Witness an unusal cut!

[beastmaster]

I was finishing up a hazardous removal of an Alder tree. It had taking most the day and I admit I was getting a little tired. It was stressful, It was leaning, had this big dog leg, many defects, etc. so when I got down to the last 20 feet I had a nice area to drop the stick a little against the lean(which wasn't to bad now.)I wanted to go for it and be done with this tree.
It had grown into a little foot bridge so it had to be cut above the bridge about 6 ft above the ground.
I had been using another tree and swinging the pieces out, but the last piece got awful close to the deck.
The owner of the company I was working for was worried that the stick would nose dive and come back into the deck or bridge. A vary real possibility. He likes to fall stuff on the ground(his climbing days are long gone)but I offered to do it. I was sure if I put a narrow face cut and had the guys give it a nice pull, she'd land nice and flat.
He said he could do it. Here is his cut; First he bored cut it flat half way in the middle(saw on its side). Then he cut up from the front at a steep angle. I told my friend this isn't going to go well. He finished the face cut going in a little below the plunge cut.
We had a pulley system hooked to it so we started pulling it over as he did his back cut from the bridge. A little past center as the tree starts to lean our way it slides of the stump and lands perfect. Never seen nothing like it before. He never ceases to amaze me that guy. Did he invent that or has anyone else seen or use that cut.( the sliding plunge cut?) Beastmaster

 

[murphy4trees]

That may be unusual but certainly not a first.. Its pretty simple to bore cut the back cut, then put the face in to match it up to a perfect hinge. This is especially helpful on heavy front leaning thin stems. I posted a video of that cut a while ago... Boston Bull freaked out...

Its the second cut on this video..
YouTube - ‪locust gum tops.mov‬‏

Your boss may have made it up himself but certainly he wasn't the first.. pretty much just a common sense solution to the problem.. I forget if I read about that cut online, or made it up myself, though I do remember the first tree I tried it on..

 

[Rftreeman]

I'm having a hard time picturing the cut you are trying to describe....

 

[NCTREE]

So what your saying is he did and upside down face cut. Bored his back cut first then did the facecut upside down?

 

[RVALUE]

I watched the video, and am having a hard time figuring out if or why it was necessary.

Was it just practicing?

I most likely missed a point that would make 'it make sense' to me.

 

[beastmaster]

I know its kind of hard to picture. It wasn't a classic bore cut. The stick because of the way the cut was made, after just starting to lean the opposite way, and because there was little holding wood, just slid down the face still upright(but with a slight forward lean)landing on the end, upright.(Then of course falling in the right direction. I watched it and can't picture it. Beastmaster

 

[Nailsbeats]

Without seeing it, it sounds like an open face Humboldt notch with a bored backcut. Leaving just enough hinge to commit the tree over center and break off, thus the butt sliding down the Humboldt and off the stump first.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Without a picture, who the heck knows?

 

[Nailsbeats]

Here is what I am describing.

View attachment 177863

 

[RVALUE]

Is that pic (drawing) right? I Can't see an application of that widow maker, exactly as drawn.

Maybe I really missed something earlier.


I have a take down method for an over height (to equipment) method I have been working on. Trying to get the nerve to video it. It seems when I try videoing, all goes wrong.


Then of course I run the automatic risk of catching heck from everyone.

 

[Blakesmaster]

Without a picture, who the heck knows?

I like it. Could use some color though.

 

[murphy4trees]

Not sure what you mean by "overheight to equipment".. Overheight is mostly relative to the LZ...

So what does that mean?

And don't be shy... post up that video...

"If you REALLY care about people, you can't care about what people think" heard that in the "Forum", might be a quote from Werner Erhart..

Is that pic (drawing) right? I Can't see an application of that widow maker, exactly as drawn.

Maybe I really missed something earlier.


I have a take down method for an over height (to equipment) method I have been working on. Trying to get the nerve to video it. It seems when I try videoing, all goes wrong.


Then of course I run the automatic risk of catching heck from everyone.

 

[murphy4trees]

The narrow humboldt is used a lot by loggers. It has a lot of advantages.. early breaking hinge tends to allow the tree to roll of other trees, rather than hang up on them, it also preps the log for the mill.. no flush cut needed, and when falling uphill, it is a huge safety factor to have the but land first, before the top, and in front of the stump, so the stump keeps the whole tree from sliding back down and killing the faller.

I've used them aloft, to get the top to drop pretty much straight down early in the fall in order to clear some limbs of adjacent trees. I have one of them on video too...
Its at the 2:11 mark on this video.. (don't blink or you'll miss it)

YouTube - ‪remote trip tops‬‏
(remote trip tops) ..

I used something similar yeaterday on a nasty dying cherry top. I wanted to get out of the tree before calling for the pull, as that deadwood was flying.. Got that on tape too. My vid comp is about out of space, so I may have to get the editor over before I can get that one up..

 

[RVALUE]

Not sure what you mean by "overheight to equipment".. Overheight is mostly relative to the LZ...

So what does that mean?

And don't be shy... post up that video...

"If you REALLY care about people, you can't care about what people think" heard that in the "Forum", might be a quote from Werner Erhart..

For example, taking down a 120 foot tree with a 55 foot truck, in an area that would not accomodate cutting at the ground originally.

I am not sure what LZ implies.

 

[Nailsbeats]

For example, taking down a 120 foot tree with a 55 foot truck, in an area that would not accomodate cutting at the ground originally.

I am not sure what LZ implies.

That's why you climb it. Darn trucks just get in the way, lol.

LZ stands for Landing Zone.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Please OP, would you clarify this cut already. The suspense is killing......

I have a feeling my diagram is wrong and his first cut may have been a face bore and not a back cut bore.

 

[Rftreeman]

I've been doing this 23 years and have yet to find myself in a spot where I needed to use some fancy face cut other than a traditional notch and back cut or a Humboldt to keep the butt of the log flat for milling.....seems like a lot of wasted time and energy that could be spent on something else....

 

[RVALUE]

That's why you climb it. Darn trucks just get in the way, lol.

LZ stands for Landing Zone.

Wish I could climb. I have a fake back, and "slow" left leg. I got crushed in 2006.

And the lack of a large LZ IS the problem.

I use the slipping stump cut quite often. Especially when it is warranted.

 

[beastmaster]

Without seeing it, it sounds like an open face Humboldt notch with a bored backcut. Leaving just enough hinge to commit the tree over center and break off, thus the butt sliding down the Humboldt and off the stump first.

That pretty much sums it up. I have never seen an uncontrolled(more or less)falling cut that worked with such perfection, especially for that giving situation.
Murphy I was checking out your videos and their awesome. Rvaule, man, make your video. Its all learning and sharing experience. I for one would like to see it. I like innovation. That is why I was so impressed with that cut in the first place. Beastmaster

 

[RVALUE]

After all this, I re-read the original post. I understand what he did now. The important part would be that the pull force would need to be above center of mass, and enough to overcome the lean. Resulting in a sound cut.