Hidges on limbs

[Lumberjack]

Does anyone else cut a hinge on a branch that isn't exactly where you want it (or for whatever reason) and pulled it around on the hindge to where you want it and then cut the hingewood. I have done this twice and it worked like I envisioned both times. I cut the notch after setting the rope toward the tip of the branch, made my backcut, had the groundie pull it around and hold it, and then cut the hinge. It worked good for me then, and I am just wondering if anyone else has done it.


Carl

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Notch in the direction you want it to go, then pull on rope to move it. This is commonly done; with a second rope and the right pull you can move a branch laterally or even up to get it clear.
No limits on moving things, just time and gear to do it. "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I can move the earth." Archimedes may have been an arborist at heart.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Have you ever done multiple hinges on the same limb?

Thats pretty cool!

 

[topnotchtree]

If you are gonna hinge large limbs you gotta be careful the hinge holds and make sure you are out of the way if the hinge tears away before you are ready. A butt-check works great for that.

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[topnotchtree]

I should have known better than to click something with the word "butt" in it! lol

 

[Ax-man]

Originally posted by MasterBlaster
Have you ever done multiple hinges on the same limb?

Thats pretty cool!

Many a time I done this on a limb. Works good down at the bottom end to, helps steer a tree from a target with out the use of a rope or wedges.

Not all trees are good canidates for multiple hinge cuts though, my favorites are Elms and Hackberries ( Celtis species ).

 

[t6140p]

A very useful and handy technique no doubt. You need to be aware how the wood is going to react. It can be difficult to utilize this skill in trees that have a tendancy to "pop". Norway Maple and White Pine for example.

T

 

[MasterBlaster]

Different times of the year(and different species) mandate different hinge reactions.

Specifically, warm weather hinging is much more sucessfull than cold weather attempts. Actually, you cannot really hinge at all in colder months.

 

[Stumper]

Butch, Exactly which months are so cold in La. that you cannot trust hinges? Drier winter wood does behave differently than green wood in midsummmer and extreme cold may affect things to but my hinges have worked on those rare occassions when I made them in below zero temps.

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[Stumper]

LOL Craig, Poplar is a weak hinger at best and likes to explode on contact with the ground This is true of Colorado Poplars- I have no experiece with Canadian Poplars.(-24C makes my gonads disappear just thinking about it then I do the conversion and realize that it is only VERY cold not-"You are absolutely nuts" cold).

Did you order the heated Glide or the standard model?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by Stumper
Butch, Exactly which months are so cold in La. that you cannot trust hinges?

I dunno, maybe from mid-Dec to early Feb. It varies. Sometimes winter is 60 days or more, sometimes 3 weeks.

Louisiana winter!

 

[rbtree]

Just the fact that you were out doing tree work at -9 F is enough to impress me, Craig..

I'm headed to Whistler for the 4 day weekend, OH yeahhhhh!
Snow is in the forecast every day.
Scads of steep and deep, heaven is where I'll be....ceptin I heard the freezing level may yoyo from near sea level to 2000 meters late Thursday....But what does that darned weatherman know anyhow?

 

[Ax-man]

Hinge cuts

Remember the chipper thread on cold weather.

M B said he had to wear his long underwear " Twice" those must be the two days out of the year when they can't make hinge cuts in La.

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[NeTree]

Carl,

It's one of those basic, entry-level techniques you'll use for the rest of your career. Comes in MIGHTY handy, especially in line-clearance.

 

[rbtree]

Craig,

Remember, I've been a pro ski photog for 20 years...My first LL/Sunshine trip was 93, was there during the Women's WC SG and DH. I had a great shot published of Olga Bogenskaya, the Russian, tape covering exposed skin on her face. Temp was -14 F. Brrr...amazing I got any usuable shots...I was jumping up and down to stave off frostbite...handling a 300 mm lens with 1.4 mm tele convertor, on a monopod takes a steaday hand.

I don't like Sunshine as much..but the new Goat's Eye is better..we had a special press tour of it. before it opened. Also didnt get to ski Delirium Dive, a series of 45-55 degree couloirs and faces.. some of the very steepest lines in North America, as it didnt open till a couple years ago.

Next on my list is Kicking Horse out of Golden, which has some of the best off piste stuff anywhere.

I love Fernie, Red, and Whitewater...all offer awesome off piste radical lines, as well as great inbounds.

Free climbing trees is child's play compared to some of the hairball stuff at these areas....

Report is now calling for up to five feet of snow at Whistler between now and Sunday. Oh boy, my ski jones is a throbbin'.. a real blue veiner it be!..

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[rbtree]

Know the Microwave at Red? It is a 50 -55 degree face above the double diamond back bowls and skier's left of triple diamond Sara's Slide. Wayne and I spend an hour on it, burning Fujichrome... I was scared shiftless....besides totally out of sync, mostly shooting....making a kick turn was scary. It was runneled, and very firm under 8 inches of powder...the parts that hadn't sloughed. Next day, two pro 'trollers, having heard we'd skied it, tried, and freaked, and had to be rescued. Ir was never a run, but now has a big permanently closed sign... Along with a fab OB line at Alpental near Seattle, that is 45-55 degrees for 1000 vertical feet, and a couple lines in Valdez, it rules as the wildest stuff I've been on....My main hangout, Crystal Mt, near Mt Rainier, has 40 chutes or lines over 40 degrees. Three of the best require a 15 minute hike, 700 vertical all average just under 45 degrees, left to right, Brain Damage, Lobotomy, and Pinball... A ways away is Sasquatch, 60 degrees or so and 2 feet wide, has been straight lined by a couple crazies.

We mostly toured OB at Red and Whitewater to simply awesome stuff!


Oh yeah, I hinged a limb once......

or thrice....

Wanna meet at Kicking Horse?