Falling pics 11/25/09

[RVALUE]

yup, very well said. they think we hate trees, nothing could be further from the truth. what will we log if all the young trees die?

Remember: "Earth First. We'll log the rest of the planets later."

 

[Keen]

nice work there Keen. good example on that first stump of what I think the hinge should look like on oak. where are you getting those Windsor bars?

Thanks the tree in the first pic had a pretty good lean so it was plunged and bored. It has 12 foot of veneer in it so I made sure there wasn't any pull. I have been getting the bars from Ahlborn equipment, 24" for $28. They said they were rebadged Windsor to forester pro. The box says made in china so I doubt they really are. They hold up for me equal or better than the power match bars and at half the price I can't complain. Sad thing is I'm paying about the same price for a loop of 24" rm chain.

 

[tramp bushler]

Looks great. Nice looking forwarder too.

 

[Keen]

Thanks Tramp, It was listed for 22 and talked the dealer down to 16500. Changed a head gasket and a injector and runs like a champ. Haven't been able to burn more than 5 gals of fuel a day. I'm guessing with your terrain and timber out there forwarders are mighty rare?

 

[OlympicYJ]

We have some disease that sounds similar. As a former marker, I'll tell you that nobody can production mark a unit and please everybody. Also, if that maple thing is the same as out here, and they marked the area a year or two ahead of you, there's no way they could tell it was infected with whatever it is. I've got a dead maple that looked very healthy last year.

Marking is the introduction to forestry job. Now, it might help if you loggers suggest to the person in charge of the district that it might be nice for the markers to take a day and wander a unit with you. We can't all be faller gods and if nobody talks to the crew or shows them what is going on, they'll continue to do the same thing.

Also, there usually are no "university educated" folks out marking timber on crews, unless they are liberal arts grads who can't find another job.
Most folks I've worked with marking are locals or just folks who want to work in the woods.

I spent a morning "training" some fallers so they could mark. They did an excellent job. Excellent.

I hear ya Miss P. Quite a few of my fellow students are marking timber but most of em that are, are working for IDL. I do agree its hard to do it right and hard to please everyone. I've never done a marking like you guys are talking about but I've done a CT myself so I was selecting as I cut. It just takes some common sense which I'll agree allot of "university" educated lack. They just gotta get the experience with the help of more experienced foresters and input from the loggers. Like you and Nate I've found asking your loggers opinion and for their help is always a good idea and helps build a good working relationship.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bitzer]

Hey Keen is that a butt grapple or a bypass? I had a big ole beasty butt bucket on my franklin when I bought it. Got a bypass last Feb. and man production made a huge jump! Are you in the U.P. or lower Mich? I tried to order some stuff from Alhborn, but they said I needed to be a dealer or distributor or something. Also are all the wedges in the picture where they were when the tree tipped? I mean did you pound them all in there in all those spots?

 

[tramp bushler]

Now Bob ; don't be like me! :msp_ohmy:

 

[tramp bushler]

Thanks Tramp, It was listed for 22 and talked the dealer down to 16500. Changed a head gasket and a injector and runs like a champ. Haven't been able to burn more than 5 gals of fuel a day. I'm guessing with your terrain and timber out there forwarders are mighty rare?

Oh ya ; too many greeny's and other office trash around Alaska to have a good timber industry. Where I live in the Intrerior it is hood skidder/ forwarder country in the winter.

 

[madhatte]

I think every forester should have to cut a stand of their own marked timber and live off of what they cut before they are allowed to mark anything else in the future. This guy clearly had limited if any time with a saw in his hands. He was a government employee by the way.

As a government employee who has to train new guys to mark every year, I couldn't agree more. The guys who have cut some before ALWAYS do a better job of marking. The ones who never fail to drive me nuts are the ones who hire on just for the fire/haz pay and think that marking timber is somehow "beneath" them, or the guys from somewhere else who can't stomach the brush. I always train my guys to think ahead to not only how the cutter will cut, but how the skidder will hook up and pull, and also how the stand will look 5 years after the tree is gone. Sometimes it takes, often it doesn't. All I can do is keep trying. I can't be everywhere at once.

 

[Keen]

Hey Keen is that a butt grapple or a bypass? I had a big ole beasty butt bucket on my franklin when I bought it. Got a bypass last Feb. and man production made a huge jump! Are you in the U.P. or lower Mich? I tried to order some stuff from Alhborn, but they said I needed to be a dealer or distributor or something. Also are all the wedges in the picture where they were when the tree tipped? I mean did you pound them all in there in all those spots?

Its a butt grapple, I'll have to save some coin and get a bypass. Nothing like picking up a hand full of pulp sticks that don't pinch tight and tumble out and you have to play pickup sticks. Its reassuring to hear that it boosted production, so i'll put it on the "must have list". It was about 4 years ago that I got set up with Alhborn. I had a little chainsaw shop then, they didn't ask me for a tax ID number then. I wasn't aware that you had to be dealer. So I'll consider myself lucky. I would use the phase " I would like to set up a little chainsaw shop and try your product ..............lol see if that gets you a account. Im in central Michigan, the forwarder came out of the UP in Wakefield from Deliches. There was a nice looking 132 in lady smith I was temped to look at, but got them talked down enough on this one. My brother tipped the tree over with the wedges, I assume they were in the same spot. The double stack in the back looks a little to deep, so they may have been moved. He's a wedge pounding SOB! I like the notch and flop method.

 

[twochains]

A few pics of last week and the new toy. Some pretty nice oaks on this job. Everything thing over 16" dbh goes.

View attachment 313602View attachment 313603View attachment 313604

I don't understand the 2nd pic at all...where was the saw supposed to be cutting from? There are wedges everywhere. The tree seemed to wedge from 3 different angles and felled opposite if what seems to be a hinge maybe in the middle?? I mean am I looking at something wrong? If what I am seeing is correct, the tree is felled opposite of what seems to be a missed stump jump hinge, but the wedges indicate that the tree was wedged in the direction it is laying. Looks like the tree was cut from the sides of the notch all the way to the middle and then felled perpendicular to the gun cuts...but how? There are wedges all in there. Maybe it's me, I'm puzzled..however it is almost 3 am and I should be asleep because I have to wake up at 5...oh brother.

 

[1270d]

Its a butt grapple, I'll have to save some coin and get a bypass. Nothing like picking up a hand full of pulp sticks that don't pinch tight and tumble out and you have to play pickup sticks. Its reassuring to hear that it boosted production, so i'll put it on the "must have list". It was about 4 years ago that I got set up with Alhborn. I had a little chainsaw shop then, they didn't ask me for a tax ID number then. I wasn't aware that you had to be dealer. So I'll consider myself lucky. I would use the phase " I would like to set up a little chainsaw shop and try your product ..............lol see if that gets you a account. Im in central Michigan, the forwarder came out of the UP in Wakefield from Deliches. There was a nice looking 132 in lady smith I was temped to look at, but got them talked down enough on this one. My brother tipped the tree over with the wedges, I assume they were in the same spot. The double stack in the back looks a little to deep, so they may have been moved. He's a wedge pounding SOB! I like the notch and flop method.

I'm pretty sure I know the previous owners of that forwarder if you picked it up from Delich. They live about six miles from me. I think they went under about a year and a half or two years ago

 

[Keen]

I don't understand the 2nd pic at all...where was the saw supposed to be cutting from? There are wedges everywhere. The tree seemed to wedge from 3 different angles and felled opposite if what seems to be a hinge maybe in the middle?? I mean am I looking at something wrong? If what I am seeing is correct, the tree is felled opposite of what seems to be a missed stump jump hinge, but the wedges indicate that the tree was wedged in the direction it is laying. Looks like the tree was cut from the sides of the notch all the way to the middle and then felled perpendicular to the gun cuts...but how? There are wedges all in there. Maybe it's me, I'm puzzled..however it is almost 3 am and I should be asleep because I have to wake up at 5...oh brother.[/QU

He should of took the pic before he cut the hinge lol, the tree went exactly where it was suppose too. He maxed out his double stacks in back and his hinge was set how he wanted it. So he could drive wedges from just behind the hinge for added lift. Nothing special. The piece on the right of the picture that looks like a face is butt trim.

 

[Keen]

I'm pretty sure I know the previous owners of that forwarder if you picked it up from Delich. They live about six miles from me. I think they went under about a year and a half or two years ago

They said the previous owner traded this in on a fab tech I believe. They had it since march.

 

[Gologit]

As a government employee who has to train new guys to mark every year, I couldn't agree more. The guys who have cut some before ALWAYS do a better job of marking. The ones who never fail to drive me nuts are the ones who hire on just for the fire/haz pay and think that marking timber is somehow "beneath" them, or the guys from somewhere else who can't stomach the brush. I always train my guys to think ahead to not only how the cutter will cut, but how the skidder will hook up and pull, and also how the stand will look 5 years after the tree is gone. Sometimes it takes, often it doesn't. All I can do is keep trying. I can't be everywhere at once.

Thank you.

 

[HuskStihl]

He should of took the pic before he cut the hinge lol, the tree went exactly where it was suppose too. He maxed out his double stacks in back and his hinge was set how he wanted it. So he could drive wedges from just behind the hinge for added lift. Nothing special. The piece on the right of the picture that looks like a face is butt trim.

I know it's how it's done, but to an outsider falling a 40" tree with a 16" bar seems like a lot more work than necessary. The work and timber look great BTW

 

[slowp]

I would be interested in hearing more about your version of the maple disease.
It actually seems to effect most of our hardwoods, just some take longer to show symptoms. Basswood and black ash seem to last a bit longer as does yellow birch. The name I've heard it referred to is maple dieback or top dieback. The first sign of it is small tufts of green moss in the upper portion of the crown. Within a year or two there will be more dead branches with no bark. It will progress downward from the crown over the course of several years, eventually killing the whole tree.
Foresters in my area seem divided over this. Half(or so) seem to think this is a symptom of drought and the timber will recover, the other half is doing targeted clear cuts to try and nip the spread of the dieback. Lack of water/drought seems to be a bad argument since timber growing in areas that hold water all season are going as well.
There are some who think that our forest may be "turning over" and reverting to more of a conifer dominated ecosystem. Its hard not to agree in some areas as the white pine are coming up super thick in the understory.

It s pretty scary though, considering almost our entire logging and forestry industry is based around hardwood sawtimber. If it dies over the next 10 or 20 years...

I'll start a thread which will shortly disappear to the back realms somewhere. In fact, I think I already did a year or two ago so I won't.
Our native maples are dying. The first sign is usually a dead branch often near the top. Then, within a year, the tree is often dead. I've got one to cut down on a suitable day that looked perfectly healthy, is about 10" in diameter, and has just about lost all of its leaves. That's too early and I'm sure it is dead.

Our valley has been experiencing this since the 1990s. I've heard that a valley in Oregon has it too. When I was working, I called in disease specialist who had a hard time scheduling a day to come up from Oregon, but oohed and ahhed and chopped a lot of bark. We didn't hear anymore from her.

We've heard that it may be two things combined--root rot with a blight. I heard via this site that it is starting up to the north now, which is nearer to the Seattle/Olympia/Tacoma area which is the only place that counts in our state so maybe more researchers will take heed.

Until then, everybody in our area has a heck of a lot of maple firewood. I've now had 4 trees die from it on my little 5 acre parcel.

 

[Eccentric]

As a government employee who has to train new guys to mark every year, I couldn't agree more. The guys who have cut some before ALWAYS do a better job of marking. The ones who never fail to drive me nuts are the ones who hire on just for the fire/haz pay and think that marking timber is somehow "beneath" them, or the guys from somewhere else who can't stomach the brush. I always train my guys to think ahead to not only how the cutter will cut, but how the skidder will hook up and pull, and also how the stand will look 5 years after the tree is gone. Sometimes it takes, often it doesn't. All I can do is keep trying. I can't be everywhere at once.

Not many folks are willing to use the forward thinking needed to do that job well Nate.

 

[Keen]

I know it's how it's done, but to an outsider falling a 40" tree with a 16" bar seems like a lot more work than necessary. The work and timber look great BTW

Those are 24" bars I agree makes for more work but most of the timber is around 24". The biggest bar I own is 36" and wouldn't be worth putting on for the few biggens. Come on now! 16" were short barred over here but not that short, the 372 is at a angle facing away so the bar looks really short

 

[RandyMac]

I know it's how it's done, but to an outsider falling a 40" tree with a 16" bar seems like a lot more work than necessary.

how about a 12 footer with a 48"?