Felling wedge choices

[livemusic]

I've used wedges for years but never thought much about how do you choose the proper length. So, how? What dictates buying a 6-in wedge vs. a 10-in wedge? They appear to have about the same amount of lift. Size of tree? A longer wedge would be easier to pound in but on a 12-in DBH tree, a 10-in wedge is too long?

Anyone have a favorite brand?

[Old Greenhorn]

Great question and I am surprised we have not seen it discussed at length here before (that I know of).
 When I first started it didn't take me long to learn to avoid those short yellow plastic ones you can get cheap anywhere, too soft, the heads mushroomed quick and sometimes pieces would shatter off. Also, the 6" one were too short with little lift. They are only useful to me for bucking logs to hold the cut open. of shims on the sawmill.
 I switched to 12" yellow ones for a short while until I was cutting a 30" HM with a back lean and beating like mad and getting no lift to speak of. A buddy was watching me and remarked that the wedge was going in, but the top wasn't moving. He handed me a pair of blue Madsen's wedges and what a world of difference! When that tree hit the ground I looked at those yellow ones and realized they were just squashing out from the weight of the tree. That was it for me, I switched to the blue Madsen's and never looked back, very happy and the prices are very good too. I carry two 8" ones for the small mushroom log trees, they fit right in the pliers pocket on my logger's jeans.
 3 Weeks ago I was cutting and those two 8" wedges weren't enough lift for what I needed, so I borrowed a hard head wedge from a friend and really liked the fact that the head took the shock from the mallet and transferred the energy into movement better than all plastic. SO I ordered one and have it in the kit, but have yet to use it more.
 I tend to be a little rough on my wedges and replace a couple every year or so. But I do clean them up on the belt sander to take off the mushroomed heads and trim the tip where I may have clipped them with the saw.
 I did try a progressive lift wedge for a season, didn't like it, the tip was too thin. I think it was called a red head or something like that.
 Interesting question and I'm interested to hear what others have to say.

[beenthere]

I use the size that fits in my back pocket or jacket pocket. Orange (Stihl) and 5 or 6" long. Works well for me.

[Bert]

I'm probably the minority on this but I'm partial to the 6" wedges as well. Basically a throw away item so whatever is on the counter works. If its a heavy lift i keep a few old fashioned 10" steel wedges behind the skidder seat and they will really raise a tree.

[ehp]

I use a lot of wedges but do not cut many small trees, What I found is the longer 10 or 12 inch wedges I break the points off as I guess I hit hard , I find the 8 inch handles the pounding a lot better and if its cold out I only use the 8 inch . Most of my wedges are about twice as thick so lift more and I got to hit my placement pretty close as I'm allows around land lines, trees I cannot tough or building . The last bunch of red and white wedges sure are not like the older ones as they break way more easily

[rusticretreater]

Those short wedges are good for when you need to double up a wedge to get more lift, like when your other wedges are all the way into the cut.

I will have to look up the blue madsen ones.

[OH logger]

I like the plastic and metal hard head wedges the best.   I've tried the red and white ones and they too brittle
For me. Like the 10" personally 12"
Are just too
Long and break easy 

[Old Greenhorn]

I have never broken a wedge. I must be a whimp.

[Hogdaddy]

I think the ones I use are the K&H 7 1/2", red and white. get them longer than that, they will break easy. I haven't had good luck with the hard heads, the metal top comes off after a couple of trees for me. And they're about twice as heavy as the ones I use. Ever little bit of weight matters, especially when you get over 50. 

[weimedog]

All I have access to locally are the ones from Husqvarna, Tractor Supply, and the Forester ( albornes ) thru CNY Farm Supply, The "Yellow" 10 inch ones. Those "red tip" one didn't hold up, brittle. The longer orange  Husqvarna branded ones. They get brittle and break when the temps get around 15 degrees. So I'm looking for a better solution to what I have.

Right now the ones I've had the best price/performance is with are those cheezie ball "county line' 10 inch yellow felling wedges from Tractor Supply. They last as long as the more expensive Husqvarna branded ones I've used and broken. My wedge driver is a shorter ( 20 inch handle ) on a 4lbs axe head

ALL of them seem to work well in the Summer time It's when the temps drop. Both the conditions aren't as good but that also when I use them the most.

[ehp]

I got to order these K & H wedges as no one has them here so I order 10 at a time , If its a pretty cold day out I try not to use them 

[thecfarm]

I just buy the orange ones. Use to get them from Labonville. I don't pound on them much. I use them mostly just to make sure I am right. 
But saying that, I was pounding on them when I had an oak tree the other day. Was a curved one, and wondered if I was wrong. But it finally went over.

[customsawyer]

I use a yellow excavator or FEL. Sometimes the green tractor.

[PoginyHill]

This thread reminded me of my role as a kid working on firewood. My father always cut firewood trees into 4ft lengths, and I was the splitter. He always made wedges out of hophornbeam. They certainly had a limited life, but the wood was abundant and with a little time to saw them out on the table saw, they were pretty cheap. And if one got stuck - no problem, it just became part of the firewood.

I have an ample supply of hornbeam on my property. I just might cut a few wedges and try them as felling wedges.

My father (now 92) still insists on cutting trees up in 4ft lengths, spitting (now with a homemade hydraulic splitter), and drying before cutting into 16" lengths and piling in the woodshed each fall. I don't understand the merits of his method, but he's not about to change now!

[livemusic]

That's interesting about the father cutting 4-ft lengths. Makes me wonder why, too! Cheers to Pop, hope I'm alive at 92!

Wedge story... a few days ago was pounding in a 6-in plastic wedge. Got it in deep and the last whack must've been a glancing blow because that thing shot out like a rocket. I am thankful I had my hardhat on AND had the visor down because it nailed my visor and then flew off into the woods. It rattled me because without that visor, I could have received a nasty gash or missing an eye. 

The day after that, a small tree, maybe 5-6 inches diameter, was hung up and I cut a 4ft section out to let it drop and due to some vines, it fell at an odd angle, nailing my foot. Trees move fast, I could not dodge it in time. I had boots on but it bruised three toes real bad, still limping. I have some chainsaw boots, extremely heavy duty, but did not have them on. Working with trees is def a dangerous sport.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

I carry two ten inch wedges and two 8 inch wedges in wedge pouches on a equipment belt with suspenders. If I'm in larger timber Ill carry a couple larger wedges as well.  Sometimes  I cut for guys skidding with draft horses or mules.  You got no heavy equipment to pull trees down if hung up and no way to push them the direction you want.  Where your tree falls is  all in the  notching and wedging.  And if you do hang one up you have created a dangerous situation.  Sometimes the horses can pull it down safely, sometimes they can't. If they can't its up to the cutter to get it down and there ain't but one way and that ain't safe but we do it.  So you try real hard not to hang them up.
Its funny Ill have one wedge that lasts for a month and another just like it i don't get a week out of.    I don't care what brand or color. And I don't care if the have barbs or not. 

[mudfarmer]

Tried two of the Forester brand wedges with metal on the end this winter on a whim, they were junk and broke where the metal attaches to the plastic on first tree for each.

The Husqvarna orange wedges are made in USA and best I can find locally.

Poginyhill I would like to try some wood wedges too, do not like to leave little bits of plastic in the woods and I can sure shoot a lot of plastic noodles around in a hurry when accidentally nipping a wedge

The 8" are really all I need, if the tree is too small just punch out the guts and send it right through.

[PoginyHill]

Playing with trees can be dangerous indeed. I'm wondering if wooden wedges will be less likely to shoot back out as plastic ones (even with the fish scales). I've had the same thing happen to me with plastic ones - luckily haven't been in the line of fire.

[jb616]

I'm just a hobby guy but i bought some from Tractor Supply and they are outright dangerous. they have the barbs but the plastic is too hard and they don't stay put. Sometimes they won't even pound in. They are going in the trash and i will be getting some of your recommendations. 

[g_man]

Just an old guy having fun in the woods but I do do a lot of wedging over. Don't cut many trees bigger than 24" and most closer to 16". So 6" and 8" wedges work for me. I buy what is at the local hardware (a real one). Generic brands like Timber Savage. The only thing I look for is the raised fish scales or barbs. To me they make a big difference especially in the winter. I have tried cutting some maple wedges out in the woods in a pinch. They worked but split easily. 

gg

[Larry]

Odd man out here as I only use 12" wedges.

Eons ago I took the Game of Logging course taught by Soren Eriksson. The course was all about safely directional felling. We could only use 12" wedges and actually did some book work learning how far we could tip a tree with wedges. When cutting practice trees towards the end of the course we got back leaners. Soren would ask three questions. Where are you going to cut, where will you place wedges, and how many will it take? Yes, we had to stack them. A 12" wedge is also easier to drive than a short wedge that has the same amount of lift.

I hardly ever break a wedge but I sure cut lots of them when finishing a bore cut. Watching Soren put wedges in a tree was a treat. For driving them he used what I call a boys ax, sometimes called a camp ax. Most of the time he didn't swing the ax all that hard, relying on technique.  

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Larry I took the Game of Logging courses as well.  I went all the way to level three in fact.  It was worth doing.  I still keep my certification up to date.   Some folks don't believe you know what your doing unless you got some kind of card or paper that says so.

Guys if your wedges pop out of the curf when you pound them stick em in the dirt and get a little grit in the curf with them and they will stick.  If you ever use the one wedge on top of another for higher lift put some dirt on the wedges first. They will start and stick much quicker. Safer to cause you not as likely to catch one in the face when it pops out.

Also if you use two wedges one on the other don't stack em like spoons. Instead put one across the other and an angle. You know like crossed swords. Works much better.  Take two wacks on one, then hit the other two good ones and they are set. 

[Nealm66]

I've used sawdust for stacking wedges to keep them from slipping too. I actually had to look what brand t I use, it's the stihl wedges. I buy them at madsens and just grab them out of a box on a big isle of wedge choices. I think they're 12" and 10"? I'll use a wedge pouch and carry 3 if I'm long sticking. I'll run two tens and a 12 most of the time and have a couple extra in my pack including a big yellow they sell at madsens. I've tried the blue ones years ago and they are a little too soft. Think they were called blue max wedges before madsens picked them up. If I'm picking a 12" tree up off it's lean I might elect to back cut first or just cut half the back cut. I'll turn the wedges perpendicular with the hinge sometimes.

[Nealm66]

No one  really ran the steelies or the maggys ( magnesium) wedges when we were in big wood. They lifted good but chips would fly sometimes and be kind of dangerous. 

[Peter Drouin]

Mine are Iron, the old kind

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Geeze Pete, they must have some weight to them. How do you carry them around all day?

[Magicman]

Don't be concerned about the chain....it will buff out. 

[Nealm66]

Ya, not really sure what the steely's ( what we called them) were made of. I pounded on some and they definitely lift better than anything plastic but nobody wore eye protection and it only took a few chips smacking your bare arms to get the message. They're heavy too. I think that's why they came out with the magnesium's. This was back in the 80's and a crew average of about 35 and only 4 sets of jacks so definitely some wedging and some spooky drives keeping stuff inside the units. I could actually swing a 5# 36 at one time without breaking the handle! It's funny how the different ax head brands made a lot of difference. You could hear the difference and definitely notice how they drove the wedges in.

[Nealm66]

Can't really wedge the hardwoods off they're lean much around here. Wood is too soft and the wedges will just smoosh in before they start picking them up if you're trying to pick up much weight. Hinge wood is really weak as well. 

[Peter Drouin]

I don't log for a living I have a sawmill and get logs by the truckload. When I cut on my land, most times I cut the tree so it will swing where I want it. When I need a wedge I just bring it to the tree. I rap duck tape 4 or 6 times on the end I hit and that gets all the steel chips. I know how to run a saw, no buffing. I do cut a wedge from the notched wood so as not to pinch the saw, then put in the steel wedge and give her some. and it is just as easy to put my 12,000 lb winch from a snatch block and pull it over. 

[Grandpa]

I use K&H wedges. Usually the 10" but always have a few 8" with me for smaller trees. If the wedge is too long for the tree I bore cut the tree and put a wedge in each side behind the hinge. Then tighten up the wedges and cut the trigger wood.

[Magicman]

Who need a wedge?

[doc henderson]

How old were you in that picture MM?  

[Magicman]

I have certainly gotten myself into a "felling" pickle before, but not that time. 

I once had the wind to pick up and set the tree back on the bar/chain.  Wedges would not lift it off, so I removed the saw head and left.  When I went back later, the tree was on the ground and of course, the bar/chain were laying on the stump.

[beenthere]

I often, not always, use a wedge to keep the tree from setting back onto the bar. More than once, wish I'd thought to do that before it happened. More of an insurance thing, than a "must do" as it is so much easier than pounding on a wedge to raise that tree back up. 

[thecfarm]

Then if you have to leave the tree, the wedges are on the stump.
Seem like we have all had to remove the head and leave the chain and bar behind. 

[Plankton]

I use the redhead k&hs. Carry a 8 and a 12 in my back pocket and thats usually enough especially when cutting big hardwood its usually going where it wants to go with only a little tweaking. Cutting pine I might put on a wedge pouch and carry 3 or 4 if im just chopping. Extra is in the skidder if needed.

[Hogdaddy]

I often, not always, use a wedge to keep the tree from setting back onto the bar. More than once, wish I'd thought to do that before it happened. More of an insurance thing, than a "must do" as it is so much easier than pounding on a wedge to raise that tree back up.

I do this often, also.  

[Magicman]

I think that this is the same guy that needed a wedge above:

[Old Greenhorn]

I think that this is the same guy that needed a wedge above:

Lynn, I don't think a wedge would help that guy. He has a serious dispute with understanding physics to work out first.

[John Mc]

I use 12" wedges. Usually carry two in a pouch on my tool belt. If I'm working on a smaller tree where 12" will hit the back of the hinge, I'll bore a path through the center of the hinge for the wedge. 

I don't really like the wedges with the barbs on them. The ones I've seen seem to be more brittle. They are also a pain in the neck if you need to remove a wedge before the tree i tipped over. (Doesn't happen often, but occasionally I do need to remove one.) I prefer wedges that have a texture on both sides - the ones that are smooth as glass on one side are more prone to popping out. I've end up with Stihl wedges, since those are what I can find locally that are textured on both sides. (Stihl also make one that is smooth on one side that I do not like.)

I generally don't stack wedges. If one wedge isn't enough to tip the tree, I'll stick a cookie in the gap created by the first one and pound the second wedge in on top the cookie.

[Nealm66]

Good trick on boring so the wedge doesn't hit the back cut. Madsens sells a big yellow that is the equivalent of 2 12's if you're concerned about slipping. A little dirt or sawdust helps to keep them from popping apart but it's a good idea to keep a wedge shoved in just in case