That ornamental pear took me 9 hours to remove because of my own stupidity

I had this Bradford pear in a tight backyard in Portland that I figured would be a 4-hour job. Took me almost 9 hours total because I forgot to check the lean direction before making my first cut. Ended up with the tree hung up on a fence and had to rig a come-along to pull it free. Now I always walk around the tree three times and mark the lean with flagging tape before I even start my notch. Has anyone else had a tree go sideways because you rushed the setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_cooper24d ago

Flagging tape and photos feel a bit overkill to me honestly. @adams.faith I get the idea but unless you're felling trees for a living, walking around it three times seems like it's turning a simple job into a whole ceremony. I've pulled plenty of trees down by just eyeballing it and calling a buddy if it gets sketchy. Maybe I've just been lucky but 9 times out of 10 you can feel the lean with your hands on the trunk before you even pick up the saw.

adams.faith24d ago

Flagging tape is a good move, but here is something that saved me after a similar nightmare. I started taking a picture of the whole tree with my phone before I start cutting. That way if I get stuck or the tree does something weird, I can look back at the photo and see exactly how the branches were sitting and what the lean actually was. It also helps if I have to call a buddy to come help with a winch, I can just text them the picture so they know what they are walking into. Another thing I do now is spray paint a circle on the ground where I want the stump to land, so I have a visual target. All takes 5 minutes extra but saves hours of headache lmao.