Any idiot can cut a tree down. A skilled woodcutter can choose the general direction in which it falls. But a master lumberjack can move a tree with surgical precision.
Scott of Scott's Tree Service in Randle, Washington is such a lumberjack.
The roofs of the two buildings were about 4 feet apart. The tree had to fall through the middle of this narrow channel. Arranging this drop required precise planning:
This is not a "Lucky Shot". This had been planned and the ground prepared out there in the distance so the tree would not fish tail or twist when it hit the ground. The tree was perfectly straight and limb balanced. The falling cuts were gunned to the exact spot half way between the buildings. An appropriate face cut was used.
It worked perfectly:
No, the buildings were not slated for demo. I have insurance. The Service line was down and coiled on the deck to make room for the trees that were behind the location of the camera.
The deck was rotten and replaced by owner after we logged the lot. I talked to him about that ahead of time and he gave us the go ahead to dent the deck if we had to. The steps were the only damage.
I hung plumb bobs from the eaves of each roof line to the ground and drove stakes there. Then I measured between the stakes and drove a third stake half way between the two.
From this stake, I measured to each corner of my falling cut on the stump the exact same distance to each corner.
I used a birdsmouth cut on the face so as to keep the tree on the hinge and stump all the way to the ground.
The most important factor was that the tree was the straightest tree on the lot and the limbs were well balanced. By that I mean the limbs were the same size and weight all the way around the tree top, so when the tree began to fall, they didn't influence the cast or drift of the tree.
The owner took the money from the log sale and remodeled with a new nicer deck, and the most awesome living room I have ever seen in an old mobile home.
Watching a skilled craftsman at work is a wonderful experience.
In the above video, the tree starts to fall at about 1:05. Be sure to watch Scott's reaction at 1:20.
-via American Digest