Barber chair
- Thread starter hanniedog
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Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
I can't think of a good comeback.
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
This guy was extremely lucky!
This is a heavy leaning sycamore tree I recently cut while doing some volunteer disaster relief work in Gatlinburg TN after the recent wild fire. The tree was leaning, 90 to 100' tall, and had been 54" in dia. It was hollow up the middle and 2/3 of the base was rotten/burnt/gone. I'm an electrician by trade, not a logger. I have learned a lot from this site, reading books, and watching videos. I had to really think hard on this before I cut it. It needed to miss some power lines and not damage two other nearby trees. It went within 10' of the way I was aiming it. 
The stump measured 54" one way by 12' + or - the other way.
The stump measured 54" one way by 12' + or - the other way.Attachments
Impressive work there considering how little you were given to start with!
There are those that prevent things for happenings, those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and the ones that just say...
WTF just happened.
So WTF did just happen? Comments everyone.
That's an intense explosion.
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
My guess is that the tree had vertical fractures in the trunk, possibly due to lightning.
That is exactly what my first barber chair lookedlike, even almost the same size. Every thing was fine, notch, back cut, walking away when I heard the pop. It even started falling normally but chaired when the undercut closed up - my mistake, I cut too thin of a wedge
this brave bloke used straps 100 foot up to hold a leaning decayed trunk together as he dismantles it "sphincter"
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
At 36 seconds he looks at the camera. His mind is not fully on task. He's more worried about the film. Shortly after he should have realized there was something wrong. I have no experience with Doug fir but I'm pretty sure if I did I would have known what was up with the tree when I put the face in. If not then as soon as I started the back cut. In species that I know I can tell things are happening pretty quickly. At that point he should have re-evaluated how he was going to cut it up instead of trying to race the back cut for the camera. There are those that take a guy by surprise but there are those that can be taken. My forester sent me this video months ago with the caption, " well your day wasn't as bad as this guys".
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
Holy crap.
There's no way I would be that high in the air on anything - let alone that high in the air on that, doing that.
(That looked like more than 100 feet - eesshhh....)
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Yep. It was a shagbark in the picture but really the same difference. Hickory is by far the worst splitting tree. Followed by white oak and then ash.
firefighter938
ArboristSite Member
That's an awesome video. Give those guys credit! I also feel sorry for that climber, having to walk around all the time with balls that big.
hardpan
Addicted to ArboristSite
I can't say much for your employer that first week. His wife must have been the insurance investigator for the company. LOL.
Your instincts and desire to learn a better way have kept you alive and healthy.
I REALLY like that method for cutting leaners, better than a coos bay. You can better keep track of the hinge width on the opposite side and the back cut will not wander too high or too low in respect to the face cut as often happens (to me) with bigger trees. The back cut is easier to control with a shorter bar. The bore is only half of the tree width so it is faster. I have a question, what makes your decision to sometimes bore out the heartwood, entered from the face cut?
hseII
Addicted to ArboristSite
I did not know White Oak was in the mix: I've been really fortunate.
All the White Oak I've fooled with, I can't remember ever chairing one.
Popular is the main Chair prone tree around here, but I will certainly be more cautious with White Oak & Hickory from now on.
Thank You.
2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy
hseII
Addicted to ArboristSite
No Ill will here, just ribbing you a bit.
How's the weather today over there?
2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
I just wanted to add that the lower the tree is cut to the ground, the less susceptible it may be to chairing as the grain there is much tougher as anyone knows how hard it is to split a stump piece with an axe.
In the video I posted, if only the feller had dragged in a 36' chain and a load binder up and over the mountain, he could have saved that glorified snag. Lol.
In the video I posted, if only the feller had dragged in a 36' chain and a load binder up and over the mountain, he could have saved that glorified snag. Lol.
hseII
Addicted to ArboristSite
HaHaHa.
Those Ratchet Straps we spoke of earlier are lighter, much lighter, & do the job: you were using them when I was still in diapers, so I'd venture a guess that you already know this.
2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
It's been minus 30 or more everyday since New Years, but supposed to be raining by saturday.
I haven't been in the bush for over a month now.
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