Alternate Notch Cut

[Lou]

When my Pioneer 20" bar was pinched in a standing Doug Fir the Gent that sharpened my chains came to my rescue. He made 2 parallel cuts if the face the width of his bar apart then plunge cut between these 2 cuts to create the notch cut.

I imitated his method for quite a while and only after coming here and getting my Husky have I stopped. I am also guilty of chasing the hinge until finding this site. Thank you Ladies and Gents.

Now my question: Is this an appropriate method for creating a notch cut? If not please explain why not?
If good thing I'm curious about why also. Again please explain

 

[greengoblin]

When my Pioneer 20" bar was pinched in a standing Doug Fir the Gent that sharpened my chains came to my rescue. He made 2 parallel cuts if the face the width of his bar apart then plunge cut between these 2 cuts to create the notch cut.

I imitated his method for quite a while and only after coming here and getting my Husky have I stopped. I am also guilty of chasing the hinge until finding this site. Thank you Ladies and Gents.

Now my question: Is this an appropriate method for creating a notch cut? If not please explain why not?
If good thing I'm curious about why also. Again please explain

I dont know why anybody would do this to create a notch. For felling a tree of any size at all the notch would close pretty quick doing it this way. I must be missing something.

 

[Bermie]

I remember my instructor telling us about this kind of cut, he has been in the industry for 30+ years. We were just chatting in a break, he drew it for us, I think he said it was mostly used in forestry and logging 'back in the day.'

 

[stihl 440]

Gap

When my Pioneer 20" bar was pinched in a standing Doug Fir the Gent that sharpened my chains came to my rescue. He made 2 parallel cuts if the face the width of his bar apart then plunge cut between these 2 cuts to create the notch cut.

I imitated his method for quite a while and only after coming here and getting my Husky have I stopped. I am also guilty of chasing the hinge until finding this site. Thank you Ladies and Gents.

Now my question: Is this an appropriate method for creating a notch cut? If not please explain why not?
If good thing I'm curious about why also. Again please explain

You mean the GAP. That is what it is called, it is primarily used by fallers out west falling the big ones. But I am going to try it sometime next time I run into a big softwood. I do my notch GOL style, down cut then undercut (mine is level), and 1/4 to 1/5 of the way into the tree. And my downcut angles range from 45 to 90 degrees. :rockn:

 

[Haywire Haywood]

What is "Chasing the hinge"?

Ian

 

[Patrick62]

I need to re-read Dent's book

The "gap" sounds a lot like a "kerf" notch to me.
Maybe I don't understand either.

There are a bunch of ways to drop a tree! Some of them are a bit more hazardous than others!

Today I dropped a 22" Dougy that was perfectly balanced. Nice notch, back cut then wedges. Finished the cutting, turned off the saw, and put it away.

Tap, tap, tap, .... tap .... CraSH! I love it when it works right!

-Pat

 

[sILlogger]

What is "Chasing the hinge"?

Ian

on a hardwood i would consider "chasing the hinge" as cutting the backup fast enough to keep the tree from splitting, i also call it chasing them off the stump when match cutting(no notch, start the saw in and walk around it) but this might not be what you are looking for

 

[John Ellison]

I think you are talking about a block notch. There is no > as in a conventional, humboldt or open face. The three cuts are at right angles. I believe it is strictly a redwood method for fragile wood. Usually used in conjunction with a snipe and gets the butt on the ground first. The hinge is flexible and lets the butt start moving down before the face ever closes.
I have never fell redwood and most of what little I know about this is what I have read, so I might have it all wrong.
But, I have experimented with the cut just to see what happens. Not sure but I believe it would only be used on a straight forward fall where there is no side lean. One of the trees(pine) that I was butchering had a fair side lean. Tapered hinge. As the tree started to fall the hinge collapsed on the far side and it missed the intended lay by a mile. The hinge is not supported like it is in a v notch. If the grain spirals at all the hinge wood could be broken before it ever moves.
Again I know very little about this and could very well have been doing something bassackwards. But if you are going to play around with it make sure you have plenty of room.

 

[John Ellison]

Not sure, but I believe chasing the hinge is what the majority of fallers do as opposed to bore cut and release, at least in some parts of the country. Lots of discussions on here about which method to use. To be comfortable with either requires experience.
It kind of like driving a car when you come to a light that changes to yellow. Decide and act quickly. You have to know just how far you can push it without becoming dangerous. You have to be looking around(up) to see what other hazards there might be.

 

[SawTroll]

The "gap" sounds a lot like a "kerf" notch to me.
Maybe I don't understand either. ....

In this area the single kerf "notch" is pretty common, and I use it a lot on smaller trees, when the exact direction of the fall doesn't matter.

That is not what this tread is about, though.......

 

[stihl 440]

gap

The GAP is 2 parallel horizontal cuts made about 4-6 inches apart, then where they meet the saw is bored in with the grain vertically strait in from both sides to take the piece out. The notch removed will look like a half circle. :rockn: And yes it is mostly used on redwwod and cedar.

 

[Lou]

The GAP is 2 parallel horizontal cuts made about 4-6 inches apart, then where they meet the saw is bored in with the grain vertically strait in from both sides to take the piece out. The notch removed will look like a half circle. :rockn: And yes it is mostly used on redwwod and cedar.

That is exactly what I meant except I only cut 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the tree, and so did my bar (still in tree) rescuer. He is old school and today drops few trees, Jonsered dealer.
I used this as a directional cut where ± 100° is all I need (I'm smart enough to call the pros when directionality matters). The beauty of this method is almost zero wasted firewood and flat surfaces work better with the splitter.
Provided I have ample falling room is this a valid method?

As I understand it chasing the hinge is a back cut probably lower than it should be and the cut is continued until the tree starts to topple.

 

[GASoline71]

Dude... unless you're faliin' BIG timber (say 4 foot dbh or bigger)... you're wasting your time.

Just stick with the basics... conventional or Humboldt.

Gary

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Agreed, a big, open square backed face like that has it's place in exceptionally large timber. Beyond that, keep it simple.

 

[GASoline71]

Go buy Gerry Beranek's book... "High Climbers and Timber Fallers". You'll see exactly what that cut is used for.

Gary

 

[Lou]

Go buy Gerry Beranek's book... "High Climbers and Timber Fallers". You'll see exactly what that cut is used for.

Gary

Danke Gary.

 

[joesawer]

It is a block face. A gap is tapered, with a small vertical flat at the back of the face.
As far as it collapsing becouse of grain defects, there is great debate among old fallers if it is better to break the face out so that the natural grain forms the back or to saw it out. I do know that spike knots make breaking it out clean very difficult.
For it to work right a sipe has to be used. If not, two radious edges meet and compress and tend to cam the tree to the side. I suspect that is what happened in Mr. Ellison's case.
With a sipe the flat top contacts a long flat line at the top of the sipe and for the tree to continue forward the hinge must break. At the point of contacting the sipe there are suddenly two pivot points. The hinge and the sipe. The hinge is pulled upward at an angle that helps to break it with out splitting and fiber pulling as bad.
I totally agree that unless you are cutting large timber it is more trouble than its worth. And without a sipe it is inconsistant at best.

 

[ray benson]

Old big timber technique.

 

[stihl 440]

+1

Go buy Gerry Beranek's book... "High Climbers and Timber Fallers". You'll see exactly what that cut is used for.

Gary

+1 Gary! I have both his books, awesome! :rockn:

 

[Wismer]

I do my notch GOL style

whats GOL style?