Felling notches

[stihl sawing]

I've heard you guys use a few names here for the felling notch, What other names do ya'll use and what do they look like. According to these diagrahms i use the conventional most of the time. Have used the open face one a few times, but can't tell you why. I know there's a reason for using each one. What advantage does the humbolt have other than having a square butt on the log have over the others. I did do a search and found some information. Thanks


Rick

 

[KD57]

95% of the time I just use the conventional method, the other 5% usually gets the D8 method. But I don't have a lot of complicated trees to drop either, I am sure other methods are used in timber country.

 

[2dogs]

Most trees get a Humboldt. Snags and small trees get a conventional face and heavy head leaners get an open face and a bore cut. Tiny stuff gets a kerf face. All these face can be altered to fit the tree and the needs of the moment. I often add a snipe to get the tree to jump or a dutchman to steer the tree.

 

[stihl sawing]

Most trees get a Humboldt. Snags and small trees get a conventional face and heavy head leaners get an open face and a bore cut. Tiny stuff gets a kerf face. All these face can be altered to fit the tree and the needs of the moment. I often add a snipe to get the tree to jump or a dutchman to steer the tree.

How does the dutchman work, I've heard ya'll talking about it but never understood it, The snipe is a new one on me. thanks for the reply. Also why a open face on a heavy leaner cause i have one to cut here in a few days. I will use a winch to pull it the way i want. i know you guys don't use winches, you know how to drop them where you want.

 

[2dogs]

A snipe is an extra cut on the Humboldt that causes the tree to move away from the stump, like the tree is jumping off the stump. This cut breaks the hinge when the face closes.

The heavy head leaner is very dangerous to fall. A Humboldt or conventional face will often tear and spilt while the tree begins to fall. By using an open face and a bore cut the tree is held on the stump by the wood under the most tension. Then by cutting below the bored backcut the tree is tripped, sometimes with a very loud pop, and falls safely away. A winch is fine but on big trees no winch will work. Not to mention most trees are found in the mountains with no access by truck or dozer. The Coos Bay is another method of safely handling a heavy head leaner. I'll leave it to you to look that one up. Make sure you cut the corners and have a sharp chain and a saw that runs well for the Coos Bay.

A Dutchman is a modification to the face to help steer the tree. If you have ever mis-matched your gunning and sloping cuts and had the tree swing a bit then you have used a Dutchman. A Dutchman can be intentional or a mistake. I will sometimes leave more holding wood on one side to swing the tree to that side, or maybe cut the hinge a bit deeper on one side to alter the direction of the fall. I have also cut a small block and placed it in the corner of the face to hold the face open longer, and a few times I have thrown in a wedge at the last second when the falling tree was off the lay. The entire subject of adding a Dutchman is complicated and lengthy but you can experiment when you fall a tree in the open and influencing the dirction of fall won't have any bad consiquences.

Edited to add the following. Practise on small trees in the open, not 3' trees in a tight stand. Make sure you have a sharp chain so your cuts can be made quickly and use a long bar, at least 28"

 

[stihl sawing]

Thanks 2dogs, the leaner is just a small tree about 12 inches across. I would not try a big tree, I have cut ones like this one a few times using the winch and wedges. I usually will try to tie my truck to another tree with a chain to keep it from moving the truck. Guess i've been using the dutchman and didn't know it. Most of the time i will do that to help steer the tree where i want it.


I will look up the coos bay one, I do appreciate the help and the education.

 

[2dogs]

The winch technique should work just fine on a 12" tree. Just give yourself enough room so the tree won't hit the truck. Don't ask me how I know that!

 

[nmurph]

The winch technique should work just fine on a 12" tree. Just give yourself enough room so the tree won't hit the truck. Don't ask me how I know that!

tell us you didn't.....................

 

[stihl sawing]

The winch technique should work just fine on a 12" tree. Just give yourself enough room so the tree won't hit the truck. Don't ask me how I know that!

tell us you didn't.....................

I've come close a time or two but never hit it. Especially when ya run out of winch cable for an extra tall tree. This tree is not very tall so it won't be a problem on getting back far enough.

 

[SteveH]

I've used the Dutchman a few times, though I didn't until now know what it was called. Saw it diagramed out in an old book my BIL gave me and tried it. It works. Like anything, be careful. I'm no professional feller or anything. I really needed it last month on a tree I cut for a 90 yr. old neighbor who has finally quit cutting any but the easiest stuff. It was on a steep hillside and I dropped it exactly in the one place it wouldn't hang up though it was leaning another direction. I was glad I had practiced first.... But it works really nicely.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

What advantage does the humbolt have other than having a square butt on the log have over the others.QUOTE]

The humbolt is supposed to be the only notch to use on chicotes, because there is no "stall" as the tree leaves the stump, which can potentially send widowmakers out of the top. Also use the humbolt for veneer trees as you gain a a few more board feet. When cutting veneer I would use the humbolt notch, then bore in at the center of the notch to cut the heartwood(to prevent it from pulling), then cut the "ears" off which is a 1" deep cut on a 45 degree angle at both ends of the notch(to prevent side scarring), then use a regular bore cut and then cut the holding wood to fell the tree.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

The open throat or v notch can be used for felling trees in a downhill direction more safely. With the open face the tree is in control longer until the face hits the stump, giving you more time to move away to safety.

 

[GASoline71]

Bore cut? With a Humboldt notch?

Gary

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Bore cut? With a Humboldt notch?

Gary

Thats correct

 

[056kid]

If theres room, Humboldt it is, if not an conventional.

For applications where the butt needs to stick by the stump or its a big stick that is headed down the hill, steps, snipes, and boxes are always good practice.



I will say that my holding wood is NEVER all the way across the stump,

swing baby swing!!

my rule of thumb is to have as little wood as possible and still get her where you want...

 

[Eric Modell]

Guys please help me out. Is the humbolt the center picture, that's what I use most of the time.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Guys please help me out. Is the humbolt the center picture, that's what I use most of the time.

open v - left, conventional - center, humbolt- right.

 

[Eric Modell]

Thanks turkeyslayer.

 

[Eric Modell]

What is the advantage of the bore cut.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

The biggest advantage of the bore cut is for heavy leaners.First you cut your notch (humbolt),then bore through above and behind the notch to set your hing, then bore towards the back of the tree leaving about 1/4 of the trees dia. for holding wood, remove the bar and cut the holding wood from the back of the tree 1 to 2" below your boring cut. The bore cut prevents splitting (barber chairs) and gives you more control over the tree because your hinge is set pryor to release of the holding wood.

Hope this is understandable