tapered hinge comes through again

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I prefer a "square notch"; which isn't necessarily square, by the way. Looks kinda like that, only the roof and floor angle up and down (respectively).

;)
 
One doesn't need to be a math genius for this little bit of trigonometry.  Just need to remember the relationships between the sides/angles in a right triangle and have either a trig table or a scientific calculator handy.

In a right triangle, for any angle other than the right angle itself, you've got the side adjacent, the side opposite, and the hypotenuse.<blockquote>opposite &divide; hypotenuse = sine of angle
adjacent &divide; hypotenuse = cosine of angle
opposite &divide; adjacent = tangent of angle</blockquote>Let's see if Dan got it, but maybe a bit easier.<blockquote><font face="fixed">40" &divide; ( 75 &times; 12" ) = tan X&deg;

40" &divide; 900" = tan X&deg;

0.044 = tan 2.5&deg;</font></blockquote>Technically, the 75' should represent the hypotenuse and the sine of the angle should be the key, but in this case the difference between the long side and the hyp. is only <font size="-1"><sup>7</sup></font><i>/</i><font size="-1"><sub>8</sub></font>".

Glen
 
Erik, I didn't say it was bad...half or otherwise. Sounds like it was a challenging drop. I think he did well. I also see he now says he didn't miss his target, but he sure didn't lay that stick on the padding wood he had out there on the lawn, so I detect a bit of revisionism. I personally would not post a claim to perfect use of the tapered hinge when missing my target by even that small degree, but that's just me...I ain't gonna shout "look at me" unless I'm dead-on perfect, which I am not enough of the time to cause myself considerable chagrin :rolleyes: . If he's going to do that, he should expect both praise and criticism as each of us see fit. I admire Daniel's work, and his attitude, and his willingness to share his experience. But I really don't think he put that one exactly where he wanted it, and if it were me, I'd be less than satisfied.
 
Actually... yes I hit the padding wood dead on...
The problem was ut was completely dry tulip, not very big, and the weight of the log pulvarized the pieces.... So the picture may be deceiving........ The job was for dropping only... no clean up....
The owner cleaned up the top that Big Jon dropped and left me what you see there as padding.... This stuff was so dry it was light.... When the other tree guy, who helped me with the fall, felt how light that wood was... he repeated his suggestion to take another 20' off...
 
Hey maybe you can get a job with the Arbormaster guys as a falling instructor, and make guys think that simple fudamentals are a new idea created by you. Hey look at me I invented the fundamentals of falling. You're getting kind of old with this thing.
 
Sometimes "Enthusiasm is the yeast, that raises the dough"; and it is a positive energy generally i think.

i've marked the fall length plenty of times, without the mark as the target, so i kinda always wondered as that came up. When marking the length of the drop, target isn't as much a concern; in fact direction decison might change in respect to the tree's reach, how high hinge is made.

We speak of the tapered hinge in felling terms, but it's real power can be seen too in horizontal limb sweeps with no hinge pocket pressure like a stump, and greater leverage of pull the whole distance, as the sidelean calculation is now down, and it's perpendicular pull on a horizontal target is the greatest leverage that system can produce with the weight and length
 
I think timber falling is much like parachuting, you simply jump out and pull the cord. Those with ackroprobia or arborphobia should never parachute nor fall timber. It's not rocket science, just go with your gut instinct, make your cuts meet and don't use a saw that cuts so slow that you have limited or no control over what happens next. Falling timber can be equated to pushing over a drunk, but just make sure the drunk doesn't jump back at you if you don't make the first punch count. How's that for an analogy? I guess what I am trying to say is don't continually second guess yourself by pondering the issue over and and over again. It's all in the saw once you know the mechanics and safety issues.
Cheers,
John
 
Gypo,
I think you're cutting at a whole different level than many of us....
And Wiley... I wish you could come east for a while and see the stumps these guys leave... There aren't (m)any real logger types out here and most if not the great majority do NOT understand even the fundamentals of a notch, back cut, or hinge...

So I come from a different culture... I gave a copy of the mag article to my log loader and told him that his buddy, Victor, a landclearer was gonna laugh at it... The guy drops more trees in a month than I do in 5 years...

So what seems like the oldest trick in the book... tree cutting 101 etc... to you and guys like Victor, isn't even on the radar of a lot seasoned arborists... Like the guy who helped me drop that Tulip... 35 years in the business, 65' bucket, his father was a landscaper, all his brothers run their own landscape or tree co.s .... I tried to explain the concept of the tapered hinge to him and it went right over his head.... I told the same guy about advanced friction hitches two years ago and he just came over last week to learn one...

And you may not have been around when Spidy put the Dent on hinging thread out, but there was heated debate about the tapered hinge as put forth by Dent... Actually as I recall most everybody was ridiculing Spidy over the idea... How long ago was that? And where were you and Rocky and NE (and everyone else that thinks this is such a basic idea) then?
 
Hadn't joined the site yet. (probably)

You're right about one thing, Murph... most arborists don't even think about dropping whole trees. In my case, checking for "flop-ability" is the first thing I do when I roll up on a removal.

I think the point to be had is simply stop coming off like you invented the technology; you didn't. Sharing knowlege with others is a great thing. Isn't that why we come to this forum?

Selling what you learned here is another. Since Spidey and Dent turned you onto the tapered hinge, will you be sharing with them some of the $9.95 you're trying to get for that TCI article in .pdf format? (Which anyone with a computer can download for free, by the way.)

You've done yourself a discredit; you've sold us out, and it's hit a sore spot with many of your A-Site brothers.
 
Why would you want to make the compression side thinner than in a conventional hinge? It's still got a function to perform- as a fulcrum against the immense tension set up by the tension side.Cutting it thin just makes it easier to compress, thereby effectively changing the gun.

Wood ain't steel.
 
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