humbolt VS normal notch

[smokechaser]

Sorry incomplete description on my part.
We are not supposed to drive trees down with other trees. One reason I choose not to is to the jack strawed mess that you left with takes more time to limb and buck if your going into that operation next. Besides if you miss or worse, hang one up in the other tree, chunking down a hanger is a pain in the rear.

 

[Old Monkey]

I learned to fall big trees (got my "C" cert) on the Entiat hotshots up in North Central WA. We used argue about the difference between humboldt cuts and standard cuts. They said the humboldt cut makes the tree go down "harder" and is better if you are trying to get the tree down through a thick canopy. I thought that was BS. Do you guys have an opinion on that? Now that I do treeservice work I only use Humboldts occasionally; if the wood is going to be milled, if it's on the downhill side on a steep slope where the standard would impractical, if I'm trying to fall it uphill and want it to secure itself on the stump(I am aware that this is a dangerous practice), or if it is so large that the wedge is going to be a pain to remove. I think that a Humboldt is much more exacting. The backcut and the face have to be real even or things don't work out well. I had to do multiple humboldts on eucs one time with a 3120, my arms hung limply at my side after that day.

 

[clearance]

Old Monkey- your closing line is from an old stones song right? Anyways interesting talk here about undercuts. I think that if you use a humboldt the tree is really gone when it falls, no coming back. Whether or not it makes the tree go harder,I don't know, but a shallow undercut makes it jump off the stump, causing it to smash through standing timber better (scary, with all the sh#t that goes flying).Like you said about making the undercuts line up, it can be quite difficult especially if you have to two side it. The humboldt is just a upside down conventional undercut, the more you do it the easier it is. Back in the old days, before powersaws, they never used a humboldt, worked for them. Humboldts the best undercut because you don't have to trim the butt and the undercut falls on the ground, if your logging that is.

 

[Old Monkey]

Old Monkey- your closing line is from an old stones song right?

You got it. It's off of the "Let It Bleed" album. I thought it fit because of all the drug abusing groundies and climbers I've worked with over the years. Nothing like three or four pot breaks during the day to make a climbing job go smoothly! If the job is still not in the can by four o'clock then out come the Redbulls. Sometimes I think I can see their hearts bursting in their chests. :blob5:

 

[John Ellison]

A humboldt is no guarantee against coming back off the stump when falling thru standing timber. It can still happen, but I agree it is less likely to than with a conv. face. To save explaining later,we all no that it is dangerous to fall a tree thru standing timber but sometimes it has to be done so you plan accordingly.
Again, I dont know about hardwood but a conventional notch does not have to be trimmed off of a softwood sawlog, unless there is some kind of defect or if it was one of those wide open-open faced notches where a big part of the sawable log is gone.

John

 

[swampwhiteoak]

There's no reason a notch would need to be trimmed off on a hardwood sawlog. That portion will be slabbed off anyway, unless you are making ridiculously deep notches.