step cut, variation of bore and back release

[murphy4trees]

here's a low release cut. Its only used with a pull line and machine power to pull. It has several advantages in certain suburban situations, but not much use in the woods.. FYI

Daniel

http://youtu.be/Qc4IYyTzYQQ

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Qc4IYyTzYQQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Fatcougar]

Pretty slick!

[mesquite buckeye]

Looks like it works. Only on a calm day I hope. ;D

Thanks.

[Philbert]

Very interesting. So the main purpose is to give the faller time to clear out of there before pulling it over with a cable?

Philbert

[Kevin]

I don't care for the hinge breaking prematurely Daniel.
Much more control with the open face.
If there's any lean it could easily miss the lay.

[Dave Shepard]

What hinge? As soon as the wood breaks the only thing directing the fall is the line on the skid loader. Once again you are demonstrating bad practice. If you were the only one at risk, I wouldn't worry so much about it, but inexperienced people watch your videos and I certainly hope they don't copy you.

When you reinvent the wheel, it is impossible to make one more round than a circle. Most people come up with a square at best, maybe an octagon if they are lucky. You have demonstrated another of your triangles.

[mesquite buckeye]

I think you guys are being a little rough on the ol' Murph this time. A real hinge is present in front of the bore cut. What he is doing here is to leave a secondary break point that should keep the tree from leaning back or falling until the sawyer is clear. I think this could be a good technique in his situation. 8)

Clearly not a forest technique, but I think it could be useful for arborists. ;D

[Dave Shepard]

How is that hinge going to function being so tall? The bottom of that back portion is going to bottom out causing undue stresses that will most likely break the hinge. Also, why do we need this cut in the first place? What is wrong with the normal method of hinging? These things come about from a lack of understanding of the forces at work. I don't think I am being hard on someone when I am pointing out dangerous behavior. In today's litigious society, I wouldn't want a string of video records offering bad behavior. What if someone uses this technique and wrecks a house or kills someone? A lawsuit wouldn't surprise me.

[Ianab]

There is a normal hinge formed by the scarf and bore cut. This stays intact as the tree starts to fall just like a conventional cut. Without that bore cut to form the hinge it would be crazy, but that tall step that breaks off is NOT the hinge.
I dont think it's a cut I would ever use, but it's not breaking any laws of physics.

[Kevin]

There is a hinge Dave.
It was cut past on one side and left intact on the other.
It would work better with an open face but the extra work of making the bottom cut isn't required.

[dboyt]

The action would have been more clear if the camera had shown the hinge as the tree falls.  Hinge is clearly there, though it was pretty thin in one of the shots.  This cut puts the person at the end of the line in control of timing the fall.  Might be an advantage where the tree climber made the top cut then was able to climb back down before pulling the top down or where circumstances require more than a few steps for the chain saw operator to move to a safe location.  In a pinch, one person could make the cut, and the tree would stand while he gets in the loader to pull.  Just another tool that's there if you need it.  I believe I'd try it out in the woods first, though!

[RayMO]

I have used a similar method in the woods several times when using the skidder to push the tree over/down with great success . It keeps the butt in place so as not to allow the skidder too shear the hinge possibly allowing the tree to fall backwords onto skidder .

[5quarter]

Murph didn't invent the cut. An arborist friend of mine used this technique when dropping a large Oak between a couple houses. Once he made the cuts, he cleared the area, checked the lines and gave the go ahead to pull it down. I figured he did it that way cause I could see that he wouldn't have had a good line of retreat. I mentioned it to him afterward and he added that since he had 5 other guys plus me running around in a narrow area, in addition to the homeowner, a couple neighbors and a few passers by, he felt better pulling it down as he could ensure that everyone (including himself) was clear of the area before dropping the stem. He also told me never to use that cut myself unless I have enough mechanical advantage to put the tree down where I want.
    One thing To add, I think the area of shear wood should proportional to the size and type of tree. That is, a large oak would need more shear wood than say a smaller, lighter tree. Good video Murph.

[5quarter]

Today I remembered another time this cut was used...with much different results. This crew (harried owner and 2 mexican immigrants) was taking out a huge [pin oak and I was there to pick up the nice 12' log. They had it whittled down to a 30" stem and decided to drop it. The Mexican fellow, using a big Stihl and what looked to be about a 42" bar, made the same cuts Murphy made, except there was only about 2-3" of shear wood. when he passed under the plunge cut, the tree sat back on the saw. no getting it out. The fellow and his partner tried pushing on the trunk; they tried roping it and pulling it over by hand, they tried pounding wedges in the last cut. aster about 15 min., the owner walks over yelling that their wasting time. They talk for a moment and then the owner goes back to his pick up and brings another saw. After several unsuccessful attempts to relieve the last cut by making more cuts below it, he then proceeds to cut the hinge from the front. The tree breaks loose, wobbles for a moment and then falls backwards, Nearly hitting the corner of the house and destroying the hung saw. The good thing about this was that because of where it fell, it made it 10 times easier for me to load. ;)