Hinging characteristics of different trees

[danthornton]

Where can a climber/faller go to get information on specific species of trees? Good hinging wood? Brittle?
Dangers to look for that are specific to that kind of tree ... when piecing down, or falling from the ground?
After quite a few years I'll have my own backlog of memories to rely on, but until then, is there a place where the information is available?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Watch what the climber does as your dragging brush, it's the best way to learn.

 

[ATH]

Better yet: ask the climber to tell you what they are doing and why...then watch.

 

[ATH]

The Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material from the Forest Products Laboratory has reference charts in the back that show Modulus of Rupture. I think there is a chart for both green and dry wood... That will at least give you an idea of relative bending strength.

 

[danthornton]

The Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material from the Forest Products Laboratory has reference charts in the back that show Modulus of Rupture. I think there is a chart for both green and dry wood... That will at least give you an idea of relative bending strength.

Thank you very much!!! I will check out this resource.
The other advice was good also, but in my case I am the climber - a new one for sure - so I have no one on site I can personally ask, yet I want to improve my safety and knowledge as quickly as possible.
It's even better that the Wood Handbook is free! Thank you.

 

[danthornton]

In case anyone else has the same question, here's the chart from the 2021 Edition of Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material.

 

[capetrees]

Where can a climber/faller go to get information on specific species of trees? Good hinging wood? Brittle?
Dangers to look for that are specific to that kind of tree ... when piecing down, or falling from the ground?
After quite a few years I'll have my own backlog of memories to rely on, but until then, is there a place where the information is available?

experience beats a book anytime

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Best to be familiar with how local species handle,
with sense of order of benchmark extremes and how various species ID by bark and leaf handle in that range and always open to L-earning as experience lends lessons.
.
Locally we have glorious Live Oaks, slow growing/tempered wood of great strength, hinging but of heavy as lead tho. Disease resistant, long lived, fewer codoms etc. Has a very thick bark, cambium , burns very hot, long and slow. The grain inside is like twisted cable, stronger, but harder to split as no even cleaved shear to flat surface seams. This is my high benchmark species, all the rest are known and studied as lessers prorated to different levels of the Live Oak full bloom potential/benchmark.
.
Local Water Oak grows faster/'cheaper' , lighter, weaker, thinner bark and cambium, rots and codoms easier, burns faster at lower temp etc. Like same material fast/weak tempered or slow/strong tempered.
.
Numbers are good, but for me mostly to test and tune my feel against those numbers, and again a sense on how they rate against each other. In tree might make other lesser cuts fine tuning feel for that day, with that wood, with present sensings ; before working more technical cut in same tree.

 

[treevet]

Play the worse case scenario out in your head prior to cutting and base all your cuts on that and remember what happens on your cuts from different species. Worry about being real fast later in your career. Pain is the best teacher but you don't want to push off a chunk of mostly cut elm or sugar maple like you could with some other species only to find it has enough holding strength in that last one inch of wood to swing the chunk BEHIND your intended path of drop and through the picture window of the house behind you.

 

[tree MDS]

Hickory is the worst for hanging on and tearing up here. Definitely need to cut the sides so the cambium or whatever doesn’t tear with the piece. 101 stuff.

 

[treevet]

Dooood...it is 101 stuff to know what cambium (or whatever) is.

We don't get much hickory around here as it is rarely planted because of the tap root. Great tree tho.

 

[tree MDS]

It’s like the Hardox steel of the tree world. Just looked at a decent sized Pignut this morning.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Another guy with no respect for the industry.

 

[treevet]

Another guy with no respect for the industry.

?

 

[tree MDS]

I think he’s referring to the fact that the guy doesn’t appear to wanna start at the bottom and work his way up proper like.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I've got a neighbor that needs his appendix removed, think I'll go over to WebMD and ask them which side it's on and how deep I should cut...

 

[tree MDS]

I've got a neighbor that needs his appendix removed, think I'll go over to WebMD and ask them which side it's on and how deep I should cut...

Lol

 

[ZinTrees]

Hickory is the worst for hanging on and tearing up here. Definitely need to cut the sides so the cambium or whatever doesn’t tear with the piece. 101 stuff.

was chunking down a hickory a few weeks back, just straight through slice cut (Not 100% thru, I had a rigging line on the back side) pushed a chunk off and felt my lanyard get really tight all of a sudden, dont be a dumbass, hickory is some stringy stuff

 

[TheJollyLogger]

was chunking down a hickory a few weeks back, just straight through slice cut (Not 100% thru, I had a rigging line on the back side) pushed a chunk off and felt my lanyard get really tight all of a sudden, dont be a dumbass, hickory is some stringy stuff

And this is what is gonna get you hurt or worse... no one trained you, so you didn't know enough to score or notch it before you rigged it. Total rookie mistake.

 

[ZinTrees]

And this is what is gonna get you hurt or worse... no one trained you, so you didn't know enough to score or notch it before you rigged it. Total rookie mistake.

I was aware I needed to score/ notch the pieces, what I wasnt aware of was the thin layer of bark hanging onto the back of the cut, pass thru cut didnt go as planned