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cold weather felling wedges

Started by stumper, December 23, 2011, 08:03:13 AM

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stumper

Anybody have a recomendation for cold weather felling wedges?  The normal wedges work great in the spring sumer and fall but I have stopped carrying wedges once the weather is below say 10 degrees.  Any body have any suggestion for a felling wedge for Temps between say -15 an 10 F. 

Call me a wimp but if the temps are below -15 I don't beat the equipment and stay in were it is warm. 

thecfarm

Call me a wimp,I head for the house when it starts to get around 12 above. I don't have to be out there so I don't. I've been out in 20 degree weather and than it dropped down into the single numbers. With what I wear in the winter,I get cold at those temps. If I have to put something else on I head for the house.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

bill m

You don't say why you stop carrying wedges in cold weather. What problems are you having? I use mostly K&H plastic wedges, single and double taper, year round with no problems.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

chevytaHOE5674

I've got a bunch of the cheap green wedges from Baileys and carry them year around. Used them plenty when the weather is well below zero.

stumper

Sorry, The reason I stop using them in the winter is that they the cold gets to them and they break.  I use both the bailey's rifled wedges (yellow) and there orange wedges.  I like to work when it is 10 to 20 degrees as that is a nice comfortable temp to work with out sweating up a storm.

I normally take a belt sander to the organge ones to round off the front corners as I have found that if the front corner snags or hit something solid it will break but rounding then stops that.  However, the cold still breaks them.

Next order I put into Bailey's I'll try some green ones.

chevytaHOE5674

If your breaking that many, then you might be hitting them too hard. Have you tried using multiple wedges in the heavy leaners instead of just one wedge?

beenthere

For me, the main purpose of the wedge is just to keep the cut open. That can be done whether it is cold or not with a plastic wedge.
The second purpose would be to open the cut further by driving it a bit tighter. If real cold and a heavy maul is used, then they can shatter. But to me, that is over-doing it for plastic. Just use more than one wedge and tap them alternately. 
Or carry some wood wedges (what we used before plastic).
Have some backup steel for the cold weather driving with a maul. ;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Al_Smith

All I ever used for years were steel splitting wedges  and an 8 pound beater .They worked but on a couple of occasions the tree  got it's evens and spit them out cracking me on the shin bones which caused me to dance and prance a tad bit .


shelbycharger400

i learned the old way, ive never used the plastic ones, only the steel wedges,  just have to be a bit more carefull cutting with them.   i like them cause if one is driven in, cut some more, can drive another one in above or below it.
it dose get a bit much carryin 3 with you , but so dose carrin 25 ft of cable, 60 ft of chain and a come a long too.

stumper

I use a standard open face felling technique, with a bore cut on large trees.  Wedge normally does nothing, holding the cut open at best.  Heavy leaners is where they get a work out.  I do not think I am over using them as if I were they would break in the summer also.  Further in the summer is when I tackle to worst trees as part of my business, in the winter I am just cutting for myslef.  If I have a tree that is going to make me work to hard to fell the way I want it the I just fell it the way it wants to go and skid it top first.  In the summer It has to go where I want it or it wll land on something that will cost me, like a house, garage, fence ect....

I do not use a maul driving wedges just a short handle 5 pound axe.

Al_Smith

 :D I became so used to thumping steel wedges  with a sledge hammer I have managed to beat the tar out of my plastic ones with a 5 pound axe .

Old school and slow at times .It took me a while to realize you don't have to beat on a plastic wedge like you are driving a railroad spike  or breaking a big rock .

T Welsh

I use K&H and Stihl wedges. they all will shatter at that temp if you abuse them. Tim

mjeselskis

I was wondering the same thing as the original post. I keep breaking the plastic ones when I drive them hard to fall a leaner. I never thought of wood wedges. I've got some 4/4 oak that I think I could cut into some wedges. Any secret to making a wood wedge? It would certainly be cheaper than the last plastic wedge I bought for $10.
2006 WM LT28  1993 John Deere 5300
Husqvarna 562XP & 365 X-Torq

thecfarm

I know the few times I had a hard time with a leaner I only tapped  the wedges. I had like 3-4 in it and I kept going from one end of the tree to the other. Just taken my time and tapping them.Took a half an hour to get the job done.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Fifelaker

 I use my saw to cut them when I'm in the woods 5" tree cut 3' high thec cut  a bunch off it (  vv  ) best way I can discribe it without pics. You can cut whatever size you want this way and they are cheap just like me.

T Welsh

Wooden wedges work great,the only problem with them is when you strike them with a metal hammer,hatchet or axe, they will split, splinter and crack. but if you hit wood with wood it will stay together,just ask the timber framers how they drive pegs or fit tenons into mortises. Tim

Al_Smith

On one of the forums perhaps this one they had a jig they used to cut wedges about a dozen at time .It was mounted to the bed of a Woodmizer bandsaw mill .It had tapered pockets that precut short  pieces of stock were clamped in using the side clamping device of the  saw .Rip down through the whole mess and get two wedges for each piece of stock .

I've made them on a 12" direct drive table saw .

Actually just messing around at work I've made them using a metal cutting Kalamazoo horizontal band saw using blue nylon 66 material .

T Welsh

Al, I do the same,have made plenty of them for use on the mill and in the wood shop. only problem is finding them in the saw dust piles when they fall to the ground. so I started painting them orange :D Tim

lumberjack48

This is one problem i didn't have    ;)
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

Al_Smith

I had figured that person  who posted the fixure for cutting wedges was using them to drive in behind wide planks as he was cutting them on that bandsaw mill  so they didn't pinch the blade .

The wooden ones I've made were just used to stake concrete forms .It wouldn't be that hard to cut them  from 2 by 4 oak stock though  instead of pine 2 by 4 scraps .

Reddog

Pillar plastics makes a Super-Tuff wedge solid yellow in color. It is softer than the standard double lift they make. In the winter you can drive them hard, I have not broke one yet.

WildDog

How about aluminium wedges for falling? Not sure about low temps, I live in one of the coldest places in Australia but don't experience temps below -16 deg celcius. The aluminium stands up to our heavy eucalypts. I only use steel for splitting posts out of billets.
If you start feeling "Blue" ...breath    JD 5510 86hp 4WD loader Lucas 827, Pair of Husky's 372xp, 261 & Stihl 029

Al_Smith

I havn't seen an alumunum wedge for decades .

Reddog

You can still get Alum's and Magnesium wedges on the west coast. But it takes some digging to find the suppliers.
Plus in real cold temps like -20F they flake worse than the plastic ones. Also they are quite cold to work with, suck the heat right out of your gloves.

Al_Smith

Well yes they would .Because of the free valance electrons aluminum is a great conducter of both heat and electricity .

Ya know I just might start using a dead blow to thump wedges .I have a hard time hitting the same place twice with the heel of an axe .One reason I never got into the axe stuff in lumber competitions .Lawdy they'd be calling me toeless Al by now .

On the other hand with my inaccuracies of swing I became very very good at changing axe handles over the years .

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