different name for the felling wedge?

[JP Wazz]

i was taught that when cutting down a tree, in its most basic form, make 3 cuts and the tree will fall over. i have since been told that the wedge shaped piece removed during this process is simply referred to as a "felling wedge".
is there an alternative or even archaic term for this piece of removed wood? having been gifted several trees from friends and family recently i was thinking of using this piece of wood as sort of a commemorative to return to the one that gave me the tree (every tree has its story it seems), but "felling wedge" has no charm. sanded on the cut faces and sealed or maybe varnished with the date inscribed doesn't sound too corny does it? it seems something of that nature would have a better name than simply felling wedge.

[doc henderson]

I call it a notch cut but the remaining wood I am not sure what charming name to give it.  you may be surprised to see how sentimental people can be when it comes to wood from trees taken from the homestead or suburbia.  I think of a wedge and poss. a felling wedge as a tough piece of plastic in the shape of a wedge to help force the tree over.

[doc henderson]

[Resonator]

Doc said exactly what I was just gonna say. the "Felling Wedge" is a wedge you pound in the back cut in the tree to tip the tree in the direction you want it to fall. The wood chunk you cut out is the notch.

[doc henderson]

maybe the notch wood.  

[Old Greenhorn]

I have heard it called a wedge on occasion, usually called the opening block, or block, or wedge bock, notch wedge, notch block, or chunk. I have never heard it referred to as a felling wedge, ever. That is specifically the device used to lift or hold the tree before it falls. Sometimes those wedges need to be stacked to get enough lift to overcome a back lean as Doc picture shows.
 They make decent firewood, but I leave the small ones in the woods mostly. When folks come here to buy their mushroom logs (most have never cut a tree) they might see one of those on my splitter pile and gawk at it. I get some from large tree jobs that might be 24" wide or more. Their attention and questions start a conversation about how trees are cut and if they are really interested I often give them the wedge in question. They have little idea what they will do with it, but think "it's really cool and I'll figure out something neat to use it for". I try to give them a little history of the tree if I know it, and if not, I make it up.

[Magicman]

I have never heard it called anything except a "dap".  We dap a tree and the piece that comes out is the dap, and also the wedge cut is the dap.

I searched "dap a tree for felling" and it showed images of tree daps.

[Old Greenhorn]

That's a new word for me Lyn, but I like it and may use it. But nobody here will know what I am talking about.  No matter, they often don't know what I am talking about, I'm used to that.

[JP Wazz]

i actually found "felling wedge" in a text document on line that had been translated from hindu? (what ever language is spoken in india)  so maybe the language barrier is to blame for my misunderstanding of the name of this feature, oh well. yes lots of sentimentality attached to trees, i have saved 8 or so, notch, block, dap, whatever it is called, in the last year or so when someone has given my a tree to take down and mill.

[cutterboy]

I like "notch block"...a block of wood from the notch.

[Dave Shepard]

Most people say pie cut around here. 

[Kodiakmac]

When I started working in the bush with my Dad, he made his own falling wedges from elm.  Then he started buying aluminum wedges.  I don't know if he had the opportunity to ever use the plastic jobs. 

I won't repeat what he called that watermelon-shaped piece of wood that came out of the notch because I'd likely get censored.  BTW, the notch was pronounced "natch" in these parts and falling was referred to as "knocking".  So you "natched" a tree so that you could "knock" it.  

The longer thick wedges were called "tipping" or "knocking" wedges; the smaller ones were "set" wedges.  A lot of this terminology is still used in this county.

[doc henderson]

Maybe "budunka chunk"!