reading weight and direction of fall while avoiding the canopy snags on those 2 twisted trunk could have been tricky so nicely done,,.
Falling pics 11/25/09
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reading weight and direction of fall while avoiding the canopy snags on those 2 twisted trunk could have been tricky so nicely done,,.
Last post before the shooting starts. First tree of the day was a tall slender tree that hung in the top. There was a 1" spring pole that I thought wise to cut before attempting to working the tree down a segment at a time. I was surprised to find that the little spring pole was actually helping to support the tree a good two feet. Before I completed the 1" cut the stem dropped that two feet catching my chain in the sapling knocking it off in the process and bending it. I only got to cut for 2 1/2 hours today and as my life with little trees would have it I spent more time on three of them than I did on the couple dozen or so trees I cut, including several in the 18" to 24" range.
Ron
PS to derwoodii - thanks for the kind compliment. It is undeserved - you know the little saying about blind squirrels finding nuts.
Ron
PS to derwoodii - thanks for the kind compliment. It is undeserved - you know the little saying about blind squirrels finding nuts.
So I'm not the only one to bend a chain today?
Good work Rwoods, done the same thing with the wedging myself.
As a side note the weather was so nice today I got to go swimming... and just so you know saws don't run real good when they are full of water...
Good work Rwoods, done the same thing with the wedging myself.
As a side note the weather was so nice today I got to go swimming... and just so you know saws don't run real good when they are full of water...
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Ron on the small dbh. Backcut em first if you are unsure and put a wedge in. Then yer face cuts. Occaisionally you will have to hurry up on your face cuts because it starts to go, but usually it doesn't. If it does start to go, throw a few quick kerfs in, in place of a face. They will give enough relief to get the tree to fall and create a hinge as long as you don't saw all the way thru. Watch the pinch tho. Bent chains happen. Grab the chain and use yer thumbs to push and the rest of yer hands to pull while its still warm. I've straightened many chains that way. If its bad enough the axe can get it close and yer hands can do the rest. Pinched rails you can open with a bar wrench and axe on a stump pretty quick. I usually can do it without taking the chain off. You did good on those ugly trees! Also its amazing how much weight a little whip can support.
bitzer,
If it is a smaller leaner I do the back first but as I said I am no good with little trees. These two undergrowth trees appeared to be so balanced that you could fall them in any direction but for the canopy. Of course few trees are balanced and I predicted wrong.
Bent bars?
Last month: After an attempt of field straightening ; bar was bent a good 45 degrees. From a pinch in a supporting tree. Hit by supported tree on the way down. Supported tree was a blown over. Had to bore cut the supporting tree and trigger - too dangerous to jockey positions for a Coos with only a 20" bar on my backup saw. You can see it "triggered" before the trigger was entirely severed.
A few years back. Snagged the chain while fence posting.
Couldn't find my pictures of a large wreck of a storm damaged oak that pinched and chipped rail near the tip of 36" bar.
Ron
If it is a smaller leaner I do the back first but as I said I am no good with little trees. These two undergrowth trees appeared to be so balanced that you could fall them in any direction but for the canopy. Of course few trees are balanced and I predicted wrong.
Bent bars?
Last month: After an attempt of field straightening ; bar was bent a good 45 degrees. From a pinch in a supporting tree. Hit by supported tree on the way down. Supported tree was a blown over. Had to bore cut the supporting tree and trigger - too dangerous to jockey positions for a Coos with only a 20" bar on my backup saw. You can see it "triggered" before the trigger was entirely severed.
A few years back. Snagged the chain while fence posting.
Couldn't find my pictures of a large wreck of a storm damaged oak that pinched and chipped rail near the tip of 36" bar.
Ron
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
9 time out of 10 I can't field straighten a bar worth a dang I have to put them in a vice and I'm guaranteed to bend my light weight Oregon 36 damn thing bends when packing in and out. And I agree on back cutting small stuff first even if it's just to put a wedge in at a tipped angle to watch it tip up or pop out from leaving.
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Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
I know out here there's a huge shortage of trucks and drivers so you about have to run your own trucks, so many of the guys here are pushing 35 to 50 loads a day clear cutting even a mule train is dang near impossible to get for a fill let alone one a forwarder can unbunk.
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bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Yep when in doubt just back cut those little ones first. If it really starts to open up chase yer backcut to finish. Otherwise face, pound, go.
On hung trees like that i will put a face in the supporting tree as deep as it will let me, nip the heart from the face and then cut the near back quarter of the stump from back to front. With that much pressure on the tree you usually only need to cut half of the back out. Don't take yer time doing it tho as it cud chair. The reamaining pull wood should keep everything going away from you as you retreat. Boring stuff like that is askin for a pinch unless the tree is pretty big.
To straighten in the woods, bore a deep enough kerf in a stump, put yer bent bar in and wail on it. If its bent more or less straight across it should go back pretty easy, even bad bends. When the bend runs on an angle it can get tricky or if the rails are folded up as well.
Whats with the bike?
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
Would you guys like a picture or two of the attachment we made for our press to work on saw bars?
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1270d
ArboristSite Guru
Just a product of our different operations I guess.
We of course have a lot more room to deck wood than you fellas out in the hills.
99% of trucks here are self loaders truck pulling a 4 or 5 axle pup. We just deck roadside and the truckers take care of the rest. It isn't uncommon to be 40 to 60 loads ahead of the truckers.
Trucks are common here, but developing a solid relationship isn't so easy. A lot of the owner operators go storming in the summer chasing hurricanes. Not the types I want to work with.
bitzer,
Bike = neighbor's trash thrown on my property. Not as bad as the leaf covered metal bed springs that I hit while bucking the main stem.
Embarrassing full disclosure on the cut. The bore cut was the "rescue" cut. The original cut was mean to go as you described. Only a conventional face idiot would decide to experiment with a Humboldt on such a dangerous tree, but alas I did. With a Humboldt, I seem to always come up short on the far side with the lower cut so as if it would make any difference (it didn't) I decided to put in the lower cut first and then the straight cut. I was watching where I thought I had gunned instead of watching the cut and seriously over cut the straight cut on the far side resulting in a nice pinch. MACs don't allow PH removal in such situations unless you sever the chain so my "rescue" options were rather limited particularly given that the new cut will be closer to my vital anatomy; thus my decision to go with the bore cut. The bore cut was made much more dangerous by reason of how deep I had made the original face (By necessity both it and the resulting hinge overlap in part the original face, but given the residential setting I couldn't just leave the trees there while I sought out mechanical help). At the risk of seizure of all my saws, I have posted below a picture which shows how badly I over cut. Hard to believe that I was being careful given the overhead risk and the tension together with the extra chair risk that white oak carries, and then let my mind drift off while making the original face cuts. There was no way I was going to stick my head in front or in back of the supporting tree to see how my cut was going, but I could (and should) have pulled the saw out and looked from a safe position instead of relying on my gunning. BTW you can see in the picture a cross where I bore cut the stump to make a vice in my field attempt to straighten the bar. I smacked it a few times with a 5# axe but I didn't wail on it. The bend was on an angle.
New topic. The area I was cutting yesterday is a dense 6 acre patch that will be cleared, which is why I was told I could cut anything. I intend to save for the owner's further consideration the straight 15"+ oaks and the few large beech trees since some loggers around here mobilize and log ground half that size. Should I save the beech? What is the minimum log diameter for oak on the small end (red and white)?
Ron
Bike = neighbor's trash thrown on my property. Not as bad as the leaf covered metal bed springs that I hit while bucking the main stem.
Embarrassing full disclosure on the cut. The bore cut was the "rescue" cut. The original cut was mean to go as you described. Only a conventional face idiot would decide to experiment with a Humboldt on such a dangerous tree, but alas I did. With a Humboldt, I seem to always come up short on the far side with the lower cut so as if it would make any difference (it didn't) I decided to put in the lower cut first and then the straight cut. I was watching where I thought I had gunned instead of watching the cut and seriously over cut the straight cut on the far side resulting in a nice pinch. MACs don't allow PH removal in such situations unless you sever the chain so my "rescue" options were rather limited particularly given that the new cut will be closer to my vital anatomy; thus my decision to go with the bore cut. The bore cut was made much more dangerous by reason of how deep I had made the original face (By necessity both it and the resulting hinge overlap in part the original face, but given the residential setting I couldn't just leave the trees there while I sought out mechanical help). At the risk of seizure of all my saws, I have posted below a picture which shows how badly I over cut. Hard to believe that I was being careful given the overhead risk and the tension together with the extra chair risk that white oak carries, and then let my mind drift off while making the original face cuts. There was no way I was going to stick my head in front or in back of the supporting tree to see how my cut was going, but I could (and should) have pulled the saw out and looked from a safe position instead of relying on my gunning. BTW you can see in the picture a cross where I bore cut the stump to make a vice in my field attempt to straighten the bar. I smacked it a few times with a 5# axe but I didn't wail on it. The bend was on an angle.
New topic. The area I was cutting yesterday is a dense 6 acre patch that will be cleared, which is why I was told I could cut anything. I intend to save for the owner's further consideration the straight 15"+ oaks and the few large beech trees since some loggers around here mobilize and log ground half that size. Should I save the beech? What is the minimum log diameter for oak on the small end (red and white)?
Ron
Yes. I have access to a press. I had this bar straighten at a machine shop. Ron
So this happened today, should have been a real nice peeler, but nooo
NM, not up on logger lingo but I am sure you didn't mean that you wanted to peel it like a banana despite the end resemblance. Glad you are with us. Ron
1270d
ArboristSite Guru
brushing up on your sprints north?
Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
Anyone have pictures of their spring boards?
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Skeans
Addicted to ArboristSite
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thems kinda goofy but I like the concept, just a saw kerf and stuff em in.
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
I'm not tryn to give ya a hard time Ron. I've been there. I'd say you got lucky as we all have in the past. You know where it went wrong. Always a conventional in those situations anyway. You need the tree to fall out as far as possible from you. Use yer hands on the bar and wail on it. I should have clarfied. Put the saw in the kerf and bend the bar way beyond what you think is reasonable and it should start to go back.
