Felling Cuts

[farmerdoug]

Years ago when my dad sold timber from our woods I remember hearing the foreman of the crew telling the feller he had just hired something scary.  He said" notches waste valuable butt wood so no notches or just notch the root swells".  : Even though at that time all I had ever cut was firewood that sounded crazy to me.  It still makes me shutter today when I think about it.  I am glad no one was hurt on our farm when they were logging.

[Kevin]

For the most part it's just honestly not knowing any better.

[rockenbman]

I dont think after a 30 pack of cold beer could make cut a tree like that  ;D stand back 300 plus feet when that bunch are working.

[Ironwood]

I am no logger, and have seen my fair bit of "techniques" out there. This is all from the professionals in my region. I drop maybe, 5 big trees a year. The most interesting is a fellow FF member who takes very little depth for the notch. In his training this how it was shown. He has logged all his life and cut thousands of trees, and you know it reminds me of Farmerdog's post "taking just the root swell off". The back cut is then longer and I guess considering the physics of the "Tom " barber pole sketch,  it makes sense. The majority of the mass in the tree is to the rear of the hindge and seems it would be much less likely to barber pole. Just my observation.

                   ironwood

[Dale Hatfield]

I need to learn spanish so i can help train in places like jims pic. 

[snowman]

I'll have to admit a bad habit, I sometimes don't notch trees. Little ones anyway. If they have a good lean and a precise lay isn't an issue, I will sometimes zip em off. It does save time and in small timber you can cut as fast as the tree falls so theres no barberchair. Maybe it's from a life time of working gypo, by the log, by the load or by the thousand. Have to keep that clicker turning! :D Maybe if I worked by the hour I'd feel different, who knows.

[Rick Alger]

My guess is somebody notched and back-cut those trees to drop them by the domino method. ( a bunch at a time) Then  somebody else pushed them over backwards. That meant some poor soul  had to zip them off the stump with the third cut.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

The first time I used a specific technique on a leaner was on an 18" Cherry.
Here is a sketch similar to others which have been posted before:


Step one was a shallow face notch.
Next, I followed with a plunge cut behind the hinge area and above the center of the notch.
         That plunge was expanded away from the hinge, leaving
         a strap at the back of the stump which was almost three inches thick.
The last cut was lower than the plunge. (shown in blue)

I mistakenly took too much wood away at the hinge, causing the tree to sit down
on the saw bar.  I used a second saw to cut the strap/release cut.

What impressed me about that experience is that it was safe, even though I botched
the thickness of the hinge.  In spite of that, the tree was still held safely, until I cut the
strap.  Once the strap was cut, the tree fell safely and predictably.

[Kevin]

Here's a Birch that wanted to split out even after I took the top off it .
Two cinch straps above and below the cut saved a barberchair.



It was this other side that gave the indication it might split out ...

[jokers]

Here is how I think the cuts may have happened (possibly 1st and 2nd are in reverse order).

That one would have to be called the Swinging Dead Dutchman!  ;D

[jokers]

I mistakenly took too much wood away at the hinge, causing the tree to sit down
on the saw bar.  I used a second saw to cut the strap/release cut.

What impressed me about that experience is that it was safe, even though I botched
the thickness of the hinge.  In spite of that, the tree was still held safely, until I cut the
strap.  Once the strap was cut, the tree fell safely and predictably.

Phil,

If I`m reading this right, you made your hinge so thin that it collapsed, causing the bar to be pinched? It`s my opinion that if the hinge collapsed, it has been severely compromised and it`s not nearly as safe as it may have seemed to you. I`m curious to know what others think.

[Kevin]

I can see the bar getting pinched if the bore was on the same plane as the apex and too far advanced to where there was very little or no hinge and the tree just sat down on the bar, just a guess on my part.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

I think that what happened is this diagram.   It is a cross-sectional view of
the cutting area.    Needless to say,  I don't want to compromise hinge wood
like that again.

The hinge seemed to crush a bit on one side, just enough to lock the bar, but had
a good bit of wood left on the far side of the hinge.

[zackman1801]

thats strange because usually all of the holding wood in the back will keep the tree from tipping too far. how wide was you hinge at the lowest point?  btw how big was the tree?

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

In technical terms...

Idunno!

It surprised me too.  I just knew I wanted to get that last cut
of the holding wood done and get out of there.   It wasn't a huge Black Cherry
tree, maybe 22" at the cut level and 19-20 dbh.

[zackman1801]

so it was a fairly large tree, not huge but bigger than your average firewood tree.  ive seen people get their bars pinched before because they let the saw sit while they reach for thier  wedges and the tree settles back in the cut, but this usually only happens on trees that you dont borecut and just come in from the back, most of the time you wont pinch your bar in a borecut because of the hinge and the holding wood.

[ScottAR]

I fall about as many as Reid.  Since I've learned the bore cut it's about all
I do anymore unless it's a really small tree.  Like 6-8" or so. 

I notch em all regardless... 

[Ianab]

I think that what happened is this diagram.   It is a cross-sectional view of
the cutting area.    Needless to say,  I don't want to compromise hinge wood
like that again.

The hinge seemed to crush a bit on one side, just enough to lock the bar, but had
a good bit of wood left on the far side of the hinge.

Been there, done that. Exactly how you drew it. The tree gave a little creak and settled on the bar  >:(

Same outcome, took the powerhead off and released the back strap with another saw. In this case the tree had a heavy foward lean, so yes the hingewood was compromised, but there was only one direction it was going. It was just a misjudgement on my part, large tree (~36") on the side of a hill, it was awkward to get at, and I didn't get the angles right.  :-[

Even with the problem I still believe it was MUCH safer than a conventional backup would have been in that situration. (large heavy leaner prone to barberchairing)

Ian

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

That was my point, also, Ianab:  Safer, in spite of me. Lack of practice was
the culprit for me - just had not done a lot of boring cuts.

Even though it was not a great cut, it was still much safer.
This was a leaner, just not so big. 

Phil L.