Nervously helped my cousin drop a yard tree

[bitzer]

Leave the ****ing saw at home then. That would be the safest bet. We're not playing God here. That high back cut will save yer ass everytime, right... Thinking a tree won't come back over the stump because theres a couple inches of higher backcut is idiotic. I talk about and show how to use swing cuts as well. Or to cut heavy leaners or whatever. The thing is people are going to do what they're going to do. Safety is regulated by government, but does that always make it safe? We recently had our speed limits raised to 70mph on the freeway. Now people think they can do 90. Everyone takes things a step further. I'd prefer to teach them up on how to control a tree in certain situations rather than the standard issue one size fits all. One size never fits all. If they have the nuts to take it that extra step then they at least have a map. Others know when its out of their league. Establishing a hinge on that ash with level cuts would have been farther ahead than letting the hinge wood pull off the backcut. Once the face is open on a tree like that and you know you have rot you need to get as much flex wood as available (expose the fibers in the face). The box set of rules they gave you doesn' t apply. Its like putting yer blinker on in the middle of nowhere. Who the **** does that? I couldn't resist. Bored I guess.

 

[Westboastfaller]

Leave the ****ing saw at home then. That would be the safest bet. We're not playing God here. That high back cut will save yer ass everytime, right... Thinking a tree won't come back over the stump because theres a couple inches of higher backcut is idiotic. I talk about and show how to use swing cuts as well. Or to cut heavy leaners or whatever. The thing is people are going to do what they're going to do. Safety is regulated by government, but does that always make it safe? We recently had our speed limits raised to 70mph on the freeway. Now people think they can do 90. Everyone takes things a step further. I'd prefer to teach them up on how to control a tree in certain situations rather than the standard issue one size fits all. One size never fits all. If they have the nuts to take it that extra step then they at least have a map. Others know when its out of their league. Establishing a hinge on that ash with level cuts would have been farther ahead than letting the hinge wood pull off the backcut. Once the face is open on a tree like that and you know you have rot you need to get as much flex wood as available (expose the fibers in the face). The box set of rules they gave you doesn' t apply. Its like putting yer blinker on in the middle of nowhere. Who the **** does that? I couldn't resist. Bored I guess.

lol no you can't. You didn't last 24 hours.
I was going to quote saying good luck not talking to me because you're like a garbage can; 'you' step on the pedel and the lid opens up. Ha-ha
Laugh man

 

[bitzer]

Just for the record my last comment and this one are addressed to the general public of this site and not to anyone in particular. Clearly i did not quote anyone so i was not speaking to anyone in specific. Ha. ha.

 

[Westboastfaller]

Lol...predictable

 

[bitzer]

Just playing your game. So you ready to talk about back cuts now or you still want to talk to me like I'm something you scraped off yer boot because you may have cut the big wood on the big coast? Whats your honest to God take on them? Not what they told you to do, your thoughts. By " they" i mean gov't/safety regs/organizations.

 

[Westboastfaller]

Right, gotcha. Well we are not to far apart in terms of I remember not having Certifications. The first ticket was a basic day course that came in July of '93 I remember. When I started there was nothing. The BC forest saftey council didn't come in affect until September '04 which seems like yesterday. The year after the new Faller training Standards came in effect there was a huge spike in fatalities by end of 2005. Really these guys were/are a committee of X Fallers that were funded to fix the deaths in industry and WCB would leave it in their hands. All fine & dandy but the death rates almost double by end of 2005. It's because they are going after harder ground IMO.
Anyway Fallers have always trained new fallers like anywhere else but they changed it all. It's a big money grab much of it and in some cases the prime contractors are forced to hire guys that are safe certified company's and Faller Supervisors and have to overlook someone that may have way more experience and be way more productive. They are under the believe that every accident is preventable so the system is designed to fault the worker.
"Was he certified? Did he have a pre-work orientation and made aware of adhering to the highest standard with his right to refuse? Yes there's the signature. WCB is nothing but an insurance company and BCFSC is a biz.
If an accident happens, WCB will go back on what you did the last two weeks auditing your stumps and habits. Your Faller Supervisors will do it on a regular basis.
In the snow there is so many tells like foot prints. " did he fall from from the high side? was there a saftey trail?( 2 on a Danger tree) (DT) Absence of snow they look at were the sawdust is in cases. Did he exit to the high side '45°' opposite the direction of fall? It's goes on...they give us everything possible to control our environment. Rainfall is measured on the coast. Its all by the book,Falling plans, emergency response plan (ERP) Site overview findings and signage with radio frequencies all in order & documented. Once you pay and register as a safe certified company you play by the rules and document everything daily and submit it. Three years later you can be a safe certified company. Hell I don't even own my Falling Certificate, they hold the rights, I'm just renting it as long as I play by the rules I can continue to.
The way I have to think today puts you & I worlds apart.
The basic principles of Falling cuts haven't changed its just more refined. Like I say these guys were coast fallers. The principals are of the same that was past down to them as they were to me and many around the world. I first wanted to give you a better understanding of what its like here. I don't like to say background because my originally background is similar to yours.

I'll come back & tell a quick story and check my documents to see if I'm able to get real with y'all here or if I risk disciplinary action. I'm somewhat joking there but who really knows. I'm sure there is some legal clause in order. Yes I will talk about steps.

 

[Westboastfaller]

Ok..I'll save the story 'till next then.
Back cut steps/anti-kickback steps

Yeah what do you want to know? I don't use 'em..do you?

 

[Westboastfaller]

I'm joking a bit as I know your cutting style. Really though, it hasn't changed from certificate to non-cert.
As long as it above on both sides its a good stump, if its even from both sides and the classic looking step then its a 'cherry' to me If all else is good. 'They' don't fail that stump for saftey until you dip a side ...or known to me as "Undercutting your undercut. Again it has never changed but the first lesson I ever had was " never undercut your undercut ...very dangerous! I make it to please me
In all honesty but I like the looks of the 1/2" to 1 " step on bar size. It dosen't always work though

 

[bitzer]

Thanks for the explaination. I do understand more now of where you're coming from. Sounds like a pain in the ass really, being audited i mean. I strive for clean stumps and they typically are(minus half a hinge or other). I know I'm safe in how I do things but on occaision do fall back to basics when situations get ugly. Escape routes and ground debris being a major concern that i always make sure to deal with and plan ahead. Real ugly stuff i will go thru possible outcomes in a few seconds of thought and then come up with my plan. Most trees its just bang, bang, but there are those that remind you. My biggest fear is not being able to get far enough away from the stump. Thats where most bad things happen. A buddy of mine got hurt 9 ft from the stump because he couldn't get away and another got killed because he just didn't retreat far enough. In situations where there is no escape route the cuts i choose to use and execution has to be perfect. I guess maybe you're not a total **** after all. Maybe i should quit posting on zero hours of sleep and work exhaustion. Overworked and underlaid. Story of my life.

 

[Westboastfaller]

Thanks for the explaination. I guess maybe you're not a total **** after all. Maybe i should quit posting on zero hours of sleep and work exhaustion. Overworked and underlaid. Story of my life.

AAAAAhhhaaaaaaaaha "over worked and under laid" that's a good one..she probably dosen't want another kids. Sounds like between you and Steve you two could field a ball team
No...I'm not a total **** or totally retarded.. Just about 3 quarters.. Lol
Yeah you may have missed my point on a couple things when you were tired. In regards to being tired, I decided to leave the Beetle season in Alberta, slept in the day then woke up at 9:00pm and made coffee and stayed up all night then checked out at 11 am on route for a 16 hour drive. I'd been up for about 27 hours with only an evening nap the night before about the time I posted on the road as I was too tired to drive. I read it after sleep and It really wasn't the same. Ha-ha sorry man ..I was 'short for no good reason. I need a lot of energy to hang with you. You can be a little intense for sure, I am a big fan of you business sense and your fibre knowledge, no doubt! that dosen't change ever.

Bitzer & Boaster 'unplugged'

We got to share a thread?

Anyway ...OK you got the truth out of me,
Boaster raw.
Talking about Falling steps:

Ok I admitted last post I do it for vanity.. Ha-ha

What do you expect from a guy that wears his bug eyes when he livingroom cuts