A little input from the pro loggers please?

[jomoco]

Hey guys,

I just want to make certain that my understanding of boxcuts and their purpose jives with yours.

My first exposure to this technique was watching a veteran pro screw one up big time and crush a nearby high value oak into the ground, at which point I said screw boxcut felling cuts period.

But then I was working in Lake Arrowhead and responsible for getting a giant coulter pine covered in ivy leaning over a 3 story mansion on the lake's shoreline safely landed on the beach with a big tracked bobcat.

I put two big bull lines in the two outer upper leaders ran them to the bobcat then began clearing the ivy from the base only to discover the damn thing was hollow to the point that I could actually walk inside the tree and raise my elbows. Hmmmmm.......

As a independent sub working for a 3rd generation logger, I decided to give the old boy a ring and get his input on the situation since it was his company's reputation and mine on the two bull lines.

He said no problem jomoco, just use a boxcut with bout 4 or 5 inches of good healthy hinge on each side of that hollow old dog, gun it for the beach and let the bobcat do the rest.

With memories of my first observation of a felling boxcut foremost in my mind I pussed out and politely asked him to come show me how and why a boxcut was appropriate for this 5 ft dbh monster with bout 8 inches of good wood on each side, the walk through cavity faced the mansion side.

The face of his boxcut was bout 8 vertical inches tall bout a 3rd of the way into the hollow tree made with his 88 with a 3 ft bar. His felling cut was exactly opposite the top of the 8 inch boxcut's vertical face, he went to within bout 5 inches of hinge on each side, yanked his saw out, grinned at me across from him watching intently, yelled run for your life jomoco! while signaling the bobcat to go.

He had told me that an 8 inch apex allowed the hinge to bend over 90 degrees and hold onto the stump much more tenaciously until the tree actually hits the ground, and that's exactly what it did that day before eventually tearing off the huge stump and sliding down hill towards the beach.

So tell me guys, did matt know the true proper utililization of the mysterious boxcut felling technique?

Thanks.

jomoco

 

[forestryworks]

by boxcut do you mean block out style? as in humboldt block out face?

 

[jomoco]

by boxcut do you mean block out style? as in humboldt block out face?

His pie cut had no sharp apex. If one were to reassemble or glue his pie cut back together it would be rectangular rather than triangular, his felling cut was at the same level as the top of the 8 inch tall face of his rectangular pie.

Thanks,

jomoco

 

[RandyMac]

Was it something like this?

Used mostly on big timber, it allows controll of how a tree falls, not just where.

RandyMac

 

[Gologit]

So tell me guys, did matt know the true proper utililization of the mysterious boxcut felling technique?

Thanks.

jomoco

If the tree went where he intended it to go who are you to question his technique?

You deferred to his superior experience and judgement, no?

The only real question here is whether you learned anything from this. Any thing at all.

 

[jomoco]

The innermost deepest point of the pie had an 8 inch tall vertical face, his finish or felling cut was perfectly horizontal aimed directly at the top of the 8 inch face.

He told me the purpose of the 8 inch tall vertical face was to allow much more bend in the holding wood before it breaks off the stump. Ideally it's supposed to hold the hinge until the tree hits the ground before breaking.

It worked flawlessly for matt that day, and I was very impressed with it.

Thanks,

jomoco

 

[oldirty]

If the tree went where he intended it to go who are you to question his technique?

You deferred to his superior experience and judgement, no?

The only real question here is whether you learned anything from this. Any thing at all.

gologit.... i think he was asking on my behalf. i think i called a certain cut for crane work a "box cut" and jomoco is out looking for the right answer.


but now i know i was calling it box cut but meant something completely different if it is used as a felling cut.



lol

 

[jomoco]

If the tree went where he intended it to go who are you to question his technique?

You deferred to his superior experience and judgement, no?

The only real question here is whether you learned anything from this. Any thing at all.

You're right gologit, I've certainly learned to stay the hell out of the logging forum to learn a dang thing bout boxcuts and why they're used by loggers!

Thanks bud.

jomoco

 

[Gologit]

You're right gologit, I've certainly learned to stay the hell out of the logging forum to learn a dang thing bout boxcuts and why they're used by loggers!

Thanks bud.

jomoco

You're welcome. 'Bye.

 

[Billy_Bob]

What is a "box cut"?

What is a "pie cut"?

 

[Zackman1801]

from what ive seen described here a box cut would come of of the tree with the notch looking like a square or rectangle, and a pie cut would have the notch looking like a piece of pie or a triangle.

 

[redprospector]

from what ive seen described here a box cut would come of of the tree with the notch looking like a square or rectangle, and a pie cut would have the notch looking like a piece of pie or a triangle.

And a humbolt could be called an upside down pie cut.

Andy

 

[redprospector]

You're right gologit, I've certainly learned to stay the hell out of the logging forum to learn a dang thing bout boxcuts and why they're used by loggers!

Thanks bud.

jomoco

Hahaha. Just like I learned to stay out of the political forum to learn anything about politics.
Take a vacation JOJO, it'll do you a world of good. I highly recomend Oahu.

Andy

 

[ShoerFast]

If the tree went where he intended it to go who are you to question his technique?

You deferred to his superior experience and judgement, no?

The only real question here is whether you learned anything from this. Any thing at all.

Knowing that you posted this just to make me spew coffee all over the place, just happened to be at a time I could rep you again!

You crack me up!

 

[ShoerFast]

Hahaha. Just like I learned to stay out of the political forum to learn anything about politics.
Take a vacation JOJO, it'll do you a world of good. I highly recomend Oahu.

Andy

Your here to tell me that them smart pills he been taking are just rabbit-turds after all?

 

[Nailsbeats]

So how do you make the vertical cut on the face, a plunge cut?

 

[forestryworks]

So how do you make the vertical cut on the face, a plunge cut?

or break it out with an axe

 

[jomoco]

So how do you make the vertical cut on the face, a plunge cut?

You nailed it!

Vertical plunge cut, with an 88 running a 3 foot bar!

Matt is a 3rd generation logger, so I pretty much kept my mouth shut and watched him like a hawk.

These loggers do some trippy stuff, like running their chains so friggin loose it made me cringe! Just watchin matt matt sharpen that 88 was a trip.

Almost every pro logger apparently runs square ground 404 skip chisel chain that they can sharpen when away from their silvey flat chisel sharpeners by using three sided triangular hand files. Watchin matt sharpen his loose chained 88 was a treat. He'd sit right on the ground under the target tree grab one of the three plastic wedges in his pouch, pull the loose chain out from the bar and stuff that wedge between the bar and chain, and give each cutter exactly three swipes with his triangular file as he pulled the wedge in and out working the chain around. But the best part was his ambidexterous use of both hands to sharpen both left and right cutters alternately in one complete rotation of the chain on the bar.

The fluidity of his chain sharpening in the field really impressed me along with his boxcut felling of big hollow coulter pines. The man certainly seemed to know his stuff.

And yes Forestry he popped the pie out with an axe.

jomoco

 

[Jacob J.]

And a humbolt could be called an upside down pie cut.

A "pie" cut is when you decide how big a piece you want after a big dinner. I call the Humboldt cut "A smilin Doug Fir".

 

[Nailsbeats]

I'm gonna try that vertical plunge box number next time I'm falling, sounds like it could have some nice control.