Critique my stump?

[Grey]

I'm fairly new to felling trees, but I had to take this poplar down. It was growing right next to a healthy white oak and was already shading out the bottom of the oak's crown. For what it's worth, the tree fell very safely and right where I wanted it. Any constructive criticism or advice is appreciated.

From what I can see, my back cut was not parallel to the notch and for the hinge chunked out below the hinge for some reason

 

[Jed1124]

Looks good. Yeah you could have dropped your back cut lower but some folks that I don't necessarily agree with say a back cut a inch or so high keeps the but log from kicking out. Are you sure you have popular there?

 

[Grey]

Looks good. Yeah you could have dropped your back cut lower but some folks that I don't necessarily agree with say a back cut a inch or so high keeps the but log from kicking out. Are you sure you have popular there?

Thanks. Definitely Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera.

 

[Grey]

I put my backcut about 1-2" above the bottom of the hinge, but it looks more like 3-4" since the hinge chunked out below the bottom of the hinge.

 

[Jed1124]

Yeah Tulip that's what I was thinking. Not actually a popular. Magnolia family. But I guess I'm cutting hairs. Nice job.

 

[Grey]

Yeah Tulip that's what I was thinking. Not actually a popular. Magnolia family. But I guess I'm cutting hairs. Nice job.

The tree with a thousand names...

 

[HuskStihl]

The hinge chunked out because the angled cut of your open-conventional face went past the plane of the horizontal face cut. It looks like this tree was going to go this direction anyway, but if you have a larger tree, and need to be more precise, you have to make sure your face cut is "cleaned up".
If the horizontal cut goes past the angled cut on one side you have a "Dutchman" which may pull the tree towards the opposite side as it falls. If the horizontal cut goes too far past the angled cut on both sides, you'll be likely to cut thru u'r hinge on the back cut, losing control. The height of u'r back cut is fine. Just make sure sure to be as precise as possible with u'r face cut.
I'd also make that face a bit deeper. Overall nice job.

 

[Grey]

The hinge chunked out because the angled cut of your open-conventional face went past the plane of the horizontal face cut. It looks like this tree was going to go this direction anyway, but if you have a larger tree, and need to be more precise, you have to make sure your face cut is "cleaned up".
If the horizontal cut goes past the angled cut on one side you have a "Dutchman" which may pull the tree towards the opposite side as it falls. If the horizontal cut goes too far past the angled cut on both sides, you'll be likely to cut thru u'r hinge on the back cut, losing control. The height of u'r back cut is fine. Just make sure sure to be as precise as possible with u'r face cut.
I'd also make that face a bit deeper. Overall nice job.

Yep, I see the kerf now. That is way past the horizontal cut! Not my best work. I'm not sure why I didn't pick that up before I went ahead with the back cut.(?) I'll have to be more careful in the future. Thanks for picking that up.

 

[Gologit]

The hinge chunked out because the angled cut of your open-conventional face went past the plane of the horizontal face cut. It looks like this tree was going to go this direction anyway, but if you have a larger tree, and need to be more precise, you have to make sure your face cut is "cleaned up".
If the horizontal cut goes past the angled cut on one side you have a "Dutchman" which may pull the tree towards the opposite side as it falls. If the horizontal cut goes too far past the angled cut on both sides, you'll be likely to cut thru u'r hinge on the back cut, losing control. The height of u'r back cut is fine. Just make sure sure to be as precise as possible with u'r face cut.
I'd also make that face a bit deeper. Overall nice job.

Good eye. Good advice too. There might be hope for you yet.

 

[ANewSawyer]

The hinge chunked out because the angled cut of your open-conventional face went past the plane of the horizontal face cut. It looks like this tree was going to go this direction anyway, but if you have a larger tree, and need to be more precise, you have to make sure your face cut is "cleaned up".
If the horizontal cut goes past the angled cut on one side you have a "Dutchman" which may pull the tree towards the opposite side as it falls. If the horizontal cut goes too far past the angled cut on both sides, you'll be likely to cut thru u'r hinge on the back cut, losing control. The height of u'r back cut is fine. Just make sure sure to be as precise as possible with u'r face cut.
I'd also make that face a bit deeper. Overall nice job.

It took me a minute to understand your post. But it os good info.

 

[HuskStihl]

Good eye.

Thanks, that means a lot coming from you. But after studying Bitzer's root pulling, siswheel turning, bottle jacking, Picasso looking stumps, this one is pretty straightforward.

 

[Gologit]

Thanks, that means a lot coming from you. But after studying Bitzer's root pulling, siswheel turning, bottle jacking, Picasso looking stumps, this one is pretty straightforward.

It wouldn't have been that easy for you to spot two years ago. Two years ago you were a part of the "well, it fell down and nobody got killed so you musta' done a good job" crowd. Spotting mistakes, correcting them and knowing how to apply the corrections is what falling is about. Keeping those little mistakes from becoming disasters is what good falling is about.

 

[Nemus Talea]

Huskstihl made a the call.
When tree falls to its face, mismatched kerfs (especially if across the whole face) close quickly and its as if there was no face at all. Great potential for barberchair. If that tree had a stretch of rot, old crack or was of a brittle species, BANG!
Mind Huskstihls advice.

 

[Grey]

Improvement? Took down this 12"dbh x40' black beech. It had some lean, but with a plunge cut and wedge I was able to steer it a little right of it's natural lean, which helped avoid damaging another tree on the way down. Glad it went down safely. I'm definitely a newbie and very humble. Trying to learn to be safe.

 

[HuskStihl]

Improvement? Took down this 12"dbh x40' black beech. It had some lean, but with a plunge cut and wedge I was able to steer it a little right of it's natural lean, which helped avoid damaging another tree on the way down. Glad it went down safely. I'm definitely a newbie and very humble. Trying to learn to be safe.

I'd be proud of that stump.

 

[Grey]

I'd be proud of that stump.

Thanks man. Double and triple checked my notch this time.

 

[Nemus Talea]

Nice. Soon you'll feel the bar drop square into undercut kerf.
Those little guys can be tricky especially when ya gotta drive wedges. 15 - 18" are good size for learning and experimenting.
Hope ya got a proper axe and not just that hatchet I saw in the first pic. Setting an insurance wedge can be done with next biggest wedge in yer pouch or piece of green limb wood. A real axe can do alot of work for you.

 

[HuskStihl]

Thanks man. Double and triple checked my notch this time.

If u'r not falling for production, there's really no reason to not make a clean face. I'm terrible with a saw, so I try to make sure that if I miss my far corner, I'm missing it short. That way I can clean up the face without having to chase the mismatched cuts past where I want them to wind up. If you miss the far corner "long", a good trick is to connect the cuts with a vertical bore cut rather than chasing them further into the stem. Creates a "block face" which actually works well

 

[Grey]

If u'r not falling for production, there's really no reason to not make a clean face. I'm terrible with a saw, so I try to make sure that if I miss my far corner, I'm missing it short. That way I can clean up the face without having to chase the mismatched cuts past where I want them to wind up. If you miss the far corner "long", a good trick is to connect the cuts with a vertical bore cut rather than chasing them further into the stem. Creates a "block face" which actually works well

Cool idea.

Nice. Soon you'll feel the bar drop square into undercut kerf.
Those little guys can be tricky especially when ya gotta drive wedges. 15 - 18" are good size for learning and experimenting.
Hope ya got a proper axe and not just that hatchet I saw in the first pic. Setting an insurance wedge can be done with next biggest wedge in yer pouch or piece of green limb wood. A real axe can do alot of work for you.

Yeah I've got a couple of real axes too. Thanks for the feedback

 

[johnny5ny]

Good stuff HuskStihl - I think you mighta just learned me sumthin! I think I'm almost at the point where I know just enough to be dangerous??? jk I dont **** around when it comes to droppin em-I really don't even like doing it.
Grey that second stumps a beaut. Nicely done.