Head lean, Side Lean

[John Ellison]

I wonder if we all think of this in the same way, or if there are some different ways of looking at it.

The way I see it is, If you are not talking about falling a tree it just has a lean. It leans in the direction that it would fall if it were instantly severed from the stump.

But if you are talking about felling a tree that is where head lean and side lean come in. The main or general direction it leans is the head lean.
Walking toward the victim you notice that it in general leans off toward 12 o'clock. You want to fall it toward 3. Now (most) fallers, are going to try to make all of their cuts from the 6 o'clock position so they are not working under the lean. I know there are exceptions but most cuts under most trees are made so you are not working under the lean.
So 12 is the head lean, you are standing at 6 right where the apex of your face is and look up at the tree and see that it has more limbs on the left side, so it has an unfavorable side lean.
The side lean will change depending on where you want to fell the tree. It is in relation to where your undercut is. On the same tree (as above)if you wanted to fall it toward 9 o'clock you would work from the same position but it would have a favorable side lean. If you were shooting for 2 o'clock you would look up to check the side lean (and work) from 5. Towards 1 o'clock you would be looking up from 4 and the side lean would probably be favorable by then.
Any different ways of looking at it?
I can hardly walk by a tree without checking out its leans.

 

[2dogs]

12 and 3 o'clock with a head lean? If you can swing it 90o you are a better faller than I am.

 

[John Ellison]

I am not talking about swinging a tree. Just about how we talk about lean.

 

[hammerlogging]

Yea, from where I plan to put it, its got front or back lean, and its got this side or that side lean. Depending on these, adjustments are made.

I'm sure that if I concentrated on your description, it would be exactly as I imagine you're saying. Although head lean means forward lean the direction, or thereabouts, you want to put it--- which leads to the barberchair situation and my god forsaken bore cuts.

 

[John Ellison]

If a tree leans back (from the intended direction) is that not still the head lean? In other words does it have to lean forward to have a head lean? I might have thought of it wrong all these years.

 

[fmaglin]

If a tree leans back (from the intended direction) is that not still the head lean? In other words does it have to lean forward to have a head lean? I might have thought of it wrong all these years.

If I'm understanding this right; the head lean would be determined by the natural lean of the tree and side lean would be determined according to the direction fall, or at least that's the way I've always figured it.

 

[John Ellison]

If I'm understanding this right; the head lean would be determined by the natural lean of the tree and side lean would be determined according to the direction fall, or at least that's the way I've always figured it.

Yes , thats the way I look at it. Every tree has head lean, sometimes it is favorable and sometimes not. HaHa I think I get confused easily.

 

[Jacob J.]

I've always interpreted it literally. Head lean is the main lean the tree is headed for. It doesn't matter if it leans into my intended lay or if its headed out of my strip. Side lean is any additional inclination apart from the head lean. No need to make it anymore complicated than it is.

 

[2dogs]

I've always interpreted it literally. Head lean is the main lean the tree is headed for. It doesn't matter if it leans into my intended lay or if its headed out of my strip. Side lean is any additional inclination apart from the head lean. No need to make it anymore complicated than it is.

Yep, same here. I'm not skilled enough to steer a tree very much if it is a head leaner but should be headed to the side of its natural lean. I've never figured how many degrees I can swing it, I just use my gut feeling.

I will say that heavy head leaners can be really dangerous to fall due to the stress the lean puts on the wood and root system. If that tree is on steep ground it can really launch off the stump regardless of the cutting technique. Sometimes that makes the falling a little safer.

Still I'd rather cut a head leaner than buck up a side bound tree.

 

[bullbuck]

on a big heavy leaner i try to turn it as far away from the direction it is leaning as possible,i will put my notch in even as much as 40 to 50 degees off of head lean,just as long as i can trick it into starting into my notch it almost confuses it into thinking it wants to go that way,and thats about when the holding wood breaks off,but much of the time i can gain 10 maybe even 15 degrees?just so it doesnt hit the ground so damn hard and bust up

 

[2dogs]

on a big heavy leaner i try to turn it as far away from the direction it is leaning as possible,i will put my notch in even as much as 40 to 50 degees off of head lean,just as long as i can trick it into starting into my notch it almost confuses it into thinking it wants to go that way,and thats about when the holding wood breaks off,but much of the time i can gain 10 maybe even 15 degrees?just so it doesnt hit the ground so damn hard and bust up

I've done that a few times but you have to be vewy, vewy quiet if you want trick a tree.

 

[Danger Cat]

Head Lead

Gentlemen, head lean is when the tree is leaning the intended direction of falling, conversely, back lean is when the tree is not leaning the intended direction of falling. Side lean is perpendicular, either left or right, to the intended direction of falling.

 

[hammerlogging]

Gentlemen, head lean is when the tree is leaning the intended direction of falling, conversely, back lean is when the tree is not leaning the intended direction of falling. Side lean is perpendicular, either left or right, to the intended direction of falling.

Thats the way I play it.

 

[CanadianCarGuy]

The way I see leans are uphill and downhill lean. In order to properly determine the true lean you MUST determine if the tree leans uphill or downhill first. That doesn't mean the tree has to be on a hillside, if you are on flat ground and the tree is leaning toward your timber instead of the clearing then that could also be considered uphill lean. The reason for determining this lean first is so it can be properly assessed. One cannot determine the directional (where it naturally wants to go) lean looking up at the tree if it is leaning over your head (For some reason this can trick you). One must assess the directional lean from high side of the tree (if it is leaning uphill you must assess on the lower side of the tree because it will fall uphill; hence, the lower side of the tree is the high side of the hillside lean. Also you should fall the tree standing here if possible (less chance of squishing your expensive saw). Now that you know where to assess the directional lean from, you determine the primary lean (stem lean), secondary lean (limbs), and any other leans (top curving in the opposite direction of stem lean, tree leaned into it, etc). The way I do was if I can't really see for sure, use an axe as a plumb, stand perpendicular from where you wanna fall it and eye tree up from the centre of stem up to the top. I just go by where more of the volume of the tree ends up. When you are looking at the tree this way you rotate around until the tree has a lean to where you want to fall it (if you don't want to wedge or jack the tree). Also you can swing against the lean slightly, but shouldn't be tried until you are an experienced faller.

 

[fmaglin]

If a tree leans back (from the intended direction) is that not still the head lean? In other words does it have to lean forward to have a head lean? I might have thought of it wrong all these years.

Wow John, lots of different interpretations here. Now I think I'm "cornfused"!

 

[Jacob J.]

Wow John, lots of different interpretations here. Now I think I'm "cornfused"!

This is one of those things where regional variations come into play. There's no universal standard for a lot of the terms used in the woods.

 

[2dogs]

Dang it! I read a post the wrong way and my reply stated just the opposite of what I meant. To me head lean means the tree is leaning in the direction I am going to fall it. Back lean means the tree is leaning 180o from where I want it to go. Sorry about the confusion.

 

[Greystoke]

This is one of those things where regional variations come into play. There's no universal standard for a lot of the terms used in the woods.

Isn't that the truth! All the traveling I did for Columbia, it would get very confusing sometimes, especially with tree species, and with work methods!

 

[hammerlogging]

Keep it simple, in school I had a fellow tell me there ar 2 kinds of trees, hardwood and pine. Today, one of our hookers told me there's 2 kinds of trees he hooks, poplars and oaks. I was sittting on a hickory and pointed an ash up behind us, all oaks turns out.

 

[056kid]

hahahaha hahaha.