Felling Advice - Snagged Trees
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I had a tree hang up bad earlier this year. Looked dangerous, so I left it and thought about it for a few days. Figured out a plan and when I got back to the tree its weight finished the job.
On another one a neighbor was going to bring his tractor over, but he turned out to be a flake. Finally another neighbor with a winch on his trucks bumper helped me pull it down.
Basically, these situations are common, and you have to go at them carefully and slowly.
On another one a neighbor was going to bring his tractor over, but he turned out to be a flake. Finally another neighbor with a winch on his trucks bumper helped me pull it down.
Basically, these situations are common, and you have to go at them carefully and slowly.
Is a video representation on how to go about felling two locked trees if you are comfortable doing it. This way you have some control over where the second tree goes, assuming good holding wood.
As was said earlier, this is a dangerous situation, be careful.
Always start and finish on the front tree as the video said *providing the front tree is not an unstable tree leaning back against the second tree.
In that example you would start with the undercut of the stable second tree so after you cut up the unstable first tree you are not turning you back on the danger tree to make an undercut.
I like to use pulling eq, winch, and snatch blocks. I use a remote control on my 12v winches so as I can control the winch tension myself as I'm cutting. I can watch the chainsaws cut kerf to add tension as needed without having to rely on a winch operator reading hand signals.
I sometimes have to add a safety guy tension to one that requires a heavy pull. Keeps from going wrong direction if a winch cable breaks.
If you are unsure of your own safety have your Bro in Law do the unsafe cuts.
I sometimes have to add a safety guy tension to one that requires a heavy pull. Keeps from going wrong direction if a winch cable breaks.
If you are unsure of your own safety have your Bro in Law do the unsafe cuts.
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I did consider that. But at 700lbs gross weight, I saw the tree bouncing and whipping the cable and ATV thru the air. I vetoed that idea just as quickly as it came into consideration.
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My firewood cutting buddy would do that. When I had a tree hung up, I suggested to him to climb up and jump up and down on the tree. He was thinking about it, when I had to tell him I was joking. Scary!
There is no hump noted in the second picture at back of leaning tree to indicate a lifted root mat. Most often the tree will compensate for the lean with a stronger root system so a fresh lean indicated by a straight top or leader is a danger tree with an unstable root system but a 'sweeper'with its annual growth that has been growing up towards the sun for some years are generally going to have a safe root system. There are exceptions as seen with black spruce stands in wet ground that may be leaning in all directions for a long time and don't sweep over time but will be deemed almost always safe.
Anyway, if the back tree was to come down then it's only going to fall as fast as the front one. As soon as the tree starts to fall then you should start to digress. Fall the tree from lookers view side (if safe) in second picture then you are clear of the back tree
Sometimes a tree can uproot as it starts to fall.
Second tree may require a back strap to prevent this . A barber chair is no concern if the leaner is resting on first tree and are felled together. Singular, then the leaner is a concern for B.C.
Sounds like a bad idea. Cut the first tree up normally and fall it if it's not limb tied.
If so then back it up with a set wedge then fall the leaner into it. Wedging tied trees will put more pressure on the leaning tree and/or break branches overhead.
Leaving thick holding wood can be a very dangerous thing to do. Holding wood should be reduced in a timely fashion. Wind & a thick hinge or to much tension on a rope could barber chair an upright tree.
when we were kids there was a small patch of forest mixed in amongst the nigborhood. for fun we would climb up alder trees and have a buddy chop it down with an axe and ride it down. its amazing that none of us ever got hurt. as an adult i was a tree climber for about 12 years and have all sorts of thing happen but cant even imagine riding a tree down.My firewood cutting buddy would do that. When I had a tree hung up, I suggested to him to climb up and jump up and down on the tree. He was thinking about it, when I had to tell him I was joking. Scary!
Stephen Meister
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I was always skeptical of leaving a dangerous situation like that which might cause harm or death to someone else that isn’t aware of it.
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Yup! And I blame the cartoons for our many near deaths. It might have been the Roadrunner vs. the Wile E. Coyote that had me thinking that all you had to do was step off the falling tree before it hit the ground and it would be alright.
Glad you added the proviso. I was a little surprised with the video using a naked "always" as every situation has to be accessed and "always" might not fit. Curious to see checking the soundness by tapping the roots as opposed to tapping the stem - is this how you usually do that?
Ron
Yeah, the example I gave is shown in the BC Fallers flip books. I was asked that in the field as part of the oral exam whilst doing my practical certification. I have also gone through the same 26 page evaluation on first day of some coast felling jobs with Supervisors. I have answered and demonstrated that one a few times.
I paid up and was given a number to continue Felling in industry until I officially certified not long after BC Fallers training Standards came in in 2005. A few years ago I watched their vid of certified undercuts/+ that was posted here. I counted 15 thing's that were wrong in the video. I then followed the vids onto YouTube then pressed the little triangle on the right of the title as seen on my phone. It said that the video is a companion of the BC Fallers Training Standards then states some things may have been modified for filming purposes and may differ from BC Fallers Training Standards. Haha, what a joke. Imagine if I told that to my Supervisor when asked whilst he was walking me through my work? I imagine he would think what I think and that is: "WTF is that suppose to mean?"
I doubt anyone would let me do 15 things wrong without terminating the evaluation and putting me on the next plane out of there.
It turned out that all those videos were published in Aug 2012.
I think WorkSafe BC made the videos as they are the Workers Compensation Board of B.C Basically a Gov ran insurance company which funded a group of forestry personnel to 'fix' the high fatality rate in industry.
Hence: BCFSC (British Columbia Forest Saftey Counsel with the BC Fallers training standards. They meet or exceed WorkSafe BC own standards.
Worksafe is the minimal standard and all people in all industries are encouraged to improve on that, if or when possible.
Any Certified Faller or Certified Faller/Supervisor would adhere to BCFSC standards, when different and to be enforced and documented on frequent visits by the Supervisor.
Any Licensee, Permitee, Prime contractor or contractor can also implement their own rules so we always have to adhere to the highest standards.
Interfor made us wear anti-cut arm socks up to our elbows. In Gas & Oil Industry they want full wrap around calfs on our Fallers pants with a threshold of 4100 FPM opposed to the accepted 3600 FPM with WorkSafe.
Some G&O Licensees want you to wear saftey glasses under your screen. One wanted use all to wear ear plugs under our muffs. I told them it is conflicting with our Fallers Saftey Standards as we need to lift a muff in practice stages as in wedging tree.
Saftey glasses just fog and/or freeze so that's a no for me too.
Most fatalities in industry our in the name of saftey such as snag falling. No point creating unnecessary situations.
At 17:32, a segment on wedges against the lean on the video posted said it should only be done
2) if there is no pusher tree available
1) If conventional wedging can't be used.
There is machine assist and Jacking. which are two other techniques that could be added to production Falling. Under BCFTStandards then that would be the correct terminology. I can't really make sense of what the video is intended to say there?
In a closing note..BCFTS *ONLY wants a Faller to use a pusher tree to overcome a felling hazard and the limit is to push one tree only.
Never to be intended for production purposes.
Having said that, there is definitely a double standard on the west coast with side hill lays.
You just plan your gas tanks by walking around & memorize the lean of the dominant 'key players '. If smaller the tree(s) can be felled in front of a dominant tree lean then fall them. If not, then set them up with an undercut then bore a back strap in and cut TOWARDS the undercut. Now drop down below the back strap appropriately about 6" and cut in so it's only held in place by the 6" of vertical holding wood. So no wedges are needed or lost. That would be another time I pop an ear muff as I turn my back if I have to walk a distance or climb up a cliff for the bullet tree. Often they are thick Cedar stands
If I get a few little ones against the lean that are too small for a bore then its a dutchman at best and a drop back cut.
They are not even certified cuts under our certifier but are coast industry standards. I was never questioned personally. The magic answer is always.." I was overcoming a falling difficulty.
My older brother is my go-to “unsafe cut“ guy. He’s fearless, a little more skilled at felling than me, and blessed with more luck than he knows what to do with.
I’ve done that a time or two, but the trees were only 6-8 inches in diameter. Anything larger than that and I’d find a different method for getting them on the ground.My firewood cutting buddy would do that. When I had a tree hung up, I suggested to him to climb up and jump up and down on the tree. He was thinking about it, when I had to tell him I was joking. Scary!
I think they were so definite because they made the assumption a faller wouldn't consider the leaner the 'front' tree.
I'm still curious about tapping the roots to check for soundness. Ron
