What can you tell about the stump

[donmakesallthefuelbegone]

I just recently got to cut down a fairly big tree, as a guy who’s pretty new to falling trees it looked to have gone fairly well, the tree had some back lean over electric cables so I put in a rope pretty tight, because of the rope being so tight I did a plunge cut to avoid barber chair.

To me it went as good as I hoped except for the fact that I had to cut out a bit in the middle because I was afraid of loosing directional control if I made the hinge thinner. so what can you tell me by looking at the stump, can you see anything that you’d say I did good or wrong???

 

[Stihlproincky]

I just recently got to cut down a fairly big tree, as a guy who’s pretty new to falling trees it looked to have gone fairly well, the tree had some back lean over electric cables so I put in a rope pretty tight, because of the rope being so tight I did a plunge cut to avoid barber chair.

To me it went as good as I hoped except for the fact that I had to cut out a bit in the middle because I was afraid of loosing directional control if I made the hinge thinner. so what can you tell me by looking at the stump, can you see anything that you’d say I did good or wrong???

Notch could've been a tad deeper, that also limits the risk of a barberchair. I generally don't worry about barberchair unless the tree is leaning hard in the direction I'm felling it or if it's really rotted or fractured. Hinge looked good, always try to keep your back cut even with the bottom of your notch (for traditional) peak of your notch for open face. Also alot easier to fell with a bar that cuts all the way through. Also you shouldn't have to put to much tension on your rope, pull it tight, cut to proper hinge thickness and then start pulling.

 

[donmakesallthefuelbegone]

Notch could've been a tad deeper, that also limits the risk of a barberchair. I generally don't worry about barberchair unless the tree is leaning hard in the direction I'm felling it or if it's really rotted or fractured. Hinge looked good, always try to keep your back cut even with the bottom of your notch (for traditional) peak of your notch for open face. Also alot easier to fell with a bar that cuts all the way through. Also you shouldn't have to put to much tension on your rope, pull it tight, cut to proper hinge thickness and then start pulling.

Thanks for the advice, my bar did go all the way through though, I used a 16” bar and the tree was about 12” the problem with the rope was that it was connected to a hand cranked winch in line with the tree, if I where to pull the rope tight to make it drop I would have been a pancake. There was nothing to connect the rope to out of harms way so that’s one of the reasons I put a lot of tension on it, I could not tension it without getting crushed.
After having made a to deep notch I do indeed have the tendency to make it to shallow, I am still trying to find that right balance between to deep and to shallow.

Thank you so much for all your help and time, you sound like a very knowledgeable person and I am grateful you are willing to share your knowledge. Be safe out there

 

[irhunter]

When evaluating a stump, there are really two separate issues: (1) the plan, and (2) the execution.

Let's say, before starting the saw, I decide an a face-cut deep enough to produce a hinge which is 80% the width of the tree where I'm cutting it (e.g., 8" wide hinge on a 10" diameter tree), and a hinge which is 10% of the diameter (e.g., 1" on that 10" tree). Now, that's the plan...expressed in pretty concrete terms.

I think it is important for less-experienced cutters to have a measurable plan before cutting.

Then, when you evaluate the stump, it is easy to see if you executed correctly.

To the OP:

I don't understand what you mean by cut-the-middle.

I am not sure you needed a extra-large hinge when you are using a rope on a back-leaner.

For future rope operations, consider adding a snatch block to the system. It will get you and the winch out from the path of the falling tree.

You cut a nice uniform hinge...good job.

As far as the depth of that face cut...if that was your plan, then it looks fine. If, before cutting, you really couldn't say how deep you intended to go...less fine.

Roy

 

[donmakesallthefuelbegone]

When evaluating a stump, there are really two separate issues: (1) the plan, and (2) the execution.

Let's say, before starting the saw, I decide an a face-cut deep enough to produce a hinge which is 80% the width of the tree where I'm cutting it (e.g., 8" wide hinge on a 10" diameter tree), and a hinge which is 10% of the diameter (e.g., 1" on that 10" tree). Now, that's the plan...expressed in pretty concrete terms.

I think it is important for less-experienced cutters to have a measurable plan before cutting.

Then, when you evaluate the stump, it is easy to see if you executed correctly.

To the OP:

I don't understand what you mean by cut-the-middle.

I am not sure you needed a extra-large hinge when you are using a rope on a back-leaner.

For future rope operations, consider adding a snatch block to the system. It will get you and the winch out from the path of the falling tree.

You cut a nice uniform hinge...good job.

As far as the depth of that face cut...if that was your plan, then it looks fine. If, before cutting, you really couldn't say how deep you intended to go...less fine.

Roy

Thanks Roy,

i didn’t have an entire plan for how to cut the tree, I just wanted the tree to fall in the right direction so I used the felling sights on the saw to aim and to try keeping a uniform hinge. I planned basically everything except for the cut itself. I knew I wanted a conventional notch because that’s easier and I’m comfortable with that and I wanted a plunge cut also because that made me feel comfortable and sure that I would not barber chair the tree.

 

[irhunter]

i didn’t have an entire plan for how to cut the tree,

This is what I believe is a good idea for beginners: choose a well-documented cutting style published by a company or organization you trust. And, then, strive to cut to that style...to the letter...until you have a bunch of time on the saw. Then, start adding and modifying techniques.

Every such style I am aware of will specify the size of the face-cut and the size of hinge.

Cutting easy trees, for a beginner, to exact specs promotes the kind of cutting which is really important as you move to difficult or dangerous trees.

Willy-nilly dimensions for face-cuts and hinges will get you in trouble with difficult trees.

There are a bunch of fully-reasonable published cutting styles. A couple:

1. The owner's manuals of both Stihl and Husky saws.

2. The Stihl and Husky corporate Youtube channels (not some random guy with a Stihl banner in the background).

3. The Game of Logging.

4. The WorkSafeBC Youtube channel.

5. US Wildfire chainsaw program.

There are others.

Roy