Tales from the woods..

[MoDoug]

I’ll try to put some mistakes and tricks on here if you guys want. Off the top of my head, I break a stick and hold it out arms length and put the bottom and the top of the tree at the bottom and top of the stick and I come within a few feet of where the tree will top out

Keep the stories and tips coming. They are entertaining and enlightening.

 

[MoDoug]

I cut down lots of big trees. Just to get my views from my mountaintop here in NC I have cut down over 90 trees, average 95 feet tall and 20 inch diameter.
Just last summer I whacked four big trees to help get my brother his view, the small one was 32 inch diameter and 98 feet tall. The big one was 36 inch diameter. On a steep, 45 degree hillside with a 20 inch bar, it is a tricky and dangerous deal.

One tool I don't go to work without is the plumb bob. Just a 5 foot piece of white kite string with a one ounce steel weight tied to the end.
A great way to tell which way the tree is leaning, I wouldn't crank up my chain saw if I didn't have my plumb bob.

Interesting tip, I'll have to add one to my saw tool bucket!

 

[Nealm66]

Keep the stories and tips coming. They are entertaining and enlightening.

I’m trying to keep it relevant and safe. The stick trick is actually pretty cool. It’s going to vary for everyone but it only takes a couple trees to get it. Cut a straight stick at 17” and hold it out at arms length and keep walking away from the tree until the top and bottom are matched. Mark the spot, fall the tree. Adjust the stick length until it is spot on. May never need to use it but it will be a feather in a hat

 

[Nealm66]

I cut down lots of big trees. Just to get my views from my mountaintop here in NC I have cut down over 90 trees, average 95 feet tall and 20 inch diameter.
Just last summer I whacked four big trees to help get my brother his view, the small one was 32 inch diameter and 98 feet tall. The big one was 36 inch diameter. On a steep, 45 degree hillside with a 20 inch bar, it is a tricky and dangerous deal.

One tool I don't go to work without is the plumb bob. Just a 5 foot piece of white kite string with a one ounce steel weight tied to the end.
A great way to tell which way the tree is leaning, I wouldn't crank up my chain saw if I didn't have my plumb bob.

this is actually very impressive, we hardly ever ran bars long enough to make it completely across the diameter and the ground was too steep to reach from the low side. We would basically make shift spring boards, basically cut a limb about 2-3’ long, flat on one side and a long 4 sided point on the other. Then bore a pointed four sided hole in the stump on the low side. Pound the limb in and that would give you a precarious perch to stand on to get the low sided cuts. Sometimes if we were working in sets, the other guy would hold you steady

 

[MoDoug]

Here’s another trick. For boring. Let’s say you fall a big tree to cut in to firewood. Step back and look for air pockets under the log at spaces close enough that aren’t too heavy to roll. Start at the top with the tip of your bar and draw it down the log and start boring straight through. Put a twist on the motor to keep it from bucking. Once your bored through , carefully finish the cut down leaving all the wood at the top . Then finish the cut. This helps keep your chain out of the dirt. Repeat until you have rollable lengths. Then just roll to get the bottom cuts. Hope that made sense ha ha

I had to think about it, but it made sense. When cutting down trees, and the blade cuts through on the bottom, it collapses on itself and jams the blade into the ground. I've learned to be transition to the tip of the bar, and nibble away till it cuts through, to help prevent jamming into the ground. Of course it can still collapse onto the blade. I carry a big pry bar when that happens. With your method, it leaves wood at the top to prevent it collapsing onto itself. I'll have to give this a try.

 

[Nealm66]

Here’s another, to help avoid a barber chair on a hard leaning tree, try swinging it in one direction or the other away from its lean. It will likely break off and not swing but it way less likely to barber chair. If it has to go in the direction of its lean, after making the under cut, make a cut in on both sides that comes back far enough that when you start your back cut, it meets both side cuts quickly. This cut pretty much eliminates a barber chair. On a very large tree that needs to swing a little bit, it helps to bore in and leave the appropriate holding wood and then cut your way back leaving a strap so as not to barber chair ( we called it alligator) and also eliminates a lot of wood pull from the hinge. Ha ha might have went too far with that one, anybody understand wth I’m trying say?

 

[Simonkenton]

The plumb bob with the white kite string is just a great tool. It is so accurate and easy to use.

 

[jsab9191]

Plumb bob is a great idea in a hilly area, I have a tough time reading trees on a hillside.h

 

[Nealm66]

Happy thanksgiving! Here’s another tip to play with, make a lip at the bottom of your undercut to jump the tree off the stump. Comes in handy falling a tree after it has set back and pinched a saw and some knuckle head had it dogged in tight from the low side on a hillside. Another trick is is to slant the undercut , this will allow the butt to kick off to that side avoiding something in front or to avoid breaking an expensive tree. This trick may involve cutting the hinge wood off as the tree is leaving so may take some practice and might not be for everyone

 

[Nealm66]

Here’s something we don’t want to learn the hard way. If working on a hillside in trees that are much bigger than our bar ( simonkenton knows this) make dang sure wether falling or bucking, every thing can be finished from the uphill side. One example of this is when cutting old growth working in sets and the ground is steep, the bucker measures and starts the cuts in a way that can be finished from the high side. This means reaching over and cutting to the low side sometimes laying on your belly while the faller is hanging on to your foot to keep you from sliding off. This is repeated from the butt to the top and only need assist till the logs become small enough . All the cuts that can be completed from the uphill side are done so. Then the bucker hops down to the low side and finishes the low side cuts , back to the butt. Then goes back out to the furthest cut on the high side and works his way to the butt finishing ever cut his bar length will allow ( sometimes have to grab the falling saw!) , the order of cuts can change of course due to pressure/danger or to make a log roll out of the way for the next tree

 

[neverbilly]

Here’s another trick. For boring. Let’s say you fall a big tree to cut in to firewood. Step back and look for air pockets under the log at spaces close enough that aren’t too heavy to roll. Start at the top with the tip of your bar and draw it down the log and start boring straight through. Put a twist on the motor to keep it from bucking. Once your bored through , carefully finish the cut down leaving all the wood at the top . Then finish the cut. This helps keep your chain out of the dirt. Repeat until you have rollable lengths. Then just roll to get the bottom cuts. Hope that made sense ha ha

So, you bore through at a spot below the top of the log? All the way to the bottom? Then cut the holding wood at the top? The bar won't pinch on the way down? Never done that but I would like to learn it, I don't like hitting dirt.

I saw another tip one time where someone was talking about mud/dirt on a log. If you can roll it, you can roll the log so dirt is on top and then kind of do what you are talking about and when you cut the last holding wood at the top, you do it with the upper side of the bar so that you are throwing chips away from you. Which means the dirt is not in contact with much of your chain but for just a split second. Hope that makes sense, lol.

 

[Nealm66]

So, you bore through at a spot below the top of the log? All the way to the bottom? Then cut the holding wood at the top? The bar won't pinch on the way down? Never done that but I would like to learn it, I don't like hitting dirt.

I saw another tip one time where someone was talking about mud/dirt on a log. If you can roll it, you can roll the log so dirt is on top and then kind of do what you are talking about and when you cut the last holding wood at the top, you do it with the upper side of the bar so that you are throwing chips away from you. Which means the dirt is not in contact with much of your chain but for just a split second. Hope that makes sense, lol.

So, no, you are just kinda skimming down from the top of the log to a lower spot that gives enough room to keep your bar out of the dirt. Skimming down from the top makes a good reference mark and also makes it easier to start boring. Boring is probably something every one that does a lot of cutting should learn how to do. Just twist the motor as your pushing it through. Just takes practice. Yes, back baring the dirt helps a bit cus it keeps the dirt out of the cut but if it’s dirty, I will just chop the bark off where the cut is

 

[Nealm66]

Boring is difficult if you are using anti kick chain. I would grind that extra rider part off. Sorry if this raises any flags but if you are going to learn how to bore, anti kick chain makes it near impossible

 

[neverbilly]

So, no, you are just kinda skimming down from the top of the log to a lower spot that gives enough room to keep your bar out of the dirt. Skimming down from the top makes a good reference mark and also makes it easier to start boring. Boring is probably something every one that does a lot of cutting should learn how to do. Just twist the motor as your pushing it through. Just takes practice. Yes, back baring the dirt helps a bit cus it keeps the dirt out of the cut but if it’s dirty, I will just chop the bark off where the cut is

Ok, but what do you mean by "twist" the motor?

 

[Nealm66]

If you don’t , the saw will buck violently, twisting while pushing eliminates this. It takes some practice

 

[Nealm66]

I should try to make some videos, just feel weird when I’m at a job to do so. I had a job a while back where they strapped a go pro on a bicycle helmet and I topped a tree at a little over 36”. They made a disc for me but no idea where I put it

 

[MoDoug]

I should try to make some videos, just feel weird when I’m at a job to do so. I had a job a while back where they strapped a go pro on a bicycle helmet and I topped a tree at a little over 36”. They made a disc for me but no idea where I put it

Is that your profile picture on this site?

 

[MoDoug]

The plumb bob with the white kite string is just a great tool. It is so accurate and easy to use.

You sold me, I can see how handy it would be. I made one for cutting tool box. I used 6 feet of kite string and a fishing cast weight.

 

[Nealm66]

Is that your profile picture on this site?

Yes, it was a recent job for a co worker. There were 3 trees total, the first two sucked and took some spider man and I’m too old for that but oh well.

 

[Nealm66]

And ya, that saw is too big, I use a small one hander stihl till it gets too big then I usually have a little bigger saw after that but i ran into the issue of the 550 not being able to run 63 gauge so I bought a 562 that just didn’t fit so I got rid of it. I wore out a couple 260 size stihls and just wanted a little more umph. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, I might just buy a cheapo 250 and modify the crap out of it. I’ve had good luck with that in the past.

 

[Simonkenton]

You look at a tree, and you can pretty well figure which way it is leaning. Or, so you think.
Then, get your plumb bob, stand back maybe 50 feet where you can look at the entire height of the tree against that bright white kite string. You can see perfectly which way it leans. Or, some of them, don't lean at all from that perspective.
Then walk 1/4 of the way around the tree, so that you are 90 degrees away from the first spot. Use the plumb bob again.

I am pretty good at cutting down big trees, and about 1 out of 5 I am wrong when just eyeballing. Plumb bob doesn't lie.

 

[MoDoug]

Yes, it was a recent job for a co worker. There were 3 trees total, the first two sucked and took some spider man and I’m too old for that but oh well.

Those power lines make it look interesting.

 

[MoDoug]

You look at a tree, and you can pretty well figure which way it is leaning. Or, so you think.
Then, get your plumb bob, stand back maybe 50 feet where you can look at the entire height of the tree against that bright white kite string. You can see perfectly which way it leans. Or, some of them, don't lean at all from that perspective.
Then walk 1/4 of the way around the tree, so that you are 90 degrees away from the first spot. Use the plumb bob again.

I am pretty good at cutting down big trees, and about 1 out of 5 I am wrong when just eyeballing. Plumb bob doesn't lie.

Eyeballing trees on hill sides, like you mentioned previously, are especially challenging.

 

[Nealm66]

Those power lines make it look interesting.

That particular tree was pretty basic, the two before sucked and required some additional rigging

 

[Nealm66]

Hardwoods or large trees with a big wingspan can be hard to read even with the plumb bob trick. If it’s not a discernible lean and the diameter is small to where getting a wedge in without jamming your bar, back cut first or if nervous about undercutting a back cut tree, make a small undercut, then divide the back cut in half, so only back cut half the tree leaving wood so tree can’t set back, drive a wedge in leaving room to stick yours saw in to finish the back cut