imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
Well, since there's another thread going....
We were doing some knock downs today, didn't get any pics. They were all dead eucs but not too brittle, you could hinge them maybe 20 degrees before they snapped the hinge wood which is still well before the hinge closed. We had one that had a second leader on a moderate - hard back lean over some power lines. I wouldn't have tried pulling it if it was my own job, I tend to play safe.... but I was contracting and the principal contractor wanted me to have a go at pulling it over. I told him it was 50/50 on whether it took the power out or not, and that it was his dime and he still wanted to go for it.
Got a good line set in it, about 2/3 up. Had a big heavy tracked stump grinder to pull with. Got the guy to take up the slack until the head moved about 6 inches. Tree was about 28"DBH, about 45' high. Totally dead, maybe 4 or 5 years gone. Made a 2/5 depth gunning cut, then a conventional slope cut at 45 degrees, then a humboldt style slope cut at 45 degrees to end up with a 90 degree face. I bring the slop cuts high/low of the gun by about 1/2" then bust them out so it leaves me with some gap where they meet. I think this gives it a bit more flex.
So the contractor (who is a stump grinder, not a faller or tree guy) comes and takes a look and wants to criticise, says I should have cut a much narrower face etc... To which I reply 'oh, you wanted to cut it yourself? I thought you hired me to do the falling because you don't know how to fall'. He asks how I'm going to make the back cut, and I tell him level with the gun, no stump shot and a fairly thick hinge.... about 15%. He insists that I use 2" of stump throw on the back cut because he says it will help the dead wood flex more.
His dime, so I used the 2" and it came over fine. I've often wondered if I could get a bit more flex in dead trees though and don't ha any hard evidence on where the back cut really ought to be. I'm plenty happy with my live tree technique. Any theories?
Shaun
We were doing some knock downs today, didn't get any pics. They were all dead eucs but not too brittle, you could hinge them maybe 20 degrees before they snapped the hinge wood which is still well before the hinge closed. We had one that had a second leader on a moderate - hard back lean over some power lines. I wouldn't have tried pulling it if it was my own job, I tend to play safe.... but I was contracting and the principal contractor wanted me to have a go at pulling it over. I told him it was 50/50 on whether it took the power out or not, and that it was his dime and he still wanted to go for it.
Got a good line set in it, about 2/3 up. Had a big heavy tracked stump grinder to pull with. Got the guy to take up the slack until the head moved about 6 inches. Tree was about 28"DBH, about 45' high. Totally dead, maybe 4 or 5 years gone. Made a 2/5 depth gunning cut, then a conventional slope cut at 45 degrees, then a humboldt style slope cut at 45 degrees to end up with a 90 degree face. I bring the slop cuts high/low of the gun by about 1/2" then bust them out so it leaves me with some gap where they meet. I think this gives it a bit more flex.
So the contractor (who is a stump grinder, not a faller or tree guy) comes and takes a look and wants to criticise, says I should have cut a much narrower face etc... To which I reply 'oh, you wanted to cut it yourself? I thought you hired me to do the falling because you don't know how to fall'. He asks how I'm going to make the back cut, and I tell him level with the gun, no stump shot and a fairly thick hinge.... about 15%. He insists that I use 2" of stump throw on the back cut because he says it will help the dead wood flex more.
His dime, so I used the 2" and it came over fine. I've often wondered if I could get a bit more flex in dead trees though and don't ha any hard evidence on where the back cut really ought to be. I'm plenty happy with my live tree technique. Any theories?
Shaun
