Ok guys...give me hell

[Paul001]

Plastic wedges, pick up a few and keep them with you. While you are there, grab a throw line set (bean bag) with the cheapy line it comes with.

You'll get frustrated with the throw line, but practice. Keep a small tarp around so you have a place to pile that line on and not snag any twigs. With a little practice you'll be able to hit 30-50' with little effort. Normally that more than enough to one man a tree over. Least with the stuff you should be cutting.

As your experience grows, you'll want to add 1/2" x 150' line set into your bag of tricks and on those questionable trees, have it pre-set. Combine that line set with your wedges and you'll have the ability to correct errors in judgment in the future.

 

[John Ellison]

IMHO a faller (greenhorn or experienced) should not put rope/line in a tree unless they really need to. Of course in some situations they are necessary. But if you are in the woods and you can afford to loose the tree in any direction, without lines/rope is the only way you will ever learn how to fall and figure the lean of a tree.
If you are just starting out it is hard to take your eyes off the saw, but if you are not looking up a lot you are not safe. If you are looking up you will notice which way the top is moving WAY before you would see it by watching the kerf.

 

[blackoak]

Damned tree gnome got you. They are out there. Be careful.

 

[KarlP]

IMHO a faller (greenhorn or experienced) should not put rope/line in a tree unless they really need to. Of course in some situations they are necessary. But if you are in the woods and you can afford to loose the tree in any direction, without lines/rope is the only way you will ever learn how to fall and figure the lean of a tree.

Since I'm not doing it for a living, my goal is usually to get the tree on the ground in the safest way possible. Speed and pride just aren't that important.

Even in the woods if a tree goes the wrong way it can easily snag in the top of another tree on the way down causing a not so safe situation. The 10 minutes it takes to throw a rope up in the tree and tie it off to another tree to ensure it doesn't fall the wrong way seems well worth it to me. Its not necessary for something like 29 of 30, but when I screw up I'd much rather be able to pull the tree back the right way with the rope or ease it down slowly from outside the fall zone than start making cuts from underneath a partially fallen tree that weighs several tons.

 

[hill]

thanks

well thanks for all the input fellas. By the way, the steel wedges I use for splitting big rounds that aren't cooperating, I only tried one of them because I was in a bind...Ha literally! Anyhow, thank you all for the advice and such, I do appreciate it. I have a good bit of experience cutting, just not felling. Again, thanks for all the tips.

 

[harrygrey382]

ok, so what if the tree you're cutting needs a wedge, but the DBH is so small that the wedge hits the chain before it does its job?

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

I've learned a few tips watching these....

I've learned a few tips watching these....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bKotCCohuM&NR=1

Notice that he left the saw and took cover. I also like the 2 for one method!

 

[Paul001]

ok, so what if the tree you're cutting needs a wedge, but the DBH is so small that the wedge hits the chain before it does its job?

Easy, put a directional line in it.

If you are cutting by yourself, you can employ a block, redirect the line back to yourself and cut/tension at the same time.

Rope come along.

Bolards...

 

[moose42]

IMHO a faller (greenhorn or experienced) should not put rope/line in a tree unless they really need to. Of course in some situations they are necessary. But if you are in the woods and you can afford to loose the tree in any direction, without lines/rope is the only way you will ever learn how to fall and figure the lean of a tree.
If you are just starting out it is hard to take your eyes off the saw, but if you are not looking up a lot you are not safe. If you are looking up you will notice which way the top is moving WAY before you would see it by watching the kerf.

:agree2: I think if you are new then adding rope to the mix may be a bit much. If you rig wrong you could make the tree spin in a bad direction. If you can't read a tree then how do you know how to rig? You need to take it in steps, don't run before you can crawl. Something a old faller taught me was place a wedge in the kerf loosely so it hangs down without falling. You should be looking up when you are doing your back cut and glancing down to make sure where your saw is. That wedge will tell you quickly what that tree is doing. If it straightens then it is sitting back pound it in now. If it drops down then it is starting to go. You just can't get tunnel vision or you may end up seeing all black then a white light at the end of a tunnel. Practice helps lots. It would be better if you can have a faller show you how and gives you pointers.


Well I am off the the logging conference we are having at the fairgrounds here. Not that you probably care but I am just bragging. :greenchainsaw:

 

[John Ellison]

ok, so what if the tree you're cutting needs a wedge, but the DBH is so small that the wedge hits the chain before it does its job?

There are several methods but the simplest and I think easiest is to make the back cut first, drive the wedge/s and then put in the face, then drive it on over. The thing to watch for is do not drive the wedge so far that the tree will want to go over before you can get the face cut out.

 

[litefoot]

ok, so what if the tree you're cutting needs a wedge, but the DBH is so small that the wedge hits the chain before it does its job?

In addition to a tag line, as mentioned, I just stop the back cut, give the tree a nice push at shoulder height, keep cutting if necessary and repeat.

 

[rxe]

but the DBH is so small that the wedge hits the chain before it does its job?

Felling matchsticks?

Just push it over....

 

[Metals406]

Here's a good trick for guys that have a hard time with lean.

Carry a 3' long string, tied to a 3/4" nut, in your pocket. Use it as a plum-bob. Stand back far enough that you can hold the string up, while being able to see the top and bottom of the tree. The plumb-bob won't lie, even if you are standing on a slope, or just not standing straight.

Do this in the X and Y axis... Or front and side. This is how linemen plumb poles, and it works good for trees.

You still have to watch for limb growth, and how it counteracts, or accentuates the lean... Speaking of deciduous trees, perhaps it has a good downhill lean, but a lot of limb growth off to one side, or a heavy limb to one side... Or it leans downhill, but most of the limb growth is to the uphill side, and far from the trunk.

 

[Jon E]

Any Youtube videos or slideshows out there showing the proper way (yeah, I know there's more than one way to drop a tree, but still.....) to notch, backcut, wedge and drop a leaner? I have a couple of ash trees that have a very heavy lean toward a road and I need to drop them parallel to the road. I want to be able to wedge them but also use a variable-thickness hinge to assist the drop and I am having a little trouble grasping my concepts.

Does Beranek's book cover this stuff?

 

[1947wdx]

Any Youtube videos or slideshows out there showing the proper way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFTOlmCijjs
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=23294&highlight=quarter+cut

 

[SilverBox]

What I do if I misjudge it and it goes the wrong way on the hinge is get my 2nd saw and recut it above the stuck one and drop it the way it wants to go, so long as its clear, if its not I go get the backhoe and shove it the way I want it to go

 

[Biker Dude]

How about an open face cut then a plunge cut at the same level cutting back to within a couple of inches of the back. Then pound your 2 wedges into the plunge cut from the sides but towards the back. Finally, make a cut from the back 3 or 4 inches lower than the plunge cut and pull it to release the strap. I did a leaner this afternoon that way and even though I had a line in it, it dropped where I wanted without pulling it.