Had a close call with a maple in Portland last Tuesday

I was doing a crown reduction on a big silver maple in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, and my cut on a 6 inch limb didn't go as planned. The wood had a hidden crack I missed, and it split back towards the trunk before my notch was set. I had to quickly adjust my rigging point to control the fall and keep it off the client's fence. Anyone else run into surprise defects like that in what looked like healthy wood?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessel351mo ago

Ever check for that with a sounding hammer first? A solid thunk versus a hollow one can tip you off before you even make a cut. Might have saved you the last-minute rigging scramble.

the_jessica1mo ago

My buddy learned that "solid thunk" lesson the hard way last year.

evaperez1mo ago

That's a good point from @the_jessica about learning the hard way. So jessel35, when you use a sounding hammer, what exactly are you listening for? Is it just the difference between a thunk and a ring, or are there other sounds that tell you something's wrong? I've always wondered how people get good at hearing those small differences.