Cranberry and the cracked spar, now I look up first

Last month I took a job removing a big red maple in Medford. Looked fine from the ground, good lean, nothing sketchy. Got my rope set and started the top cut. About halfway through I heard a pop that wasn't the saw. Pulled out, backed down fast. Turned out there was a hidden crack running up the whole spar, looked like an old lightning strike that sealed over. If I'd have pressed that cut another second, the top could've come off sideways. Now I spend 5 minutes with binoculars before I even saddle up. You guys ever had a tree look solid and just betray you like that?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

rowanjenkins1mo ago

That pop you heard is the tree telling you it was already done. Sixteen years in and I've seen maybe three maples go like that, all of them with that sealed over strike scar somewhere in the canopy. Binocs are fine but they won't show you a crack that's grown over with bark, so don't lean on them too hard. I'd still rather tap the trunk with a mallet, and if the sound goes flat instead of ringing, that's when I walk away.

3