What is the best way to attach a 1/2 steel cable to a tree?

What is the best way to attach a 1/2 steel cable to a tree? I have some trees I need to fall directionly. Trying to put a chain around a tree while on ladder is no fun at all. I will be cutting them down with a chain saw but I need them to fall a certain way. I have bought wedge sockets and a snatch block along with a good shackle that fits the hole in the draw bar securely. Thanks

how big are the trees? first if there very large trees you need to get the cable high in the tree its the angle of the cable as well as your accurate and proper felling cut with the saw that does the work, umm... the cable is longer than the tree is high right? know, dont guess, or the tree will be a flyswatter and you'll be the fly and youll look just like a swatted fly too, next your tractor needs to be a large heavy tractor or it will just lift the rear of the tractor off the ground, if your running any yuppie tractor or ford N or similar size tractor leave the tree cutting to the pro's you'll live longer that way

You didn't say but I assume there are some limbs?
I'd try throwing a light chain over a limb on the backside from the ladder and using a hook on a pole to snag the end hanging down. Then use it to pull the cable around. HTH

The cable is 200 feet long. I believe I would be afraid to cut a tree
200 feet tall.

The tractor is a John Deere 2030. I believe it weighs about 6000 lbs.

Buy an AK47 off of ebay and lower the tree 100 rounds at a time.

Cable clamps, always 2.

Unless the tree is very large or is leaning a lot in the wrong direction, it is not necessary to put the cable very high up. For up to fairly large trees that are not badly leaning I just run a chain around it as high as I can reach, then run the end of the chain or another chain over toward a pulling point, usually the base of another tree and attach another chain around the tree. I put a ordinary small cable puller betwqeen the 2 chains, apply tension, then notch the tree deeply, then start cutting on the other side, stopping 2or three times to crank up more tension. I watch the top of the tree and when it begins to move I can cut more, thenm apply more tension. After that I can usually cut the tree the rest of the way through.

Always figure out an escape route first. I don't have enough chain or cable to try to pull the tree with a tractor. With the cable attached high the rear end of the tractor would be lifted up and lose traction.

When using your long cable there would be a lot of slack to take up with the method I described and I don't know if it would work without modifications. Perhaps you could attach the snatch block you mentioned to a low point, run the cable through it to make the pulling point off at right angles. I wouldn't put a tractor anywhere within falling range of the tree. With the cable puller, all you have to have is a clear escape path on foot.

KEH

If you need to be that certain that you took the time to come here and ask, then depending on the heighth of the tree, how its leaning, and where you want to drop it, you may have to do some topping and piecing out. If its straight and well balanced or can still be directed, then you oughta have someone driving wedges around into your cut as you're cutting down towards your wedge out to insure direction away from buildings, power lines, sidewalks, roads, and most definately people and animals. It doesn't sound like you've taken trees down before, so be careful cause bad things can and have happened. Just to make my point, I knew a guy that got paid to do that for a living and had done it for many years that was killed a couple of years ago when one snapped and then twisted and kicked out back onto him at the cut. Just be careful.

Mark

I've done a bit of this recently, ratchet strapped an aluminum ext. ladder, (no powerlines nearby) to the tree up as high as made sense, used a cable choker, clevis, short piece of chain, then my longer lengths of chain, putting my tractor well out of the trees path.

This is dangerous work, these trees leaned back towards the backyards in the photos, tractor was facing down a slope and heavily ballasted, loaded tires, big hunk of cast iron on the 3pt, and a loader. I tested each one with a few tugs, one came right over, roots and all, even got the stump out, others, I carefully tensioned just enough to make em fall opposite the lean. I figure you have to use care, too much tension, dangerous to cut, not enough, she goes in the wrong direction or who knows what, though while they're upright, seems easy enough to influence em to fall on target, but with cutting trees, can't leave anything to chance.

I have removed problem limbs with a deer rifle for years. 30-30, .270 and .300 Win Mag.

We had one limb that was obstruting our clay pigeon thrower that we had on the deck down at the hunting cabin. Son and some of his frat brothers shot at it all day and finally brought it down. Glad they paid for the ammo!

Gene

Awwwwwww man...........when I first started helping cut trees, we were still using a cross-cut saw; bought our first chain saw in the early '50s; no dis-respect to you personally, but if you're inexperienced enough that you're asking on-line questions, I'd suggest you need some on-the-site help from someone who knows what they're doing. Even experienced loggers get killed...........

Whats the best way to get a 1 armed man out of a tree?
Wave at him !!

There are old loggers and there are bold loggers but no old bold loggers.

Best way to attach it is to get some young'n that knows what he's doin', and just set on the tractor and wait 'til he's done hookin' it up...