I picked out a nice black walnut to saw down this morning, my dad turns bowls out of them.. I notched it, made the back cut and it started over like always.. then all of a sudden.. that son of a gun split right up the middle.. the whole tree went up and 20-25 feet in the air.. I guess I was in shock and awe.. for some reason I couldnt get my feet to move.. of course it was only about 5 seconds.. but it seemed like it was in slow motion.. then here it come.. right at me.. my feet moved then.... its pretty much firewood now.. i'm sure i can save a few pieces..
First barber chair in 32 years...
- Thread starter blkcloud
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Trees can do unexpected things. I'm pretty good at felling but had a couple of doozies yesterday myself.
Glad you are ok though.
Glad you are ok though.
merc_man
Addicted to ArboristSite
Glad to here you are ok.
Had an ash do that once to me. Tree started over and i pulled saw out and walked away and all a sudden she split up the middle. I think i should have kept cutting little farther inand it would never happened.
Had an ash do that once to me. Tree started over and i pulled saw out and walked away and all a sudden she split up the middle. I think i should have kept cutting little farther inand it would never happened.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Holy cow! I had a very small, very controlled barberchair the other day. Yours makes mine look like a silly joke. Glad you got out of the way in time. Seems like no matter how much time you plan and look, each tree has the potential to get your heart racing.
Glad you are okay. Maybe your picture will get some attention. I have had two of similar magnitude in 35 years of cutting. A red oak back when I first started cutting and a white oak about 5 years ago. Fortunately both stayed attached. I have since studied several cutting techniques to lessen this risk - all of which can be found right here on AS. And I am more careful with my initial assessment of the tree. It only takes one.
Ron
Ron
I had one that I knew would chair, middle stem of a 3-stemmer. figured how to cut it to be safe when it chaired an laid into it. Still scared the pizz out of me when it did it even though I knew I was safe. On my willow clearance projects I chain any problematic ones and tighten chain with a chain binder. Still startles one when that "CRACK" occurs but the chair doesn't happen.
zogger
Tree Freak
No fun! Better than a cup of coffee though..
I do what Harry does, chain them things up, done three big ones here like that, lightning struck trees.
Gypo Logger
Timber Baron
Although any tree can BC, some are more susceptible to chairing such as hickory, ash, maple, beech and cherry.
The most forgiving tree being spruce. I've seen perfectly vertical spruce stop dead mid fall at 45 degrees when an unintentional dutchman was sawn in.
Although there are several causative factors for BC, the main causes can be high winds, heavy lean, slow saw or improper felling cuts with the unintentional dutchman being the main cause.
To understand exactly what the UD does and the effect is has on the tree, create a UD on a 6" or smaller tree and after sawing in the backcut, try to push the tree over by hand. It can't be down without incredible force.
Do the same thing to another tree of the same size without a dutchman and see how easy the tree pushes over.
The most forgiving tree being spruce. I've seen perfectly vertical spruce stop dead mid fall at 45 degrees when an unintentional dutchman was sawn in.
Although there are several causative factors for BC, the main causes can be high winds, heavy lean, slow saw or improper felling cuts with the unintentional dutchman being the main cause.
To understand exactly what the UD does and the effect is has on the tree, create a UD on a 6" or smaller tree and after sawing in the backcut, try to push the tree over by hand. It can't be down without incredible force.
Do the same thing to another tree of the same size without a dutchman and see how easy the tree pushes over.
lindnova
ArboristSite Operative
I've never barberchaired one like that myself. Had some box elders that were growing sideways chair, but was expected then. Good reminder for the rest of us to pay attention and expect the unexpected!
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