Oh no! He's up our Tree with a Chainsaw 馃槵
Good Evening patrons
After telling ourselves for weeks it needed to be done, and with the strict fire bans prohibiting the use of power tools with an internal combustion engine lifted, we were able to begin the process of removing the introduced Blue Gum trees around the house and garden.
This week we take you through our initial week-long mission to remove these destructive and dangerous trees and convert them into something more useful.
It was exhausting work but all the more rewarding, as we now come into winter with the home paddock and garden filled with sunshine on clear sunny days. In addition, we also have plenty of firewood, wood chips and building materials for the future.
Whilst it was a little daunting for me to see Troy up there in the trees dangling from a rope, he did it all with a calm confidence that reassured me everything was going to be ok. My heart was in my mouth when he took out one of the bigger branches on that last tree, bouncing around 20 metres above me on the tree fork he was spiked and lashed onto!
Originally planned to be a 2 part episode, I decided to combine both timelines to make one tree felling "megasode". We hope you enjoy the longer format including Troy's anatomy of a tree fall with a chainsaw bar that's smaller than the trunk!
Our best wishes to you and your loved ones
Pascale and Troy
Comments (16)
Great work on the felling there, Troy! Really opened up to the sun for the garden. In the very last chipping footage (from 32:20) I was quite amused that the vibration on the wood chipper managed to self-wind down the jockey-wheel of the trailer. 馃槃
Good spotting! We are very relieved that they are gone. They were a huge fire hazard on top of all the other problems they have.
Agree with Scott, is there anything you can鈥檛 do.. Have to get myself one of those blade sharpening guides, makes easy work of it. Love the shots of the puppy sitting there watching you work. Plenty of firewood. and a nice burn pile. Love your vids.
I can definitely recommend those guides, just be sure to get the right one for your chain pitch as there are a few choices. They include a depth gauge too which is nice. Glad you like the shots of Jet but consider yourself lucky that Pascy uses them sparingly- we really do have far too much footage of that wee dog!
Awesome episode 馃憦 guys. Learnt alot & some memories too 馃ゾ As an 17yr old, lived in a caravan out the back of Harvey, felling trees, cutting them up, then using a block splitter to make firewood sizes. Bought a new Stihl 084 & after spending half a days wages getting the local shop to sharpen the teeth i learnt quick how to do it myself. Great work felling those trees, really opened up the garden to the 馃尀. Place is looking great guys, cheers 馃嵒
A block splitter! We view our growing pile of rounds as a year-long gym membership 馃槄
Troy, your skill set is astounding! 20 years since you've done this sort of work, and you still look like a pro! Well done!! I've done just enough amateur tree work to appreciate how little I know, and how dangerous it can be... I've seen pros manage it beautifully first hand, and sadly, I ground crewed for a somewhat inexperienced fellow I mistakenly hired to take one down for me. I thought we may both die in the process... I'll rent a chipper next time I do any serious tree work. That looked extremely handy! We had Eucalyptus on the property I grew up on. Large groves of it had been planted in North San Diego county by an unlucky speculator who thought he would make a killing turning it into railroad ties only to find it grows to twisted to be suitable. It does make excellent firewood, though. An unfortunate down side was that all the leafy greens I tried growing had a menthol taste to it. Hopefully you'll be able to clean all that out of your garden areas...
My employer at the time was a 20 year veteran of the big timber felling industry and very skilled climber/rigger. I can safely attribute my present (rusty) abilities to his very exacting mentorship. He was one man who was invariably right when he spoke on a subject and I do miss him. Unlucky speculation has been particularly bad here as many of those Blue-gums have been set on plantations and they really do cause havoc. In the fire season, those big blocks are a real bomb as Blue-gums have an exceptionally high oil content and throw up huge clouds of embers far into the sky. I can't hate a tree but I have to admit to misgivings when I see them here.
Great progress
Love it, great episode.
I tune in each week sitting in my favorite spot, looking out to the Northern California foothills and a ever-changing lake 2.4 rock throws away, it's mid-morning- Saturday. Everyday for me is Saturday..(retired). This week, more then any other I pictured the smiles cutting ever deeper in the owners hearts; even Jet seems to be riding high on contentment. 鉁嶏笍))) I tip my hat....well done Troy + P well done!!
Sounds a very ideallic retirement indeed. I keep waking up and discovering it's Monday 馃ぃ
Loved that one. I've only done a little bit of tree work and have high regard for the climbers and cutters! Learned a lot as usual about chainsaw care, horticulture, gardening and seasons in Australia. Thanks! 馃檹馃従
When trees and chainsaws go wrong, they go wrong FAST! I was fortunate to have a very meticulous mentor to keep me alive those first 6 months and his good habits live on with me.
He was only falling a little! 馃榿馃榿馃榿 LoL
Haha- keeping Pascale in a state of minor terror is a full time job (she's deceptively tough)