A close shave

[Old Dog]

 

 

 Lets just say it was pretty dramatic how this ash folded and kicked

[Southside]

Was she dead? Glad your OK

[WV Sawmiller]

   Glad you are okay. Ash really scare me now as there are dead limbs and tops that like to fall during sawing and when I do cut through the tree at the base the tree is liable to kick back because of soft spots half way up.

[Walnut Beast]

A good example to wear a good safety helmet 

[Old Greenhorn]

Did you do a post mortem and figure out what happened?
 I can tell you that you should buy a lottery ticket because it is you lucky day today to have walked away from that OK.
 I have a fair idea what happened, but I won't start that ball rolling. Would rahter hear what you think. You were there. Just glad you survived.

[Southside]

I believe you are correct OG, that is a textbook picture. 

[Ianab]

At a guess, was the tree leaning or weighted in the direction it was falling?  

The large tree behind the stump suggests it was either leaning or had more branches on one side. 

We don't have many Ash trees here, but I read they are easy splitting and prone to barber-chair. 

[beenthere]

Classic for leaning ash.

One short pause the back cutting can be a second too long for that top to give in to gravity and say "tree going down" !  Just hope that the saw operator has his head and body out of the way of the barberchair springing up. Bore cutting is your friend if one doesn't have the saw power and sharp chain to make a fast back cut to stay ahead of gravity.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

I have a fair idea what happened, but I won't start that ball rolling. Would rahter hear what you think. You were there.

I believe you are correct OG, that is a textbook picture.

Yup.  Its easy to see what happened and why.   The important thing is that Old Dog did have his escape route planned and didn't get hurt.   You walk away, or in this case run,  and you learn not to do that again.    If Old Dog was cutting firewood no harm done. Just started his log splitting prematurely.  :D If he was planning to saw that butt log on a mill, well, it is what it is. :(

[JimStC]

What are the pros and cons of using a high breaking strength strap (10,000 lbs) or a chain around a tree that has the potential to barber chair or otherwise split? I don't mean to go off thread but I will appreciate insight. If this should be in a separate thread, I apologize.
Thanks

[beenthere]

Both have potential to limit or reduce the barberchair split.

But the right sawing technique (sawing quickly through to the hinge or using the boring to establish the hinge) won't require a strap/chain wrap. 

[Southside]

On leaning Ash a bore cut is really the only safe option. The problem with chains is they will slide up a tapered column, which is exactly what a butt log is. Straps, and chains, can break from shock loads and now in addition to the chairing tree you have schrapenel or a bolo round to worry about. 

[Don P]

I was leaning I guess across the butt when one let go. I remember an ignosecond of "what is going on" which was when I should have been making tracks. The base of the tree caught me just under the ribs and folded me around the tree in a flash. The springpole kicks the butt and I was thrown up and to the right in relation to that bottom pic. The slope was about 40% falling away so it looked like I was about 25' in the air. It gave me time to ditch the saw, which was still idling nicely where it landed. as the slope was falling I didn't splatter and stayed on my feet but boy I felt baaad. Luckily the white oak was relatively small, it only broke a rib. Ain't nobody ever hit me that hard, we are just another baseball to that bat. I have chained several spooky trees.

[Old Dog]

In hind site it all kinda makes sense given how easy ash splits.  It was a healthy live ash with a slight lean.  I did use a conventional back cut and was off to the side when she delaminated and the the show started.  I agree that a bore cut should have been used to give me a controlled release - particularly because I have the habit or craning my head around to check on the progress of the back-cut.