Comments

1
Geez, what crappy camera work.
2
What's the point of filming this if you're just going to run away, camera pointed at the ground when the thing comes down? Film it from a distance next time, idiot.
3
Any competent tree-faller could do this, as it's basically the same technique: remove enough weight-bearing material from the side to which you want it to fall until it starts leaning in that direction, then step back and let gravity do the rest.
4
Why does Portland get this post a day before Seattle? Is that where Wm.™ Steven Humphrey tries out new material?

http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/Blog…
5
Hyuk. Huyk. Ok boys, let's go huff gas and rape a sheep.
6
upstate new york.
7
@3, I would have thought the same thing, but just before the cameraman fails at his job, you can see that the thing didn't come down by simply falling over in the direction of the removed material -- it dropped straight down first and shit came flying out towards the sides. Giant things sometimes move in unpredictable ways, and not knowing what you're doing can get you killed. Look up "backcut" if you're ever going to fell a tree so the butt of the tree doesn't violently take out whatever it's falling away from. :)
8
It's truly amazing just how rural Upstate can be. The people, too.

Frankly, it makes me proud. New York leads in so many categories. And here we are, not to be left completely behind in the running for Most Impressive Idiot Yokels!
9
Move over Honey Badger.
10
Compare that to the master at work, Fred Dibnah. Calmly leaning on a fence when the chimney goes down (near the end of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1WOnR2K… )
11
pretty funny.

but sadly, oh Stranger urbanists, that farm looked abandoned and on its way to being more suburban sprawl.
12
Bimzie is lucky to be alive after that stunt and his "cameraman" should be smacked upside the head for missing the shot...or would that be smacked upper side the head since this is The Stranger?
13
@7:

Yes, good point; a back cut would not only prevent the base of the tree from kicking out away from the direction of fall, but also helps "steer" the tree more precisely.

But in the case of a hollow structure such as an empty silo, there's really not much risk of that, since all the weight-bearing load (and therefore all the potential energy it represents) is evenly distributed around the exterior, and not throughout the entire internal volume, as would be the case with a solid object such as a tree. So, there's really nothing BUT the relatively thin external shell to transfer the kinetic energy and "push off" against in order to change the direction of inertia. That's why these things tend to come straight-down, such as was seen in the video. But taking out one specific side should ensure that IF the structure begins to develop some directional inertia, it's going to go in the direction of least resistance, namely, whichever side has the least amount of support.
14
@3 This is the simplistic notion held by most who would attempt to chop down a large tree. It seems easy and logical, and might play out well in a computer simulation, but reality (see this video) too often wounds the casual tree-feller. I grew up around lumberjacks, and there is more finesse in what they do than just carving wedges. Respect!
15
@14:
My grandfather felled trees all over SW WA for a couple of decades, not including summers he spent in ID, MT & elsewhere cutting fire lines and the like. So, yes, no matter how many times you've fallen a tree, you have to expect the unexpected, because, DUH, nature doesn't always perfectly conform to mathematical models. That's why lots of loggers end up with nicknames like "lefty".

And because of that yes, I DO respect....

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