Critique my felling technique - plunge

[sportbikerider78]

I have had some hardwoods fall in the wrong direction a few times lately, so I am trying to get more complicated and technical with my technique. I am not using wedges at this point in falling.

This tree is about 12-15" in diameter. I cut about 2-3" in on the face. Started my plunge cut about 1" above the base of the face cut.
I left about 1" on the front and 1" strap.

It worked beautifully and dropped nicely...although very slowly at first....very slowly.

 

[SeanBB]

Slow is good. Why don't you use wedges? Ideally you want the tree to start falling when you hit the wedges and the saw is out of the cut, turned off and in a safe location. I would make the face cut a bit deeper so that the 'hinge' is wider. That is what controls the speed and direction of the fall. Looks like you did a nice job.

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

Pretty good. Looks like the notch cut was a little into the hinge wood and the notch could also be a little cleaner. But overall very nice. You do not want to cut the notch (face) cut any deeper as this would enter into the heartwood, which is more brittle. You want to keep the notch into the sapwood, which holds longer. Making the notch cut (width) about 80% of the diameter of the tree is a good rule. I also agree that wedges are excellent tools for felling. I use them on almost every tree, unless its leaning in the direction of fall.

 

[Jags]

I personally go with a deeper face cut as well. And I like my wedges. A plunge cut to a tree of that size is overly complicating things, in my opinion. But I am also not on the ground to see what you are seeing.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Sounds good guys. Thanks for the pointers. I'll start using wedges.

This was not a technical fall. I had about 75degrees for a safe drop area and was just practicing technique.

What cut would you guys use to drop the tree?

 

[Jags]

I would do a standard face cut, back cut with wedges and drop it like its hot. Again, just opinion, but from the pics I would probably have set the hinge back an inch or so more. Heck - there is nothing wrong with what you did - the sucker hit ground where you wanted and all looks to have gone well.

 

[Dobish]

i might go with a sharper saw blade? it looks like you were fighting the cut on the face cut. i also would have gone a little wider on the cut.

practice makes perfect though! Wedges help for sure.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I think my bar is a little bent. I'll take it off and bring it to the shop.

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

i also would have gone a little wider on the cut

Can you guys tell me why. Pros Ive worked with never cut deep, even shallower than what I'd prefer. Stating the dangers of brittle hearwood vs. more forgiving sapwood, as well as being unnecessary was their reasons.

 

[ElmBurner]

The nice thing about a plunge cut and then cutting back to the trigger is that the tree won't start falling until you make the final cut. If you do a traditional back cut, the tree might start to come over before you have cut close enough to the hinge wood (and need to start using the wedges to get it to come over), which has you chasing the cut with a running saw while the tree is falling.

The downside to a plunge cut is that I would prefer to push the tree over with a wedge, when the saw is turned off and safely away from escape path. This is generally the safer option, but it's not possible if you are working with a "leaner".

As far as what you did, I agree with most of the above comments. Face cut is a little messy. Otherwise, it is OK. Fairly clean.

 

[Dobish]

i normally do a 1/3, not 1/4. this appears to be a little shy of 1/4 the diameter of the tree, maybe it is the angles of the photos. Also, since going against the lean of the tree, a slightly wider cut will encourage the tree to go in that direction, especially without using wedges.

 

[Allagash350]

I agree about the sharper chain and deeper face cut. I also usually do 1/3 instead of 1/4, but every tree is different. I very rarely if ever use a plunge cut.
Wedges are your friend. Get plastic ones, they are more forgiving if your saw hits it they sell 5 inch and larger.
It fell so slowly because your face cut was so steep and not very deep.
I suspect that is also why you are having them go the other direction.
It really takes practice, and it's hard to practice something like that, but when I was starting out to practice my angles for face cuts I would cut the tree down a bit higher than normal, and practice on the stump without fear of messing it up, and you can do it 4 times on each side of the stump

Edit just notice the fine sawdust on the trunk. Very dull. You want larger chips, may not be huge on a hardwood but still. We call that fairy dust lol.
Dull saw and felling just don't go well together.

 

[flopit]

Good job with the plunge cut, it can be tricky to get the hang of! And to do it with dull saw must have been a bit of a chore. Your notch could have been a bit deeper and I aim to get my back cut only about a bar width above the apex of the notch. This gives your hinge more flexibility during the entire fall rather than breaking off early. A steep notch keeps the tree on the hinge longer- which is a good thing. And you can still use wedges when you bore cut, leave your strap more to one side and pound the wedges in more or less in the direction that you want to fell the tree. Then when you release the strap do it from below the back cut-about an inch. Then if you still need to smack the wedges you can. I suspect the the reason for trees going the wrong way is more to do with your read on the actual lean than your felling technique. If your looking for some reading to help out I would recommend To Fell a Tree by Jeff Jepson. Good luck and make sure you use an escape route- don't stand at the stump and watch the tree fall

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

Very good tutorial for starting out.

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[Oldman47]

I have had some hardwoods fall in the wrong direction a few times lately, so I am trying to get more complicated and technical with my technique. I am not using wedges at this point in falling.

This tree is about 12-15" in diameter. I cut about 2-3" in on the face. Started my plunge cut about 1" above the base of the face cut.
I left about 1" on the front and 1" strap.

It worked beautifully and dropped nicely...although very slowly at first....very slowly.
View attachment 193314View attachment 193313View attachment 193315

Looking at your last picture, you have almost no hinge wood at all. I would guess a half inch of hinge or less. You only get to count the vertical grain that remains intact after you make your hinge cut and your face cut and back cut are almost overlapping if you look at it that way. I would not want to be anywhere near a tree with such a small hinge.
The face cut is a nice depth but you need to leave more hinge wood with your bore cut and then set up for the back strap cut. Before you make that cut, palm a wedge in the bore cut so the tree cannot come back at you. Just cut above the wedge to release the tree. As soon as the back strap is cut deep enough to overlap the bore cut, the tree will be free to fall. By severing the grain of the tree at the back, even though your cuts never intersect, you will have released the tree. That concept of the grain being severed is why I think that your hinge is too small.

 

[Catfish Hunter]

Thanks for showing us your work, what kind of wood is that?

If it's not leaning I use a conventional or Humboldt notch, back cut to the hinge while wedging as soon as possible. Wedging has been crucial on some big trees with no inclination of their own to fall without wedges.

When leaning I face cut, to 80% of the diameter (or if it might be hollow) and then plunge, set the hinge, wedge and trigger.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Thats guys.

I believe it is maple, but I'm not expert. Very dense and heavy.

 

[Catfish Hunter]

Thats guys.

I believe it is maple, but I'm not expert. Very dense and heavy.

Yeah looks like maple. When I cut maple cutting the angled notch is much harder than cross cutting and produces a fair amount of dust as you cut down into the grain. Especially that steep of a face cut.

Smells really good too![emoji851]


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