie in point and cut it out. Go back down and finish the rest of the tree. Maybe it's just me but when I'm climbing back up stripping/rigging the limbs, I feel the job is so much easier/faster when I know the top/everything above my tie-in is done already. I'm already at the top.
The main thing to realize is that if you're hanging the top, or even just letting it go with all the branches still on, you're going to want to put a tagline in it to yard it out because it is very likely to get hung up.

It's a good perspective, because I seem to always hear to always strip everything on the way up. That sure makes sense because nothing gets hung up on the way down. But I have left lower portions of trees to play defense, and had it work. Yet I usually get some comment about it! I'd rather have us fishing out a branch than destroying a propane tank, fence, or whatever. Especially as I have been working with a very new groundie lately who is not learning ropes quickly. At least I know if she doesn't stop the fall, the branch will.... (still prefer working with versed and competent riggers to maintain a pace) But it's good to know how to make the tree itself a part of the team!