Dropped some nice white pine.

Last year three big willows blew over on the bridge across my creek at home and smashed it. After I got done planting at the farm I went out to the woods and found a few big pines to make a new bridge out of.



After locating a tree I want and making path to it. I get my cutting equ out. I usually use hard hat with a face screen and ear muffs but it was at home. So I had to use the face screen and muffs. Many time when felling branches will break off and hang up in surrounding trees and fall out minutes, hours or days latter. Or dead branches fall while cutting. So I was very careful to check the surrounding trees for hung up branches before reentering the felling area. I should have had more wedges I usually carry three but I lost one and the other was at home. I never fell a tree with out wedges any more unless its too small for one. Its foolish and unsafe not to use them and they give you so much more control. Many times I have used them to push a tree that has a slight back lean over to where I want it to fall. Both so I can get to it and do the least amount of damage to the surrounding forest.

After judging the lean of the tree to make sure I can get it to go where I want. I clear off the lower branches off the tree I am cutting and the surrounding trees. Making sure I have at least two escape routs in different directions in case things go wrong. Which they have many times over the years.



Now when I am cutting a larger tree. After making my notch I cut a line in the tree from the notch back for me to follow when I make my back cut. It just makes things easier for me to get it all lined up.

I have been using wedging trees over so much I almost feel cheated when I don't have time to back off set my saw down and drive the tree over. Anyway I cut into the tree far enough to set my wedge before finishing my back cut. In this picture I had just finished my back cut and stepped back to take a picture. And the tree started to go over as I snapped the picture. You can see the wedge falling out. And I had to quickly pull my saw out as it went over with no problems were I wanted it to.



Here you see the tree falling and the hinge directing the direction of the fall holding it from going to either side. How wide the face cut is also determines where the hinge breaks. At this point the face cut has closed and its just starting to break the hinge. If I had made the face cut wider it would have let the tree fall farther before breaking the hinge.



Here the hinge has broke and the tree is falling off the stump and rolling to the side.



Now the tree is down along the trail where I can get to it. You can see how far it rolled to the side and that about normal but I have seen them hit other trees on the way down and go more than 10 feet to the side. You wouldn't want to be standing there!



You should never cut the hinge out! If the tree is not falling when you are down to a inch of hinge wood stop! That is what the wedges are for. Along with keeping the tree from sitting back on the saw and trapping it. I have had a few trees that it took me 5-10 of driving wedges in and waiting for it to go over. If you cut the hinge out You Have No control of the tree at all! A professional logger may cut the hinge out as the tree is falling in the direction he wants and is sure it is going where he wants. But that is only to reduce to fiber pull (which you see sticking up from the stump and reduces the value of the log) not to help make it fall. Me as it goes over I am backing off to a safe place. I have felled around a thousand trees. And have seen trees jump back or to the side several feet. And had branches fall strait down and hit me.



Now this is what I really wanted the skidsteer and grapple bucket for. Picking up and moving logs and brush in the woods. Its a lot more moveable in the woods and needs a lot less room to work.



It has a lot more lift capacity than a tractor and front loader of the same physical size. I don't know what this 20.5 foot 22" across white pine log weighs but I am sure its over a ton. And a little more than than the JD was rated for. As I backed into a stump and tipped it over on the bucket. Luckily I was too busy lowering the bucket to leave skid marks on the seat!



And the grapple bucket makes it a lot easier and faster to load the log wagon. Than trying wrap chains around the tree and lift it with a loader.



The old 130 sure knew it had a load behind it. Those 20.5' logs are long and heavy. I had to load some 8 footers on top to keep them from tipping off the back.



That was a big tree I got two 20.5' logs and three 8' logs out of it!



Billy

Thanks Dave

Ya know I love playing in the woods!

I have a hard time remembering to bring my camera. But I would be nice to find my Cowgirl to hold the camera

Billy

Thanks Jags

I still have my missed drops and hang ups. I have been cutting for over 30 years. But its only been the last few years after coming here and the other chainsaw site. That I have really improved my knowledge, skill and safety. It wasn't that long ago that that if the tree wasn't moving I'd keep cutting until I was through the hinge and just not know any better. Just get it done no matter what. Because I was mostly self trained or was told what to do by people that thought they knew but didn't. And didn't know all the options I had to make the work safer and more productive. Thats why when I make a post like that I try to go through all my decision points and why I do things the way I do. To help teach others. But it also lets me learn from others when they point out other or safer ways to do things.

Billy

Thanks Thistle

It was a great day and half in the woods. And another two getting it all sawed up. But out of four trees I got five 10"x10" beams 20' long and enough 1.5"x lumber to make the deck and railings.

Billy

Thanks OT

I hope to have the bridge up before winter. But I have a lot of prep work to do. And clump four big willows to take down that I am not looking forward to.

Thanks Stax

My Dad, Brother and I all worked all worked together to get the land and equ. And my Brother and I are working together to get more equ and keep the place going. I hope to move up there in a year or two.

Thanks Tim

I will be sure to post when I get it up.

Thanks Tom

I don't feel that I am a pro. Just learning along with everyone else. I wasn't quite ready for the tree to go over as I felt it had a slight back lean. But the wind got a hold of it and took it over. The camera is a sony DSC HX7V. It has a 10 shot burst mode but I couldn't figure out how to turn it on. While its a good camera and does a lot I am not sure I would buy one again. its a pain to get to the functions you want and the down load software is a pain too. It does shoot great HD video but the sound is lacking. The tractor is a famall 130 which is the same as a Super A just a newer model. But I do have a cub at home.

Thanks Zap

As I get older I just can't do as much as I used to. So I need the equ to keep up.

Thanks Dexter

It was a great day in the woods. And having equ is nice. Its mostly older equ with a lot of hrs on it. And I am getting to the point that it feels like I am working on it than working with it.

Thanks OsageBow

I love the grapple too. I don't know how I got along so long with out one. Its four or five time faster moving logs. But where it really shines is moving brush. Up to now I have just been pushing off into the woods. But now I can clean up as I go.

Billy

Well I got home again and have some pictures of wood I made out of those trees.

First log on the mill





Three sides cut. The slabs were so heavy I had to cut them in half before I threw them in the grapple bucket. I just couldn't lift the whole thing by hand.





Pulling them off the trailer so I can get a chain around them and move them to the stacking area.



Started stacking. Right now there is about 5" between them but it will be 12" when built.



All stacked and drying.



Billy

Thanks Scotty

Actually where I need the most help is kicking back and relaxing going fourwheeling and having a barbeque. I get depressed quite easily so rather than sitting in the house and starting at the wall. I just go out and find something to do. And at least feel good about getting something done.

Thanks Learning

I'm lucky to have it all. Dad bought most of the equ. With my brother and I chippin in as much as we could.

Thanks Jake

Its the best I can do since we all live too far apart to get together.

Thanks Dennis

My Dad and Uncle bought it new in 1998. But it only had 190 hrs on it when I got it to out of my Uncle's barn two years ago and started using it. And I doubt there are more than 220 hrs on it now. I wish I could have stopped by with the skid steer on my way to the farm.

It would be great to meet you in person Dennis your welcome anytime!

Thanks Tim

I could have gotten more lumber out of it. But it would have been a lot more work and more cuts through the bark which is where the large majority of dulling the blade comes from. But for me it doesn't matter as I use the slabs for firewood. But I have found its very important to watch were you cut the logs. If there's a bow or hook to the log its best to cut around it. Even if that means skipping 4' or 6' of log. I've gotten more usable lumber out of a small strait log than one 1/3/ to 1/2 bigger just because the small one was strait and the big one wasn't.

Thanks Zap

Just learing as I go along.

Billy