May I please lean upon and learn from, you experienced pros?

[tramp bushler]

Hesitation wound?

Like that song from Craig + Terry .
" like when to take your time , and when to cut and run "

 

[hammerlogging]

and then there's sometimes where its "you better keep on cutting and cutting hard, hang in there, cause this time its game on" I had one of those yesterday, where it started to go a whole lot faster than expected.

Yesterdays wind was the "if its not going just wait a minute and the wind will let go" type. the other day I walked off becasue it was the "gust will hit you and rip the ####er off the hinge" type.

A little deeper face might have helped too, not to discount that idea. the stump looks like it was bored, so it was more of a matter of sloppy cutting than hesitation

 

[RandyMac]

Sorry lad, shouldna used that term. One of the guys across the corridor made 8 or 9 "hesitation" cuts on his victim before going all out, which included some evisceration, dismemberment and a dab of cannibalism.

When in doubt walk or saw the livin' hell outta it and run like the wind.

 

[KiwiBro]

and then there's sometimes where its "you better keep on cutting and cutting hard, hang in there, cause this time its game on" I had one of those yesterday, where it started to go a whole lot faster than expected.

Yesterdays wind was the "if its not going just wait a minute and the wind will let go" type. the other day I walked off becasue it was the "gust will hit you and rip the ####er off the hinge" type.

A little deeper face might have helped too, not to discount that idea. the stump looks like it was bored, so it was more of a matter of sloppy cutting than hesitation

Lack of experience, skills, trying out a new technique and learning where the limits are. Yeap, sloppy in the sense it was just plain wrong for sure. Funny thing is I took my time on it and thought I had it pretty darn good, figured the hinge is about as big as I'd want to go but let's try it to be sure and see if the sudden pop from the strap makes any difference to what the hinge does or can handle, not to mention the high winds. I figured I learned more from that one cut than a dozen safe ones, but it's not a lesson I want to repeat in a hurry and certainly not on bigger trees, so I hope it's learned.

 

[KiwiBro]

Here's one of yesterdays trees.

View attachment 239511

It wanted to go down the hill but I managed to get it over the fence.
Why is it that most often if there is rot in the tree you can almost bet your house it's going to be wherever you don't want it to be?

It managed to hold just enough before the rot section of the hinge pulled out.

When you know you're going to swing a tree, how would you check for rot in the crucial holding wood area without seriously undermining the wood you're hoping to use to swing it? If I bored through before hand, I would have had to bore off to the side right through the holding wood to find it, and then what? Leave it and go get the digger and cable?

 

[derwoodii]

View attachment 239511
how would you check for rot in the crucial holding wood area without seriously undermining the wood you're hoping to use to swing it? If I bored through before hand, I would have had to bore off to the side right through the holding wood to find it, and then what? Leave it and go get the digger and cable?

Your Xray vision may help here.:msp_tongue: or a small mallet may help to tap n sound the trunk for decay pockets its not always the perfect solution but more often with practice can give you clue.

 

[KiwiBro]

Your Xray vision may help here.:msp_tongue: or a small mallet may help to tap n sound the trunk for decay pockets its not always the perfect solution but more often with practice can give you clue.

thanks for that. I'll have to practice that.
Could there be any connection between the rot and areas of the tree having the least compression on them (often the most useful as holding wood)? It's happened a few times to me lately and I'm starting to think it's not a coincidence.

 

[derwoodii]

thanks for that. I'll have to practice that.
Could there be any connection between the rot and areas of the tree having the least compression on them (often the most useful as holding wood)? It's happened a few times to me lately and I'm starting to think it's not a coincidence.

Tree deacy and its progess is a tricky thing to predict. Looking for old wounds above or below your scarf may help id likey sites The concection you described,, sorry I dont quite follow best need pictures but a read here may help understanding of the decay process.
Tree Decay An Expanded concept

 

[tramp bushler]

If you bore in vertically where you want your holding wood it can help . Then just give yourself an extra finger width of holding wood left when you put in the back cut .
Sounding a tree with your ax works alot of time . Its easy to get lots of practice . Just go around beating the hell out of every tree you fall . You'll learn alot . Sometimes rot is horizontally regionalized . Meaning is you go up the tree 2 or 3 ' you will be in alot sounder wood . Fall it there. Then cut the stump off .

 

[KiwiBro]

If you bore in vertically where you want your holding wood it can help . Then just give yourself an extra finger width of holding wood left when you put in the back cut .
Sounding a tree with your ax works alot of time . Its easy to get lots of practice . Just go around beating the hell out of every tree you fall . You'll learn alot . Sometimes rot is horizontally regionalized . Meaning is you go up the tree 2 or 3 ' you will be in alot sounder wood . Fall it there. Then cut the stump off .

Thanks. The rot looks like it will stop about three feet up the trunk. I guess i better learn way to cut so far off the ground on the downhill side of the tree when on steep ground b/c that three feet would have turned to overhead pretty quick around the other side of the tree. Set a plank in the stump?

Or perhaps just get a bigger saw.

 

[tramp bushler]

Thats one of the many reasons we run full wrap handle bars . I've fell hundreds of trees where I put in half the falling cuts or more with the saw over my head . Someone like Coastal Faller would have the saw shoulder high . Bein short isn't advantagous for fallin timber on steep ground .

 

[KiwiBro]

Tree deacy and its progess is a tricky thing to predict. Looking for old wounds above or below your scarf may help id likey sites The concection you described,, sorry I dont quite follow best need pictures but a read here may help understanding of the decay process.
Tree Decay An Expanded concept

Thanks. That's a little more reading on tree decay than I had in mind but it's Sunday so what the heck. What i mean about the rot positioning is that I find often (too often for my liking) it's in the side of the tree under the least compression (perhaps even a bit of tension on the outer section), which is usually the side I need to have good holding wood.

I was wondering if the tree doesn't heal itself as easily when it's fibres are under tension compared to compression and as such rot persists or gets larger. Or it's just Murphy striking again.

 

[KiwiBro]

Thats one of the many reasons we run full wrap handle bars . I've fell hundreds of trees where I put in half the falling cuts or more with the saw over my head . Someone like Coastal Faller would have the saw shoulder high . Bein short isn't advantagous for fallin timber on steep ground .

It's a fairly light saw compared to many but I don't do it often enough to build the requisite strength (or maybe it's just technique) to work at head height all day on steep slopes. A while ago I was using the same saw 'pruning' for a few days and most of said work was at shoulder height or above and I needed to find 'easy' stuff to do after about 3pm because I was knackered and unsafe as a result.

At some stage before next Summer down here I'll have to look into a full wrap handle for the biggish gums on the to-do list. Especially as they need to be bored and I suck at boring from the top of the nose or working left handed, not to mention the steep ground some of them they are on.

cheers.

 

[tramp bushler]

Thats why a cutting day is 6 hours on the saw . And if you make up a couple spring boards , have truely Sharp chains . Good fallin dogs on your saw . Long enough bar on your saw . Full wrap hb. Good sharp cork shoes on your feet . Then youu will have the stuff to professionally fall timber . Once your set and learn how . You will be amazed at how fast you can plug the landing with the timber you fell ..

There is a real reason why west coast fallers use what the do in the way they do .