Open face & hinge felling technique

[Sprig]

I dunno about you, but I find that the typical and long verbage on the OSHA sites are really rediculous...

True and agree, I call it 'bureaucratese', a somewhat mysterious language used for turning simple thoughts and sentences into multi-page oratorials of questionable comprehensiveness........iow, pig snot.

Good link btw.

opcorn:

Small edit> Smoke, you win..... a 'Stumpy', a freshly created prize for the not-so-faint-of-heart-brave-fellers

 

[Erick]

Wow smoke those are some fine looking stumps ya got there, definatly worth picture taken fer sher. One question though, how often you gotta shapen the chain on that new fangled swiss saw.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Patrick62]

I read the Dent's book!

I thought I knew a little about cutting trees.
Turns out I knew very little. I still have problems getting level cuts. I never was a fan of birds mouth notching, to each his own.

I will admit that I did cut a few back cuts at 45 deg. Then I read the book, and thought about it. Ain't the right thing to do. But it did atleast work... sometimes.

What is scary is that sometimes I drop smaller ones with what amounts to a kerf notch, then the back cut. It is faster, but almost no control!!!

I am a firm believer in when things look odd, use the wedges :hmm3grin2orange:

-Pat

 

[smokechase II]

story behind the stumps

The first stump was back from my cross cut days with the railroad loggers in either 1934 or '35. Still haven't figured that one out.

Second was when I was stealing firewood off the 1820 road. She went over backwards on me, (still haven't figured that one out) and it was too much trouble packing firewood to the road so I went elsewhere to borrow.

Third picture I got off the net but liked it so much as it reminded me of my better work.

Fourth pic is of two stumps that I'm still confused on. Can anyone explain the closest stump? Did I bore and get the first saws' bar pinched then use a second saw to angle cut myself out?
Still haven't figured that one out!

Thanks for any help.
Hope I haven't shown anyone up.

 

[Indiana John]

I got a toughie for you..................

I'd love to hear how you pros would handle this one: I've got a fairly large tree (20"-24" across the base) right up close to my barn that needs to come down. The base is only about two feet away from the wall. The base leans outward from the wall for about three-four feet, and then straightens up and splits off into three stems about 12"-14" across, one to the north which leans in that direction, another to the east which goes mostly straight up with some east lean, and the last on the south leaning south. The barn is to the south, and I have a pole barn to the north. I can't go west with it because of other trees that way, as well as powerlines on that end of the barn. I can't go straight north, because of the pole barn being too close for the tree's height. The only open area to lay it down is to the northeast. The big problems are obviously the south stem leaning south over the barn, and the fact that the tree seperates into three so low. Also, I have reason to believe that the tree is rotten inside at the base just below where the stems split off. Obviously this tree needs to come down, first because the tree is simply too close to the building, and secondly the likelyhood of rot makes it a good candidate to blow over in a strong storm and do some real damage. We've been puzzling over how to safely get this thing down for over two years now, and still haven't come to any conclusion. We are thinking that the best way to do it will be to remove the north stem first using a long chain and come-along to make sure it goes the direction we need it to go, and then do the same with the other two stems, then we can get down the base. I'm just worried about cutting on these things while having pressure from the come-along on them. Just don't have any good way of doing this, short of using a bucket truck and working down the top a piece at a time, lowering each to the ground with a rope where it leans over the barn. I just don't have access to a bucket truck..
Thoughts??

 

[Logjam]

I submit my stumps as proof positive.

Now that I've put John in his place. So there.

Match these TreeSlingr, Clearance and Fishhuntcutwood.

WOW--JUST--WOW :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:
Can't say I've seen anything like those before.
Wish I was there to watch whomever was cutting them

 

[Sprig]

I submit my stumps as proof positive.

Now that I've put John in his place. So there.

Match these TreeSlingr, Clearance and Fishhuntcutwood.

My totally worthless and inane ideas on these. (GAH! must be half cut and bored, not really, really bored, just enough ta comment)
Pic1> What!? No white cross gracing this elegant statue? Didn't read tree for splits, face too shallow, backcut too high, faller feller thinking of Suzie Sweet Cheeks the cook house mouse. Bad Donkey! :deadhorse:
Pic2> "Oh honey I seen it done a million times"... Forgot where/what hinge was/is, forgot where facecut should go, forgot where backcut should go (2x it looks like), forgot brains in lunch bucket with wedges and common sense. Bad Donkey! :deadhorse:
Pic3> Ook! OOpsy! Didn't check lean, didn't check instruction book, bad facecut, cut hinge, no wedges, killed neighbours skanky cat. Bad Donkey! :deadhorse:
Pic4> Nice! Think ya shouldn't cut your hinge whilst doing a plunge cut? Probably not eh! Wonder if he took the saw off the pinched bar before doing that masterful backcut? DOH! Bad Donkey! :deadhorse:

Kk, I go now *hangs head*

 

[Nicholas]

Here's another good one! Those people I help cut firewood for like to whine that I tension my chains way too tight. They think a properly tensioned chain should have at least 1/16"-1/8" of sag between the tie straps and bottom of the guide bar. Then they have a hard time figuring out why their saws keep throwing/derailing chains, and why their guide bar and rim sporckets don't last. They somehow came to the conclusion that their saws throw chains because they were cutting small limbs & splintered wood, and that's hard on the chain.

When I was taught to operate chainsaw I was instructed to loosen the two bar nuts, grip/pull the nose the guide bar upwards, turn the tension adjustment screw until the tie straps make contact with the bottom of the bar +1/8-1/4 turn more after contact, and retighten bar nuts. Finally, grip the chain w/gloved hand to check that the chain moves freely back and forth. This method has aways worked fine for me.

Now my brother tensions his chains so tight that you'd swear the chain brake is on. In fact, the paint near the bar rails burns, and the chain binds to a stop after reving or a cut. That's tight!

Nick

 

[windthrown]

Tight chains

Well, as far as loose chains go, maybe some of your firewood buddies need to keep their noses right down next to the chains so that they can see the chains come off as it happens. If it knocks them out in the process, so much the better. Oh, and make sure that they tighten the chain whan the saw is running, and really hot with the chain brake off. That way they can test the chain tension with their hands wile running around the guide bar. :help:

I keep my chains so that I can just snap the chain slightly off of the middle of the bar (and the chain moves around the bar by hand) when it is cold. They loosen when they get hot anyway, and you need to be careful not to overtighten the chain when the saw and chain are hot. Chains will shrink when they cool off. I also keep my chains really sharp. My dad had me sharpen his Homelite saw when I was a kid, and I seem to still have the knack to do the job. I also adjust the bar oilers so that they throw out a little more oil than the stock setting. I also use good bar oil, though I will use 30 WT ND oil if I run out of bar oil.

Anyway, why on earth do you hang out with these maniacs with dangerous buzz saw in their hands?

 

[boatermark]

The 45 Deg. Backcut

Geez, and I thought the 45 degree back cut phenomenon was limited to Vermont. I used to call it the yankee logic back cut. Now what am I to call it:help:

 

[Gologit]

Geez, and I thought the 45 degree back cut phenomenon was limited to Vermont. I used to call it the yankee logic back cut. Now what am I to call it:help:

Dumb cut? Suicide cut? Cretin cut? The damn tree went sideways and hit Charlie cut? Any of the above?

 

[stihl 440]

Took the words right out of my mouth, boboak! They will find out when the tree scares them enough, or falls on them in the middle of the woods cutting them that way.:deadhorse: :help:

 

[windthrown]

The VT cut

Geez, and I thought the 45 degree back cut phenomenon was limited to Vermont. I used to call it the yankee logic back cut. Now what am I to call it:help:

Yankee Logic cut is not bad. How about the Vermont Cut? Or the Cut Free or DIE cut? Or is that over in New Hampshire???

Or how about the Darwin cut? Or the Darrel cut... and the other brother Darrel cut...

I am going to have to carry my camera around this place and look for moron cuts. No barber chairs that I can remember here. Most of the big stuff was cut right (8 ft doug fir stumps on this property from a 1980 cut). We also have these stumps cut with what I call 'hodoos' after the rock formations that they have in places like Bryce Cyn., Utah. The are wedged all around below the actual cut. Marker stumps? Specialty cuts? I see them all over around here (I would draw one in ASCII art, but the AS editor collapses the space). I will have to snap a photo of one and post it.

 

[Gologit]

Yankee Logic cut is not bad. How about the Vermont Cut? Or the Cut Free or DIE cut? Or is that over in New Hampshire???

Or how about the Darwin cut? Or the Darrel cut... and the other brother Darrel cut...

I am going to have to carry my camera around this place and look for moron cuts. No barber chairs that I can remember here. Most of the big stuff was cut right (8 ft doug fir stumps on this property from a 1980 cut). We also have these stumps cut with what I call 'hodoos' after the rock formations that they have in places like Bryce Cyn., Utah. The are wedged all around below the actual cut. Marker stumps? Specialty cuts? I see them all over around here (I would draw one in ASCII art, but the AS editor collapses the space). I will have to snap a photo of one and post it.

Those stumps that you call "hodoos"...would they be where the tail holds and guys for a yarder were set up?

 

[John Ellison]

I bet you are right boboak.

 

[windthrown]

Ground anchors... yah, makes sence.

Those stumps that you call "hodoos"...would they be where the tail holds and guys for a yarder were set up?

Ah, now there is a thought. I had not though of that. There seem to be groups of them when I see them. They do mostly cable yarding around here. As a matter of fact now that I think of it, there are usually broken cables, pulleys and other broken equipment tossed in the same locations. Makes sence. Mystery solved. Thanks!

 

[Tzed250]

Hook up

A tail spar...

 

[boatermark]

Yankee Logic cut is not bad. How about the Vermont Cut? Or the Cut Free or DIE cut? Or is that over in New Hampshire???

Yup, "Live Free or Die" is from NH. I grew up there and never saw the proliferation of these 45 deg. back cuts in NH as what I have seen in VT.

 

[smokechase II]

Cut level

In Oregon our moto has always been, "Cut level or die".

 

[Lakeside53]

Do you know any way to encorage them to cut crooked?? I have three that cruise though my place and really piss me off, now and then! The rest of the time I'm saying 'hey, quick, come look at the beavers"... but that's when they are on my neigbors place...