Felling direction

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jdc123

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I have seen pictures of fallers using two long boards nailed together at an angle to find the direction when felling a large tree. Can someone tell me more about this? Is that what it is used for? Thanks in advance.
 
Basically the gunning sticks you have seen (can be made of conduit) seat into the corners of the face and the legs being the same length will point to the lay. The sticks are lifted up and down while the gunner stands inside and sights over the point (the apex of the triangle). The same thing can be done with a Spencer tape. It the face is not square and clean the gunning sticks mean nothing.
 
using the sticks

TreeLife0002.jpg
 
Thanks 2dogs

You're welcome.

Back around 1970 I helped out an old time faller who almost always used gunning sticks. He was an old growth redwood faller who felled very valuable timber in steep terrain. He was a perfectionist and just expected to use sticks when they were available. He did not suffer fools either. I was quiet enough to not look like a fool though in reality I was dumb as a stump. I knew alot about deer and duck hunting and trout fishing and quite a bit about firefighting equipment but I knew nothing about timber falling. It was all new and exicting to me. The one thing that stuck with me was the use of gunning sticks.
 
ARRRR!!!!

When I print some, I'll let you know and just send one to you.

2dogs is one of a dozen or less men on this site who have put steel to Old Growth Redwood, trust what he says.
 
Thanks Randy but I don't have near the big tree experience you or a bunch of guys in the F&L have. But I have been lucky enough to fall some OG and still get a few every year.
 
[video=youtube;jDhLp1BtiGw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDhLp1BtiGw[/video]


[video=youtube;7B4PAvQ3-Rs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B4PAvQ3-Rs[/video]




:rock:
 
Hillbilly -- that 2nd video was really neat to watch a craftsman at work -- the attention the sawyer was giving the to cuts. Good job by him and the person who took / edited the video.

(I know from experience some of the best photos and video require someone who knows what to look for so they know where to be when to get the good shots!)
 
I know I'm new here to AS, but I would love a copy(even if it's digital) of that pic also. That is some serious know how represented there.

Nick
 
I know I'm new here to AS, but I would love a copy(even if it's digital) of that pic also. That is some serious know how represented there.

Nick

Right click, save as.

I often "pulled" to the left, the Master took a touch off the right side stick, every one went right down the middle. He had me make my own set, I used vertical grained, fairly dense OG Doug Fir, treated with gunstock oil.
 
Falling sights

Videos: Nice job on the cuts. Don't know how the redneck country whatever got these, they are way above his level. Anyway to answer the question of the gunning sights: learn how to use them because they are how a guy falls a tree accurately. Lets just talk about a tree that your bar reaches across and is straight up and down. That sight will put that tree right where your saw is gunned (assuming the cuts are clean). Now you need to get right down on it like it is the sight on a rifle. No glancing down on it as you stand above it. I mean on it like a gun sight (that is why it is called a gunning sight). When you go on your back cut and have your saw flipped, use the gunning sight again to get your holding wood even. This is for a tree that is straight up and down where you don't have to correct for lean or branch weight or other factors. I can discuss oversize trees or ones with lean/side weight if you want. Just trying to hit the basics.
 
Gunning sites work sometime and sometimes not. Takes a few bad trees to make one learn there other ways to gun a tree. I rarely need them,got taught to use what is between my ears.
 
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