Here's my almost barber chair
This is the one I think I almost chaired last month. I could have used a much better technqiue, and hopefully now I know of one.
disclaimer: golly gee, why dadgum I am a farmer! As such, I am not an expert in any one thing, but am good enough to do dozens of outdoor type work "things". I am always willing to learn to do something better and safer.
I fully acknowledge there are tons of specialists out there who are loads better than me with this or that job. And it doesn't bother me at all or hurt my ego to know I screwed up, and that there was a better way. I am grateful to learn all the time. And usually, for most things, I am all self taught, I usually always work by myself for most jobs I have done. *shrugs* that's just how it is. The internet helps a lot because you can look things up or ask people who know more. Then share it forward when you can.
politely
with that said, here are the details in pics:
Dang, they really DO wear rubber boots, with the pants tucked in..(get yore yuks in! hahahah).this is why, this is exactly what I have to work in doing some of my chores...here's feeding big hungry guys who go moo. Just not real comfy or cost effective or practical to wear 300 dollar leather lace up high heeled clompers doing this sort of work.
A little wider view of where I just walked...
Here's another job. When the creek is low, I drag branches and logs and stuff out. This keeps it from damming up and flooding the fields, or moving a buncha stuff downstream where it can destroy the hanging sheet metal barricade that serves as a suggestion fence for the beefers to stay home. I come around now and then when it is dry enough and harvest this wood for firewood. Notice, rubber waterproof boots are a good idea here as well. I'm standing right in the creek in this pic. I like to cross this thing at least twice a day on foot, so I can check fences and stock on the far side fields. A lot of times, though, I can't, just too deep and fast.
And the almost chair and stump. The tree was a real heavy leaner, on a steep slope, around a 30 degree slope, and the leaner added to that, so call it a 45 degree leaner. I didn't know about this coosbay styled deal, so I just did a carefully cut so as to not pinch, face cut, then came in and back cut from two directions. I dragged any loose branches out of the way, checked my overhead a lot, and listened as good as my ears can still work for anything ...ominous..I did not have a holder strap of wood or bore cut.
I *knew* this was a sucky and dangerous fell job, but I wanted it down for a few reasons, one of which it was going to fall in a storm or two and I don't want uprooted rootballs on this hill. When I cut this last month I didn't know about a better way. It's also real nice oak score (still isn't bucked, too muddy down there) and I am cleaning up this hillside doing my best-again, not an expert, just another of dozens of different jobs- effort at junior woodlot management. I'm taking out goofy bent trees, trees we have too many of, letting some light in to encourage better trees, berming the hillside to conserve topsoil, and etc. There *was* a small amount of fiber on this stump, I just cut pulled strings off when I finish stumps, that's all (fresh stumps good place to take a sit and enjoy life, good before the ants move in..that's a good enough reason for me!), There really wasn't much, this surprised me.
And here it is, the log. You can see the crack and how it split straight up and almost but didn't barber chair. It shot a few feet off the stump downhill with some fair to decent force..... It did drop where I intended it to. So...I give myself a D+ on this job, as it was still too dangerous, and there was a safer better way to do this. Now I know.
Oh, BTW, when I cut, I switch rubber boots to *steel toed* rubber boots. Just because....
So there ya go! Kids, don't do it this way, dumazz farmerz... bad juju, do it the correct way with a holding strip, and possibly add the ratchet straps as well..