# Mulberry MUST come down.



## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I have a fairly large split trunk mulberry in my back yard, dangerously close to the foundation, and one of the trunks is dying off. This thing is something like 25' to 30' tall, and it MUST come down. Any suggestions for a safe way to remove it, and is mulberry worth milling or turning?

I should mention, the smallest trunk is about 18" diameter, and it is split into 3 trunks...


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

use a coma-along. run it to a good tree and get some tension on it where u want it to go and cut it to fall in that direction. do u know what a come along is? its like a hand winch think idk how to explane.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

MidGAOutdoor said:


> use a coma-along. run it to a good tree and get some tension on it where u want it to go and cut it to fall in that direction. do u know what a come along is? its like a hand winch think idk how to explane.


Or half your slower cousin hitch it to his truck and floor it while you cut! lol

~tom


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## Hammered Toes (Mar 16, 2011)

dbhost said:


> I have a fairly large split trunk mulberry in my back yard, dangerously close to the foundation, and one of the trunks is dying off. This thing is something like 25' to 30' tall, and it MUST come down. Any suggestions for a safe way to remove it, and is mulberry worth milling or turning?
> 
> I should mention, the smallest trunk is about 18" diameter, and it is split into 3 trunks...


You didn't mention if there were any buildings or power lines close to where the tree will fall. If there are, you might have to get a ladder tall enough to top the trees out first. One way you can do this is to tie a rope in the top of the tree well above where you will cut the notch. Notch the top the way you want it to fall, then back cut about half way through the tree. Get down and move everything out of the way and have several strong men to pull the top out. The notch plus the back cut should weaken the trunk enough so that you can pull the top off the trunk.

If there is a problem in getting a ladder up high enough to the top to tie a rope, I have used a sock with a rock half the size of your fist in it,tied to a small diameter rope. I then throw the sock up into the tree and hope it will fall over a limb big enough to pull the tree down. I then feed the rock down until I can tie a heavy rope to the light rope. Then I pull the light rope back up over the limb and back to the ground. A slip knot will allow the big rope to go back up into the top and anchor to the tree top. 

They make a throwing ball especially designed for this type of job. I bought mine from Bailey's Tree Service when they were still in Oregon. I bellieve they are now located in Northern California


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## VaureyWWC (Feb 21, 2011)

Mulberry has a decent grain. Definitely different compared to most domestic woods (in my opinion). But being a "lathe guy" I can't tell how it will do as lumber for furniture and projects of that nature.

But it would look pretty awesome if you turned something out of it.


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## Mr Mac (May 31, 2010)

We took a mulberry down next to our house a couple of years back and I used most of the wood in my smoker!


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

MidGAOutdoor said:


> use a coma-along. run it to a good tree and get some tension on it where u want it to go and cut it to fall in that direction. do u know what a come along is? its like a hand winch think idk how to explane.


Yeah, I know what a come along is. Hadn't thought of that, not a bad idea...


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Hammered Toes said:


> You didn't mention if there were any buildings or power lines close to where the tree will fall. If there are, you might have to get a ladder tall enough to top the trees out first. One way you can do this is to tie a rope in the top of the tree well above where you will cut the notch. Notch the top the way you want it to fall, then back cut about half way through the tree. Get down and move everything out of the way and have several strong men to pull the top out. The notch plus the back cut should weaken the trunk enough so that you can pull the top off the trunk.
> 
> If there is a problem in getting a ladder up high enough to the top to tie a rope, I have used a sock with a rock half the size of your fist in it,tied to a small diameter rope. I then throw the sock up into the tree and hope it will fall over a limb big enough to pull the tree down. I then feed the rock down until I can tie a heavy rope to the light rope. Then I pull the light rope back up over the limb and back to the ground. A slip knot will allow the big rope to go back up into the top and anchor to the tree top.
> 
> They make a throwing ball especially designed for this type of job. I bought mine from Bailey's Tree Service when they were still in Oregon. I bellieve they are now located in Northern California


The issue isn't buildings per se, I can cut it to fall away from the building. The problem is other structures. Fence, deck etc... I honestly think I need a tall ladder, and to top the thing, and just drop it in 4 - 5' chunks... I don't really have a clear path to fell anything larger than about 10'. I have deck, another large tree close by, the house, fence, and bushes all sort of interspersed on the property... Honestly, I think I can drop the top half so that it more or less cushions it's fall on the oak tree and not have any harm to anything else. At that point, I can start dropping the bigger pieces. I will need access to a bigger chain saw than my little electric for this process though...

As far as a rope weight is concerned, I have no problem with that. A sock full of washers works very well too. I have run more network cable than I care to admit to, I can't imagine the process would be that much harder for throwing a pull rope up into a tree...


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Mr Mac said:


> We took a mulberry down next to our house a couple of years back and I used most of the wood in my smoker!


You can smoke with mulberry? I guess you can but, how does it come out? I like using a mix of Pecan / Mesquite, or all apple if I can find it... Not super common down here...


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Another dumb question. Is mulberry worth milling, and trying to use for WW projects? I never read anything about it. Or even turning. I am just not familiar with the stuff...


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

db,
I've recently discovered the joy of turning mulberry and, as Vaurey noted above, I'm not sure of any furniture-type use...

I'm not far from you and will be back in town this weekend, I've been in senic Port Arthur for the past coupla weeks, working...

I'd be willing to help, if needed, and offer a coupla bowls or such in exchange for a few chunks of your tree...:yes:

I recently posted on the turning forum a mulberry bowl question, if'n you'd like to see the grain.

Keep in mind that I am not an engineer or arborist, though.:no:

PM me if'n yer interested.

p


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dbhost said:


> You can smoke with mulberry?


Yes it is my favorite, well tied with cherry.

Edit: Only answered part of your question...It is a sweet smoke (like cherry) I cannot do pecan/hickory, too strong and gives me heartburn. To me mulberry smoke smells like a cake baking.



.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dbhost said:


> Is mulberry worth milling, and trying to use for WW projects?


Heck yes, it is the softer cousin of osage orange. It is just as rot resistant. Here is a picture of some on my sawmill (it turns reddish brown with age)


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I love me some Mulberry too. Like Daren said smoke it, mill it, and cut the limbs for firewood. It excels in all these areas. You can watch some youtube videos for lessons on felling trees next to houses. These guys have 59 videos and they do it right. I bet you can find one that will be close to your situation. If you ask them a question I bet they would help you. I have seen them give advice in other videos to people who ask things. 








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## buroak (Mar 25, 2010)

Picked up 2 Mulberry logs in Jan. milled them to 4/4 and stickered them for several months. Ran them thru the kiln in april and planed them to 3/4". I would sugest milling next batch to 5/4 to compensate for warpage when dring. Wood is almost yellow and a heavy corase grain. very hard sounding. I still have not built anything yet so I cannot coment on workibilty or finishing. sorry.


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## cdesautels (May 8, 2011)

I've built a couple pieces out of mulberry. I really like it. It has a course grain like oak, but is quite yellow. It's also quite durable.

I made a chest of drawers out of cherry with an inlay of Mulberry. The yellow mulberry in the reddish cherry is quite striking.


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

> I made a chest of drawers out of cherry with an inlay of Mulberry. The yellow mulberry in the reddish cherry is quite striking.


Pics..?:yes:

p


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## maxmaggie (Oct 20, 2011)

i am a new member to this site also very new to computers i cannot figure out how to pose a question.please help


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## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

Return to the 'forum' page-----click on the heading that is most like the subject you are asking about.

For example: Forestry and logging---at the top of the page on the left you will see a box marked 'New Topic' --Click on that and you will be all set.---Mike---


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Mulberry is awesome. Certainly worth milling. It's hard & yellow like osage, and will turn dark chocolate brown over time with exposure. Kinda heavy, too.

Some slabs I got from an abandoned trailer park tree & some turning blanks I cut for my cues:


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Yep, that looks about right.

Got a 4 day weekend, I need to get the chain saw tuned up and get after this...


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## cdesautels (May 8, 2011)

*Mulberry for furniture*

I've used mulberry a couple of times in furniture. It's strong, easy to work and the grain is often quite interesting. Perhaps that's because the trees tend to grow in a knarled fashion.

It has a large open grain similiar to oak, but the wood has a very yellow color. It will darken over time. Not as drastically as cherry, but a noticable amount.

I've used the wood as the primary material for the piece and as a veneer inlay. I like it a lot and definitely worth milling into lumber


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