Thursday, September 20, 2018

Widow Maker One is Down!

I've been working hard trying to get the widow maker down.  It lays from maple, where it broke off, to birch.  Lately, it's been sliding.

I'd been looking at manual chain saws, an arborist tool, as a possible solution.  They come with a chain saw blade attached to ropes at each end.  They come with a throw bag attached to one end of the rope that you toss over the branch you want to cut, then you grab the bag and pull that rope down pulling up the chain saw blade, then work the ropes back and forth, once the blade is over the branch, to cut it.

I couldn't find any around here.  You can buy them online, for $20 to $30 to $40.   I settled for a survival camp saw I found at Walmart for under $10.

I attached ropes to both ends and used a small water bottle full of water as a throw.

Lots of throwing later (its not that easy to get the rope over the right branch), and I've cut down 8 3 to 4 inch diameter branches with it, and used it to successfully remove the biggest widow maker.  First a few photos of the widow maker branch.  The first two photos show the end of it laying to the birch, from the maple.



This is where it broke off and lays in the maple.

Here is my cheap (under $10) Rope Chainsaw.  This version is sold as a survival pocket saw.
Yes, the blade can get caught in the branch.  I watched youtube videos on best ways to avoid this.  Oil the chain.  Cut at 45 degree angle.  First do an undercut.

Widow Maker One Down!   Yay!

8 comments:

  1. Well done. And please be careful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also had it tied up so I could control how it came down, EC. I am extremely careful.

      Delete
  2. You are amazing with your "can do" attitude.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:42 PM

    Well done you. I thought widow maker is an Australian term.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I've never been to Australia and the term is common in these parts. But there's lots of logging and tree stuff in Oregon. I think everyone in Oregon has cut at least one tree at one point.

      Delete
  4. You are amazing. Did you know that?

    ReplyDelete

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