Soren Eriksson with his 6 point limbing technique

[Philbert]

This video was posted by imagineero in another thread, on a different topic, but I think that there is enough in it to discuss for it's own thread.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xX9Xj0faq3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My initial thoughts on his 6 + 1 method, as shown in the video:

- it definitely shows a methodical approach to limbing, especially for the type of conifers he discusses, which have LOTS of limbs to clear, and which are difficult to walk alongside of;

- it is interesting how he uses the case to bear the weight of the saw, and for leverage (obviously not a guy who is worried about keeping his paint pristine!);

- if I saw a guy working like this, and had not seen the video, or been familiar with this method, I would assume that he was working a bit careless, or even wild, with the saw swinging around all over the place;

- I still have concerns about the rapid saw movement, and where the chain might go, with a moment of distraction;

- using his knee to swing the saw (step 4?) really makes me nervous - places it close to the moving chain if it or the saw slips.

Any thoughts?

Anyone use this method?

Philbert

 

[lone wolf]

Yup the Man is Damn good!Dont try to catch him you might get hurt!

 

[Sport Faller]

I need that shirt and those striped pants, those are pretty legit

 

[slowp]

He stressed being able to put the tree where it would be easiest to limb. Out here, where fallers are used, it will be steep. They will be putting the tree down in a way it can be yarded out easily, not just anywhere. I do not see them changing the current method of walking along on the tree because they'd be buried in the slash if not walking on the tree.

Note how the area he is domonstrating in has already had the logs bunched. In the real world out here, that won't be the case.

But he does win points for his coordination of fashions

 

[RTK]

He sure is smoooth with that technique

 

[barneyrb]

It looks good in theory but when the oaks have 20" limbs it sorta slow the technique down.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Cool video:msp_thumbup:

It shows me why they design those limbing saws like they do with no mean dogs and the short "balanced" bar as they say. I like my 346 set up like that but that's about it.

I could hold my own against him no problem. If he's lucky I'll show him my main technique, I call it the Quad Sweep.

 

[Philbert]

I love all the fashion comments . . .

He stressed being able to put the tree where it would be easiest to limb.

Yeah, I meant to comment on that - good point. It is why I usually limb the sides and top first, then go to cut out the limbs below - the ones holding the tree up. I am usually not trying to save a log, but to cut it up for removal, so I am likely to also buck it while portions of the trunk are still held up in the air. This usually means that I walk the length of the tree 4 times, so Soren wins on efficiency.
- limb one side of the tree;
- limb top of tree;
- limb other side of tree (reach across if I can to keep trunk between me and the saw);
- remove bottom branches and buck into sections.

It looks good in theory but when the oaks have 20" limbs it sorta slow the technique down.

I don't think that it applies as well to mature oaks. But those conifers can be very difficult to even walk next to due to all of the limbs running the entire length of the trunk.

It also gets back to some other threads - choosing between a smaller saw that is lighter to hold for light limbing tasks, and a larger saw with a longer bar to increase cutting reach. Also depends if you want to use the same saw for falling and limbing.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

It shows me why they design those limbing saws like they do with no mean dogs and the short "balanced" bar as they say.

Good point on the dogs (no pun intended). I may drag my bar along the trunk, but I am pretty sure that I don't normally drag the case the way he demonstrated.

If he's lucky I'll show him my main technique, I call it the Quad Sweep.

Video?

Describe?

Philbert

 

[lone wolf]

My 346 sure is a good fast limber with a 16 inch bar.What was that Model Stihl any know?

 

[VTWoodchuck]

I hate cutting/limbing conifers. He makes it look fun!

 

[Tzed250]

I have the original of this video on VHS. Made in '87 IIRC. His technique is good for Scandinavian logging, or in an area with similar growth. If you want to see this done in modern times, search for videos of the World Logging Championships.

Or, watch this video;

Kunskap Direkt - Avverkning med motorsåg (10 min)

BTW, get ready for the SE haters to show up.

 

[wyk]

"Snedding"

This video was posted by imagineero in another thread, on a different topic, but I think that there is enough in it to discuss for it's own thread.

My initial thoughts on his 6 + 1 method, as shown in the video:

- it definitely shows a methodical approach to limbing, especially for the type of conifers he discusses, which have LOTS of limbs to clear, and which are difficult to walk alongside of;

- it is interesting how he uses the case to bear the weight of the saw, and for leverage (obviously not a guy who is worried about keeping his paint pristine!);

- if I saw a guy working like this, and had not seen the video, or been familiar with this method, I would assume that he was working a bit careless, or even wild, with the saw swinging around all over the place;

- I still have concerns about the rapid saw movement, and where the chain might go, with a moment of distraction;

- using his knee to swing the saw (step 4?) really makes me nervous - places it close to the moving chain if it or the saw slips.

Any thoughts?

Anyone use this method?

Philbert

Snedding is a system that is taught nearly everywhere in Europe, and definitely if you have a City and Guilds Felling certification. I have 3 of the certs myself.

As the video shows, it is designed to be as safe and efficient as possible. However, there are many things to consider in Europe VS the US as far as professional forestry are concerned:

1) Our conifers in forestry and logging are nearly always larger - much larger.
2) We use more powerful saws with longer bars in the US for most conifer work(see #1)

When it comes to hardwoods, we used 441's, 660's, 385xps, and 880's in the outfit I was with in England. With hardwoods, limbing isn't such an issue as far as time factors, and the sizes require larger saws. My last hardwood I worked on in England was a 5'+ DBH Chestnut tree.

Snedding comes in to it's own when you have spruce, larch, and cedars that need limbing. These buggers have a lot of limbs - a LOT. So you want to be as efficient as possible taking them off. You also want to be safe. You only move when the bar is opposite the trunk from you... usually. You keep the saw well in front of you at all times...supposedly. And all the other precautions apply. You wear full wrap trouser PPE and steel toed boots as well. Everyone I have seen in forestry in England has many cuts on their chainsaw trousers. I have a cut in mine I got right before my contract was done. It happens when you go fast or have time limits or get tired.

Here's an example of mine I hadn't posted to the AS CS forum yet. This is back in southern England on a softwood cull. I rarely roll the saw on a log, and personally think only a 346xp rolls on a log worth a damn, anyways. I find my arms are stronger than my back, so I will hold the saw in my hands instead of lean down and roll it. Some will bend their legs as well. Again, my legs are to move me around, my arms are for working. Near the end of the contract I used a ported Echo CS-520 with a 20" bar and 325 chain. It was a perfect match in nearly all woods.


[video=youtube;VfMo_JbTTF8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfMo_JbTTF8[/video]

OK, re-upped with the Echo at the end. A ported saw makes limbing go fast in softwoods.

 

[Philbert]

Or, watch this video;

Great videos - a little hard to understand that West Virginia accent though!

Philbert

 

[jeepyfz450]

very cool video. his method is not for yarding operations. very smooth and efficiant for softwoods and would work in the upper tops of most hardwoods. cool to see some different methods. do fallers in the PNW limb out there trees for yarding operations? i always thought they left them to be broken off on the way up and cleaned up at the landing.

 

[Tzed250]

My 346 sure is a good fast limber with a 16 inch bar.What was that Model Stihl any know?

It is an 034

 

[Adirondackstihl]

My 346 sure is a good fast limber with a 16 inch bar.What was that Model Stihl any know?

Looks like an ole 026 PRO ??
Anyone else?

 

[Adirondackstihl]

Looks like an ole 026 PRO ??
Anyone else?

OK.....maybe not. :msp_tongue:
Tzed beat me to it.
after looking I noticed the 026 werent manuf. until 1993.....

 

[wyk]

I love all the fashion comments . . .



Yeah, I meant to comment on that - good point. It is why I usually limb the sides and top first, then go to cut out the limbs below - the ones holding the tree up. I am usually not trying to save a log, but to cut it up for removal, so I am likely to also buck it while portions of the trunk are still held up in the air. This usually means that I walk the length of the tree 4 times, so Soren wins on efficiency.
- limb one side of the tree;
- limb top of tree;
- limb other side of tree (reach across if I can to keep trunk between me and the saw);
- remove bottom branches and buck into sections.



I don't think that it applies as well to mature oaks. But those conifers can be very difficult to even walk next to due to all of the limbs running the entire length of the trunk.

It also gets back to some other threads - choosing between a smaller saw that is lighter to hold for light limbing tasks, and a larger saw with a longer bar to increase cutting reach. Also depends if you want to use the same saw for falling and limbing.

Philbert

Exactly. It becomes increasingly more difficult to limb a cedar as you progress up the trunk. The limbs get bigger and the clutter becomes a bit of a pain and must often be moved out of your way.

For most this sort of work in England, I saw MS341's, 361's, 261s, 260's, and 346XPs. In this sort of work, the 346Xp shines. A large outfit a bud works for that maintains 300,000 acres of woodlands uses 346xps exclusively for all but the largest trees.

 

[wyk]

He stressed being able to put the tree where it would be easiest to limb. Out here, where fallers are used, it will be steep. They will be putting the tree down in a way it can be yarded out easily, not just anywhere. I do not see them changing the current method of walking along on the tree because they'd be buried in the slash if not walking on the tree.

Note how the area he is domonstrating in has already had the logs bunched. In the real world out here, that won't be the case.

But he does win points for his coordination of fashions

True. Even so, I think he is mistaken saying fallers in the states only limb one side of the tree. This makes no sense unless the tree is massive. All the limbs are removed as you progress up the tree. Whether by walking astride the tree if terrain permits, or walking on the tree as I have done with my firs myself in Oregon. This is another place where a powerful ported saw with a long bar really shines.

Also bear in mind those stacks were made by him(or whomever cut the tree). We not only cut the trees to length, but we also stack them for the forwarder. So, regardless of what that viking says, it DOES matter where you fall the trees in Europe. I would usually fall 5-6 trees, limb them after they fell, cut them to length, and then stack them as uniform as possible and as easy as possible for the forwarder to gather them up. With 2' cedars which we often bucked to 16' lengths, this meant you stacked it where the trunk lays. With smaller trees, we had to move them so the forwarder could get to them - this was back-breaking work. So where it lands is important. I have several vids where you can see the logs I have already stacked. So it's actually more important where the tree lands than how easy it is to limb. As I often hear in Europe, and actually about anywhere, there is a difference between preaching and practice.