When to call it quits in the wind

[Woodboogah]

When is to windy for you to chop?  I have been down since last weds. got the machine up and running and now supposed to be 25-45mph winds today.  I will work through rain, snow, when it gets windy like this I try to find something else to do.

[celliott]

Sounds like a good call, smart to know when to quit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZ6Tc1ySOI

[coxy]

neat video and song       thanks

[WH_Conley]

That would be a subjective answer. The pros would cut in more wind than an amateur should even think about. Er on the side of caution. Better to be short a days pay than have an injury or worse.

[thenorthman]

If the tops are moving more than a foot, I stop falling, if they are whipping around and touching there toes, I go home...

But I'm in tall timber here and steep funky mountains with unpredictable wind direction.  Some folks will take a predictable wind and use it to help them fall, I'm just not that lucky.

[chep]

I was supposed to be removing a big double lead pine next to a house today. All climbing and lowering. Awoke to the wind and rain. No thanks!
the job we do is hard and dangerous enough before adding wind in.

The only time I have been thankful for wind is in a red pine thinning. Those tops just grab each other like velcro, and a good windy day def. helps get the timber to the ground

[lone wolf]

When the tree you cut flies back at you  8) :laugh: :D Ever happen to anyone?

[luvmexfood]

Good question. For me personally I am at best an amateur. If the wind gets up much I find something else to do. Not hard. Can always cut firewood, clean-up etc. Only time I will cut in much more than a slight breeze if the wind is blowing in the direction I want the tree to fall.

[Woodboogah]

I am glad  I stayed home today.  I would have been chopping at least half the day today.  No wood on the ground to skid.  I wanted to head out this morning and the wife gets worried so I made her happy and stayed home.  Spent some time with the old man and uncles and took the pup for a ride, now its truck maintenance time.  Stay safe everyone!

[gologit]

I'll cut in quite a bit of wind if the wind is steady and favors the lead.  When the wind starts controlling the tree it's time to pack out.

[CCC4]

I pretty much will stay out until 30mph+. I have been pulled out of the woods by my boss' before...with full pay  ;D, due to wind. I push the limits pretty often and that doesn't let you live a long healthy life! I am sure alot of guys have sat there waiting for the wind to move the tree off their bar and hammer back into it between gusts...dangerous as all Hell but it is done.

Yesterday a big wind front came through, there was lake wind advisories out...I was in a stand of big oak, tops swirling and gusting. What I did was cut the ones leaned with the wind in order to get my day in. I had a situation come up where I was wanting to tackle a wicked head leaning water oak with a cross wind to the lean. I knew from experience that the tree would bust willingly but with the wind I couldn't do a cut that would eliminate that. So hard headed as I am I just couldn't walk away from it. I put a really deep kerf with a fairly steep Humbolt in it and let 'er fly. Shook, I packed it in for the day.

It all worked out and always has...however I have an 11 year old Son that just wouldn't take it so well if his Dad didn't make it home...

[CCC4]

I'll cut in quite a bit of wind if the wind is steady and favors the lead.  When the wind starts controlling the tree it's time to pack out.

Hey Bob!  ;D Good evening to you Sir!

[RayMO]

Depends a lot on type of timber and location. Steady strong wind from one direction is manageable. It is that swirling multi-directional gusting that will get only your saw if you are lucky.
I always try to let common sense over ride my stubborn never give up streak  ;D

[Autocar]

I go home when the tops swing back and fourth and the bar will get pinched from the base binding also. I worry more about getting hit by limbs that get a notion to fall out. With all the dead ash in my area it will only get worse with falling limbs.Common sence thats the wind rule for me  ;).

[clww]

We were cutting them down today with 30 mph gusts. Our advantage was having an excavator to help aid them to fall in the correct direction.

[John Woodworth]

You have to make that call, you know your experience level, the wind can be a powerful power wedge but if you don't have the expierience or a good fast saw stay away from falling in the wind especially when the tops are circling, in the eyes of L&I and many it's not recomened but is done everwhwere. I'd say you are ok up to around 20 mph with light to medium gusts. The gusts is what I've always worked with and you can put a lot of timber down in a short period of time but for god's sake be careful.

[stumphugger]

I'm not a faller.  Now, doing regular work in the woods, we have pretty accurate weather predictions and I would time it to that, or high tail it out when the tiny limbs start going by.  If you wait for the cows to fly by, you have been out too long.   

[shootingarts]

Not a professional but I have cleared a fair amount of land. When this happened I was taking down good sized trees regularly.

I had cleared much of a ditch bank on a piece I had purchased for resale and had four pines left to go. As it happened they ranged smallest to largest west to east, and I wanted to lay them facing west angling just enough south to not lay on top of each other. Intermittent fairly stout wind but it was blowing to help me if I was careful. I laid the first three trees within a foot of the line I wanted them on.

Checked the wind, it was picking up in the same direction it had been blowing for the last hour or so. Hurried up and cut my notch, another quick glance aloft, and laid the tree down, right across a busy two lane highway! A quick glance at the tops of nearby standing trees revealed my problem, an over 90 degree wind shift and the wind was plenty strong to be the dominating force as to where the tree went.

Knew if the first vehicles didn't hit the tree some of the following vehicles would rear end the string of vehicles and make a mess. The ditch was just too big to cross and I knew the mud in the bottom of it would bog a D-9. A quick run to the nearest crossing and back on the other side with the saw still running in hand and I was limbing and topping like a wild man.

The tree reached all the way across both lanes and shoulders ditch to ditch. A man or two jumped out of vehicles to help clear when they saw I was working as fast as I possibly could. The God that looks out for fools was with me that day and we cleared the highway before an accident happened.

I had an 8000 pound plus tractor there I could have put a safety rope to and made it impossible for the tree to go further than maybe a few limbs in the edge of the highway. Overconfident and in a hurry. In other words, dumb! Taken down a lot of tougher trees right before that including fourteen big gums on a one acre narrow strip with a mobile home on it, houses both sides, a road, and power lines. Dropped another huge pine that had to go in a keyhole to not tangle with a home or high voltage lines, no problem. The easy job for myself was the one I got in trouble on, didn't give it the respect it deserved.

How much wind do I cut in? Too much sometimes!

Hu

[wilson_tree]

I think it depends on how busy you are.  If you have time, 25-30 mph and call it quits.  Last Friday we had to remove two maples.  The wind was blowing 25 and gusting over 40.  I was getting whipped around enough so that it was hard to stay balanced while cutting.  But we needed to get them done. Last week, the wind helped.  We had a big Poplar to remove, and it would have required a lot of time and effort to climb.  The wind was blowing hard against the lean of the tree and in the only direction it would fit on the ground.  So we notched and wedged and then the wind tipped it right into our bed and away from the road and stream.  Saved a lot of work. 

[Ken]

Although we do most of our work from a cab now I do have a relevant story.  One day last week during heavy winds the harvester operator, who had just started a new trail roadside, lost control of a large fir and it fell the wrong way and landed on another workers truck.  Drove the roof in and dented the door.