Bitzer,
The following applies to the trees leaning roughly 110 degrees form the intended lay- typical on slopes where most lean one way, about 75 degrees from the intended lay, but some leaning the other way somewhat. So, most of the timber will go where you want it, sidehill, but some have to be wedged or swung to line up with everything else. Ocassionally due to lean a tree will have to go opposite all the other trees but the stem is still parallel, and some monster red oaks you just have to dump because they'll go there anyhow or you'll bust butt wood pulling them so there is no point in pulling them. Bragging rights on pulling big valuable logs does not go very far with timber buyers if you bust a veneer log! I'll say this though, you have to be careful where you dump a tree when you have a whole hillside of sidehill timber bucked below you! You can easily get in a situation where you have a tree to top where you really don't want to be standing. Spend 3 minutes loooking at whot is hooked behind what stumps, etc to keep #### from rolling, maybe a locking cut to keep #### in place, and of course, the russian coupling, and then the line, "#### the hookers" cause they can deal with it!
After facing the tree I was cutting out the entire offside half of the tree and then backcutting, but they were often setting back instead of coming around so they would have to be wedged over anyhow. So now, if you will picture the remaining wood after facing, I am still cutting about half way through my hinge but if the back wood is a half circle, half a pie, I am taking out one of the three pieces of pie left, the most offside piece. This seems to make the tree swing around more often and more predictably toward the intended lay much better then taking out the whole half, the whole offfside as I was doing.
The eye is already way better, I could cut tomorrow but I am going to look at a new tract, something for the future. Vision is a little fuzzy, I was having a hard time seeing well enough to get ahead on filing, but no more eye cover is necessary, most of the time. It looks like I've been hanging out with the kid! Probably should be!
