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What to do when you clip your hinge?

Started by Crusarius, June 13, 2021, 06:14:27 PM

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Crusarius

So recently I was taking down some dead trees, one of which was next to the kids playground. What happened next definitely deserves to be in the I did something dumb today thread. 

I just put a fresh chain on my saw. Was cutting so good I slipped and left a very thin hinge. Think I actually did clip the one end of it ever so slightly. The other thing I did not notice was when making the back cut on the tree the saw was parallel to the ground (tree was growing on hill) and not actually level. Unfortunately the angle lined up just right to drop the tree on the kids playground.

Could I have done anything different to have changed the direction of the tree? It ended up falling 90 degrees to where I had planned because of the perfect storm and me not paying attention.

Of course the kids watched their playground get flattened. But good news, I saved the swings and monkey bars.

I was using the standard game of logging approach with the notch then plunge cut and pull out. I tried pounding some wedges in but that didn't make any difference.

Skeans1

@Crusarius 
Which side did you clip the far side to where the tree fell? If you're back boring trees you're not getting a sense of what the tree is actually doing. Say that same tree I put in a face say 30 to 40 percent of the diameter then start a back cut if I see that tree is sitting out one side more then the other I'll thin the hinge on that side. With this method you're also able to watch what the wedges are actually doing you're less likely to lift the tree off the hinge as well.

Hogdaddy

What do you do when you clip your hinge? get out of the way.....   Seriuosly though, every situation is different. depends on a lot of variables.  One thing for sure though, when its thin or clipped, you lose most off the control of the tree.
If you gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly!

Maine logger88

A trick for not clipping the hinge to far is to bore into the center of the tree then walk the cut towards the notch then finish out the back
79 TJ 225 81 JD 540B Husky and Jonsered saws

mike_belben

if the tree is valuable and its going where i want it to i try to chase the hinge right off. 


Praise The Lord

Riwaka

If no-one was hurt that is the main thing at the end of the day.

Dead trees - equipment assisted felling, ideally have some equipment large enough to either pull the tree to break the hinge or large enough to snap the hinge with a push. Can leave the hinge a bit wider.

If no machinery. Trim the bark if possible and mark the scarf and plunge cut with a bright crayon/ spray paint (when you have the chain saw turned off)

Have a look at some of the videos of Euro loggers felling hazard trees, they spend about as much assessing the tree as felling the tree.

Assess why you slipped and what things you could improve to prevent it happening again?    

Crusarius

Quote from: Maine logger88 on June 13, 2021, 10:22:10 PM
A trick for not clipping the hinge to far is to bore into the center of the tree then walk the cut towards the notch then finish out the back

THis is what I did. Unfortunately with that nice new chain and my inexperience it cut way to easy and got the hinge. it was also only about 11" diameter so that made it a little tight.

Crusarius

Thanks everyone for the advice. I had a feeling once I clipped the hinge I was in all sorts of trouble. good news is I was the only one near he disaster and I was smart enough to get out of the way.

Live and learn. The kids are getting a nice playground upgrade now.

mike_belben

everyone makes mistakes.  dont beat yourself up.  anyone who ever says they didnt is fibbing or just starting out.  everyone will squash something if they keep at it long enough.

too little hinge and the stumps control is severed.  too much hinge can cause such a disagreement between the stump and the top that the buttlog is forced to blow apart in a barberchair to reconcile the dispute.  

i think most of my oh-no's have been from the assumption that wood in certain places would produce certain outcomes, that it did not for one reason or another.  we can always monday morning quarterback ourselves about this booboo once the tree is on the ground for dissection and the errors we made are apparent.  information that is unavailable when its standing between a garage and a powerline and you can only guess what is inside.  post booboo evaluation is of course priceless to get better at it for next time.

i cant recall any real losses of control since going pretty exclusively to some form or other of a live steer.  "where's it gonna go?" fades away and "is it gonna chair?" ramps up.  dont stand in the field goal kick zone. and then theres the 'how far can i swing it on this tab' gamble.  'can i get 80 degrees before the tab rips off?.. nope.. just 55.'  that sorta thing.  
Praise The Lord

Crusarius

your absolutely right mike. post felling observation is how I learned what I did wrong. I had 2 major oopses that if I had just the thin hinge I could have been ok but between the thin hinge and the downhill angled cut the downhill angle won. If the hinge was thicker I bet that would have been fine.

Oh well. live and learn.

alan gage

Don't feel too bad. Last year a friend was dropping a 32" hard maple in his son's backyard. It wanted to fall to the east but they were trying to pull it to the south with a rope and Toolcat. The Toolcat wasn't getting it pulled over so he started cutting more and more of the hinge....until there was no hinge left. At which point the tree went where it wanted, which was on top of the neighbor's garage. Not much left of the garage after that.

Alan
Timberking B-16, a few chainsaws from small to large, and a Bobcat 873 Skidloader.

mike_belben

Praise The Lord

HemlockKing

Yup there's no forgetting that one, I bet he's humbled up now.  :D
A1

Crusarius

After watching that one video someone posted with the geometry lesson and angles and weights I am less likely to try to convince something the go another direction with equipment. Maybe using a strap and another tree to make a pivot point which I have done and worked great but ppl trying to pull trees with trucks usually ends poorly.

Just like cutting branches while standing on a ladder.

ehp

alot depends on what your cutting  like I got a couple more days left of cutting dead ash and I mean totally dead , no leaf and half the top on most is missing . first you better know what your doing cause this type of cutting is very dangerous at best , If you leave a normal amount of hinge wood on these trees it will split in your face , I donot like using wedges on these kind of trees cause the pounding may break the top out . So cutting the hinge happens alot here . First you know when the tree should be starting to go and if it is not then your felling plan is wrong , If I get a tree that will not go the way I want I cut it as far as I know I can without it breaking off the stump and use the tree pusher on the back of the arch on the skidder 

Crusarius

there is the solution!!! I need a skidder :) I have always wanted to drive one.

Old Greenhorn

You know I was thinking about this thread while I was cutting today. I had the opposite problem. What do you do when you take a chunk out of a tree like this and it doesn't fall?


 

It seems the trunk was so in love with that old bottoming plow that it just wouldn't let go. SO I showed it a little of my own love and it came down. Slowly. Almost nothing falls in these woods, it is SO thick.



 

I guess it's just one of those odd problems you run into. OH, and I had no skidder handy. ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Crusarius


Skeans1

Quote from: Hogdaddy on June 13, 2021, 10:17:03 PM
What do you do when you clip your hinge? get out of the way.....   Seriuosly though, every situation is different. depends on a lot of variables.  One thing for sure though, when its thin or clipped, you lose most off the control of the tree.
It depends on what you're doing if you've bored in and you clip your hinge well you're screwed. If you're walking the tip around you can still recover from it and not loose control.

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