Falling pics 11/25/09

[madhatte]

WL is interesting in that the foliage is borne on spur shoots.

Called "fascicles" just like pines. A Larch is about halfway between a True Fir and a True Cedar, morphologically.

 

[RandyMac]

Thank you Nate, great pics and description. A very neat tree, looks like a pine, has wood like a DF. I am very familar with "spike tops" probably one third of OG Redwoods have them. I used to collect them and give them to folks who made things with them.

Jameson, YeeeHawww!!! again.

Morphologically speaking Nathan.

 

[bitzer]

Awesome pics Jameson! Just wondering, why did you back cut first?


Thats some beautiful country Sam! Nice pics!

 

[slowp]

Our safety gurus do not allow or did not allow larches to be climbed using spurs. You had to use a ladder. Our crew was climbing (even me) with spurs just to find out bark thicknesses. That lasted a week. Then we were told to cease and desist. I guess the bark is too loose and you are liable to lose traction. Plus we weren't properly trained by a smoke jumper, etc. etc.

I will have to take a picture. Yesterday on the east side, I missed a turn and ended up by a seed orchard. The trees are descended from trees I picked out in the 1970s. It made me feel old.

Back to larches. Newcomers to larch country often cut green "snags" for firewood and then can't figure out why the wood weighs so much. We called it the tree that dies every winter.

 

[RandyMac]

backcut first. To wedge and jack a leaner, cut, hammer/pump, cut some more, pound/pump, cut some more, exertion. You get to the point where you know that you have the lift you need and can put in a proper face cut. Works well with very tall trees and very large ones.

Jameson's adaptation was interesting and well done and he will have a back-up job making furniture.

 

[Ramblewood]

backcut first. To wedge and jack a leaner, cut, hammer/pump, cut some more, pound/pump, cut some more, exertion. You get to the point where you know that you have the lift you need and can put in a proper face cut. Works well with very tall trees and very large ones.

Jameson's adaptation was interesting and well done and he will have a back-up job making furniture.

Mr. Mac -
Will this method cause any binding when making the face cut ?

 

[slowp]

backcut first. To wedge and jack a leaner, cut, hammer/pump, cut some more, pound/pump, cut some more, exertion. You get to the point where you know that you have the lift you need and can put in a proper face cut. Works well with very tall trees and very large ones.

Jameson's adaptation was interesting and well done and he will have a back-up job making furniture.

I was told that backcut first was the way to get maples on the ground. Loggers and fallers all say that our small maples tend to set back on one's saw. I had one do that and had never heard of backcut first at that time.

 

[Nuzzy]

Mr. Mac -
Will this method cause any binding when making the face cut ?

Not if you don't wedge it too far before cutting the face. Back cut, wedge to transfer weight but not too far, finish back cut to set backside of hinge, cut face, wedge the rest of the way over.

 

[forestryworks]

Awesome pics Jameson! Just wondering, why did you back cut first?


Thats some beautiful country Sam! Nice pics!

backcut first. To wedge and jack a leaner, cut, hammer/pump, cut some more, pound/pump, cut some more, exertion. You get to the point where you know that you have the lift you need and can put in a proper face cut. Works well with very tall trees and very large ones.

Jameson's adaptation was interesting and well done and he will have a back-up job making furniture.

Just like Randy said. The first 45 feet of this tree leaned away from the lay a good bit. The rest of the tree still leaned back, but not too bad.

That tree broke in 4 places when it hit the ground.

Here's some more.

 

[Metals406]

Thank you Nate, great pics and description. A very neat tree, looks like a pine, has wood like a DF. I am very familar with "spike tops" probably one third of OG Redwoods have them. I used to collect them and give them to folks who made things with them.

Jameson, YeeeHawww!!! again.

Morphologically speaking Nathan.

It's a wierd wood Randy. . . Nothing like cutting DF. When cross cutting, it doesn't really chip out like a fir. . . It's a mix of chips and 'splinters' for lack of a better term. Even with a good sharp square chain. . . Speaking of dead wood that is.

I really like the smell of Larch when it's cut. . . DF smells very piney -- well -- since it's a pine.

Our safety gurus do not allow or did not allow larches to be climbed using spurs. You had to use a ladder. Our crew was climbing (even me) with spurs just to find out bark thicknesses. That lasted a week. Then we were told to cease and desist. I guess the bark is too loose and you are liable to lose traction. Plus we weren't properly trained by a smoke jumper, etc. etc.

I will have to take a picture. Yesterday on the east side, I missed a turn and ended up by a seed orchard. The trees are descended from trees I picked out in the 1970s. It made me feel old.

Back to larches. Newcomers to larch country often cut green "snags" for firewood and then can't figure out why the wood weighs so much. We called it the tree that dies every winter.

Absolutely correct. When I would rig in a Larch, you had to make sure your spurs were planted firmly before the next step, or you could kick out.

The bark is very scaled and flaky like a fish or dragon. . . Even when we would walk up them to buck or hook, you could slide off with caulks.

I'm feeling you on the age thing. In the mid 80's, I would hunt clear-cuts with my dad. . . Now they're full of 25-30 foot trees. But trees aren't a renewable resource. :monkey:

 

[Rounder]

Nate, the last larch pic you posted, is that THE big larch in Gerard Grove past the mill a ways?

I'm assuming it is, so Cody, if ya read this, that's the tree I was telling you about - Sam

 

[Metals406]

Nate, the last larch pic you posted, is that THE big larch in Gerard Grove past the mill a ways?

I'm assuming it is, so Cody, if ya read this, that's the tree I was telling you about - Sam

I believe it is Sam. . .

 

[bitzer]

More nice pics Jameson.

Thanks Randy.

I do backcut some small diameter back-leaners first. Ones that I know will sit and there won't be room for a wedge. I guess I didn't realize it would do much for decent sized wood. Thanks for the explaination.

 

[Burvol]

Killer!

 

[forestryworks]

Nice pic Burvol!

 

[Burvol]

4 longs, little sucker was trying to turn bastard growth, not sure on board footage. Teaching my Buddy's little bro to fall timber. He took the pictures. He's got the sparkle in his eye

 

[Burvol]

Gotta go, be back in an hour. Bunch of good ones to put up. 7 days a week right now.

 

[forestryworks]

7 days a week right now.

Killer!

 

[Burvol]

Face cut is not perfectly level, and wood pull, but it's coming out of the stump instead of the log. Touchy touchy, I know LOL

 

[Burvol]

Hard leaner, back it up first, spread the load, split her open

Drive three, then pick on one, take two, stack em up

Alright! Looks like a hard leaner is gonna stay out of the RMZ and I don't get a $10,000 dollar fine LOL