When Cutting Notch...

[Greener]

I think Beastmaster got it right on here. It is very important in directional falling to line up the undercut and diagonal cuts accurately. It is tougher to start with the undercut and match up with the diagonal but the undercut must be first in order to line up the direction of the face, and thus the direction of the fall. Most newcomers tend to miss when doing the diagonal (top) cut second. The roll of the bar (that is the tilt from top to bottom-not nose to powerhead-of the bar) is key. When learning to match up the top cut with the undercut, it is common to come up short on the far side of the undercut. This is often because the rookie cutter needs to move the top of the bar toward the ground more and the gut (bottom) of the bar more toward the sky. I have completed enough Dutchman's myself to know this. In another post here, someone mentioned marking the corners (the two edges of the undercut) before completing the top cut of the face. This is good advice. I know many here have suggested doing the top/diag. cut first but, in the interest of having more confidence in terms of the direction the tree will fall, the undercut should be first because you can sight it in. You can't really do this in a meaningful way when doing the diag. cut first. Just my two cents. As Beastmaster mentions, whether you are a a climber or a pure feller, the direction of the fall is crucial. Also, get "The Fundamentals of General Tree Work" by G.F. Beranek. He explains face cut several techniques very well and it is worth the investment.

 

[fraidofheights]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write.

I'm gonna do the diagonals first, for now, because most of the stuff I'm falling isn't that important, but I'll be collecting bolts to work on my wedges. Any books that you guys say sound good and I'll probably order them on payday if they're good because I'm up to my butt in arborist books and my girlfriend wants me reading all the time and you can always learn something new. My falling sucks still but I'm practicing and I can't believe my old man survived the way he did this stuff around the property and I cant believe I survived childhood either.

Thanks.

 

[Greener]

I'm gonna do the diagonals first, for now, because most of the stuff I'm falling isn't that important, but I'll be collecting bolts to work on my wedges. Any books that you guys say sound good and I'll probably order them on payday if they're good because I'm up to my butt in arborist books and my girlfriend wants me reading all the time and you can always learn something new. My falling sucks still but I'm practicing and I can't believe my old man survived the way he did this stuff around the property and I cant believe I survived childhood either.

Thanks.

Practice, practice and more practice. Happy felling.

 

[Mr. Woods]

I recommend "To Fell a Tree" by Jeff Jepson. A very good book for just a few bucks.

 

[beastmaster]

I just want to add that if you do your bottom cut first and come up short on the angle cut its not that difficult to go back in and fix it. I also after doing my flat cut gun the saw a few times to clean out the saw dust, then I can get to eye level with the cut and aim for my mark. On large trees it helps if someone is guiding you from the otherside(for us flatlanders)of the tree. With practice you'll get the hang of being able to make your down cut go longer or shorter as needed. Beastmaster

 

[jefflovstrom]

We dont harvest wood but I must say, a Humbolt is a good notch in many applications.
Jeff

 

[Hard Maple]

Practice,Practice and more Practice. I agree fully about reading all you can but if you do not get out there and put it to use it doesnt really help you, just my two cents.

 

[wyk]

It is just as easy to gun your sights regardless which cut you start on - assuming you start your cut gunned. The advantage to starting the bottom/horizontal cut first is you can gun it while the saw is in the cut more easily. All saws I have used have gunning sights on top and sides. However, if you start the the top diagonal first on a conventional cut, you can actually look down the cut as you start the horizontal and match them up perfectly each and every time - you will never mis-align your cuts so long as you can sight down the top cut as you saw, and I find it is faster to use in forestry, where they aren't terribly concerned about the wood loss since you have to cut ont he forest floor anyways. I used to do the flat cut first as a gunning sight, but after having worked in Europe, I have switched. If the tree is large, I will leave just enough wood left so it doesn't pinch my bar between the cuts, and just nick it from the top to finish the cut.