Cracked a big maple limb during a takedown in Portland

Last Friday I was removing a 60 foot maple in a tight backyard off Burnside. I had my rigging line set and thought I had the piece balanced, but as I made the undercut the whole limb split sideways and swung into a fence. My groundie yelled "cut it free!" so I dropped it fast, but the fence took a solid hit and I had to spend 2 hours repairing it with the homeowner watching. Turned out the limb had a hidden crack from an old storm wound that I missed during my climb inspection, and I should have used a second sling higher up. Anyone else had a hidden defect change a routine takedown plan at the last second?

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dylan_stone338d ago

Maple is bad for that. The crack hides right in the crotch and looks fine from the ground. I found a split in a big silver maple last year about 18 inches up from the collar, same deal, old wound that healed over. A second sling higher up saves your butt every time because you can't trust what you see on the way up. Homeowner watching the repair is the worst part, you feel like a rookie the whole time.

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