Source for good steel felling wedges?

[Tron]

Hi everyone,

this is a request for advice by those who fell their own trees. As you know, sometimes you just cannot use the direction the tree leans into anyway, and so have to use a little force to get it to fall in the right one. That's what we use felling wedges for.

I got myself some (rather highly rated) plastic ones last summer, and today was the first time I actually had to use them. As you have very little leverage down at the cut (compared to the height of the tree), one has to use a little bit of persuasion. I use a 10lb. sledgehammer for that. Long story short, one wedge snapped at the first blow, and the tips of the others don't look too well, either. Ok, I may have tried to drive them further into the cut and hit solid wood, but still.

All the friends I have that fell trees use steel ones, but somehow at the time I was looking for them, I did not find any. Splitting wedges, yes, but no felling wedges.

So where can I find some high-quality wedges that last?

Thanks!

 

[Osage]

Hi everyone,

this is a request for advice by those who fell their own trees. As you know, sometimes you just cannot use the direction the tree leans into anyway, and so have to use a little force to get it to fall in the right one. That's what we use felling wedges for.

I got myself some (rather highly rated) plastic ones last summer, and today was the first time I actually had to use them. As you have very little leverage down at the cut (compared to the height of the tree), one has to use a little bit of persuasion. I use a 10lb. sledgehammer for that. Long story short, one wedge snapped at the first blow, and the tips of the others don't look too well, either. Ok, I may have tried to drive them further into the cut and hit solid wood, but still.

All the friends I have that fell trees use steel ones, but somehow at the time I was looking for them, I did not find any. Splitting wedges, yes, but no felling wedges.

So where can I find some high-quality wedges that last?

Thanks!

Not sure there would be any difference between a steal splitting and felling wedge. Have used my splitting wedges to drop some large trees, but have also dinged my chain also. I prefer plastic. Just drive them in further as you cut deeper. I use a 3 lb. hand sledge. It's not necessarily the job of the wedge to topple the tree, but to stabilize it.

 

[SpaceBus]

I use plastic wedges and a hatchet to drive them in. Usually I leave the saw in the cut to put the wedges in. A month or so ago I dropped a gnarly tree near the house that had my skidding winch pulling and some felling wedges in the cut. The tree still fell towards the house, but the winch cable kept it from hitting the house. Perhaps cutting some limbs would have helped, but sometimes trees do what they want.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Probably Amazon.com

 

[ABMax24]

You won't ever see me use a steel wedge, if you ever have to get your saw back in the cut and touch the wedge your chain is probably done. Everyone around here uses the plastic wedges. I have a couple of the Stihl brand wedges and a couple others I'm not sure on. We use ours down to -30 and even then they just deform the tip if struck into solid wood. So I'm surprised to hear they shatter, of course all my things like this I spend an extra couple bucks on and buy at the local Husky/Stihl dealer, if the pro loggers are happy with them then I probably will be too.

Go buy yourself some name brand plastic wedges and use those.

 

[peakbagger]

I use the Labonville wedges made out of some sort of UHMW. I agree with the prior post that plastic wedges are the way to go as I sure do not want a piece of steel anywhere near my chainsaw. I use the bore cut method on occasion and I need to use wedges while chainsawing.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I use the Stihl plastic wedges, never had issue one but I still use steel for splitting rounds. I have a bunch I've picked up at garage sales for cheap. They all need dressed (removal of the mushroomed heads) and the other business end sharpened but I find them at garage sales constantly. Got some good chainsaws that way as well. I fix them and sell them, nice hobby. People run the bags out of chainsaws and the discard them and go buy a new one and the cycle repeats itself, over and over.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I use the wedges i cut out of the tree. Last month i cut large tree that just wouldnt fall. saw was too small to reach the very middle. I tapped a few wooden wedges in the opposite side that i wanted it to fall and left. Took overnight and a few good breezes to topple it exactly the way i wanted it to go. Was only about 3 or 4 sq inches of wood in the middle holding it.

 

[Tron]

Hmm, I ordered those last spring and hoped they were actually good:
Amazon product ASIN B01N8U6IQP
The trees I have felled so far were not that big that I needed wedges during the cut. I usually do the backcut as far as I need (leaving maybe 1,5" for the "hinge") and if it does not drop in the direction I intended, I remove the saw and start with the wedges. But I agree, if the tree happens to lean on your saw and pinch it, you would need wedges during cutting. Haven't had that happen, though. I'll see if I can finds some good quality plastic ones, but then again, those I bought had pretty good reviews.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I have several steel and aluminum felling wedges. I prefer the plastic as well since they are lighter and do not damage the chain.
I would suggest second hand stores for your steel wedges.

 

[JimBear]

6 Pack 10" Tree Felling Wedge Logging Bucking Falling ABS Plastic (Yellow) | eBay

Made in the USA.

www.ebay.com

I bought these & have a couple of Stihl plastic wedges as well. A 10# maul/hammer may be a bit much for driving them in. I use the back of my hatchet or a 16oz hammer. Mine have deformed a little but not much. I support everyone else’s comments on junking chains on steel wedges. I have knicked my plastic wedges several times & no damage to the chain.

 

[Sawset]

No steel wedges here.
I've had these for 10yrs, and have held up very well. And they've been beaten to death, but have very little wear. I can pound them into knotted oak, where they bend and bind, yet come out fully intact without chips or marks. Felling is a very mild use with these. They fit nicely in a back pocket, so can carry them around when cutting without noticing them. Bright green, so almost impossible to loose.

 

[Tron]

Thanks for your replies. I went ahead and got myself some more 5.5" plastic wedges, that should suffice for most trees I have (and will reduce the chance of driving them all the way through into solid wood). I'll see how that performs. Luckily, the remaining dead trees I have identified so far either lean in the right direction anyway or are in the middle of the woods where felling direction does not matter that much.

 

[Montanalocal]

I have several what are called rifled wedges. They are plastic wedges that have groves on one side and ridges on the other so that they can be doubled up or stackable. The ridges and groves keep the wedges together so they drive straight and do not twist apart. They are very useful when felling wood that has very thick soft bark or rotten wood requiring more lift than a single wedge.

Black Bear Rifled Tree Falling Wedges

Black Bear Rifled falling wedges were invented by a logger named Page Montgomery, who wanted a wedge that would drive straight and was easily stackable. After many trials, he came up with the current design. These wedges look like any other plastic falling wedge from a distance, but upon closer...

www.baileysonline.com

 

[Tron]

That sound like a really interesting approach, thanks!

 

[SidecarFlip]

So I'm perusing the Harbor Freight website and viola... HF sells steel felling wedges and plastic ones as well. Leave it to HF...lol