Form and techinque for snap cutting!

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
definently notch it. a hummboldt(sp) workes nice to make the log land flat. if you snap cut there is always the possibilty of the log peeling. If you have a lanyard around the trunk instead of a limb when this happens, you get pulled in two pieces. fun huh

Couldn't have said it better. Simple truth.
 
First you need to understand why there is a snap cut and why it used .... and abused by some.

The snap cut or mismatch cut is a technique where two cuts pass each other leaving a section of wood holding the cut piece. With a little force the section breaks. Of course this depends on the orientation of the piece (horizontal vs vertical etc), distance between the cuts and the type of timber. It's generally accepted that you go 2/3's to 3/4's the way through in one direction and same the other leaving a gap between the two cuts of say 1" (again each case has it's own merits).

The idea of this was to keep the piece in place whilst you put your saw away and grabbed it to throw it, the idea is it prevents one handing.

This technique is also often used in crane work where the section is held in place till the climber is clear then easily snapped off.

The question you need to ask is .... is 10' to 16' of log above your cut a section you can handle? Probably not. So why do the cut?

On sections of that size a notch and back cut is wiser, you can also use a wedge up there to help. The hinge helps guide it where as a snap cut can wobble off anywhere once the fibres are snapped.

So in your decision making up there think ....

1/ Can I hold this piece?

2/ What if it snaps premmy will I be able to control it?

3/ What if I bugger up this snap cut and cant snap it?

4/ Will a notch/hinge be safer and offer guidance to where the section goes?

How they land depends on the angle of the notch and whether or not you know how to flip them. Of course height matters to.

I hope this helps. From my experience I'll tend not to snap cut stuff that I physically cant wrestle up there unless of course it's a crane cut.

Then again, you can be a right wanker and do the sort of **** this wannabe does. :dizzy:

attachment.php
 
Some good advice here. 16' is pretty big to experiment with if you are not familiar with proper cutting techniques. Start small 4'-6' when they are landing flat 90% of the time go bigger permiting your work area is sufficient of course.

thats right smaler the better then work your way up tom trees:cheers:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top