I need a laser that will start a fire.

[gary350]

I have a 50 foot tall dead tree in my yard that needs to come down before it falls and distroys something. All the limbs have fallen off. The tree is so rotten it wiggles in the wind. The tree is leaning slightly south if it falls it will take out the power lines to my house, the neighbors power lines and the fence. It is only 20 feet from the power line pole with 5 sets of wires to several houses and a transformer on the pole. If I cut the tree down no matter which way it falls it will take out something. The power company refuses to cut it down because it is in my yard. If the tree falls the power company will put the wires up again free but if it damages the electrical service going into my house then I may have to pay $2000 to get it repaired and inspected. A bucket truck is $250 per hour. If I didn't live in the city I could borrow a friends high powered rifle and shoot the top off piece by piece. What I need is a laser that I can use to cut the tree off in short 3 ft pieces from the top down. The tree is pretty rotten if I could set it on fire near the top I think it might burn itself down like a large candle. I tried using a lens from a photographic enlarger to make a straight sun light beam to reflect off of a mirror to the top of the tree but the tiny lens does not capture enough sun light to burn anything.

Where can I get a laser that will start a fire?

All the places that sell lasers are selling low power stuff. A laser might not be practical bucket truck rental might be cheaper than a laser but a laser would be more fun. I'm not sure such a laser is avaliable to the public I thought someone here might know.

I have a fresnel lens that will burn wood I tried to use that with 2 lens and a mirror but it all needs to be permently mounted in something fire proof.

**broken link removed**

 

[OlPhart]

Find some folks who KNOW how to fly a chainsaw and tie off sections before they're cut. It's precarious, but doable. I live rural and most all my friends have chainsaws (me too). Good Luck <<<)))

 

[DerStrom8]

O.O

I honestly can't believe you posted this here
Are you completely serious about this?

I suggest you be careful, because high-powered lasers are illegal in some places and could land you in a heap of trouble. It may also go against some of the terms of service here on the forum. I should read through those again, just to be sure, though Be careful what you ask for, gary Hahaha!

Regards,
Der Strom

 

[Mr RB]

I've seen it done where they tied 3 strong guy ropes to the top half of the dead tree, going out in three directions. So the top half of the tree can only move down, not to the side at all.

Then they chainsawed part way up the tree, then the top half of the tree just fell down and stayed fairly vertical. It was quite simple and even though the dead tree was only 25 feet from the house they cut it all down easily with no "falling over".

 

[ghostman11]

i use a chainsaw most days especialy in winter as we have log burning stoves etc here on the farm for heating. plus we have our own small wood. you are wasteing your time with a laser. felling it with a chainsaw isnt hard if your experianced, ok your not so find someone that is! if you must save cash then start at the top with a chainsaw take it down in 18 inch to 2foot sections as at 50 feet i am guessing is around 10 feet wide? step cut it so it dosnt jam the chain. use a chainsaw designed to be used off the ground. rope yourself on the tree or at least rope the ladder to the tree. dont try and cut large sections if you dont have a clue with a saw. stop the saw every 2-3 sections you cut and check the anti fling oil level! 1. make sure it has oil still left in it and 2. make sure the oil level is going down if the oil level stops going down you have a blockage, climb down with the saw and unblock it. DO NOT try and unblock it 50 foot up a tree! get it down to 15 feet and fell it near the base again with a step cut.
OR prefered method........spend the money on a tree guy sit back and marvel as he safely and swiftly reduces said tree into a useable pile of fire wood, if you use this method you may of course watch with a cold beer in hand. if you choose method 1 then no beer untill after you have cleared up the damage and mess you have made

 

[BrownOut]

I had exacly the same problem until tropical storm Dan took care of it for me. Took out the power lines, but fortunately, I wasn't charged. I agree a lazer is a waste of time. The only solutoin I can think of is to call the power co and have the lines taken down, then have a tree crew take down the tree and remove it. I know it's gonna be expensive. Sorry to say, you'll just have to bite the rope and spend the cash.

 

[Boncuk]

I guess this is not the 1st of April.

Before I started building my house I had to get rid of six coconut palm trees each about 25m high with a heavy top load of leaves and nuts.

My brother in law's son climbed the trees and cut the nuts.

A neighbor cut the trees using a chainsaw and each of them fell onto the predicted impact point without using fancy wires or ropes to pull them into the proper direction.

Even laser requires a lot of power near the object to be cut. A Maverick (laser guided bomb) laser target designator puts out high power making tools melt down in its line of sight being fixed in the test chamber pointing to the wall with the tools.

You might employ a Canadian lumber jack to cut that little piece of wood.

Boncuk

 

[globaltrade]

that is not going to happen!

 

[duffy]

Gary - how about this:
**broken link removed**

$650, comes with the power supply and the cooling system, 80W output.

I have one in an X-Y table that cuts 1/4" plywood. Not sure if it would work at a 50' range, or what optics you might need.

 

[Warpspeed]

Just toss a rope over a really high branch, and pull it over with a four wheel drive.

If it won't budge, then it will be safe to climb and the chainsaw method will work just fine.

 

[Blueteeth]

Whats wrong with an axe and some hard work? A few ropes to make sure it falls roughly where you want it to, or in case it decides to fall by itself. Even digging a pit on one side of the root might do it. A laser is overkill. Any fire used wo'nt 'burn it like a candle', once it takes hold you'll have hot embers bllowing around starting small fires everywhere and you'll end up with the same tree, with the outside charred. Do yourself a favour, ladder and a hand saw for the branched, then an axe for the trunk.

 

[Reloadron]

What you need is someone skilled with a chainsaw and some ropes. We just took out what was a 60 foot maple in my front yard between power lines, phone lines and two other trees. My neighbor is skilled with a saw and you can make that tree fall any direction you want. I seriously doubt you will find an off the shelf LASER solution, not to mention cost if you did.

Ron

 

[KMoffett]

This sounds like a case of: "hold my beer and watch this!". Make sure there is someone with a movie near by.

ken

 

[JimB]

Bucket Truck - $250 per hour

Repairing the overhead electrical supply - $2000

Burning laser - $?????

Entertainment value when Gary is hauled off to prison - Priceless!

On aviation forums there are threads discussing the threats to aircraft caused by idiots shining low power (a few mW) laser pointers at the aircraft as they are on approach to airports. Result pilots with (temporarily) impaired vision, not good for safety.
Now here is our hero wanting to burn the top off his tree with some serious multi-kilowatt device!

Does not bare thinking about.

JimB

 

[gary350]

I made a mistake in this thread by trying to explain why I need a laser I should have just asked for a laser that will start a fire.

It looks like most people did not read what I wrote in the original thread or did not understand what I wrote. I have a chain saw too. The tree has NO limbs its just a 50 ft tall pole. If I push on the tree by hand I can make it wiggle back and forth about 1 ft. It is not safe to put a ladder against the tree because it will probably fall. If I cut the tree down it will cause damage any direction it falls, power lines, fences, garage, storage shed, house, etc. If it falls naturally insurance will pay but I have $1000 deductable. If I cut it and it causes damage then I am responsible for all the damage. Insurance company refuses to cut it down before it falls and causes damage. Power company will not cut it down to prevent power line damage either. No one wants to spend a dime on preventive maintenance to save $2000.

I think the smart thing for me to do is take down my fence then wait for a storm to blow the tree down at lease I can save the fence. Maybe I should change my insurance deducatable to $100 until after the tree falls.

Then the power company can put up 3 sets of power lines to 3 houses. Then all the neighbors can file an insurance claim if their electrical wires are jerked out of their house or damaged house, shed, garage or car.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It looks like most people did not read what I wrote in the original thread or did not understand what I wrote. I have a chain saw too. The tree has NO limbs its just a 50 ft tall pole. If I push on the tree I can make it wiggle back and forth about 1 ft. It is not safe to put a ladder against the tree because it might fall. If I cut it down it will cause damage any direction it falls, power lines, fences, house, etc. It can not be cut down and let it fall without causing damage. If it falls naturally insurance will pay but I have $1000 deductable. If I cut it and it causes damage then I am responsible for all the damage. Insurance company refuses to cut it down before it falls and causes damage. Power company will not cut it down either. I made a mistake by trying to explain why I need a laser I should have just asked for a laser that will start a fire.

You seem to have a strange idea of what lasers are capable of?.

If you want to set it on fire, then buy a box of matches - but it's still going to fall down, just be burning as it does.

I'm presuming you're imaging slicing the tree into pieces, that's pure SciFi - assuming you could buy a laser large enough to do damage to a tree (and get power laid on for it) the tree would more likely explode.

You've got a chain saw, hire a cherry picker - or even a scaffold tower.

 

[duffy]

I took you seriously and found you a source for a powerful, inexpensive laser.

You ignored it.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I took you seriously and found you a source for a powerful, inexpensive laser.

You ignored it.

It's not going to slice a tree up is it?

 

[ghostman11]

a 50ft tree wiggles 1 foot will take a ladder and a fair size hefty bloke!the 'wiggle' is from shrinkage so the tree is clearly dead. with experiance you could easily take 5' sections from the top but if your not great with a saw (clearly your not , no offence) then small <2' sections are the way to go. to be honest you would need one hell of fire to burn it down wether you used a laser matches or 20 galon of petrol! plus as nigel pointed out all your going to get is a impressive 50' torch falling down.
scafholding isnt not a great idea in this situation at all, but a cherry picker correctly place and of a decent size is a good safe way and you can rope smallish sections as you go to the picker and lift them straight down.
again a laser is a non starter its just not doable or even if you managed to get a cheap death ray laser on ebay say from the now defunct star wars project the states scraped it still wouldnt do the job.

 

[Dragon Tamer]

If we are talking rediculously over complicated ways to cut a tree down, may I suggest a RPC?





I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that someone made something like this or the fact that people take it seriously to draw blue prints for it.