Nice job! I'm no tree jacking expert but try and leave the jack handle up. This will prevent the jack handle from flipping up, if the tree sets back ( gust of wind). Which will prevent us from getting hit in places we don't want too. 
Falling pics 11/25/09
- Thread starter Burvol
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bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Nice work Northman! I usually get my seat and back cut in first, but looks like it worked out.
Some shots from my last job. Standing about 15 feet up marking my length on this one. About the only spot on the job where you could see any distance. Lots of maple re-gen under the big maple tops. There was about 10mbf laying out in there somewhere
Using the whole back corner to pull this maple around. Yeah I pulled some fibers, but sometimes you gotta get a hole in the canopy goin.
Coos bay on a HARD leanin maple. Got 4 10s and a 12 out of this one.
Close up stump shot of that coos. Yep some pull again, but it beats the #### out of boring it. It pulled out of the stump too, so it didn't get too far into the butt.
About 25mbf of maple in the shot and another 10mbf of ash to the right. I had more wood stacked around the corner to the left of the shot too. This job busheled up pretty quick.
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Some shots from my last job. Standing about 15 feet up marking my length on this one. About the only spot on the job where you could see any distance. Lots of maple re-gen under the big maple tops. There was about 10mbf laying out in there somewhere
Using the whole back corner to pull this maple around. Yeah I pulled some fibers, but sometimes you gotta get a hole in the canopy goin.
Coos bay on a HARD leanin maple. Got 4 10s and a 12 out of this one.
Close up stump shot of that coos. Yep some pull again, but it beats the #### out of boring it. It pulled out of the stump too, so it didn't get too far into the butt.
About 25mbf of maple in the shot and another 10mbf of ash to the right. I had more wood stacked around the corner to the left of the shot too. This job busheled up pretty quick.
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bitzer
******** Timber Expert
First tree of the day on this particular day. This is what a lot of the timber looked like.
Pullin a really hard leanin maple away from the main trail. 4 12s in this one.
Jack seat in an ash. Was under the gun to get this last tree cut on Friday. Had the lowboy comin to move my machine and I had this one to get right by the landing. No time to screw around. The jack is a 30 ton stubby.
Lifted pretty well. Snugging the wedges with the axe, then pumpin the jack and so on.
I put the face so far forward to keep pressure off of the hinge on this one. Also the jack is not quite square to the hinge. I changed my mind a little on where to put the tree after I had the seat in. 12" wedges (or were) for scale.
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Pullin a really hard leanin maple away from the main trail. 4 12s in this one.
Jack seat in an ash. Was under the gun to get this last tree cut on Friday. Had the lowboy comin to move my machine and I had this one to get right by the landing. No time to screw around. The jack is a 30 ton stubby.
Lifted pretty well. Snugging the wedges with the axe, then pumpin the jack and so on.
I put the face so far forward to keep pressure off of the hinge on this one. Also the jack is not quite square to the hinge. I changed my mind a little on where to put the tree after I had the seat in. 12" wedges (or were) for scale.
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bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Thank you sir!
twochains
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yeh bitzer...that looks good man!
Bitz -- can you give us a sketch of how that hinge is mounted to the jack? I bet I'm not the only person interested.
RVALUE
Addicted to ArboristSite
First tree of the day on this particular day. This is what a lot of the timber looked like.
Pullin a really hard leanin maple away from the main trail. 4 12s in this one.
Jack seat in an ash. Was under the gun to get this last tree cut on Friday. Had the lowboy comin to move my machine and I had this one to get right by the landing. No time to screw around. The jack is a 30 ton stubby.
Lifted pretty well. Snugging the wedges with the axe, then pumpin the jack and so on.
I put the face so far forward to keep pressure off of the hinge on this one. Also the jack is not quite square to the hinge. I changed my mind a little on where to put the tree after I had the seat in. 12" wedges (or were) for scale.
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I welded 3/4 inch spike tips to my plates to stop kick out. Works perfect. They would look like the tip on an air blow gun. They really bite and when it kicks out it is really bad.
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Thanks Clint!
Madhatte-here ya go.
I'm no metal worker, but I'm ok with a stick welder. Of course when I do it again this thing will be different.
I snapped a pin on a big maple last Feb. and you can see how the load bent the up and down parts of the hinge. The pin I had in there did not have load rating that I could find, but it was what I had at the time and I needed something that day. The bolt I have in there now should shear at around 40,000 lbs which is about 20,000 lbs less than I would like. I will definitely go bigger or come up with a different hinge next time around.
This thing has jacked 20-30 trees and you can see how the holes are already getting out of round.
You can see the out of round here too. The extra cross members between the main hinges were added on the jobsite after I snapped that pin last Feb. I figured it would help stop the spreading.
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Madhatte-here ya go.
I'm no metal worker, but I'm ok with a stick welder. Of course when I do it again this thing will be different.
I snapped a pin on a big maple last Feb. and you can see how the load bent the up and down parts of the hinge. The pin I had in there did not have load rating that I could find, but it was what I had at the time and I needed something that day. The bolt I have in there now should shear at around 40,000 lbs which is about 20,000 lbs less than I would like. I will definitely go bigger or come up with a different hinge next time around.
This thing has jacked 20-30 trees and you can see how the holes are already getting out of round.
You can see the out of round here too. The extra cross members between the main hinges were added on the jobsite after I snapped that pin last Feb. I figured it would help stop the spreading.
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bitzer
******** Timber Expert
I've got some texturing on the top and bottom plate. I didn't want to go too nuts cause I figured the tree might take my jack for a ride! That and if you have the jack snugged up real tight, but you need to back it out of there for some reason it could be a real ##### to get it out. So you've had a jack kick out?
Thanks Bob.
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
As said by Burgess Meredith in grumpy old men- "you can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see what gets filled first." :msp_biggrin:
With my job it's almost feast or famine. There's always work it just might not be where I want to be. When the weather cools off some I want to be outside enjoying it.
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Yep, fall is my favorite time of year to be in the woods. Good smells. That chill in the air that gets yer bones moving. Good production time.
RVALUE
Addicted to ArboristSite
As the tree rises, the angle goes from square, to angled. (This can be adjusted with an angled top cut, but that's more difficult. )
My spikes are 100% tapered, so they don't seem to stick. I bent my jack when a 48 inch oak came backwards.
But my jack is powered hydraulic, so that would behave different, as opposed to a standard contained jack.
I have about 8 inches travel.
HuskStihl
Chairin'em for the sound
That was really smooth and solid looking NM. I like and try to copy how you dog the near corner and ride it through. I would like to not fight the saw like you do. The jacking with wedge backup looked very smooth.
You boys want to have "the talk" with bitz about fiber pull and how to avoid it? I would, but I already gave him the talk about "where babies come from, and how to prevent that":jester:
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
Mdavlee- Sounds like here. Two weeks ago it was 95 on a Tuesday. By Thursday night it was in the low 40s and Low 60s during the day. Last night we almost dipped into the 30s. No frost yet though. I bet it did up north though.
bitzer
******** Timber Expert
I see. That's why I put the pivot on mine. To move with the tree. I was always worried about a bottle jack spitting out. Theres a lot of wood to move in a 4 foot oak. When you starting getting up into the 4-5 inch range on the jack its time to start getting nervous. I mean I start getting wary when I get up over a double stack of wedges. Then you need to make your own wedge out of piece of wood or a block or something to snug in the back cut. Depending on the height of the tree, every inch of lift can move the top 5-10 feet in hardwoods. I've read that in conifers every inch will move the top over more than that.
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