Falling cuts

Wesspur
Rugged made
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I've helped fallers with this bad habit. To me its about muscle memory. Getting on a knee does help. I've theorized on an invention, but I better wait on that one. I know that facing on one side and backcutting from the other really reveals some faults in my saw handling, so I avoid it.

I will, over and over, have them hold their saw down and then BANG hit the level position. See it, feel it. Eyes closed. Then I will hold the tip perfectly level, their eyes shut, until they fell it. Repetition, over and over, and it works. Also, stump reading. Hounding them about stumps, "what is wrong with this one" "what do you need to do to make it perfect?" make perfect stumps!

I'm sure I'm not the only full timer who will catch a bad habit. the important this is to identify it and then fix it.
 
big thing that helped me is just to stop and look double check that it really is level, don't just hack it down, but take your time and do it right, speed will come later. granted towards the end of the day mine start getting pretty crooked... I blame my belly though
 
hammerlogging said:
I've helped fallers with this bad habit. To me its about muscle memory. Getting on a knee does help. I've theorized on an invention, but I better wait on that one. I know that facing on one side and backcutting from the other really reveals some faults in my saw handling, so I avoid it.

I will, over and over, have them hold their saw down and then BANG hit the level position. See it, feel it. Eyes closed. Then I will hold the tip perfectly level, their eyes shut, until they fell it. Repetition, over and over, and it works. Also, stump reading. Hounding them about stumps, "what is wrong with this one" "what do you need to do to make it perfect?" make perfect stumps!

I'm sure I'm not the only full timer who will catch a bad habit. the important this is to identify it and then fix it.
Click to expand...

I'll go weeks. Then all the sudden my back cuts start sloping down the far side. How annoying...
 
hammerlogging said:
I've helped fallers with this bad habit. To me its about muscle memory. Getting on a knee does help. I've theorized on an invention, but I better wait on that one. I know that facing on one side and backcutting from the other really reveals some faults in my saw handling, so I avoid it.

I will, over and over, have them hold their saw down and then BANG hit the level position. See it, feel it. Eyes closed. Then I will hold the tip perfectly level, their eyes shut, until they fell it. Repetition, over and over, and it works. Also, stump reading. Hounding them about stumps, "what is wrong with this one" "what do you need to do to make it perfect?" make perfect stumps!

I'm sure I'm not the only full timer who will catch a bad habit. the important this is to identify it and then fix it.
Click to expand...

+1
That is exactly how I teach them except I never tried to have them close their eyes to really feel it. I'll try next time. I also have them describe what's going on with their stumps and how to improve it. As said previously, they do catch it after a while.
 
4x4American said:
I'm happy you put that thought in my head...good thing to chew on. my 461r has got the dandy felling dogs and i will for sure use them as a guide from here on out. At work we just got half wrap 372's and their dogs are junk for falling, in lots of situations they dont grab anything and I'm not a fan. I was showing my 461r to my buddys pops whos nickname is woodcutter, been an east coast logger all his life, anyways, I was shootin the bull with him saturday and he was telling me that I'd hate the felling dogs on my saw when I get working with them in the bush. I said that I like them better than most smaller dogs I've worked with. My favorite is that you can stick the saw pretty much anywhere and it'll stay, second favorite part is that the dogs actually grab most of the time.
Click to expand...

I know what you're talking about. I was told to throw the dogs away back in days because we didn't want to lose any of the already short bars. Once I accidentally tried out a saw with large spikes, I was amazed how easy it was to operate on the stump and make the corners match, especially when the cutting position is not optimal.
 
Samlock said:
I know what you're talking about. I was told to throw the dogs away back in days because we didn't want to lose any of the already short bars. Once I accidentally tried out a saw with large spikes, I was amazed how easy it was to operate on the stump and make the corners match, especially when the cutting position is not optimal.
Click to expand...

Yup, from my experiences here out east, i've found that alot of people feel shorter bars are all the rage...i'm 6'1" and I hate bending over as much as i can avoid it, i prefer the longer bars for that, and they allow me to run larger felling dogs without losing important room on the bar, I have more wiggle room. I like to run a 32" or a 28" on my 461...the extra weight just makes ya stronger anyways, and wouldn't ya rather be stronger than weaker
 
Its like with everything some people get it and others dont. Ive had guys that get it in two weeks and guys that never get it. My guys wonder why myself and my other cutter seldom hit the ground or pinch a saw. You just feel it. Same as sharpening a saw.
 
Isna said:
Many of the guys I train do the same in the beginning. haven't found the perfect solution but I noticed putting one knee on the ground helps (instead of bending over). It is also much better to prevent back ache... Many employees have the same problem and I am open to any ideas to help solve it quickly. Worse is when they do a sloped face cut from one side of the tree and move to the other side of the tree to do the back cut, sloping the other way. They usually do end up "getting it" after a while.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, the nose of the bar pointing down. Was adviced to hold my right wrist straight and use the thumb to control throttle, instead of twisting your wrist to be able to rev with your finger.
Felt really strange at first but now it's second nature, the saw automatically sits level and my cuts are much cleaner.
 
056 kid said:
I'll go weeks. Then all the sudden my back cuts start sloping down the far side. How annoying...
Click to expand...

Yep, or you're hittin the corners day after day after day, to the point where you don't even check how clean your face is you just know. Then one day you're busting every damn face out thinkin wtf?

I tend to go low on my backcuts when I'm moving to fast.
 
Markus said:
I did the same thing, the nose of the bar pointing down. Was adviced to hold my right wrist straight and use the thumb to control throttle, instead of twisting your wrist to be able to rev with your finger.
Felt really strange at first but now it's second nature, the saw automatically sits level and my cuts are much cleaner.
Click to expand...

Interesting approach. I am actually training a guy that just can't get it. He's a really hard worker but he just wants to go too fast and doesn't stop to think and look at what he is doing. I will try that on him.
 
bitzer said:
Yep, or you're hittin the corners day after day after day, to the point where you don't even check how clean your face is you just know. Then one day you're busting every damn face out thinkin wtf?

I tend to go low on my backcuts when I'm moving to fast.
Click to expand...

Same here. Funny thing iv noticed, some of the best stumps iv made where when I was injured. Wonder how that works?
 
Because you cannot get away from screw ups then so you are more careful.
 

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