should've stayed inside

crazy4saws · February 04, 2018, 09:18:45 PM

The ground is frozen up again after a week long thaw, so I decided to finish cutting the remaining ash and elm. 1st tree, ash that grew very twisted.

Went well....

Second tree not so much, put the face in, started back cut, came around the back, drove in wedge, continued cut. Well somewhere when I was setting the hinge I cut part of the hinge out on the opposite side. Tree starts moving, go to pull saw out, its pinched, the tree starts to rotate bending the bar. It hits opposing tree branches as its now going 90 degrees from the intended fall. One of these branches lifts the tree off the stump enough for the saw to get underneath it. The tree sits on the recoil, than falls to the ground. Not a great day in the woods.

The bar is bent, crank case is cracked at the AV mount, top cover cracked. Hopefully everything else is okay.

Here is a picture of the stump

I think when I cut part of the hinge, the remaining hinge pulled the tree away from the intended direction. The tree pinched the bar when I cut the hinge. Atleast thats what I think happened.

Guess I should've stayed inside today!!

BargeMonkey · February 04, 2018, 09:50:53 PM

I feel your pain. 👎 ran out of stuff to do so I decided to handcut the header on a job this summer, big nasty hemlock half rotted, got her tipped and she broke, took the saw with it, watched the saw hit the ground and thought it was safe, butt flopped down and drive it into the dirt, looked just about like your saw.

Maine372 · February 04, 2018, 09:58:28 PM

I rolled a log onto a saw once, terrible feeling.

but that saw, being one of the most popular production saws ever produced, is easily fixed. and where the bar is just bent in the one spot it should be easily straightened.

sure its a blow to your pride, but it wasn't a sentimental saw made of unobtainium parts, and you walked away unhurt. learn, fix, carry on!

thecfarm · February 04, 2018, 10:39:51 PM

My saying is,I should of stayed inside and watched TV.

celliott · February 05, 2018, 05:08:59 AM

That was Saturday for me. Shoulda stayed home, woulda been better off. Fought till noon to get the Skidder started, finally did, went to cut a hitch and battled to make it partway up a steep hill, took forever. Finally got to cutting, pinched saw a couple times, threw the chain twice, trees hung up... headed for the landing, forget to take brake lock off and finally notice, brake rotor was glowing red, nearly caught my Skidder on fire. Just dumb. So I only cut one hitch and went home before I could do any more damage.... thankfully Sunday was better.

PA_Walnut · February 05, 2018, 06:39:46 AM

The Bright side: you are not injured. Trees that go sideways can cause evil! :-\
Stay safe in the woods!

mike_belben · February 05, 2018, 07:37:58 AM

Better the saw than you.

Last summer im doing a clearing and logging job half mile down the street up in the woods where my truck wont go and you cant leave a thing without it walking off.. I said man i gotta get a quad to carry all this stuff in, fuel and oil pails, etc.

I cut an old ugly white oak with a squirrel tunnel that was fully committed to going north. My dozer was parked to the south and quad behind that. Unbeknownst to me a number of these trees were ancient target practice. Full of lead and spongy holding wood. Also a main top fork of the tree had snapped off and been cut up for firewood so despite leaning north it was weighted south. FIRST day on the job the quad gets flattened as the dozer breaks the trunk. Exploded my toolbox, broke my shotgun etc. The day before i had one of these shot up leaners fold a 24" bar when it had no sound holding wood. Bullets heal over the rot very well, looked fine.

It was a hard week to explain to the wife. Through much tribulation and all that.

Resonator · February 05, 2018, 09:39:02 AM

x2 PA_Walnut. Saws can be replaced. If you made it home with all YOUR vital parts you originally came with, you had a GOOD day.

Skip · February 05, 2018, 10:03:13 AM

Been there done that X? :-[ >:(

maple flats · February 05, 2018, 05:57:10 PM

I had one of those days back in the early 80's. We were cutting and pulling out firewood logs. Somehow at one point one saw got set on the ground. We were pulling with an old OC3 crawler. When a crawler goes over an aluminum housed saw, it ain't pretty. We were however able to "fix" it enough to use for a few more years. When we fixed it, it wore a handle made of copper tubing, and the fuel tank had a leak fixed with a sealant. The bar had to be changed and that was it. We used it for about 4 more years. Back then saws had no chain brake, at least not that one. It was an old Remington saw with a 16 or 18" bar.

coxy · February 05, 2018, 06:08:11 PM

you needed a new bar any way the paint was coming of that one :D if your good you can straighten that one out

Puffergas · February 05, 2018, 06:16:47 PM

A few years past, my favourite saw ended up in a shed fire. Looked like a barbecued chicken -- well done!

:'(

starmac · February 05, 2018, 06:26:21 PM

Years ago I was doing a row clearing job for Houston Lighting and Power. This was not a logging job, but a clearing job, most timber was just pushed into burn piles and burnt, but every property owner had a different contract. A few contracts called for everything over a certain size had to be cut up in cordwood. The company bought 8 of the biggest Mccoulluhs at the time. One day one of the hands set a new saw on the ground just a few feet back from a ravine, I noticed a D8 coming out of the ravine right on top of the saw, I waved and yelled but the operator was not looking in my direction. It seemed like slow motion as the dozer track kept going up in the air and finally broke over, just to slam down on the saw. That new saw lasted less than a week, and there was not a salvagable piece left on it.

crazy4saws · February 05, 2018, 10:17:25 PM

You guys are supportive! Yes I'm grateful to have not been hurt during this project. Btw great stories, and thanks for not beating me up on my stumps, I'm still learning.

Mike, your story put things in perspective for me. I damaged a used saw, not a new 4 wheeler. That would be a terrible day.

Right out of high school, bought my 1st truck, used 91 f350 with the 460. Nice body and paint. Tail gate was original with the aluminum/plastic emblem on the back. Dad, brother and I are cutting firewood, i see a 16" maple snag, and go to cut it down, dad goes to move the truck. I say, No it's far enough away, leave it. That maple landed right on the tailgate, destroyed it. We left without any wood in the truck, or words spoken. I was livid.

BargeMonkey · February 05, 2018, 10:30:30 PM

I've seen so many of these "super loggers" who claim to the perfect, if you haven't smoked a couple saws or busted some stuff up you haven't tried hard enough. At least you didn't get hurt. I've got a set of 372 cases I have no plans to use if you needed them to fix your saw 👍, I've got a boneyard of saw parts, let me know.

BargeMonkey · February 05, 2018, 10:30:51 PM

.

Skeans1 · February 05, 2018, 11:27:37 PM

How many of these are you trying to swing? If none you might try putting a stick in the face or in the far side of your back cut, myself I'm not a huge fan of boring or strapping a back cut. The last two stumps look pretty good, other then the far side on the first one, we all have lost at least something I've bent a bar or two when I was learning and it happens.

Just wondering how many of you guys did back falling and bucking with an old time faller like we do back here before we're set free on our own. Like myself I spent a few years getting broke in some guys will get broke in for 10 years doing the ugly trees to learn on before getting turned loose on their own.

coxy · February 06, 2018, 06:36:48 AM

do i see another road trip in the future coming to NY to pick up saw parts

i cant help you out i don't run them orange things but i have some red parts that will really make that orange thing run good :D :D 8)

mike_belben · February 06, 2018, 08:57:17 AM

Id say most east coast logging is an every man for himself sort of thing these days. Maybe youre dad or uncle or buddy did it, maybe you started working for a guy when you were young and just stayed in it. Most who i know are self taught, just farm boys. I had a tiny house with some big pines on a hill that was eroding and they were gonna crush it. No money for a tree conpany so i charged a saddle, ebay gaffs, some ropes and got started. If by luck you dont get killed at it, you'll eventually know what youre doing. And other people love to pay a guy who knows what hes doing.

PS, it was a new to me quad, old suzuki 300. $900 i think. Its a lot uglier and crunchy now but still on the job.

GRANITEstateMP · February 06, 2018, 10:37:07 AM

Ouch! at least it was the quad and not you...

BargeMonkey · February 06, 2018, 01:12:06 PM

It's impossible to kill a LTF300 Kingquad 😂, I tried. 15f / 3r, independent, they where a pretty bad machine.

maple flats · February 06, 2018, 01:38:15 PM

I used to cut like you now do, until I took the Game Of Logging training. Ever since I've started with the wedge cut and I make it a large wedge (top to bottom). Then I do a plunge cut somewhere in the middle of the rest of the tree, but a little closer to where the hinge will be. Once thru I carefully work towards the hinge and keep tabs on the hinge thickness, it should be about 10% of the diameter. Once the hinge is defined I finish the cut, but I start from that plunge cut and work away from the hinge. If a felling wedge is needed, you can put one in just behind where the saw bar is, or on some you may want to do a plunge cut in the center of the trunk at right angle to the hinge aqnd drive a wedge in there and then cut towards the wedge from the sides. Here's a link that shows it much better than I can describe it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Teb2bQsqx44

mike_belben · February 06, 2018, 02:00:00 PM

Yeah kingquads are a lot of machine for the money. Hard to find CV axles cheap anymore, and the vacuum operate fuel shutoffs always fail and fill the crankcase with gas. Its a good mix for burnin stumps though.

MF. The GOL technique has some strengths and some weaknesses. Its slow for a commercial hand faller for one.. And the biggest issue IMO is it doesnt allow the tree to give you ANY feedback on whether it agrees with your plan or not until you turn it loose and find out.

Oh hey, it actually wants to eat my kingquad. Surprise!

PA_Walnut · February 07, 2018, 07:18:42 AM

Flats,
Good informative video! I think people tend to give less merit (safety) to smaller trees, but a 15" can take you at as well as a 40. Be safe out there...beat the odds!

Resonator · February 07, 2018, 08:53:00 AM

Great video! One thing I do a lot more is LOOK UP. Not just to read the lean, but to see if any of the top or deadfall is loose. A neighbor of mine had just finished the cut and stepped back from the stump, when a large branch fell and knocked the idling saw out of his hands. Got his attention. Be safe.