What wedges?

livemusic · July 21, 2019, 02:39:03 PM

For maintaining a woodlot, harvesting downed trees (wind), harvesting dying trees, some thinning, this means some felling and bucking is involved. I haven't 'stuck' a chainsaw in a tree in awhile but I did when I first started! More than once. I did get my saw out! Anyway... multiple uses for wedges. I don't know what size wedges to get. I see some here but don't know what size to get...

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I'm not married to this brand above, I have no idea. I had a couple of hard plastic wedges but I've misplaced them! I admit I buggered them up when I first started using chainsaws... accidentally hit them with the bar/chain. They are still intact but scarred! If I could just find them, lol. I had some stuff stolen, they might even be gone.

lxskllr · July 21, 2019, 04:55:20 PM

1 5.5" for bucking, 4 8" for felling, and depending on what size wood you're dealing with, perhaps 4 10" wedges.

Skeans1 · July 21, 2019, 05:07:37 PM

Two ways I set my pouch with straight 10's and 12's 3 of each length unless I'm carrying my 15" wedge/pounder I'll leave one of the 10's its the handiest thing I carry for falling and bucking.

thecfarm · July 21, 2019, 09:14:30 PM

You're going to hit the wedges. Just the way it is. They make new ones every day. ;D

livemusic · July 22, 2019, 12:08:03 AM

Quote from: lxskllr on July 21, 2019, 04:55:20 PM
1 5.5" for bucking, 4 8" for felling, and depending on what size wood you're dealing with, perhaps 4 10" wedges.

Sorry for ignorance but why so many and why different sizes?

lxskllr · July 22, 2019, 12:28:41 AM

The 5.5" fits easily in a pocket, and is good for stuffing in the kerf while bucking as cheap insurance. Haven't found that size useful for felling. The trees I work with are best handled with an 8" wedge. Decent lift, and not too long. I suggested 4 each of the longer sizes for stacking.

Generally speaking, the longer the wedge the slower the lift, and easier to drive without spitting out, but you're constrained by the diameter of your tree. A long wedge could bottom out before getting enough lift.

I recently got a bunch of different wedges to try out from my new saw shop. The prices were decent, and I got to see them in person, though I didn't get a hardhead. Kind of sorry in retrospect. Anyway, you should find what works best for you. The list I gave is good for a firewood hack generalist. Your needs/preferences may be different.

John Mc · July 23, 2019, 03:47:04 PM

All I carry with me are two 12" wedges, though I'll generally have a couple more (12" or a 10") on my tractor or in my truck in case I run into that unusual circumstance that might need more. I generally do not stack wedges. If it takes more than one wedge thickness to tip the tree, I pound the first one in, then stuff a cookie cut from a limb or stump into the crack opened up by the first wedge and drive my second wedge on top of that.

I prefer the longer wedges, since the more gradual taper makes them easier to drive. On smaller trees, there are cutting techniques to prevent the wedge from bottoming out on the back of the hinge when driving them in.

The cookie technique and the cutting technique mean that I don't have to carry a pile of different wedges around with me when felling. I don't carry a separate size just for bucking. If needed, I just use whatever I have with me (and usually choose the one that is in the worst shape for bucking duty).

teakwood · July 24, 2019, 08:11:59 AM

yes, they get heavy quick!

Skeans1 · July 24, 2019, 08:45:30 AM

Quote from: lxskllr on July 22, 2019, 12:28:41 AM
The 5.5" fits easily in a pocket, and is good for stuffing in the kerf while bucking as cheap insurance. Haven't found that size useful for felling. The trees I work with are best handled with an 8" wedge. Decent lift, and not too long. I suggested 4 each of the longer sizes for stacking.

Generally speaking, the longer the wedge the slower the lift, and easier to drive without spitting out, but you're constrained by the diameter of your tree. A long wedge could bottom out before getting enough lift.

I recently got a bunch of different wedges to try out from my new saw shop. The prices were decent, and I got to see them in person, though I didn't get a hardhead. Kind of sorry in retrospect. Anyway, you should find what works best for you. The list I gave is good for a firewood hack generalist. Your needs/preferences may be different.

Personally I've given up on hard heads I don't know how many of them I've had the head come off, as well as of the places around here won't allow one even on their lands.

John Mc · July 24, 2019, 09:01:00 AM

Quote from: Skeans1 on July 24, 2019, 08:45:30 AM
Quote from: lxskllr on July 22, 2019, 12:28:41 AMI recently got a bunch of different wedges to try out from my new saw shop. The prices were decent, and I got to see them in person, though I didn't get a hardhead. Kind of sorry in retrospect. Anyway, you should find what works best for you. The list I gave is good for a firewood hack generalist. Your needs/preferences may be different.
Personally I've given up on hard heads I don't know how many of them I've had the head come off, as well as of the places around here won't allow one even on their lands.

Why would a landowner care what kind of wedge you use?
I've cut on places that require me to use veggie-based bar & chain oil, and I can certainly understand their reasoning (in fact, I use it on my own land). But specifying the type of wedge you use?! I don't use the hard-heads myself. I never really sw a need for them, but all the same I can't see prohibiting them

Skeans1 · July 24, 2019, 09:15:20 AM

Quote from: John Mc on July 24, 2019, 09:01:00 AM
Quote from: Skeans1 on July 24, 2019, 08:45:30 AM
Quote from: lxskllr on July 22, 2019, 12:28:41 AMI recently got a bunch of different wedges to try out from my new saw shop. The prices were decent, and I got to see them in person, though I didn't get a hardhead. Kind of sorry in retrospect. Anyway, you should find what works best for you. The list I gave is good for a firewood hack generalist. Your needs/preferences may be different.
Personally I've given up on hard heads I don't know how many of them I've had the head come off, as well as of the places around here won't allow one even on their lands.
Why would a landowner care what kind of wedge you use?
I've cut on places that require me to use veggie-based bar & chain oil, and I can certainly understand their reasoning (in fact, I use it on my own land). But specifying the type of wedge you use?!

Part of their safety policy same ones that require chaps even over pants with internal pants or chainsaw pants.

John Mc · July 24, 2019, 09:41:39 AM

Quote from: Skeans1 on July 24, 2019, 09:15:20 AMPart of their safety policy same ones that require chaps even over pants with internal pants or chainsaw pants.

OK, that's another new one on me. If you are wearing OSHA-approved chainsaw pants, they still require chaps on top of those? That's just idiotic. What's the reasoning behind that?

Skeans1 · July 24, 2019, 10:31:36 AM

Quote from: John Mc on July 24, 2019, 09:41:39 AM
Quote from: Skeans1 on July 24, 2019, 09:15:20 AMPart of their safety policy same ones that require chaps even over pants with internal pants or chainsaw pants.
OK, that's another new one on me. If you are wearing OSHA-approved chainsaw pants, they still require chaps on top of those? That's just idiotic. What's the reasoning behind that?

It's all safety policy, same policy that requires all snow holes on harvester heads it's al about checking a box in the right places.

Old Greenhorn · October 05, 2019, 04:19:48 PM

I took a GOL level 3 class yesterday and I learned something about wedges that was not part of the normal teaching program, it just came up in application. I have never seen this mentioned anywhere in the multitude of wedges discussions so I am mention it here.
When I cut my tree, it was a 100'+ soft maple with 8' of back lean we (I) had to overcome. It was roughly 24" DBH. Aside from doing this with an 18" bar, I had all my cuts in placing a pair of wedges side by side as I cleared out the back side. When I started driving the hit was hard to make it move and the movement seemed smaller than it should have been. I kept driving but finally the instructor decided something was not right. He popped in one of his wedges and gave it 3 good blows of easy effort, then removed my wedges. Turns out that my wedges were too soft and were not able to handle the weight of the tree, also my wedges were more narrow so it was deforming the butt of the tree rather than lift it. We finished the job with his wedges, two stacks of two, then adding a cookie. It was a big tree.

So what was the differences, you ask? Well, I had 10" light orange wedges of the type most folks can buy anywhere. I may have gotten mine from NT, not sure. His wedges were blue plastic 12" inch (actually measure 12-1/2") and were wider by a fair amount. My wedges showed face scaring where the wood had actually deformed the plastic. All the blue plastic wedges had no such deformation signs, and some of his wedges had a LOT of trees on them. His wedges he buys exclusively from Madsen's. I am a convert.
Some photos:
My new blue wedge on the left (12"), the cheap on in the middle (10"), and a 5" for reference. I use this mostly for bucking or at the mill.

Here you can see there is a slight difference in lift between these two wedges also because of the length.

You should be able to see the surface deformation in this yellow wedge. This is from the pressure and weight of the tree, not saw contact. The tree also sowed that the wedge was deforming it. I attribute tho the fact that the blue wedge is wider and spreads the load out further. The blue wedges do drive a LOT easier.

Much thanks to our instructor who gifted me with the new wedge because he could see I needed it. ;D Funny, but just the night before the class I was about to place an order for a handful of miscellaneous stuff including wedges, but I held off in case I learned something to change my mind. Such is indeed now the case.
Anyway, thought I might share that.