# Hard Plastic fallin wedges with gripper teeth



## tramp bushler (Jan 14, 2010)

Does everyone know what I mean by this .. ...They have a bunch of raised gripper teeth on one side... If you use these , this kind of hard plastic textured wedge , you don,t get black eyes and loose teeth . Also by putting them on the stump side of the tree you are falling you don,t have to go chasing them when the tree falls as they kind of stick to what they have been digging into ........Maggy wedges don,t spit out either in frozen wood , but they can get ya .Pretty good ...


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## isaaccarlson (Jan 14, 2010)

*thats all I use....I like the teeth.*

They are a good idea IMO.


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## tramp bushler (Jan 14, 2010)

I loath and despise them in the summer . and I HATE them as a bucking wedge . but they are great in the winter . and ALOT CHEAPER THAN A TRIP TO THE DOCTOR OR DENTIST ...


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## GASoline71 (Jan 14, 2010)

You talkin' about the rifled wedges?

Gary


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## slowp (Jan 14, 2010)

Describe them and I can check. I'm going to Madsens this weekend. I need gloves and socks. They have an aisle of wedges.


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## Meadow Beaver (Jan 14, 2010)

Are they stackers or Super Tuff wedges?


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## Dayto (Jan 14, 2010)

I use the Big Blue Weges with the teeth sometimes AWESOME WEDGE!


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## Cedarkerf (Jan 14, 2010)

They look like they have giant rasp teeth on em. Is one way to describe them.


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## bitzer (Jan 14, 2010)

I use them most of the time. They are great for sticking in frozen hardwoods. I would agree on bucking. They will save you some teeth more often than just textured wedges. Oregon makes them. Here is a link. 5.5" through 12"

http://www.oregonchain.com/pro/products/accessories/wedges.htm


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## 2dogs (Jan 14, 2010)

I have used orange wedges with teeth. I think the brand is Timber Beast. they were harder to drive but otherwise seemed fine. They never spit out on me.


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## Nailsbeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Timber Savage and Oregon are the two I have. Like Bitzer said, they are good for working the woods in winter Wisconsin. Not to be confused with the town Winter which is a bit to the north of me.


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## gwiley (Jan 14, 2010)

I am trying to imagine how I might position myself to get a wedge in the face. I just don't see that happening the way I drive them. Is this a common problem? I do have them pop out, but they just go sailing into the brush to hide.


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## Cedarkerf (Jan 14, 2010)

Fall some big trees on steep terrain youll find a way


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## 2dogs (Jan 14, 2010)

I stand corrected. It was indeed Timber Savage.


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## Turkeyslayer (Jan 14, 2010)

Gripo and Laser are the 2 brands I have right now, both with "teeth".


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## zuuluu (Jan 14, 2010)

Buy them my friend! I know exactly what your talking about and I purchased 10 of them from northerntool.com I saw them for a I think just 1.80 and I had to try them for the price and the work great. No sliping out and no chips yet. I have some stihl wedges I bought for no telling how much and it seems like I cant hit them with a wet noodle without them chiping. Great buy and great material. It has give and the only show of wear so far is one of them has a dent in the back. the material is very strong but instead of chiping off it will just dent or slightly remold it if you will. Not a problem what so ever.


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## hammerlogging (Jan 14, 2010)

Cedarkerf said:


> Fall some big trees on steep terrain youll find a way



Everything happens in big timber on steep terrain. thats why its there, thats why we're there.

using double taper wedges is another good way.

Me, I stick with 12" k&h. 

But, I've found out just how well they can hide in 6" of powder!!!!
Its finally starting to melt off.


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## bitzer (Jan 14, 2010)

gwiley said:


> I am trying to imagine how I might position myself to get a wedge in the face. I just don't see that happening the way I drive them. Is this a common problem? I do have them pop out, but they just go sailing into the brush to hide.



The last time I caught one in the cheek my backcut was about knee high and I was downslope slightly, but not enough that my face was in line with it. I don't know how it got me there, but it did. I was kinda glad later (after I realized I had all of my teeth yet) that it wasn't my nuts!


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## 385XP (Jan 14, 2010)

Cedarkerf said:


> Fall some big trees on steep terrain youll find a way


It happens on flat ground too.


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## bitzer (Jan 14, 2010)

zuuluu said:


> Buy them my friend! I know exactly what your talking about and I purchased 10 of them from northerntool.com I saw them for a I think just 1.80 and I had to try them for the price and the work great. No sliping out and no chips yet. I have some stihl wedges I bought for no telling how much and it seems like I cant hit them with a wet noodle without them chiping. Great buy and great material. It has give and the only show of wear so far is one of them has a dent in the back. the material is very strong but instead of chiping off it will just dent or slightly remold it if you will. Not a problem what so ever.



I have some of those Stihl wedges too, they were $7.50 for an 8"er. Needed some wedges and thats all they had at the nearest place. They chip like hell. The oregons I have dent or kinda mush like you said, but they stay together. I've actually pounded the damn things straight if they get too beat up! 


I've never tried the K&Hs but only heard good things. I'd have to reserve those until it gets warmer though. Yellow and orange are hard enough to find in a couple feet of snow.


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## Walt41 (Jan 14, 2010)

I thought I was the only one who took a wedge to the kisser!


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## tramp bushler (Jan 15, 2010)

Cedarkerf said:


> Fall some big trees on steep terrain youll find a way


.:yoyo:


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## tramp bushler (Jan 15, 2010)

Like big rasp teeth like Cedar said .. They are very good for doubling up also . Pretty easy to spit a wedge if you have a long way to lift a tree out of a crik ect. . A 12" Hard Head tm. and a 12" toothed wedge will do alot of lifting and won,t usually spit out . . I put the toothed on the tree side when doing that ... Guys have been knocked out cold by a wedge spitting out and hitting them in the head .....


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## joesawer (Jan 15, 2010)

I have used a few timber savage wedges. But frozen wood is pretty rare for me. I am partial to K&H red heads.
I bet one with the teeth down on the stump and a red head would double good though. I might just have to get one to try that with.


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## slowp (Jan 15, 2010)

Looks like I'll head into town this morning. I'll see what the price is at Madsens. I know they carry the Timber Savage ones..


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## coastalfaller (Jan 15, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> Like big rasp teeth like Cedar said .. They are very good for doubling up also . Pretty easy to spit a wedge if you have a long way to lift a tree out of a crik ect. . A 12" Hard Head tm. and a 12" toothed wedge will do alot of lifting and won,t usually spit out . . I put the toothed on the tree side when doing that ... Guys have been knocked out cold by a wedge spitting out and hitting them in the head .....



I know exactly what your talking about, they do work great. I've had pretty good luck with the all orange Husqvarna wedges too, mind you, haven't used them in frozen timber though.


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## dancan (Jan 15, 2010)

Walt41 said:


> I thought I was the only one who took a wedge to the kisser!



No , I got five stitches under the chin with a plastic one .


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## slowp (Jan 15, 2010)

I saw a couple in the bargain bin, but not on the shelves. There was a quite bare spot on the shelf of wedges. My second to the favorite brand of socks went up in price! Whaaaaaaah.


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## dancan (Jan 15, 2010)

Are these the type of wedges your talking about ?


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## tramp bushler (Jan 16, 2010)

YUP > Exactly .. The brand on the ones here at the saw shop is WOODY'S ......So I think they are all made by DOUBLE TAPER tm. . I like double taper wedges for thawed out timber ..........
. The trick for using them as a bucking wedge is , you pretty much HAVE TO SAW THEM OUT , if you are just getting your bar back and the logs don,t separate when you finish your buck ....... If you make a few little cuts beside the wedge once you get your saw out you can get the toothed wedges back from the buck ... where as with a smooth faced wedge you can knock them side to side and they come out fine . I have had plenty of wedges spit out of bucks , especially in frozen wood ..... I hate it when they are LOST FOREVER !!
.
. Good pics Dan ....


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## zuuluu (Jan 16, 2010)

That exactly what I got dancan  Great wedges! Just to short depending how big the trees are. Ones I got looked ecatly like that and they didnt even have a brand name or package lolz. 

I havent ever taken a hit by a wedge but I have about 6 stihl wedges for bigger trees. Some times when they chip the peices go every where and it feels like dodging shrapnal......


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## 385XP (Jan 16, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> Like big rasp teeth like Cedar said .. They are very good for doubling up also . Pretty easy to spit a wedge if you have a long way to lift a tree out of a crik ect. . A 12" Hard Head tm. and a 12" toothed wedge will do alot of lifting and won,t usually spit out . . I put the toothed on the tree side when doing that ... Guys have been knocked out cold by a wedge spitting out and hitting them in the head .....


I had one spit out that hit my nephew in the temple and i thought i killed him. He had a head ache for 2 days.


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## zuuluu (Jan 16, 2010)

Wow. Before you know it loggers are going to have to be equiped with flak jackets and riot helmets! Thats ok though. I colect guns and tactical gear so I'm good ^^


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## hammerlogging (Jan 16, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> ..... I hate it when they are LOST FOREVER !!
> .....



Tramp, you mean like when you buck off some log while standing within a very sticky situation and have a wedge in it while you finish the complete seperation and you thankfully got the log cut off and nothing around you really moved and you're ok but then you have to get your wedge back and you say "#### it aint no way I'm retrieving that one and it just stays.

Maybe the stem bumped free hit by a later felling or bucking and the wedge drops out and you can sneak down there and find it.

But then theres losing it in the snow....


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## tramp bushler (Jan 16, 2010)

*Yup.*

..In Southeast alot of time it will snow till the end of April , Riggin crew gets to find lots of stuff when the snow is gone ......
Plus in the summer there is so much brush you can,t even see the ground , if it's there let alone a wedge thats hiding .


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## Gologit (Jan 16, 2010)

hammerlogging said:


> Tramp, you mean like when you buck off some log while standing within a very sticky situation and have a wedge in it while you finish the complete seperation and you thankfully got the log cut off and nothing around you really moved and you're ok but then you have to get your wedge back and you say "#### it aint no way I'm retrieving that one and it just stays.
> 
> Maybe the stem bumped free hit by a later felling or bucking and the wedge drops out and you can sneak down there and find it.
> 
> But then theres losing it in the snow....



LOL...yup. Ever had to leave a wedge when you're doing a russian coupling? You figure "no problem I'll just get it out when I jackpot the next one down the hill"? Right....the jackpot hits the one you crippled up, the coupling breaks and if that damn wedge went any higher and farther it would have a stewardess and an in-flight movie.  I've never seen the point in taking any time to look for a wedge that's probably clear over in the next county.


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## hammerlogging (Jan 17, 2010)

the other day I had a tree sit over sideways on me before I'd pulled outto hit my backstrap- too much crown weight and it wasn't going to go sidehill like I intended. It was a pistol butt too so maybe since the hinge was not on your typical grain......
Anyhow, remove powerhead, bar and chain stuck in tree. With axe chopped out my backstrap, tree breaks off downhill, not as intended sidehill. Couldn't get the bar and chain out before I had to escape but saw the butt flip about 12 feet in the air with the bar and chain still stuck on it as it flopped across all the sidehill timber below it, catapulting the bar and chain into the air. Recovered the bar, never found the (almost brand new) chain. Lost in th snow. Argh. Got my other chain. The damn stem slid about 400' downhill across all the snow covered sidehilled timber below it all the way to the creek, blowing out the top on the way. But since its a helicopter cut, I had to go all the way down there to butt off the pistol butt and top it to the right specs anyhow, and so then i was in one of those awful positions with a stick you have to cut laying downhill on a 60 degree plus slope on top of all those sidehill snow covered (think "well lubed") stems. 
Adding insult to injury, is that what its called?
And thinking to myself, "cant get no production like that" Argh.
Love it every minute anyhow. But damn it can test your patience sometimes.


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## hammerlogging (Jan 17, 2010)

Gologit said:


> LOL...yup. Ever had to leave a wedge when you're doing a russian coupling? You figure "no problem I'll just get it out when I jackpot the next one down the hill"? Right....the jackpot hits the one you crippled up, the coupling breaks and if that damn wedge went any higher and farther it would have a stewardess and an in-flight movie.  I've never seen the point in taking any time to look for a wedge that's probably clear over in the next county.




 Love it.


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## 385XP (Jan 17, 2010)

hammerlogging said:


> the other day I had a tree sit over sideways on me before I'd pulled outto hit my backstrap- too much crown weight and it wasn't going to go sidehill like I intended. It was a pistol butt too so maybe since the hinge was not on your typical grain......
> Anyhow, remove powerhead, bar and chain stuck in tree. With axe chopped out my backstrap, tree breaks off downhill, not as intended sidehill. Couldn't get the bar and chain out before I had to escape but saw the butt flip about 12 feet in the air with the bar and chain still stuck on it as it flopped across all the sidehill timber below it, catapulting the bar and chain into the air. Recovered the bar, never found the (almost brand new) chain. Lost in th snow. Argh. Got my other chain. The damn stem slid about 400' downhill across all the snow covered sidehilled timber below it all the way to the creek, blowing out the top on the way. But since its a helicopter cut, I had to go all the way down there to butt off the pistol butt and top it to the right specs anyhow, and so then i was in one of those awful positions with a stick you have to cut laying downhill on a 60 degree plus slope on top of all those sidehill snow covered (think "well lubed") stems.
> Adding insult to injury, is that what its called?
> And thinking to myself, "cant get no production like that" Argh.
> Love it every minute anyhow. But damn it can test your patience sometimes.


I know exactly what your talking about im curently working along the missippi river here and i found me some pretty nasty ground. Its not as steep but its reallly rocky and the snow is knee deep it makes for a long day. My caulks dont do much good on this hill either .Do the red wood spikes maake a difference in snow? This hill wouldnt be bad with out the snow.


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## AT sawyer (Jan 17, 2010)

*"Textured wedges"*

Before I go out, I take a coarse rasp to my wedges to put some real texture on them. With the exception of the toothed wedges, most are too smooth. I do most of my bucking with a crosscut saw, so the kerf is real narrow and the wedges need to get a good grip early. 

One thing I've noticed about hammering wedges is the sound they make just before popping out. The tighter they get, the higher the pitch of the sound they make when hit. When they start to "ring", I stop hammering and put in another wedge somewhere else. You might not hear this with a saw running and your ears plugged. That sound also puts me on notice that maybe I should be underbucking the rest of the cut.


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## GASoline71 (Jan 17, 2010)

Gologit said:


> I've never seen the point in taking any time to look for a wedge that's probably clear over in the next county.



HAHAHAHA! Yep... 

Gary


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## Burvol (Jan 17, 2010)

*Sand*

If a guy is going to be pounding a lot of wedges in frozen wood, try bringing a small sandwich baggie of really fine sand to work with you in your rigging sack. That is the stuff to use for traction.


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## slowp (Jan 17, 2010)

Gologit said:


> : I've never seen the point in taking any time to look for a wedge that's probably clear over in the next county.



Not to worry, I usually find them. Then get a bit :censored: (but now I see more of a reason for it and won't get so PO.d) that they get left out there which is another reason for the enviros to whine about logging. I pack them out. Just another part of the babysitting job.

I don't like packing out empty soup cans and sticky power drink of the month plastic bottles. If I find a gallon jug left, I'm emptying the water and up the hill it goes. I did not pack out the discarded (by the rigging crew) #### magazine. Heaven only knows what they did with it!

OK, back to wedges. The raspy ones price started at $2.50 in the box in the middle of the aisle. Not being a faller, I did not buy any. Although they might make good shims for things like hot tubs.


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## joesawer (Jan 17, 2010)

slowp said:


> Not to worry, I usually find them. Then get a bit :censored: (but now I see more of a reason for it and won't get so PO.d) that they get left out there which is another reason for the enviros to whine about logging. I pack them out. Just another part of the babysitting job.
> 
> I don't like packing out empty soup cans and sticky power drink of the month plastic bottles. If I find a gallon jug left, I'm emptying the water and up the hill it goes. I did not pack out the discarded (by the rigging crew) #### magazine. Heaven only knows what they did with it!
> 
> OK, back to wedges. The raspy ones price started at $2.50 in the box in the middle of the aisle. Not being a faller, I did not buy any. Although they might make good shims for things like hot tubs.





The magazine was left by the hippies who where studying on how to sabotage the job.
They smoked some pot and forgot the magazine and figured sabotaging the job would be to much work.
The rigging crew does not have time to look at #### at work and would never live down being caught with it. Lol it would be freakin great to catch them at it though. Do you have any idea how much grief a crew could give some poor soul?


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## slowp (Jan 17, 2010)

joesawer said:


> The magazine was left by the hippies who where studying on how to sabotage the job.
> They smoked some pot and forgot the magazine and figured sabotaging the job would be to much work.
> The rigging crew does not have time to look at #### at work and would never live down being caught with it. Lol it would be freakin great to catch them at it though. Do you have any idea how much grief a crew could give some poor soul?



The young hooktender made into a yarder engineer for a while was able to study #### while running the yarder and eating junkfood. He probably handed his reading material on. Recycling at it's finest. There may have been a few delays for the crew in the brush to get some reading in. It was a gyppo outfit that went through crew guys pretty fast. They were in and out of jail quite a bit, except for the chaser, hooktender/yarder engineer, fallers, and owner. I couldn't keep up with the turnover on the rigging crew. 

I think the last couple of guys were doing something stronger than pot. But at least they could read or maybe just looked at the pictures?


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## Greystoke (Jan 17, 2010)

Burvol said:


> If a guy is going to be pounding a lot of wedges in frozen wood, try bringing a small sandwich baggie of really fine sand to work with you in your rigging sack. That is the stuff to use for traction.



Good advice! That is what I always found worked best for me too.


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## Gologit (Jan 17, 2010)

slowp said:


> Not to worry, I usually find them. Then get a bit :censored: (but now I see more of a reason for it and won't get so PO.d) that they get left out there which is another reason for the enviros to whine about logging. I pack them out. Just another part of the babysitting job.



Hang on to those wedges you find. If a faller is having a bad day (just listen for the sound of about ten minutes of heavy wedge knocking, a short silence, and then some really loud cussing) you could probably make some pocket money selling him an extra wedge or two. Same with those firewood cutters you're always stumbling over. 

If you find any with my initials scratched in them I want half of whatever you sell them for.


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## slowp (Jan 17, 2010)

Yup, I loaned a wedge to the firewood cutters that were in the way. He seemed to only know one way to cut and that way doesn't always work too well on blowdown. 

So, a couple years ago, I found a bar left down in the unit--Carlton brand. I'm sure that didn't get flung across the county. Or did it?


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## tramp bushler (Jan 18, 2010)

You guys were busy today .. I worked all day , had a good day . Would have prefered the day off ............ The trick of course is to not have to beat wedges .. I seldom do , but once in a while I get hung in a buck ... I hate puting in a wedge unless I need to , and you won,t know if you need to until your chain stops going round and the saw makes that wwwhhhhhuuuaaaa wwwwhhhuuuaaa sound followed by a :censored::censored:......I do alot of buckin standing on the log using the top of the bar any way , but then I,m not cutting helicopter wood either .........One reason I didn,t want to cut for the birds , Who in the world wants to limb the bottom side of a log .... I don,t mind 2and a half sides , But the bottom . specially in big red cedar ....YUK ....That is the wonderful thing about polockin with a 009 Madill They will limb almost anything for a guy ..... Shovel loggin also ...!!:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## hammerlogging (Jan 18, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> One reason I didn,t want to cut for the birds , Who in the world wants to limb the bottom side of a log .... I don,t mind 2and a half sides , But the bottom . specially in big red cedar ....YUK ....That is the wonderful thing about polockin with a 009 Madill They will limb almost anything for a guy ..... Shovel loggin also ...!!:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:



True that man. The whole "have to be done" thing gets old, everyone likes to say "#### it" every once in a while, let the loggers deal with your mess. 

Our line is...... "#### the hookers" for when we bail on a stick and not get some limb or something cut off. We dont mean it, but it sure is easy to say!


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## tramp bushler (Jan 18, 2010)

Hammer , are you gettin up to go to work .????? What time is it there??


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## bitzer (Jan 18, 2010)

AT sawyer said:


> One thing I've noticed about hammering wedges is the sound they make just before popping out. The tighter they get, the higher the pitch of the sound they make when hit. When they start to "ring", I stop hammering and put in another wedge somewhere else. You might not hear this with a saw running and your ears plugged. That sound also puts me on notice that maybe I should be underbucking the rest of the cut.



I hear the pingin with the saw runnin! That can mean some fun wedging is ahead of you.


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## AT sawyer (Jan 18, 2010)

Usually means the wedge is coming your way.......soon.


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## hammerlogging (Jan 18, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> Hammer , are you gettin up to go to work .????? What time is it there??



Yeah, maybe check in over a cup of coffee while the morning meat selection is sizzling, leave at about 4:30. Im in eastern time zone. Its evening now.


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## tramp bushler (Jan 19, 2010)

It is still dark here till 9 am so I was up late typing away ..


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## tramp bushler (Jan 19, 2010)

AT sawyer said:


> Usually means the wedge is coming your way.......soon.


.

And when your ax is BOUNCING off the wedge , you know you need to do something different ....


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## bullbuck (Jan 19, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> .
> 
> And when your ax is BOUNCING off the wedge , you know you need to do something different ....



a long hanldled sledge hammer comes in handy when wedging big stuff off of highways powerlines etc.,dont wanna lug it with you everywhere you go though


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## slowp (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm not sure where the baseball bat disappeared to.


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## bullbuck (Jan 20, 2010)

that baseball bat might work for hippie and whatever else you find on the roadway up there,but a good 8 pound sledge with a good man at the handle can definately either loosen teeth up or knock it over,one or the other.be careful with those alders slowp,just hackin on ya


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## ms290 (Jan 25, 2010)

i dont wedge anything unless i get stuck beside a fence. I have had a few close calls when the tree comes down. nearly landed a big red on a fence. Missed said fence by a quarter inch or so. same tree almost took out my saw with it. had a heart attack becuase of it. had to sit out for about 20 minutes becuase i could barely breath enough to say im still alive. For those stubborn trees that dont want to take a plastic wedge hatchet and axe heads work very well and give superp lift on a short distance.


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## Turkeyslayer (Jan 25, 2010)

ms290 said:


> i dont wedge anything unless i get stuck beside a fence. I have had a few close calls when the tree comes down. nearly landed a big red on a fence. Missed said fence by a quarter inch or so. same tree almost took out my saw with it. had a heart attack becuase of it. had to sit out for about 20 minutes becuase i could barely breath enough to say im still alive. For those stubborn trees that dont want to take a plastic wedge hatchet and axe heads work very well and give superp lift on a short distance.



I put a wedge in anything much over 12" for added safety and control, and to prevent the tree from sitting back on the bar. If you cut many trees you will learn that wedges are your friend.


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## tramp bushler (Jan 25, 2010)

290 , you use a steel wedge for lifting a tree for very long and you will discover why we use plastic wedges ....


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## ms290 (Jan 26, 2010)

tramp bushler said:


> 290 , you use a steel wedge for lifting a tree for very long and you will discover why we use plastic wedges ....



Do tell. i need to keep refining my technique. Im better than i used to be with sloping back cuts and barbers chairs.

I now use what i have learned here. I wedge and back cut leaving give or take depending on tree size an inch of hinge wood.


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## Burvol (Jan 26, 2010)

Picture #4

Square your body and legs up to the tree (chest facing not shoulder), open up your stance, lock that thumb around the bars and forget the sloped back cut.


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## ms290 (Jan 26, 2010)

Burvol said:


> Picture #3
> 
> Starting new thread so i dont jack the OP's


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