Barber chair!

[Chris-PA]

If you can't slap those hollow trees down with an excavator, you can double strap above your cut to keep them in check long enough to get thru them without getting kicked, that said I'd rather move along to a safer tree or take it down with a machine.

Probably there are more of us with hollow trees than with excavators..... I hate hollows!

 

[Guido Salvage]

Walt,

If you were referring to me, I had no idea the middle was gone until I started on the back cut. The face cut was not deep enough to discover it was rotted and it popped in the backcut once I got out of the solid wood. The middle was hollow, so the chain never pulled out soft and discolored material like it does when you hit decaying wood.

Gary

 

[jropo]

I would have to say I've never had one do that...:msp_confused: I've heard of it, but most of the stuff I cut is leaning so hard, there's no question as to what it's gonna do... Just figured I'd get some info from you straight tree guys... I may find one some day...
:hmm3grin2orange:

I concider any tree that has a full crown(top) and a good lean w/ a striaght but log w/ no knots, to have a potencial to "Slab" or "Chair" and treat them as such. I'd rather fart around w/ a bore cut and be safe for no reason, than run for my life.
Straight Oaks are like glass @ 12*IMO, Ash can be bad too. I figure if it splits easy for fire wood she'll split just as easy on the stump. I split a nice little Oak almost down to the stump once from tring to play dominos. They are around my bon fire pit now.
If the bark twists all the way up the tree, good chance the wood is twisted too, less chance of slabbing, if it has a big lean, I bore if I can, or haul a$$ through it.
Just what I do, results may vary.

 

[jropo]

Walt,

If you were referring to me, I had no idea the middle was gone until I started on the back cut. The face cut was not deep enough to discover it was rotted and it popped in the backcut once I got out of the solid wood. The middle was hollow, so the chain never pulled out soft and discolored material like it does when you hit decaying wood.

Gary

Big Beech trees are good for this.
Around me anyway.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Mother nature did this one about 4 years ago. Left it go till this December and wood was beautiful. This one was ash and just under 2 ft in diameter at the bottom. This is what I call "air storage"

 

[jropo]

Mother nature did this one about 4 years ago. Left it go till this December and wood was beautiful. This one was ash and just under 2 ft in diameter at the bottom. This is what I call "air storage"

Nice!

 

[LazyJ]

I thought it was gonna chair a 2nd time, gufus standing right behind it trying to push it over after almost getting slapped a minute before. I'll give him points for wearing a helmet and being fleet footed.

 

[Walt41]

Walt,

If you were referring to me, I had no idea the middle was gone until I started on the back cut. The face cut was not deep enough to discover it was rotted and it popped in the backcut once I got out of the solid wood. The middle was hollow, so the chain never pulled out soft and discolored material like it does when you hit decaying wood.

Gary

No, I was just speaking in general terms of how I like to deal with hollow ones, funny I was thinking tonight about trees I have cut and I can remember every hollow one. One in particular stands out, it was in an old graveyard that dates back to the civil war, I was working for the local parks dept at the time and we had an old pro Mac 10-10 for a saw, I made sure I stopped home and gathered up my Echo 650 and two ratchet straps, bound it tight and went at it fast, it fell where I needed it to but split enough to tighten the one strap so tight I had to cut all around it to get it loose enough to get the mechanism to release. If given a choice I avoid hollow trees.

 

[Chris-PA]

No, I was just speaking in general terms of how I like to deal with hollow ones, funny I was thinking tonight about trees I have cut and I can remember every hollow one. One in particular stands out, it was in an old graveyard that dates back to the civil war, I was working for the local parks dept at the time and we had an old pro Mac 10-10 for a saw, I made sure I stopped home and gathered up my Echo 650 and two ratchet straps, bound it tight and went at it fast, it fell where I needed it to but split enough to tighten the one strap so tight I had to cut all around it to get it loose enough to get the mechanism to release. If given a choice I avoid hollow trees.

Thanks for the ratchet strap tip, I will keep that in mind.

Can anyone explain why a too-deep face cut makes barber chair more likely? I've been thinking about that and I can't dope it out - it seems like a deeper face cut would relieve the difference between the compression and tension sides and make it less likely, but I'm sure that must not be it.

 

[Preston]

And tell me this. I cut trees everyday for about 2 years and putting um on the truck. Mostly old growth pine, 24 inches and wider at the base. Of all I cut I never cut a face cut and could just about put every tree where I wanted and never had that long splinter thing happen. I just started cutting in the back and cut and directed the tree where I wanted. I cut at an slight angle down from back to front. Whenever I start notching and getting fancy I get in trouble. I once cut a face notch then went to the back side to finish. The tree started moving kinda weird. I laid the saw, an 041 AV, down behind the tree to try and guide the tree by hand. As the tree fell it slide backward off the stump and onto my saw. Needless to saw that one died and I had to go buy another one. Now why did that tree kick back off the stump?

 

[logbutcher]

Coos Bay Cut ?

OK, I give up: what's a "COOS BAY CUT" ?

Not one of those boring jobs used out on your Left Coast ? :jester:

 

[branchbuzzer]

OK, I give up: what's a "COOS BAY CUT" ?

Not one of those boring jobs used out on your Left Coast ? :jester:

Coos Bay Cut

 

[forestryworks]

And tell me this. I cut trees everyday for about 2 years and putting um on the truck. Mostly old growth pine, 24 inches and wider at the base. Of all I cut I never cut a face cut and could just about put every tree where I wanted and never had that long splinter thing happen. I just started cutting in the back and cut and directed the tree where I wanted. I cut at an slight angle down from back to front. Whenever I start notching and getting fancy I get in trouble. I once cut a face notch then went to the back side to finish. The tree started moving kinda weird. I laid the saw, an 041 AV, down behind the tree to try and guide the tree by hand. As the tree fell it slide backward off the stump and onto my saw. Needless to saw that one died and I had to go buy another one. Now why did that tree kick back off the stump?

:bang:

You need more instruction.

 

[HorseFaller]

And tell me this. I cut trees everyday for about 2 years and putting um on the truck. Mostly old growth pine, 24 inches and wider at the base. Of all I cut I never cut a face cut and could just about put every tree where I wanted and never had that long splinter thing happen. I just started cutting in the back and cut and directed the tree where I wanted. I cut at an slight angle down from back to front. Whenever I start notching and getting fancy I get in trouble. I once cut a face notch then went to the back side to finish. The tree started moving kinda weird. I laid the saw, an 041 AV, down behind the tree to try and guide the tree by hand. As the tree fell it slide backward off the stump and onto my saw. Needless to saw that one died and I had to go buy another one. Now why did that tree kick back off the stump?

To be honest Preston, I'm suprised that's all that's been broke.
For your example you probobly cut all the way through.
I would do as Forestry works says and seek instruction.

 

[slowp]

OK, I give up: what's a "COOS BAY CUT" ?

Not one of those boring jobs used out on your Left Coast ? :jester:

It works. I used it on a small tree leaning across a road last year, and it worked beautifully.

 

[Gologit]

Coos Bay Cut

OK, I give up: what's a "COOS BAY CUT" ?

Not one of those boring jobs used out on your Left Coast ? :jester:

Try it, moron. Maybe you can make it work.

For the rest of you guys...this cut works best with a large head leaner. I've had good luck with the triangle method but the T would probably work just as well.

Thanks to Gary for the diagram.

 

[Gologit]

And tell me this. I cut trees everyday for about 2 years and putting um on the truck. Mostly old growth pine, 24 inches and wider at the base. Of all I cut I never cut a face cut and could just about put every tree where I wanted and never had that long splinter thing happen. I just started cutting in the back and cut and directed the tree where I wanted. I cut at an slight angle down from back to front. Whenever I start notching and getting fancy I get in trouble. I once cut a face notch then went to the back side to finish. The tree started moving kinda weird. I laid the saw, an 041 AV, down behind the tree to try and guide the tree by hand. As the tree fell it slide backward off the stump and onto my saw. Needless to saw that one died and I had to go buy another one. Now why did that tree kick back off the stump?

You're kidding, right? Please tell us this is a joke.

 

[Walt41]

Thanks for the ratchet strap tip, I will keep that in mind.

Can anyone explain why a too-deep face cut makes barber chair more likely? I've been thinking about that and I can't dope it out - it seems like a deeper face cut would relieve the difference between the compression and tension sides and make it less likely, but I'm sure that must not be it.

Make sure you use heavy duty ones, not HD ATV tiedowns and use all of it, the tree should look like it is bandaged, usually 4-5x times around works, I like to use two to spread the load out over two mechanisms, don't finish with the ratchet facing your back cut, keep it to a side.
The too deep face cut reduces the amount of holding wood and can over stress what is left as it begins to fall and bad things can happen. Keep in mind that I am not a pro, just a guy who started felling trees for firewood and work at age 13 and am only sharing what has worked for me and kept me out of the ER.

 

[Chris-PA]

Make sure you use heavy duty ones, not HD ATV tiedowns and use all of it, the tree should look like it is bandaged, usually 4-5x times around works, I like to use two to spread the load out over two mechanisms, don't finish with the ratchet facing your back cut, keep it to a side.
The too deep face cut reduces the amount of holding wood and can over stress what is left as it begins to fall and bad things can happen. Keep in mind that I am not a pro, just a guy who started felling trees for firewood and work at age 13 and am only sharing what has worked for me and kept me out of the ER.

Thanks - I'll keep thinking about it! I usually try for a 1/3 facecut anyway.

I have not had anything big barber chair on me, that would be scary. I run into lateral splitting a lot with blown over, cantilevered trees with big branches hanging out horizontally. They're mostly down and there's not any real question of where they will fall, but often there is still a lot of energy in them and they can do surprising things. I've had a 3' oak split laterally after sawing half way through, with the butt and root ball settling back down and forming a tongue that lifted the cut about 4' in the air. At least there was nothing to fall on me at that point.

 

[LazyJ]

That triangle version of the Coos is sweet, beats boring in any day. I use it on larger trees even if they aren't leaners mainly because it helps me line up the final back cut perfectly.