Removing large leaning Oak trees

[jillybean]

hello OCP, I have the same in my wood. Im under a ewigs grant scheme and the forestry commission who oversee the management are quite insistent that standing deadwood, especially oak is the most valuable habitat you can have in a wood. there are over 500 species in and around that tree, and it it were down it would not attract the nervous birds or bats that like a bit of distance from the ground dwelling critters. they have asked me to leave my trees in their wonky and dangerous state and be happy that im doing my bit for biodiversity.

[Sparrowhatchforestry]

As Jillybean said Standing/raised deadwood does produce a great habitat. However peoples safety takes president over biodiversity so if there is risk of injury then it would be best to have them down.

I cant explain how to remove them as every windblow situation is different, there is a weeks training course just on managing single windblow trees! a winch would be the safest route, that way you would be out of the way of falling timber - something like an old tirfor will prove itself a valuable asset (although very heavy to move around).

If you are set on using a chainsaw (I wouldnt reccomend this unless you are suitably trained and experienced) then remember to have other people on site, leave clear escape routes as windblow is very unpredictable and think about all of your cuts very carefully before making them as there are often many different forces and stresses in the tree.

Hope this is of some use

[splodger]

we use winches, ropes, cables, pulley blocks etc - for tricky trees - we couldn't manage in our wood without them (we don't have access to tractors or other machinery - so we have to do everything by hand - unless you know what you are doing, attacking the leaners with the chainsaw out might not be your safest option

my old dad is a bit of an expert in the use of ropes, pulleys and winches etc - (and with leaning / snagged up trees) and i am sure he would be happy to talk through / show you the basics of using this sort of kit and how to tackle troublesome trees - if you fancy a day trip out to hampshire - just let me know -

[Alex]

Good luck.

Bit of common sense advice, but sometimes easy to overlook once you do get the winch set up, make sure there's plenty of room for the timber to go into, plan ahead, sometimes it's easy to get things more stuck than they were, other times they just happen to fall quite nicely !

[Jackdaw]

Had the same problem with a Large half fallen Birch in the week.
The bugger had wedge itself in the fork of an Oak and was leaning right over a main ride.
The only reason I dropped it was for the safety of my Dog. Labrador's are obsessed with chewing wood, and the base of this half fallen Birch was drawing my Black bear as if it had chocolate smeared over it,.......... ezz a boy !!!!
Lovely dry firewood though !!.
If you do decide to cut it, be ultra, ultra careful, its not for the faint hearted .