Opinion?

[Cody Colston]

I know what I think of the technique demonstrated in the attached video. I'd like to read what the experts here think of it.

Forestry in Sweden 2 - YouTube

 

[imagineero]

To fully comply with EU laws that faller needed to use a bar haf the size of the one he had, an extra 6 cuts, and 3 more wedges for each tree. I don't see the point. You obviously need a bigger bar to buck efficiently anyway, so just use standard non EU felling techniques.

In aus, we just cut our trees down. We don't need to tease and taunt them until they fall over. I think it would make an excellent monty python sketch though.

Shaun

 

[Samlock]

Is there an EU standard for tree falling? They never told me...

Cody, you mean that boring the hinge thing? Well, he certainly cut off a good deal of it. I never got the reason why. No wind, perfectly healthy Aspen, straight and well balanced. No change of chairing there, I think. You can do that, but it was just unnecessary. He was making a simple thing extremely complicated.

It's just that boring off most of the hinge, along with the fact he didn't clean the notch and didn't match his back cuts, made the tree swing in an unpredictable way as it went. I was surprised he didn't make any hangups there.

All and all, the guy wrote he's a landowner and figured things out by himself.

 

[Gologit]

Kinda reminded me of a monkey ####ing a football. Too much jumping around, too many times around the tree. He could have accomplished his goal quicker, not to mention safer, with fewer cuts.

He didn't leave much for holding wood. I didn't notice him looking up. I didn't notice him looking around

True, he had a short bar, but there are other ways to double up your cuts that give you better control.

The way he did his cuts left him at the stump too long. A good gust of wind could have turned that whole thing ugly real quick.

 

[Joe46]

I just shook my head:eek2: Liked your analogy Bob:biggrin:

 

[tbow388]

I thought

I though he kinda wasted time and energy. Seemed like he wasn't paying too much attention to his surroundings in case things went south. Never saw him look up!!

Keep in mind that this is from a guy that prefers someone else to do the felling because I am no good at it.

 

[lfnh]

Kinda reminded me of a monkey ####ing a football. Too much jumping around, too many times around the tree. He could have accomplished his goal quicker, not to mention safer, with fewer cuts.

He didn't leave much for holding wood. I didn't notice him looking up. I didn't notice him looking around

True, he had a short bar, but there are other ways to double up your cuts that give you better control.

The way he did his cuts left him at the stump too long. A good gust of wind could have turned that whole thing ugly real quick.

Bout sums it up. goes in same burn barrel as slopping backcut.

one other thing. that thumb of his won't be peeling many more banannas.

 

[2dogs]

I hate techno.

 

[wyk]

I've got 3 European felling certs. He's using a multitude of techniques, a couple of which he can do without. You usually only plunge cut(AKA bore the hinge) when you have a bar that is less than 1/2 the diameter of the face cut. In this case he likely woulda been better off simply nipping the sides. With a plunge cut, you can fall a tree nearly 2 1/2 times the width of your bar length. I've had to use the the technique only twice in my professional career. And once was stateside on a 5' maple with a 23" effective cutting length bar. The other on an ash in England.

Chainsaws are far, far more expensive in most European countries than stateside. Just like the typical small landowner saw in the states is an 18" poulan/craftsman. In Europe, the typical saw is a 14" husqvarna, and it will often cost twice what that poulan costs. So they are taught to use plunge cutting and face cut techniques for such shorter bars. Oftentimes the local shops in the countrysides hold free clinics on felling with a saw purchase(sometimes without), and this is where the locals learn these techniques. Many of the techniques are designed more for safety than efficiency. Another reason, aside from costs, that shorter bars are popular. Another is the fact they do not have 5' wide Hemlocks dotting their countryside.

 

[Samlock]

I've got 3 European felling certs. He's using a multitude of techniques, a couple of which he can do without. You usually only plunge cut(AKA bore the hinge) when you have a bar that is less than 1/2 the diameter of the face cut. In this case he likely woulda been better off simply nipping the sides. With a plunge cut, you can fall a tree nearly 2 1/2 times the width of your bar length. I've had to use the the technique only twice in my professional career. And once was stateside on a 5' maple with a 23" effective cutting length bar. The other on an ash in England.

Chainsaws are far, far more expensive in most European countries than stateside. Just like the typical small landowner saw in the states is an 18" poulan/craftsman. In Europe, the typical saw is a 14" husqvarna, and it will often cost twice what that poulan costs. So they are taught to use plunge cutting and face cut techniques for such shorter bars. Oftentimes the local shops in the countrysides hold free clinics on felling with a saw purchase(sometimes without), and this is where the locals learn these techniques. Many of the techniques are designed more for safety than efficiency. Another reason, aside from costs, that shorter bars are popular. Another is the fact they do not have 5' wide Hemlocks dotting their countryside.

That's true in the UK. In other parts of Europe there's no felling certs. Swedes have a national safety qualification, but I think it's not mandatory, at least they have never asked me to show any cards.

In Scandinavia the chainsaws cost just about the same as in the US, according to the on line price lists.

The Swedish landowners do mostly first thinning pulp. That's just about the only commercial cutting they can make profit for their own work. Stands are thinned very young, average DBH may be 5-7''.

On the video they removed the dominant trees over a sapling stand. I suppose Aspens were left on the stand in order to protect planted seedlings from getting frost bites.