Felling Trees

[m.green]

I do residential tree care. And when I can drop a tree I notch and let it rip. I was talking to someone that I sell firewood to the other day who claimed his brother is a logger and he told me something interesting. I think I understood him right.

He said loggers now-a-days have to cut through the base of the tree horizontally maybe a foot or two and the work from the back and it reduces "barber chairs" when it falls. It was news to me. I'm not sure if I even got it right but has anyone used this method? If so how'd you do it I want to give it a try next time I'm dropping in the clear.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Sounds like a bore cut to me. Make your regular notch, then instead of a regular backcut, push the tip of the bar through the tree and cut up to your hinge leaving a strip of wood on the back of the tree to hold the whole thing up. Now you come in from the back below your bore cut 1" or so and cut in until the strip you left releases.

With this method you can set up heavy leaners, trip them and get out without a barber chair.

 

[TDunk]

Sounds like a bore cut to me. Make your regular notch, then instead of a regular backcut, push the tip of the bar through the tree and cut up to your hinge leaving a strip of wood on the back of the tree to hold the whole thing up. Now you come in from the back below your bore cut 1" or so and cut in until the strip you left releases.

With this method you can set up heavy leaners, trip them and get out without a barber chair.

What he said. There's alot of info. on that subject.

 

[teamtree]

Felling timber for logging purposes may be much different than what most tree guys are doing on a spar or dead tree or pretty much any tree we see.

Most of the loggers I know use several variations of a bore cut to eliminate pulling any heartwood. On heavy leaners a bore cut is used to reduce splitting and barber-chairing.

I have watched tons of loggers cut trees and they all have their own tricks of the trade but the best I have seen is the feller buncher!!!

 

[Marquis]

Hey M. Green,
That's what it is, a bore cut. If you are involved in the CLP program here in Maine, that's exactly what they teach now. I use it just about all the time, allows you to take your time with it and set the hinge just right before letting it fall.

 

[1savagehunter]

Works Awesome

The bore cut is awesome ... just be careful for kickback (not awesome)

 

[m.green]

Marquis, are you from Maine?

No I'm not a logger, Just do residential work and through apprenticing I was just taught the notch and drop routine. It works fine.

I don't suppose a bore cut could let you choose where you want to drop it. I mean I know you can drop it in a general vicinity but can you be accurate with the drop?

 

[Nailsbeats]

I am a big fan of borecutting. Whether it be the traditional backcut bore, the facebore, or bucking. That said I use a regular backcut more often then not. The facebore is a valueable technique for saving hardwood.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Marquis, are you from Maine?

No I'm not a logger, Just do residential work and through apprenticing I was just taught the notch and drop routine. It works fine.

I don't suppose a bore cut could let you choose where you want to drop it. I mean I know you can drop it in a general vicinity but can you be accurate with the drop?

You can be as accurate as regular felling. Its all the same besides boring in instead of a regular backcut. Your notch and hinge still control the direction of the fall.

 

[Marquis]

Full blood Mainer!!

Yeah M. Green, up here in the county. St. Agatha to be exact, up by Fort Kent and Madawaska. If you need anything or what not, feel free to contact me.

 

[PA Plumber]

It's kinda of interesting to see the "bore" making its rounds again.

It seems every so often it shows up as a preferred cutting technique.

For felling, I have used it less than a dozen times and have fallen hundreds of trees (not a pro, just a home joe with a chainsaw doing a little tree sell'n and firewood'n).

 

[md_tree_dood]

A couple of things to think about. Bore cuts are great but they need to be done correctly else you'll miss your notch completely. Practice on stuff where the fell doesn't have to be perfect else you'll regret using it.

 

[DK_stihl]

Bore cut

The bore cut does work well. I learned it in Game of Logging training and it does take some practice to perfect (like anything). That being said, I won't use it in a residential setting if the tree has no value, and there is a rope in the top for influencing the direction of fall. I did use it on this black cherry though.

 

[1savagehunter]

In my experience this type of cut works best on very large trees where the faller wants to not be up near the hinge cutting when the tree starts to go. I like it when you are dropping a large tree/higher risk tree and all you have to do is just clip the holding wood on the back of the tree and watch it drop. Not really a residential cutting technique in my experience.