# Wedges for climbing



## tree md (Aug 22, 2010)

Anyone using them?

I had to wedge over some huge chunks last week using an old steel wedge I have. Not going to do that again. It's to big of a ##### to deal with in the tree.

I am looking at the rattle wedge in one of the arbo catalogs. Looks like a pretty slick piece of kit, albeit expensive. Anyone ever used one? How well does it work. Seems like that would be worth it's weight in gold if you are having push 3' plus chunks over and it works as illustrated in the catalog.

Also looking at the climbers wedge kit. A lot more reasonably priced and what I will be buying this go round'. One question, what are so special about Oregon wedges that they cost $10 more than Tuffy wedges?


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## TimberMcPherson (Aug 23, 2010)

I just cut normal wedges in half down there length, drill a hole for a cord loop and hang em on my harness. But would love a rattle wedge. A felling bar works okay to.


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## ropensaddle (Aug 23, 2010)

I took the plastic wedge drilled hole in it and hammer 2 lb handle and threaded 1/4 inch rope knotted one end and looped the other to fit saddle snap. Wedges are very handy and I sometimes use them for security on bombing a top, if I feel the groundy is too weak which seems to be the case many times


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## mic687 (Aug 23, 2010)

I also use plastic wedges with a cord attached and a 2lb or so dead blow plastic hammer. This has always worked well for me.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 23, 2010)

I know two guys who have tried the rattle wedge and called it a PITA.


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## JeffL (Aug 23, 2010)

I know two guys who have snapped the rattle wedge into pieces. lol


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## TreeClimber57 (Aug 23, 2010)

Have plastic wedges with cords attached .. usually carry a couple (but have about eight in truck if I need them ).

Never tried a rattle wedge, looked at pictures of them.. wondered if they were strong enough to do much work.


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## treeclimber101 (Aug 23, 2010)

If I am wedging wood in a tree then theres a rope at the top as well , that gets old real quick beating wedges with a limited swing in an awkward position , I like the long Oregon wedges and a six pounder


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## beowulf343 (Aug 23, 2010)

Rattle wedges are worthless.


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## tree md (Aug 23, 2010)

beowulf343 said:


> Rattle wedges are worthless.



Thanks, great intel.


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## beowulf343 (Aug 23, 2010)

Lol, i thought it was good, wished someone had told me that exact same thing before i bought mine.

I don't say much about wedges up a tree, cause i remember a few years back mentioning that a wedge on a string is handy and catching flack for it. How the times change.


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## tree md (Aug 24, 2010)

Well, you never heard that from me. I think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Hey, who gives a #### what someone says bro, you obviously know your ####.


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## ropensaddle (Aug 24, 2010)

wedges are a great tool but ropes should also be employed where life and property damage hang in the balance.


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## mic687 (Aug 24, 2010)

If I am using a wedge I will 99.9% of the time have a rope attached at the top of the tree. On my last job I cut a 30 foot top out of an Ash that had a slight back lean toward the house. I used a rope puller tied high and as I back cut I wedged for added stability. On a critical cut it is nice to have the piece of mind that if the rope slipped for some reason the wedge is their to hault most of the movement so things don't snap back. That being said wedges will not work miracles and should be used with caution.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 24, 2010)

My fave are the Hardhead wedges. The strike plate does not deform from off-center hits.


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## tree md (Aug 25, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> wedges are a great tool but ropes should also be employed where life and property damage hang in the balance.



I totally agree. I put a rope in pretty much everything I drop. On chunks I'll push them off with a snap cut until they get too big, then I start notching them and putting a rope in them. Especially is they have any kind of lean to them.

The chunks I am talking about are weighing 1600 to 3200 pounds at two foot length with the diameter I am working with, as well as having a slight back lean. With a tight drop zone I was throwing every trick in the book at them. I cut a Humbolt notch, put a bull line in the top of them and used a wedge to keep the logs from setting down on my bar and to aid in leveraging them over.


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## burntslap (Aug 25, 2010)

*Wedgies*

With the Oregon wedges, you are paying for the name. Most all the plastic wedges are the same, although the plastics can vary in hardness and flexibility. I keep a couple 4" and a couple 8" wedges on strings for topping, but top size determines which ones I use. Too, with the 8's, I can stack them if I need more lift ( just remeber to put the textured sides facing one another and be mindful that they can bounce out of the back-cut with considerable velocity).
If I am chunkin', I slope my cuts and let the wood slide down the bar ( keeps me from havin' to push and pry ).
Wedges are like women, everyone has a personal preference in size, shape and color. Get what suits you.:greenchainsaw:


I had to wedge over some huge chunks last week using an old steel wedge I have. Not going to do that again. It's to big of a ##### to deal with in the tree.

I am looking at the rattle wedge in one of the arbo catalogs. Looks like a pretty slick piece of kit, albeit expensive. Anyone ever used one? How well does it work. Seems like that would be worth it's weight in gold if you are having push 3' plus chunks over and it works as illustrated in the catalog.

Also looking at the climbers wedge kit. A lot more reasonably priced and what I will be buying this go round'. One question, what are so special about Oregon wedges that they cost $10 more than Tuffy wedges?[/QUOTE]


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## Bermie (Aug 26, 2010)

I almost always stuff a wedge in my pocket for climbing.
Glad I had one two weeks ago, the last 10' of a norfolk pine (top) it stood straight up, no lean, with an ever so slight contrary breeze, that wedge kept things safe till I got behind it to push the top off.

And the string was SUCH a good idea, I got it here, what three years ago or more...nice one!


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## imagineero (Aug 31, 2010)

I wouldn't ever climb without a wedge.
Everyone has probably had that awful pants staining experience of trying to bomb a top that looked like it was a clear drop, but maybe was a bit more back weighted with branches than you thought and started to back down on your saw when you were *almost* through. What do you do? 

a wedge adds a whole lot of security to topping. When chunking down big trunks it just makes life a little more pleasant. 

Shaun


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## TonyX3M (Sep 1, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> I took the plastic wedge drilled hole in it and hammer 2 lb handle and threaded 1/4 inch rope knotted one end and looped the other to fit saddle snap. Wedges are very handy and I sometimes use them for security on bombing a top, if I feel the groundy is too weak which seems to be the case many times



I have that happened to me - groundy HAD TO answer a cell phone while I was bombing the top - result costly custom made fence repairs which thankfully didn't come out of my pocket 
As wedges go - will have one on me next time - I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 1, 2010)

Anyone use a felling bar?


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## JNGWC&Tree (Sep 1, 2010)

Wedges fit nicely into an AR15 magazine pouch and stack well in the pouch if opposite of one another. Clip the pouch onto your saddle and you're in business.


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## TonyX3M (Sep 1, 2010)

:agree2:
But where the heck i'll put my spare magazines- just in case owner gets too mouthy :censored:


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## TonyX3M (Sep 1, 2010)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> Anyone use a felling bar?


I use it almost daily -on the ground doh - even if I think I'll have a use for wedges I don't think I can handle a felling bar up in the tree- in most cases I'm not in position to put any leverage behind it anyway


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 1, 2010)

TonyX3M said:


> I use it almost daily -on the ground doh - even if I think I'll have a use for wedges I don't think I can handle a felling bar up in the tree- in most cases I'm not in position to put any leverage behind it anyway









There are couple small enough to put on your saddle.


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## Bermie (Sep 3, 2010)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> There are couple small enough to put on your saddle.



I use them on the ground...that looks like the size of the one I have, I'd hate to lug it around up in the tree, wedges so far are sufficient aloft!


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## TonyX3M (Sep 5, 2010)

John Paul Sanborn said:


> There are couple small enough to put on your saddle.


 Thats the one I use on the ground - I think it would get stuck in brush if I'd carried it with me all the time + added weight and I think in lot of cases I would not have enough leverage to use it - I like to rope tops off usually - bombing for me is an option of open space (which dont happen too often) or something being on side of tree to which it would hang from a rope and usually they're not very comfortable positions - so I think (dont get me wrong- hasn't tried it yet) a smaller wedges would be easier to use - I just dont understand why I haven't think of it !!! It seems so logical now!


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## Hddnis (Sep 5, 2010)

I used them a lot when taking down Doug Firs. I often could drop twenty feet at a time and halfway down the tree the diameter would be 24"-36" on most of them. Only way was to use a wedge, watch the wind, and pray hard.

I don't even take the wedges up when working on a leafy tree.:jester:



Mr. HE


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## Blakesmaster (Sep 5, 2010)

I've never taken a wedge into the tree with me. Seems easier to just tie a rope to it in most cases. I can see the odd occasion where it would be useful though. For those that do carry wedges, do you also carry a hammer? Or do you just beat it in with a random stick?


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## tree md (Sep 5, 2010)

Hey Blakes, When you're talking about a top or a reasonably heavy chunk, yeah, a rope works fine. When you start talking about Mondo 5' and 6' diameter chunks then a two footer weighs over 1600 pounds. Actually I think a 1 footer weighs that much on a 6 footer (would have to look at the log chart again). It gets hard to leverage wood over when it starts getting that big. Hence the wedge.


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## ropensaddle (Sep 5, 2010)

Blakesmaster said:


> I've never taken a wedge into the tree with me. Seems easier to just tie a rope to it in most cases. I can see the odd occasion where it would be useful though. For those that do carry wedges, do you also carry a hammer? Or do you just beat it in with a random stick?



Yes 2 lb hammer with hole drilled in handle 1/4 inch rope threaded in hole knot tied on one end loop on other. :note: Make sure hammer head is secure to handle or ya may ring-a-ding groundy! I like them both; that way if the groundy is weak I have back up.


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## tree md (Sep 6, 2010)

I use an old ballpien hammer.

The climbers wedge kit I ordered comes with a hatchet to drive the wedges.

Four down on this page:

http://www.wesspur.com/knives-axes/felling-wedges.html

And just for fun... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Hdobado20


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## randyg (Sep 6, 2010)

tree md said:


> I use an old ballpien hammer.
> 
> The climbers wedge kit I ordered comes with a hatchet to drive the wedges.
> 
> ...




ok I looked at the wedge climbing kit and I guess that will be ok except I looked at closeup of wedges and looks like the way they attached the strings is way bad. If you drive wedge all the way in, string gets cut or sheared off?

Wish I knew how to post pic but don't. Will try to explain how I made mine. A wedge has 5 surfaces. 2 faces that come in contact with wood, two sides that don't, and one end that you hammer on. Using 1/8" line, I drilled 1/8" hole into one side around 1" from end you hammer to about 1" in depth. Then drilled 1/2" hole in one face around half way through thickness of wedge to intersect with first hole. String goes in from side and out through 1/2" hole, gets a stopper knot on end and then pulled back into 1/2" hole. Now you just have string sticking out of side of wedge, and you can drive it flush without shearing off. Surely someone else has done this and can post a pic.


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## Blakesmaster (Sep 6, 2010)

tree md said:


> Hey Blakes, When you're talking about a top or a reasonably heavy chunk, yeah, a rope works fine. When you start talking about Mondo 5' and 6' diameter chunks then a two footer weighs over 1600 pounds. Actually I think a 1 footer weighs that much on a 6 footer (would have to look at the log chart again). It gets hard to leverage wood over when it starts getting that big. Hence the wedge.



Makes sense in that case, md. I don't think I'll end up modifying my wedges to hang with me on normal climbs although Randy's idea of attaching the string is pretty smart but I can see putting some wedges and hammer in my canvas bucket and pulling it up to me for my way back down a big spar.


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## ropensaddle (Sep 6, 2010)

Blakesmaster said:


> Makes sense in that case, md. I don't think I'll end up modifying my wedges to hang with me on normal climbs although Randy's idea of attaching the string is pretty smart but I can see putting some wedges and hammer in my canvas bucket and pulling it up to me for my way back down a big spar.



Lol I only put them on if I expect to use them blakes


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## Tree Machine (Sep 14, 2010)

I came up with a unique way of getting mondo rounds off the spar, sort of by accident, but MAN, it worked well.

First, I don't cut slants, though I can see the advantage in that. My firewood guys would hate me for it. Also, I buck off 16" pieces as that is standard firewood length and it's these firewood guys that save me from having to do any of the heavy lifting, so I accommodate them. A 32" length would be twice the weight and would then have to be cut in half on the ground, so I would just rather cut regular 16" blocks aerially. 


Here's how it was done. 3 plastic, 8" wedges, no hammer. Make your cut.

Wedge 1 gets jammed into the kerf sometime before it closes, then finish the cut. The strike-end of wedge 1 is then _pushed upward_ and this leverage creates a tilting of the round slightly upward.

Wedge 2 now gets jammed in a ways further than wedge 1, then it's fat end gets pushed vertically upward, as previously done, allowing wedge 1 to then be pushed in even further, as far as possible, until the strike-end of the wedge is flush with the vertical face of the trunk. This is where it gets interesting.

Your gap is now just as wide as the butt end of wedge 1 that is now fully inserted.

Take wedges 2 and 3 in each of your hands. Insert the sharp end of wedge 2 into the gap. You will need to again do the same thing; use wedge 2 to open the gap _just a little bit further_ as you have been doing, and at the same moment insert wedge 3 BACKWARDS (strike-end in first), about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way in.

Wedge 3's fat, strike-end is now in the gap, with the point of the wedge facing at you. You now have remarkably greater leverage with the backwards wedge and can easily push upward and increase the gap wider than the height of the wedge that's already in there. In this moment, any weight on wedge 1 has been released. This is where it gets _really_ interesting.

Wedge 1 has been set in there, fully inserted, traditional direction. Wedge 3 has been inserted 1/4 to 1/3 deep, _backwards_. Wedge 2 is in your hand. OK, get ready to give the heavy round a forceful lift with the leverage of the backwardly inserted wedge and at the same time use the wedge in your hand, wedge 2, to smack wedge 1 deep within, as far in as you can, to ideally somewhere near the center.

The majority of the weight of the round is now balanced on the fat end of the wedge edge, now located deep within, near center. You should now be able to move the round by rotating it, and tilting it, regardless of it's weight. It's balancing on a plastic cornice.

What you've done is change the friction profile. You HAD two flat wood-to-wood faces. Now, you HAVE a tiny portion of that entire cut face, and nearly all the weight riding on a thin plastic edge. Wood-on-plastic is 'slippery'. Rotate the round, yes, spin it, and push it in the direction you want it to go. The round is touching the deep wedge in one place, and resting rather lightly, wood-on-wood over on the far side. As well, the round is now tilted downhill.

You will be amazed how easy you made this. 

After you successfully spin one or two rounds off the post, you get quicker, though the rounds get bigger, but bigger doesn't seem to matter much. Your simple method has obliterated the original resistance.

The physics- using an inclined plane, applying simple leverage to it, to eventually concentrate almost all the downward force onto a tiny edge of a plastic block placed near the center of the mass, reducing the overall friction to a tiny fraction of what it was about a minute ago. You should now feel smarter than a tree trunk as you ALONE moved a great deal of weight, very swiftly with very little physical effort using only 3 pieces of plastic. 

Arrrrrrrr! :chainsawguy:


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## Hddnis (Sep 14, 2010)

How big of a round have you moved with your Wedgies (TM)?



Mr. HE


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