Swing a limb using a hinge?

[Dutch cut]

How effective would it be to swing a limb into a drop zone using a hinge, basically treating it as a heavy side leaner? Would it work any better for bigger or smaller limbs, hardwoods versus softwoods? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

 

[bomar]

hardwoods hinge alot better softwood tends to break off before it hinges over

 

[troythetreeman]

as in like a notch? im assuming as im not aware of hardware called a hinge save on a door...
depends alot on the wood and even time of year
i hinge heavy side leaners all the time, just be sure you dont cut your hinge too thin or itll break, tree might need some help to get moving, rope a large, or pushing a small one
your cuts have to be perfect
i usually cut my notch horizontal, but you can angle it with or against the lean some too to direct the tops to land where you want
depends on lean, an angled notch can sometimes make a longer hinge which i think holds better and will twist it rather then pull straight against the lean
best advise i can give you is experiment where you have room for error, so if it goes the wrong way no one gets hurt and nothing gets wrecked

 

[troythetreeman]

some trees you dont notch at all, just power your cut into the lean till it starts to go, cut some more so it doesnt break and holds, then stop cutting, then power the cut again in its swing so it goes flying the direction of the swing, you cant do this with every kind of wood tho or every cut in the same tree either
again, experiment where you have room for error
when in doubt, put a rope on it

 

[treemandan]

some trees you dont notch at all, just power your cut into the lean till it starts to go, cut some more so it doesnt break and holds, then stop cutting, then power the cut again in its swing so it goes flying the direction of the swing, you cant do this with every kind of wood tho or every cut in the same tree either
again, experiment where you have room for error
when in doubt, put a rope on it

Uh, lets not kill the guy right out the gate Ok? Stuff like that only works for people who don't ask questions like the OP did.

 

[DangerTree]

The question pertained to limbs not whole trees. And yes in some trees a hinge (undercut) can be effective. In other trees like cottonwood not so much because they tend to pop as soon as you nick them. The safest thing to do is try a branch that is not in a critical location and see how it behaves. An excellent book that describes in detail and well worth the money for a beginner or novice tree worker is Fundamentals of General Tree Work by Gerald Barenek if I spelled that right. In general if you must be spot on with limb placement it is best to not bomb them.

 

[Kottonwood]

If you want to swing a horizontal limb with a notch face the notch 45 degrees to the ground when you make your cut. Leave good holding wood. The wider your notch is the more it'll swing before it breaks. This only works well on hardwoods. If the limb is very heavy or long it is best to brush it out a little to lighten the weight then swing it..... but by the time you do that you could just put a rope on it.