Took a big one today

[Revturbo977]

monster oak on a property I'm working on. Not exactly clean cuts matching up, but it fell perfectly . I'd bet close to 1.5 cord in this one .

 

[zogger]

Nice one! You'll get at least that much out of it.

 

[Revturbo977]

I hope so! Won't be burning it till 2018 but it will be well worth the wait

 

[UpOnTheHill]

Very nice tree! Just curious why you took it down? I've got probably 40 or 50 of those big old oaks on my little wood lot, a few are monsters. One measures over 4ft across and has branches coming off every which way. I've never taken one, but I've always thought about the awesome firewood it would make.

 

[unclemoustache]

Open face cut? I suspect somebody here is going to scold you about that.

Looks like a good day's work.

 

[Revturbo977]

Very nice tree! Just curious why you took it down? I've got probably 40 or 50 of those big old oaks on my little wood lot, a few are monsters. One measures over 4ft across and has branches coming off every which way. I've never taken one, but I've always thought about the awesome firewood it would make.

I'm clearing a lot for a women's horses. She has 3 other fields cleared and wanted 2 more. She told me to take all the trees down so I didn't argue. I've been waiting on this big boy till now

 

[Revturbo977]

Open face cut? I suspect somebody here is going to scold you about that.

Looks like a good day's work.

Yes I'm sure someone will nit pick the work.

It was a good day though all around

 

[muddstopper]

When notching a big oak like that, I like to notch to split. Dont know how to explain, but I use a small face cut and cut slowly on the back cut. I want the tree to self split, sort of barber chair. As soon as the tree starts falling the way I want it to, I just backup and let gravity do the work. It saves a bunch of noodleing and maul swinging trying to split those butt cuts. Might leave a ugly stump with splinters sticking up, but I can take care of those tall strings easier than busting those large rounds.

 

[101mph]

Looks good! Whats wrong with an open face cut?

 

[Revturbo977]

Looks good! Whats wrong with an open face cut?

Nothing's wrong with it imo, but this tree would have probably been a good candidate for a Humboldt. I'm sure many others would have gone that route

 

[firefighter938]

Yes, please explain the differences. I'm just a hack firewood cutter who normally cuts a conventional hinge. I understand the differences between open, humbly, and conventional but I don't know which is safer.

Safety is important so I am always willing to learn from more experienced fellers.

 

[Revturbo977]

I'm not a professional arborist but have felled enough trees to know what is safe and what isn't. I use and open face cut, and bore cut the back cut on almost everything . I bore so I can set my hinge and get wedges in there and take my time doing so. a humboldt would have been Most others choice here though.

 

[muddstopper]

Yes, please explain the differences. I'm just a hack firewood cutter who normally cuts a conventional hinge. I understand the differences between open, humbly, and conventional but I don't know which is safer.

Safety is important so I am always willing to learn from more experienced fellers.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/felling/cuts/notches.html

 

[muddstopper]

A humboldt is usually used when you are trying to save wood on saw logs. I see no other benefit. well maybe some preventing of a kickback. Having a flat top cut and wedge bottom cut leaves the end of the log flat. An openface helps prevent kickback and in some cases, helps hold the tree from jumping from the stump as it falls. The open wedge allows the tree to fall almost all the way to the ground before the wedge closes up. A conventional face cut for small dia wood is what I use on just about everything I cut for firewood. Sometimes I just make a single flat cut in the face and then back cut it. Doing conventional face cuts in big wood will usually result in the butt partially splitting and possible barberchair unless you have a really fast saw. A conventional cut can also result in more kickback than a open face. Since I am more into cutting firewood than saw logs, I like having the tree split itself as it falls. I'll backcut until the tree starts to fall and then walk away as it splits itself. I like clean cuts without splitting and splintering too, but you have to approach every tree differently. If i want to control a trees fall, I'll do it with a open face cut more often than the conventional face cut and I cant remember the last time I used a humboldt. And I almost never bore a tree, but have watched my BIL bore cut just about everything, including trees i would just make a flat face cut and then back cut it down. On the tree the OP cut. I would have used a conventional face cut, with about half the top angle and hope for the log to split as it falls. If i was cutting the tree for a saw log, then I would have considered the humboldt. Nothing wrong with what the Op did, he got the tree cut, it fell where he wanted it, what else can you ask for.

 

[Gugi47]

Nice job. And free top quality firewood. You can beat that.

 

[Revturbo977]

A humboldt is usually used when you are trying to save wood on saw logs. I see no other benefit. well maybe some preventing of a kickback. Having a flat top cut and wedge bottom cut leaves the end of the log flat. An openface helps prevent kickback and in some cases, helps hold the tree from jumping from the stump as it falls. The open wedge allows the tree to fall almost all the way to the ground before the wedge closes up. A conventional face cut for small dia wood is what I use on just about everything I cut for firewood. Sometimes I just make a single flat cut in the face and then back cut it. Doing conventional face cuts in big wood will usually result in the butt partially splitting and possible barberchair unless you have a really fast saw. A conventional cut can also result in more kickback than a open face. Since I am more into cutting firewood than saw logs, I like having the tree split itself as it falls. I'll backcut until the tree starts to fall and then walk away as it splits itself. I like clean cuts without splitting and splintering too, but you have to approach every tree differently. If i want to control a trees fall, I'll do it with a open face cut more often than the conventional face cut and I cant remember the last time I used a humboldt. And I almost never bore a tree, but have watched my BIL bore cut just about everything, including trees i would just make a flat face cut and then back cut it down. On the tree the OP cut. I would have used a conventional face cut, with about half the top angle and hope for the log to split as it falls. If i was cutting the tree for a saw log, then I would have considered the humboldt. Nothing wrong with what the Op did, he got the tree cut, it fell where he wanted it, what else can you ask for.

Good info there. I think everyone has their ways of felling a tree. This had almost no lean, and the canopy was in the direction of the fall. I can see where open face with a conventional back cut on big wood can get a chair. I don't mess around with tons of different cuts. Mostly open face with a bore cut to set the hinge .

 

[muddstopper]

I do a lot of things different than other folks on here. I can see the benefit of doing some things different, but it always looks different standing beside the tree than what any picture can show. I dont cut for profit, so I aint into the high production some folks seek. I do enjoy reading the many ways there are to do the same job and have picked up a few tips along the way.

 

[cantoo]

The cut on the tree looks ok but I see no pictures of the women?
I prefer safety over pretty when it comes to falling trees. When it comes to women I prefer easy over hard and it's not always about quantity.

 

[Revturbo977]

The cut on the tree looks ok but I see no pictures of the women?
I prefer safety over pretty when it comes to falling trees. When it comes to women I prefer easy over hard and it's not always about quantity.

Ha. She's an older women, probably closer to 70. She's married too but haven't met her husband yet

 

[Woos31]

I'm reading out of it given half a back cut, then one wedge, and then the stump that it leaned out to the right or had an obstruction as he pulled it to the left. OP released the compression side, put a wedge under it then went to his tension/ pulling side to torch er off. He used techniques he's comfortable with, as others mentioned the tree hit the mark, and nobody hurt. That's a successful day IMO, good job man!
Humbolts are also good for stretching a tree out, meaning you can get it to jump forward off the stump after it tips so far........the butt closes on the bottom of the face, snipe the front third of the face and it'll give a little whip into the tree it will launch/jump under it own momentum with the fall direction. Used to clear an obstacle or a severe terrain change to save out saw logs. Or if you need it get within reach of a haywire when getting firewood. I know my explanation isn't very good and probably more confusing than anything. So the snipe is cutting the front third at a steeper angle the the bottom face cut in a humbolt, so the tree accelerates giving it the momentum to fall and land farther from it's stump. I know when I said making it "whip" that everyone is thinking you're a crazy fool because that's ask in for limbs and tops to break out and come down whoopin knowledge knots on the melon. Anyway, sorry for the confusion and safe cutting gents