Mismatch cut for blocking down wood

[southsoundtree]

For the vertical speed line, do you just use loop runners or rope chokers and a biner to attach it to the speed line ?

I think that either could work. There is the possibility that if the runner or rope choker is too short, it will cause the attaching 'biner to slam into the lower knot. If there is very little taper to the tree's base, then it is possible to get the rope attached lower, however if there is a lot of butt swell, the rope will want to ride up.

Say that the rope is cinched on the base at 2' above ground, you would want to have about 2-3' of tail on the rope/ runner so that the piece hits the ground and rebounds, pulling the rope away from the tree as the piece should bounce away from the tree providing that it is hitting flat ground or downwardly sloping ground. This should prevent it from slamming into the knot and stopping abruptly.

Let's take the other scenario where the tail isn't long enough. Say you are anchored 3' above the ground, using too short of a runner where you have only 6" of tail (including 'biner, so the case where you can just get the runner around the work piece) on a 1' diameter piece. When it falls, the piece will still be off the ground by 1 1/2 feet when the 'biner contacts the running bowline. BAD NEWS.
You could just have a bit of slack in the speedline, if you have a little extra room for the piece to bounce.

Overall, the piece should not have a ton of force if it is allowed to transfer the kinetic energy of the fall largely to the ground, or some type of crashpad.

In your case, where you are trying to preserve the ground with plywood, the piece will ricochet with a larger force, but still not like stopping a falling piece without letting it run.

Something to keep in mind is that the closer to the ground, the larger the pieces will become, with less rope in the system to absorb the energy. I don't know at what point terminal velocity would be reached. Below a certain height there will be reduced velocity for larger pieces.

The force on the vertical speedline will be perpendicular, roughly 90 degrees to the length of the rope, so a magnification of the force is experienced by the speedline rope. If you wanted more rope in the system to absorb energy, you could run through a block up top and then to a nearby, or far away, tree to add rope length to the system.

 

[southsoundtree]

For the fussy about their lawns homeowner, does anyone use these techniques, and just bring some soil and seed? How do homeowners respond to this? I've thought of offering to do this to "repair" the lawn damage.

Last week we bombed 8' x 20"+ sections, with the agreement that they will get a cheaper price but will need to get some soil themselves and then seed, once they get the wood dealt with (they were looking for the cheapest price with brush disposal and are having the firewood grabbers cut it to rounds.)

They ended up with some divots, but way cheaper than roping it all down.

 

[asthesun]

I use the mismatch cut for blocking down wood that I can push off but what about having a pull rope on a much larger piece. Just wondering if anyone here has done this or does this method on a continuous basis. I am also wondering if the piece tends to land flat rather than on the top.

i use this method regularly, though it only works the way i do it with smaller diameter trunks. instead of letting the wood flip in the air, i shove the butt out as the log comes over, so that it travels to the ground horizontally, landing flat. this doesnt work with lagrer pieces because they're so heavy they wont slide off the stag. for larger ones, i cut a wedge in the direction i want the log to land and as it comes over hold the butt and try to lift it (to get more flipping action, for longer pieces or ones closer to the ground) or push the butt towards the ground (to get less flipping action, for shorter pieces or ones higher in the air).

 

[Mapleman]

Ricky,

It was 10 years ago and I was working for a buddy, so I cut him a deal at 30 per.

KDunk,

I echo what MD said. If I'm working on a hill and don't want chunks bounding away, I leave some brush and limbs in the impact zone to act as a cradle. I hate digging wood out of one-foot craters.

On an unrelated subject, I've covered used tires with half inch plywood to bomb stuff on driveways or patios. I've only done this a couple of times, on smaller trees--18" and under diameter--from roof tops or heights less than 50 feet, but it works slick. Just a pain in the ass carrying all those tires around.

 

[tree md]

i use this method regularly, though it only works the way i do it with smaller diameter trunks. instead of letting the wood flip in the air, i shove the butt out as the log comes over, so that it travels to the ground horizontally, landing flat. this doesnt work with lagrer pieces because they're so heavy they wont slide off the stag. for larger ones, i cut a wedge in the direction i want the log to land and as it comes over hold the butt and try to lift it (to get more flipping action, for longer pieces or ones closer to the ground) or push the butt towards the ground (to get less flipping action, for shorter pieces or ones higher in the air).

That's what I do to try to get them to land flat. I've gotten pretty good at it.

 

[TreEmergencyB]

My mentor was really good at flipping the bottom up, almost everytime they land flat, im working on it and shown other people how

 

[tomtrees58]

we cross cut the big wood in to 12x12x20 " wood it takes time wen your in tight places it works well tom trees

 

[tree MDS]

yes, lots of variables but one constant; land it flat or stay on the porch. Naw, I wish I could everytime but that is the goal. I knew there was a formula but it don't really matter as long as you keep practicing and keep aware it becomes a good game to play, like horsehoes. Anyone who routinely lands things all haphazzard certainly isn't trying. The sound of the " land flat" is the sound of sucess.

Ah, you got it dano! and to think at one point I thought you were a troll. I know better now adays though.

Been playing that land the log flat game for a long time now, I've gotten pretty good at it... of course everyone makes a bad cut once in a while... I'm usually a little scarry after a long winter, but just the first job or two. I dont know if its just me or what but every time I F a cut up I can almost hear myself talking in my head saying "you know this aint gonna work dude..." but the saw is already screamin and I'm pretty out of shape so look out below! lol

But MM that formula is a cool thought too.

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

Ricky,

It was 10 years ago and I was working for a buddy, so I cut him a deal at 30 per.

KDunk,

I echo what MD said. If I'm working on a hill and don't want chunks bounding away, I leave some brush and limbs in the impact zone to act as a cradle. I hate digging wood out of one-foot craters.

On an unrelated subject, I've covered used tires with half inch plywood to bomb stuff on driveways or patios. I've only done this a couple of times, on smaller trees--18" and under diameter--from roof tops or heights less than 50 feet, but it works slick. Just a pain in the ass carrying all those tires around.

I used to work for a guy who dropped a big tree across a drive and landed it on a yuke tire so it wouldnt damage the drive.

 

[MonkeyMan_812]

Ah, you got it dano! and to think at one point I thought you were a troll. I know better now adays though.

Been playing that land the log flat game for a long time now, I've gotten pretty good at it... of course everyone makes a bad cut once in a while... I'm usually a little scarry after a long winter, but just the first job or two. I dont know if its just me or what but every time I F a cut up I can almost hear myself talking in my head saying "you know this aint gonna work dude..." but the saw is already screamin and I'm pretty out of shape so look out below! lol

But MM that formula is a cool thought too.

I just happened to catch while reading last winter. Thanks though!

 

[Rickytree]

I looked it up. The ratio is at 18%. If youre on a totem 100ft tall and your chunking peices down, you would cut them 18ft long to get them to land flat. This changes when your not on level ground. If your on a totem 50ft tall, you would cut them 9 ft long, 25 feet up cut them 4 1/2 feet long ..........

Is this for mismatch or with a notch? Thanks for all the responses too!