Spent three hours trying to get a stuck wedge out of a maple

Had a big sugar maple removal in Springfield last week, and the back cut pinched my felling wedge like it was glued in there. I tried everything from a sledge on another wedge to a come-along hooked to my truck's tow hitch. The thing would not budge. My ground guy even suggested we just cut the tree around it, which was a funny but bad idea. I finally had to carefully bore cut from the other side to relieve the pressure, which felt like doing surgery with a chainsaw. What should have been a 20 minute drop turned into a half day job. Anyone have a better method for a wedged wedge that doesn't involve more risky cutting?

3 comments

3 Comments

noahhernandez1mo ago

Sounds like that maple really wanted a souvenir. Next time just tell your ground guy his idea wins and hand him the saw.

iris4411mo ago

Hah, that's so true! It feels like EVERYTHING fights back when you're almost done. My old truck does the same thing, runs fine for weeks then makes a new noise the day before a trip. It's like the universe has a last minute fee.

carter.julia1mo ago

Have you ever just accepted something like that without really thinking about it? I used to think people were being dramatic when they said things fought back at the last minute. But last fall, I was trying to get the garden beds cleaned out before the first frost, and every single shovel I grabbed had a loose handle or a bent blade. It was like the tools knew I was on a deadline.