how to drop large sections of trunk ?

[inbilya]

In the time it takes to read through this whole thread and watch all the videos, you should have been able to block it down in 16" chunks.

I am pretty busy doing other things. that job can wait. But when I get to it sometime this coming week, I'll know exacly what to do and what my opions are.

no one so far commented on making 45degree all the way through cuts. Must not be common practice I guess

 

[acer-kid]

no one so far commented on making 45degree all the way through cuts. Must not be common practice I guess

No. No it is not. That'll peel on you most definitely.

If you're familiar with felling.. Use uber deep faces, and be feathery on the backcut. If you're not.. The just put a ****ing tagline on the chunk if you plan on popping off 10' logs. Please.

 

[CanopyGorilla]

I am pretty busy doing other things. that job can wait. But when I get to it sometime this coming week, I'll know exacly what to do and what my opions are.

no one so far commented on making 45degree all the way through cuts. Must not be common practice I guess

I guess I just responded kinda knee jerk. Also kinda kid gloves too because this is 101. When I hear someone whine about how heavy 16" pieces are I chuckle a bit and wonder if they aren't really cut out for this. Yeah, wood is really heavy. This is tree work. Also, I don't have a single client that would take "I am pretty busy doing other things" as a reasonable excuse to not have a spar on the ground and off their property in short order. This may sound harsh but is honestly useful advice if this is the line of work you REALLY want to persue.

 

[inbilya]

I guess I just responded kinda knee jerk. Also kinda kid gloves too because this is 101. When I hear someone whine about how heavy 16" pieces are I chuckle a bit and wonder if they aren't really cut out for this. Yeah, wood is really heavy. This is tree work. Also, I don't have a single client that would take "I am pretty busy doing other things" as a reasonable excuse to not have a spar on the ground and off their property in short order. This may sound harsh but is honestly useful advice if this is the line of work you REALLY want to persue.

this guy not some customer. It is someone I know. He did not have a problem with it whatsoever. I was not whining , I am learning and wanted to figure out the most efficient way without sacrificing safety. also I wanted to do bigger pieces because they were getting heavy for my helper on the ground. I got it all down today. I used a deep notch - (probly 65%), then just wedged them over the usual way. 11ft pieces, without rope. that worked pretty well. The guy on the ground did not have to spend much energy with a peavey to roll them down a slight slope out of the way. they are going to my other friend , he is going to make tables out of them . thanks to everyone for input.

 

[CanopyGorilla]

Ok, good job.

 

[JRoland]

Glad you got it down. I'm thinking it may have been a "6 of one, half a dozen of the other" type of thing too. If you took 11 foot chunks off a 40' stub you ended up saving pulling a tag line up 3 times by wedging. Glad you didn't go with the large diagonal cut idea, didn't see that working as well, but also didn't have experience with that, was waiting to see other input, just like you....

 

[rbtree]

We call it undermining the center of balance. As long the the section being cut is vertical and balanced, forming a 55 percent plus deep face is an excellent way to drop sections. Not only is no tag line needed, but I rarely even use wedges. Use the wood weight on the felling side of the stem, and she tips over smooth as silk every time. As has my bud Reg, I've utilized this technique for years.

 

[treebilly]

The 45 degree cut is sometimes referred to as a bologna cut. I personally don't recommend it for long pieces as the top of the piece can roll back over top of you. It works great for larger diameter wood that is hard to shove off.
Undermining the COG like you did works great. Your notches have to be pretty clean for it to work properly. You can actually "cut" lean into a log with this method. I experimented with it a lot before actually using it where I could do real damage if I screwed up.

 

[inbilya]

The 45 degree cut is sometimes referred to as a bologna cut. I personally don't recommend it for long pieces as the top of the piece can roll back over top of you. It works great for larger diameter wood that is hard to shove off.
Undermining the COG like you did works great. Your notches have to be pretty clean for it to work properly. You can actually "cut" lean into a log with this method. I experimented with it a lot before actually using it where I could do real damage if I screwed up.

sorry , what does " "cut" lean into a log" mean?

 

[treebilly]

You can undermine the COG on a log with some back lean, and still get it to tip without any other assistance. On a perfectly straight log a touch over half way through will do it. With a few degrees ( can't give any real numbers here) of back lean you need to deepen your notch further. I will add again that this is something that should be practiced when nothing has a chance of being harmed. It is considered to be an advanced technique. Also your hinge will be very thin before the log will tip.
This spar was felled opposite of the lean because of an asphalt driveway. The wedge on the stump was just pushed in by hand as a precaution and I smacked it onto the stump with the bar as it fell.

Reg Coates made a video explaining it a bit. I think it was simply titled " undermining the COG"

 

[Skeans]

This spar pole for a sailing mast was over 50% of the diameter because of the height of the timber being 200 foot.
This smaller stick was slipped off the stump sideways ways to save it out. Take all these with a grain of salt being production timber falling.

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