Post by magnumwheelman on Apr 12, 2021 9:23:57 GMT -5
So I put myself out there in the "idiot" thread... if you want details of why I'm so stiff...
anyway I was cutting a long branch on a walnut tree... this is the one that had exceptional color & figure in a fallen branch I cut up, that I had posted in another thread a couple weeks ago... this tree's wood looks awesome, but it has already had 2 branches break off... most of the walnut on our property is dark, with tightly, even spaced rings, & tough as iron... this one is unusual to say the least...
the stupid thing I did yesterday, was put a pallet on the forks on my tractor, raise it up to the maximum height that the pallet is flat ( between 8 & 8.5 ft ) climb up with a step ladder & cut a branch off a tree while standing on the pallet ( Yep, I know it's dumb, but honestly I've done that 4-5 times before with no issues )... well this was a good sized branch, over an area I was going to install a tube bull gate under it... I was sure it would break & damage my gate sooner than later...
hind sight is 20/20, but wondering if that unusual grain is more brittle than the standard grain... as I did my base cut at the bottom of the branch, about an inch deep, to keep it from stripping bark off the trunk when it started coming down... base of the branch was 9-10" thick, I switch to the top, & got roughly half way through the branch ( at this point, every branch I've cut this way, starts to slowly lower towards the ground ) this one snapped clean off the trunk, & the wind pushed it onto the pallet, knocking me off backwards into an ugly bouncing off all the loader rigging, the brush guard on the front of the tractor, the side rail, the front tire, & then to the ground... knocking the wind out of me... yep... that guy is some kinda dumb
thinking everything through later yesterday ( oh yes... I lived ) I've never seen a live & very green branch just snap off like that curious if any of you guys that may have cut into fancier grain base woods have found that they may be more brittle than "normal" tightly grained woods???
anyway I was cutting a long branch on a walnut tree... this is the one that had exceptional color & figure in a fallen branch I cut up, that I had posted in another thread a couple weeks ago... this tree's wood looks awesome, but it has already had 2 branches break off... most of the walnut on our property is dark, with tightly, even spaced rings, & tough as iron... this one is unusual to say the least...
the stupid thing I did yesterday, was put a pallet on the forks on my tractor, raise it up to the maximum height that the pallet is flat ( between 8 & 8.5 ft ) climb up with a step ladder & cut a branch off a tree while standing on the pallet ( Yep, I know it's dumb, but honestly I've done that 4-5 times before with no issues )... well this was a good sized branch, over an area I was going to install a tube bull gate under it... I was sure it would break & damage my gate sooner than later...
hind sight is 20/20, but wondering if that unusual grain is more brittle than the standard grain... as I did my base cut at the bottom of the branch, about an inch deep, to keep it from stripping bark off the trunk when it started coming down... base of the branch was 9-10" thick, I switch to the top, & got roughly half way through the branch ( at this point, every branch I've cut this way, starts to slowly lower towards the ground ) this one snapped clean off the trunk, & the wind pushed it onto the pallet, knocking me off backwards into an ugly bouncing off all the loader rigging, the brush guard on the front of the tractor, the side rail, the front tire, & then to the ground... knocking the wind out of me... yep... that guy is some kinda dumb
thinking everything through later yesterday ( oh yes... I lived ) I've never seen a live & very green branch just snap off like that curious if any of you guys that may have cut into fancier grain base woods have found that they may be more brittle than "normal" tightly grained woods???