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c/arboristshollyg59hollyg591mo ago

Had a nightmare week last June with storm cleanup in Austin

I got called out to a neighborhood where like 20 oaks came down after a microburst. Every tree had some weird lean or crack I had to figure out on the fly. My saw chain kept binding on wet wood and I burned through 3 chains in two days. Has anyone else dealt with cleanup after a freak storm like that?
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4 Comments
danielb43
danielb431mo ago
I was just reading about how storms like that can warp the grain in standing timber before they even break. A guy on a forestry forum said microbursts twist the wood fibers as they're coming down, so your chain binds because the cut isn't running true anymore. That would explain burning through three chains fast, especially if the wood was wet and swollen on top of it. Might be worth checking if the trees in your area have that internal twist before you start cutting next time, I hear you can see it in the bark pattern sometimes.
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elizabethg18
Does the twist come with a warning label or do I gotta kiss each tree first?
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terryh20
terryh2014d ago
Kissing trees is your call, but I doubt the twist is that dramatic.
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william_jackson65
That twist stuff sounds like overthinking a bad weather event.
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