Cutting down your own tree?

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
Quercus
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:19 pm

Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Quercus »

Newish forum member here and current arborist/urban forester.

I have enjoyed being an arborist/urban forester. I went to college/got a degree in environmental science and felt most passionate about trees and forestry. After graduating, I found a company that supported me through an arborist apprenticeship. I love working outside and with plants/trees. There is a lot of diversity in the type of work you can pursue in arboriculture - tree removals, pruning, plant health care, planting, tree inventory/consulting etc - it can keep things interesting.

I would recommend finding a company that has an apprenticeship program or doing a two-year technical program if you are interested in starting out in the field and gaining experience. I think the company you work for/learn from is really essential starting out. Things I recommend looking for in a company would be an emphasis on safety, science-based tree care practices and supporting continuing education/diversified training.

Safety practices would include things like not one-handing a chainsaw or wearing a hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection and chainsaw pants etc. You can also watch tree fails on youtube to see everything not to do. It can be a physically demanding job if you don’t work smart/ergonomically.

Science-based knowledge may be harder to assess. Does an arborist know basic plant ID? Assess overall tree health and structure? Identify basic tree pests and diseases?

I think continuing education and diversified training helps one become a better/well-rounded arborist. It is easy to focus on one area of arboriculture/tree care like tree removals and that is fine for some people. When all you do is tree removals, you may not know or care to recommend other options to mitigate an issue/preserve the tree.

User avatar
Sclass
Posts: 2791
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:15 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Sclass »

I’ve been really tempted to try this. I was given some spurs, ropes, harness and ascenders years ago by a pro who retired. Everyone around me has said I cannot do this which makes me more interested in giving it a go. Probably should try it on a 4’ ascent first.

I have two huge trees I’d like to top and thin. The price of getting a pro in isn’t bad considering they’ll chip it which is the heavy work. Heh, one day.

Toska2
Posts: 420
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:51 pm

Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Toska2 »

Spurs will damage a tree. Unless its coming down, we don't do it.

7wannabe5 is glamourizing work that is irregular. Ropes, knots, bucket work are the meat and potatoes of tree removal. Even technical dropping trees with winches, ropes, negative blocking, and wedges are few and far in between. Then there is clean up and removal which is less glamorous than the latter. I recommend male pole dancing.

ellarose24
Posts: 175
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:44 am

Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by ellarose24 »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 6:29 pm
Just curious, how did the tree project turn out?
I did not cut down the tree. And I probably won’t. M did buy me a book to become an arborist and that was fun to read.

Had someone look at it and they said magnolia roots are shallow enough not to worry. It also is the only thing blocking my window and the afternoon sun currently. I also really like magnolias.

In tree news I did dig up cedar elm saplings and am giving it a go to grow them to add more shade. I will update in 20 years.

User avatar
Sclass
Posts: 2791
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:15 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Sclass »

:lol: :lol: :lol: Well I am no expert, but these ARE magnolia roots!

Image

Same photo I posted in the Fixit log. The roots also lifted my brick patio 1” in a few sections. When it cools down I’m going to pry up the bricks, sawzall the roots and relevel everything.

Post Reply