Thanks Reg for another great video from a person who has such a well balanced view on tree work. No pomp, no nonsense, no stuck up attitude, just sheer professionalism.
My dad used to blast. This was back in the 1950's and 60's. Nothing like what you are doing there, more flat land clearing. He could shoot stumps onto a pile. he was good with it. He had a feel for directing the initial forces. He could remove boulders too. If he was alive today, he would really like this video too. Good stuff Reg, thanks. George.
V interesting Reg. The flash of the charge to the explosive 🧨 in slow motion looks like a majestic lightning bolt. Must be great to help keep people safe.
Your helicopter escapades *used to* be the coolest-single-instances of tree-work I knew of, then you 1-up that!! I hope it's OK for me to share this link :D Wish you'd done a longer vid, still an A+ for sure / am aware it's uncool to ask you to spend even more time, but would've loved explanation- in the slow-motion at ~4:30 it looks like the dynamite was placed to fell that in that direction, would've loved to hear you explain the logistics everything from *why* used dynamite here and not somewhere else, how you set it IE did you make any notches/plunges at that area or was it only the dynamite & if so was the location of the dynamite crucial or didn't matter much? Thanks for sharing this, so damn cool seeing what the best-of-the-best do on-job!!!
Firstly, I was only on this job as the hired help. Martin, the other guy is the Faller/blaster. But we both have lots of experience and gel pretty good on a worksite. The big cedar you referred to was approximately 160 ft tall. It had a good head lean so we could've felled it and escaped safely i would hope, same as countless other we took on that site. But the issue was if the majority of the log holds together, cartwheels off the edge of the cliffside and through the powerlines down below...putting 2 entire towns out of power. Topping the tree with a saw was sketchy because of the unpredictability of the structural as you sever through it. So blasting guarantees the result, but keeps the workers out of harms reach. Yes, plunge cuts to form a box shape hole to house the explosives. You can create directional falling with the amount and placement of the explosives, but in the case of the cedar it only had perhaps 7 inch of sound holding wood, the rest rotted or hollow....so much of the energy from the blast escapes. In that case the natural lean did the work for us. As for the other trees, rather that explain the circumstances of each one, lets just say they were similar.
Simon I almost use that Very Name - But was unsure about Mr Dibnah's use of explosive I only recall him setting fires to burn the pit props. anyway you made me smile thanks! www.irishnews.com/opinion/2013/10/07/news/evoking-memories-of-demolition-man-fred-72179/
Hi reg thanks again for a very entertaining video . In one of your resent videos you looked at this big hollow tree and said " I'd hate to put a saw in that " . I was thinking the same thing , is there any control on felling by the placement of the explosive or is it all hit and miss ?
Road widening project. We judged 2 not safe enough to fall and prevent from hitting the powerlines down below. But the company in control of the whole road widening project budgeted for us to blast 8. They were all rotting, hollow and split, with very poor escape routes...so it was fair and considerate decision
Not too many. Some trees, like the big cedar we blasted part way up are so mushy that you can barely make an undercut without it sinking on your saw. That one in particular was around about 160-170 feet and on a hillside with powerlines underneath. So the ability to blast it at any point along its length, with no risk to a climber or faller takes an aweful lot of risk out iof the situation. We felled trees on that hill previously that were just as bad, but with better escape routes and less chance of a collision with the wires.
Hi Reg, thanks for sharing, just a question: I saw at 4'.00" after the explosion there still a tree up, leaning to the others, so I wondered, if this could happen, is this method better than cutting down trees in the old way pulling them? Thanks
Hi Giorgio. Red cedars, when they are rotted, hollow, split and 6 foot dbh or more can be very dangerous to put a saw into, because if their tendency just to sink on your bar and chain. Consider too that the terrain was very steep with logs, fallen trees and stumps underfoot....so very limited means to escape if need be. It can be a very dangerous predicament for a faller. If its feesable and within the budget to blast the trees from a safe distance, then it seems a smarter choice. We felled many trees equally as big and rotten on that hillside previously, but they were a little but more predictable. Difficult to appreciate the whole situation through a camera lens
@@fhudo yes Mark. This one in particular had a high risk of sliding down and off the edge of the cliff and through the powerlines had we let it go full length. We scrutinized it from up close and from a distance. The contours of the slope and drop-off appeared like we would otherwise be rolling the dice with a high chance of losing. If not for the wires we'd have just felled it with a saw and it wouldn't have mattered whether the tree had held together or not. But those wires were the sole artery for 2 entire towns. To put them out would've resulted in massive, career ending, life changing fines for us, not to mention how it would've effected the thousands or residents and businesses at the other end.
Wow, that’s amazing... knowing that making a mistake could end your career and taking the job with enough confidence kind of blows my mind....I’m still doubtful on some basic rigging..... RESPECT Y’ALL
Great cinematography bud. Do you work primarily on the same stretch of road? It look pretty similar each vid and how do you guys clean up on a hillside like that
Ive made a few videos about this particular job, as we keep getting called back there. But a couple hundred other vids on various sites over the years too. The stuff that makes it all the way down to the road immediately gets moved by machine. Anything else that is stable on the hillside will mostly remain there to rot and regenerate. Looks a mess for now, but will most likely be all green in 5 years.
I should add Dan, that here Im actually sub contracting to another company several hours away from my home and regular work. The change of scenery and role does me good
Reg never done this personally but have seen it done. Kinda cool shit and I guess it's more prevalent in the NW than the SE US but still very cool shit. Looks like a much easier way for takedowns than the conventional. Keep posting love your vids👍👍👍👍👍
Sometime. Although i think these were the hollow because the hillside had been on fire at some stage. My experience of lighting strikes is that the damage is apparent as a strip of bark and cambium either in a straight line or spiraling from the buttress right up the stem
Sometimes one comes along older W. Cedar where natives stripped uniform piece of bark for baskets, buckets and other life's necessities. Bats like the hollow from the bottom older Cedars.
I literally never knew this was a thing! Is it because the tree was so rotten? Is that why it was blown up? It's a hell of a spectacle regardless of the reason! Just kinda curious!
Ive been a climber for 22 yrs or so once in awhile i go haul logs cuz i did that before i started my tree service anyway the dude that ran processor told me that he and his dad blew treetops out i thought he was tellin me some bs...lol maybe he wasnt hahaha
What a fun day! I feel like blasting is a tool that is under utilized in the tree world. Keeps everyone safe...... if done safely. Good job man, cool footage
WELL AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTED. THEN REALIZED THAT DAMN WHY ARE WE CONTINUING TO DESTROY OUR TREES I MEAN ITS NOT LIKE WE NEED OXYGEN OR ANYTHING. KILLS THE LAND AND LOOKS AWFUL
These are a hazard tree removals pn the top of a cliff above a highway that currently being widened because rocks keep falling down onto vehicles. Not a harvesting operation, nor just for the hell of it.
@@killingoldgrowthsince The only Twat here is you. Don't be a miserable Twat all your life Doug, its never too late. And Im a Tree worker....hardly likely to be in a fuckin quarry am I
