bumstead27
ArboristSite Lurker
TLDR: Want to make humboldts by digging dawgs in on close corner and then rotating saw upwards to meet far corner. Seen a BC DTF doing it, I have been practicing have been really hit or miss. Never had instruction at it. Looking for tips.
Hey guys Northern Ontario Resident here. Just someone who learnt a lot of bad habits as a kid (4"-6" high steps, not caring about dutchmans, staying on stumps, no escape routes) just what I was taught by my old man. Over the last 4 years I have been more formally educated and have successfully broken all of these habits though I still have a lot to learn I know.
I do a lot of cutting at work as I'm the designated feller on my fire crew and am often called off my crew on project fires and given a swamper to go create helipads for more incoming crews. I absolutely love it. Still cut a lot at the family camp and slowly try to teach my stubborn father some safer techniques.
Anyways I was taught the conventional facecut and only had heard about the humboldt cut but never used it or shown it. I started using it often while creating helipads when I did not want to walk around to the other side of the tree. In my mind conventional cuts were made standing on the right side of the tree and humboldts on the left. I only ever used the top angled grip on sloped cuts never the bottom angled grip if that makes sense.
I thought that this was the normal proper and only way to do a humboldt cut but a few years ago I was working a fire out in BC and was lucky enough to swamp for a DTF who used to do old growth heli logging on the coast. It was a great experience and I learnt a lot just walking around the bush with him for the day watching him cut. I noticed that he performed his humboldt from the right side of the tree. The weirdest thing was how he effortlessly matched the corner closest to him up, then dug his dawgs in and rotated the saw. Every time the far corner matched up and the wedge slid out effortlessly.
I have been practicing this method but I am really hit or miss. I either nail it and it comes out perfectly or I miss it by a mile!! What are some key points to get this to work? Do I need to focus on getting the dawgs in early and making sure they don't move?
Hey guys Northern Ontario Resident here. Just someone who learnt a lot of bad habits as a kid (4"-6" high steps, not caring about dutchmans, staying on stumps, no escape routes) just what I was taught by my old man. Over the last 4 years I have been more formally educated and have successfully broken all of these habits though I still have a lot to learn I know.
I do a lot of cutting at work as I'm the designated feller on my fire crew and am often called off my crew on project fires and given a swamper to go create helipads for more incoming crews. I absolutely love it. Still cut a lot at the family camp and slowly try to teach my stubborn father some safer techniques.
Anyways I was taught the conventional facecut and only had heard about the humboldt cut but never used it or shown it. I started using it often while creating helipads when I did not want to walk around to the other side of the tree. In my mind conventional cuts were made standing on the right side of the tree and humboldts on the left. I only ever used the top angled grip on sloped cuts never the bottom angled grip if that makes sense.
I thought that this was the normal proper and only way to do a humboldt cut but a few years ago I was working a fire out in BC and was lucky enough to swamp for a DTF who used to do old growth heli logging on the coast. It was a great experience and I learnt a lot just walking around the bush with him for the day watching him cut. I noticed that he performed his humboldt from the right side of the tree. The weirdest thing was how he effortlessly matched the corner closest to him up, then dug his dawgs in and rotated the saw. Every time the far corner matched up and the wedge slid out effortlessly.
I have been practicing this method but I am really hit or miss. I either nail it and it comes out perfectly or I miss it by a mile!! What are some key points to get this to work? Do I need to focus on getting the dawgs in early and making sure they don't move?