Falling pics 11/25/09

[forestryworks]

The local paper came out and did a little story on me and the snagfalling work I've been doing. Here are some of the pics he took.

This tree was another double. I didn't want to cut where the double was - larger than the bar length. I could have either springboarded and cut higher above the double or cut low. So I cut low. I hit a little dirt falling out the dead rotten double before falling the rest of the tree. Saw cut a tad crooked. Or maybe I held it a tad crooked

 

[forestryworks]

 

[forestryworks]

 

[Metals406]

Great pics Jameson! Makes me want to go cut some trees down!!

 

[RandyMac]

After cutting out the dead half of this double, I had to fall the other half, a good live tree. This is the result.

The big chunk that pulled out of the log, it's as stout as concrete. It won't move at all.

As you can see I missed my lay pretty good. It still didn't hit the trail though.

A deeper, steeper undercut might have helped there. You are doing good.

 

[forestryworks]

A deeper, steeper undercut might have helped there. You are doing good.

Thanks for the tip, I see it now. And thanks for the good word.

 

[forestryworks]

Great pics Jameson! Makes me want to go cut some trees down!!

You bet. Maybe sometime I'll get a video, then my mistakes will really show

 

[RandyMac]

Form a picture of what you want the tree to do, what it will do as the undercut closes, how the hinge will tear. After you have the first cut done, use the spikes as a pivot, now swing the bar down, keeping in mind the picture of the undercut closing as you do that. Too shallow causes more problems than too deep, not enough angle, well you know that one. The 1/3 rule is ok, don't get carried away, too deep a cut can get noisy or pinch city will be found. I used a 45% undercut mostly, yep, nearly halfway through.

 

[stihl sawing]

Great pics, Did it make you nervous with them watching you and taking pics. Some nice cuttin you're doing.

 

[forestryworks]

Great pics, Did it make you nervous with them watching you and taking pics. Some nice cuttin you're doing.

I mis-matched on the face cut a bit, but I re-cut and got it done. Thanks for the good word.

 

[oldirty]

Form a picture of what you want the tree to do, what it will do as the undercut closes, how the hinge will tear. After you have the first cut done, use the spikes as a pivot, now swing the bar down, keeping in mind the picture of the undercut closing as you do that. Too shallow causes more problems than too deep, not enough angle, well you know that one. The 1/3 rule is ok, don't get carried away, too deep a cut can get noisy or pinch city will be found. I used a 45% undercut mostly, yep, nearly halfway through.

siiick pic man!

 

[slowp]

Happy Days

Happy days are here. Moderately sized trees are hitting the ground. He started falling today. The trees are marked haphazardly and there's a lot of hunting. The point of the harvest is to open it up around maples so there will be better habitat for the slugs or snails. Whatever, there's some tall second growth in here.

The faller is happy, he lives just across "the street" and his pickup won't even warm up to get up here.

I didn't want to take my hardhat off for scale. Branches were coming down. I used a full roll of flagging, feathering it out for effect.
Note the rot.

A long walk, but not much limbing. Nice trees here.

 

[forestryworks]

That looks like fun

 

[slowp]

He says it takes a bit of thought at each tree. They have to come down towards the skid trails, without damaging the others, and there are way more others than there are cut trees. They make a nice noise. I think I'll download some shaky video that I made to mainly get the noise.<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BNMI7WtrxG0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BNMI7WtrxG0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[Greystoke]

Sometimes I miss cutting that nice clean coastal second growth.

 

[palogger]

hey slowp how will that block be skidded? skidder or highline

 

[slowp]

Skidder. The owner was there clearing the road out with a little cat with a winch. This is the second entry in the second growth, so there's old trails that work.

I was up on the hill outside of the unit trying to get a good video but there's too many trees in the way.

 

[forestryworks]

good ol' juniper... a pain in the ass!

 

[teatersroad]

indeed pita, had to delete and repost cropped pics., so out of order.

Treading lightly and learning what I can here. Cutting Western Juniper for a living right now. Admittedly not timber, but trees anyways. A bugger to get in to cut. Contracts for clearing are in the hundreds up to a thousand acres, terrain can be flat or quite steep. Trees are any shape and size, with the med. average on this 800 acre contract at maybe 18" dia at stump and 20' tall, larger trees at >26" and no more than 50' tall, and a lot of small stems that add up to maybe 250 stems per acre +/- 100. They can get pretty shrubby, with branches coming out of the duff. Not a very merchandisable wood. Firewood, fenceposts, house logs, ag. grade, and a few saw logs. Most of what you see will be burned in rx fire in a couple years. Purpose of this thinning is for rangeland and watershed enhancement. Ancients, Cow trees, and a select few get amnesty. 98% get cut. Anyways, I appreciate learning here. First pic, maybe two stems at 20", 35' tall. The near distance in pics. is to be cut. You can barely make out Mt. Jefferson in one pic. Closer in real life, along with The Sisters and others. Regards.

 

[forestryworks]

Here's some poor quality video a friend of mine took on their blackberry, short little clip. Falling a roadside hazard, about a 20ft. tall stob, no top and fairly solid.

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