A Felling Question

[HuskStihl]

You could have just shortened it up by saying

"I'm a badass "

If that came across as boastful, that was not my intention. When I give advice, it's usually on something I've both done correctly and also disastrously poorly

 

[Gologit]

Very entertaining thread.

 

[Chris-PA]

I see what you are saying. When I intentionally leave more holding wood on one side to turn a tree, I call it a Dutchman whether I set it up from the face, set it up with a borecut, or do to in the back cut. If the term "Dutchman" only applies to when you set it up from the face, I don't think mike should do that. Here's a step Dutch

That was pretty slick!

 

[HuskStihl]

Very entertaining thread.

My inner monologue "please don't quote any of my posts, please don't quote any of my posts, please don't quote any of my posts." I hope you can't sense fear like a dog!

 

[gomoto69]

I fell trees proffessionaly when i was younger, but only for about 6 months, before i started bucking, so i am by no means an expert, or claim to be one, but i did learn that even with the best laid plans, things don't always work out. If you 'need' a tree to turn against it's lean in order to miss something important, expensive, or dangerous, don't depend on a couple inches of holding wood to make it happen. My son is an arborist, and they don't hesitate to put a rope in any tree that can reach anything, and if they're not 100% sure they can pull it, he'll climb it and piece it down. They don't leave anything to chance, and he and is crew are all good fallers. A bit of rot on the side of your hinge that you want to steer by is all it takes for a tree to break off, then it's going where ever it wants, so just be sure to plan the job properly, don't leave anything to chance, or you will get bit eventually!

 

[MustangMike]

Thanks, everyone, for all the great advice, I always like to learn things. There are no structures or power lines that this tree can reach, but I do intend to tie it anyway, just to make sure it falls on the correct property. The rope will just help to ensure that the hinge works, I won't need a pull rope to make it fall, the lean will take care of that.

That block of wood in the hinge is a nifty trick, I'll remember that!

Brian, I have never once used the "sights" on my saws, I do have good judgement in that regard. My brother's FIL (since departed) once asked me how accurately I could drop a tree. I asked him where he wanted it. He put a tent peg in the ground about 50' away. We never found it.

I did have a hinge fail on a leaning soft Maple though, no damage, but it did not go where I wanted. That made me think of what I could have done differently.

Thanks again everyone, and if anyone has any additional advice, I'm listening.

 

[bnmc98]

You can leave more holding wood on the lee side(?) (non leaning side) without dutching it. Just sayin.
Open up your face a little on leaners and you will give them a chance to make it more in the direction you want instead of breaking the holding wood prematurely and falling towards the lean.

If theres nothing around, don't sweat it too much. I call that over-thinking and can cause quite a migraine.

 

[Cfaller]

you have obviously done some reading LOL around here we don't refer to any kind of dutchman from the back. we refer to a dutchman as the thinned/gone as you say holding wood being from the front creating a flat spot for the stem to sit. that force strains the holding wood. when using a dutchman i always leave holding wood but very little. the flat spot or step strains that very little holding wood so it breaks first and when you want it to. i won't be the guy standing at the stump with a tree standing with a corner cut off. i am interested where you have done your reading though as i am always interested to learn more. i have only been taught the way fallers do it here really and have never once read on the subject. problem is as with anything there are alot of people writing about things they have never done. like here, WCB officials don't know what it is to fall a tree and yet somehow they tell us what's safe and what isn't LOL. i'm interested in all these names for a dutchman you have read about because i have only learned about the dutchman as a dutchman from guys who actually use it. either way, a homeowner/firewood hack should think twice before doing things more technical that he don't have any experience doing. of course, maybe there is less worry considering the small timber you guys have to work with. **** up a dutchman on something bigger here and your ****ed LOL i was understanding what mike was saying was how they describe to deal with a leaner in the workBC videos which is not a dutchman. the cut is designed to keep a tree on it's stump and have the face pointing where he wants it to go. thick hinge on the pull side would be to hold tree from going with the lean.

Pick this book up, it has a few tricks in it.
http://www.baileysonline.com/Forest...ional-Timber-Falling-Book-by-Douglas-Dent.axd

 

[bnmc98]

problem is as with anything there are alot of people writing about things they have never done. like here, WCB officials don't know what it is to fall a tree and yet somehow they tell us what's safe and what isn't LOL.

I just reread this and I am not knocking you so don't take offense. But I have watched a lot of the Worksafe BC faller videos and I remember one where the guy was falling on a steep slope, side-hilling it (I forget which one it was) but he got all his technique perfect and... drilled a stump with it and busted that stick in half.
At least he broke it safely

 

[Big_Wood]

at $6.99 i'll pick it up with my next order for sure. for now i got a training kit from the BC forest safety council and i find it annoying to read LOL rather get into the practical right away. i basicly just need my qualifications on paper but stupid BC gotta make it hard for us. course is $33,000 now. i go back in september.

 

[Spectre468]

Good luck, buddy! I'm sure you'll get it figured out and get it on the ground safely.

 

[Big_Wood]

I just reread this and I am not knocking you so don't take offense. But I have watched a lot of the Worksafe BC faller videos and I remember one where the guy was falling on a steep slope, side-hilling it (I forget which one it was) but he got all his technique perfect and... drilled a stump with it and busted that stick in half.
At least he broke it safely

it is what it is man. myself, the stumps in the second growth are everywhere so i try to aim for the furthest possible fall without a hit to save it out. alot of new guys are breaking wood left and right. i'm past that. trust me.

 

[ropensaddle]

I fell trees proffessionaly when i was younger, but only for about 6 months, before i started bucking, so i am by no means an expert, or claim to be one, but i did learn that even with the best laid plans, things don't always work out. If you 'need' a tree to turn against it's lean in order to miss something important, expensive, or dangerous, don't depend on a couple inches of holding wood to make it happen. My son is an arborist, and they don't hesitate to put a rope in any tree that can reach anything, and if they're not 100% sure they can pull it, he'll climb it and piece it down. They don't leave anything to chance, and he and is crew are all good fallers. A bit of rot on the side of your hinge that you want to steer by is all it takes for a tree to break off, then it's going where ever it wants, so just be sure to plan the job properly, don't leave anything to chance, or you will get bit eventually!

Yeah like this one lol

 

[bnmc98]

it is what it is man. myself, the stumps in the second growth are everywhere so i try to aim for the furthest possible fall without a hit to save it out. alot of new guys are breaking wood left and right. i'm past that. trust me.

I've done it before, I was mainly agreeing with your statement.
I just think its funny that they would choose that video for a training video.

But that's just my perspective. You know, why are we cutting the tree in the first place.

 

[Big_Wood]

I've done it before, I was mainly agreeing with your statement.
I just think its funny that they would choose that video for a training video.

But that's just my perspective. You know, why are we cutting the tree in the first place.

to be honest, the council here are a bunch of goons. i go into there office regularly and they have 30 people doing the same thing, meanwhile the only reason i go in there is cause 30 of them can't be bothered to answer the damn phone. i mean, they organize training courses. how one earth do they need 30 people and then not be able to answer the phone? when you go in there 27 of them are wander around with their finger up their ass whilt the other 3 are actually working LOL. like i said. these people don't know what it is to fall tree's yet they train fallers. absolutely stupid and i don't agree with it. i was trained by old fallers. not them although i gotta go through their BS to get certified and i have accepted that. it is what it is. sometimes i envy the guys down south then i remember that after i'm certified up here i 'm done with the BS and am making 3x what the guys down south do. once certified it is pretty well exactly how it used to be up here. the certification keeps the retards and goof jobs out of the woods.

 

[bnmc98]

sometimes i envy the guys down south then i remember that after i'm certified up here i 'm done with the BS and am making 3x what the guys down south do. once certified it is pretty well exactly how it used to be up here. the certification keeps the retards and goof jobs out of the woods.

Touche

 

[2dogs]

I know there are a lot of people on this site with a lot more experience/knowledge than me, so I'd like some feedback from you on a felling question.

There is a tree with a slight lean to it. I want to drop the tree at about 45 degrees from the lean.

I'm thinking to make the notch in the direction that I want it to fall, but with the back cut leaving the hinge a little thicker on the side away from the lean.

Is this a good idea, or not?

If it makes any difference, the tree is a Tulip (Yellow Poplar) about 20" in diameter, and fairly tall.

Thanks.

I am not going to make any specific suggestions about this tree because I have no idea what a tulip poplar is. Local knowledge about that tree and its conditions are way more valuable than my advice from a thousand miles away. However there are some universal truths such as why is the tree leaning? Previous damage, a change in sunlight due to a tree removal nearby, roots cut, a fire, fungus, lightning, heavy equipment working nearby, etc.? The cause of the lean, especially disease that effects the strength of the wood, will help you determine how sound the tree is. Bore the tree or at least sound it with an ax to help you.

A 45 degree turn may be out of the question if the tree is unsound. That can be quite a bit of turn even in the best conditions.

 

[gomoto69]

Our world in canada has become over regulated and over 'ticketed' to be able to work here. The idea behind it all is sound, safer working conditions so we can all go home to our families at the end of the day, problem is anything thought up and ran by the gov't results in ridiculous standards to meet. I now work as a truck driver in the oil patch, you think the forest industry is bad? Oil patch is just plain stupid about safety! I have a stack of tickets in my wallet probably 1/2" thick, 5 separate endorsments just for shell canada alone, on top of all the rest, just so i can haul gravel to build roads and leases! When i started falling, i followed our faller around for a day, then was on my own. Luckily for me, i had a fantastic teacher, karl bishoff, canadians on the site might recognize the name, he's been a world class logger's sports competitor for most of his life, i saw him on tv the other night, running his hotsaw at a stihl timbersports event. I couldn't have bought a better education than karl gave me in a few hours, and he would check my stumps, tell me what i'm doing wrong. I've learned most of what i know in life from watching and listening to people who know more than me, not from gov't employees who get their 'training' from a textbook, but we have no choice but to jump through the hoops, no ticky, no worky!

 

[MustangMike]

I am not going to make any specific suggestions about this tree because I have no idea what a tulip poplar is. Local knowledge about that tree and its conditions are way more valuable than my advice from a thousand miles away. However there are some universal truths such as why is the tree leaning? Previous damage, a change in sunlight due to a tree removal nearby, roots cut, a fire, fungus, lightning, heavy equipment working nearby, etc.? The cause of the lean, especially disease that effects the strength of the wood, will help you determine how sound the tree is. Bore the tree or at least sound it with an ax to help you.

A 45 degree turn may be out of the question if the tree is unsound. That can be quite a bit of turn even in the best conditions.

The tree is very healthy, no rot. It is growing next to a Red Oak that we want to retain. Tulip grows much faster than Oak, and the lean is to get light out of the Oak's canopy. Tulip grows very fast and there seem to be many more of them now than there used to be. It is one of your softer hardwoods, and the grain is not stringy.

 

[Trx250r180]

If that came across as boastful, that was not my intention. When I give advice, it's usually on something I've both done correctly and also disastrously poorly

Was just busting your balls sir ,your felling has really advanced in the last couple years ,You know a thing or 2 i will say .