Facebook video. Graphic accident

[Joe Newton]

I think it would have been a solution to a problem that shouldn't have existed anyway. 

[Pete Mctree]

14 hours ago, tree-fancier123 said:

GnarlyOak says he uses only 10 to 15% diameter sapwood cuts in the sides - others take a third of the diameter, wedging if necessary

extract from another thread on felling leaners and leaning stems

 

 

"Ah yes. That brings back one heck of a story.

The Coos Bay cut was first described to me by Mike Davis, RIP, yes the M. Davis in High climbers. The way Mike described it to me then is the way I've used the cut since. With minor varients to suit the situation, of course.

When Mike was first describing the Coos's Bay cut to me, back in 1986 at the Golden West Hotel Saloon, I was astounded by the shear "against the grain methodology" I thought to myself, "He can't be serious." Dave Deconti was present during Mikes description and we both exchanged eye contact a number of times in disbelief of what Mike was telling us.

I had to ask Mike a couple of times just to get it straight without any misunderstanding. Needless to say I was still skeptical even after 20 Budwisers.

When I went to work for Pete Benedeti in 89 I watched Raymond Bates use the cut exactly as Mike described it. The tree was a redwood, heavy leaner over the county road. The county road crew closed the road off and in three cuts, less than one minute, that tree floped across the pavement and was doing the dying quivers.

Even at that I never attempted to use the Coos Bay. I was still too skeptical.

A few years later, round about 92 or so, I was working in Dos Rios for Homer Helms. Dos Rios is rattle snake, bald face hornet infested hell hole I'll never forget. Well the Bullbuck on that harvest plan awarded me a strip on a big slide that covered a few acres of the mountain. The Bullbuck said he liked me. Most the trees on that strip toppled when the the hill side slipped out, I guessed about 10 years before my arrival, the downed trees were all pretty well rotten. Now the trees left standing, if you want to call it that, were all heavy leaners, no, no hangers, like holding out your arm, Douglas Fir averaging about a thousand foot apiece. Scratch your head in wonder thinking about the forces on the roots holding them.

It was impossible to fall to a lead. Every tree leaned a different way, over one another and over bad ground. I walk through those trees two times without even tugging on the pull rope. Finally when I came back to where I started, I thought about what Mike told me, and I remembered how Raymond Bates flopped that redwood in just three cuts.

I was thinking, "Man, I'm gonna have one of these trees barber chair and lose my saw and possibly my life." I looked across the hillside, up and down and thought, "I'm not walking through this again. I'm gonna just start cutting the way Mike told me. F it."

So I tugged on that pull rope and brought life into a sawing machine that was hell bent for destruction. Knees knocking and sweat pouring I cut one side of the trunk, better than a third, socked a wedge in, and cut the other side the same, then hit the back!!!

The sound of wood pulling from the stump ecohed across the caynon and the tree launched itself into the worse lay you could imagine. Fortunatly it was Doug Fir, and tough, and it took the hit. SOB to buck. Would of been easier if it broke clean. No such luck.

So, OK! That was the first one. So far so good. I have couple dozen more.

About 4 o'clock that afternoon I had the last of the outlaws apprehenced and bucked them all, honest to God. I felt like a pro. Oh, yeah.

It was late in the day for a timber faller to walk out of the woods. Most the others were out of there by 1 oclock and home by the time I quit. I wanted to finish that strip. I didn't want to go back to it in the morning. My next strip was steep ground but the trees stood fare and straight, and was going to be a heck of a lot easier.

I suppose had I learned the Coos Bay from someone else, like yourselves, I would have done it that way. I recall when the discussion about the Coos bay came up here at the house the description was different than what I have used and wrote about. I found it interesting the varients of methods to solve a common problem. And I knew one day someone here would call me on it.

Thanks, Burnam.

Since using the Coos' Bay on that God awful strip in Dos Rios I started using it in the trees to launch big, heavy, hanging, limbs and spars. It works great.

It'll pull wood, generally out of the stub,or stump, but it solves the issues of getting a saw stuck in a cut by undercutting a heavily compress portion of a stem or trunk. Non-directional. Only good for flopping.

Varients? Yes! Even though a tree with heavy head lean,,, it can also favor one side. Cut that side first, better than a third, set a wedge. Cut the other side. Then bore into the holding wood, and threat it like you would with a conventional face and bore cut to trip.

Heavy head leaners are a Son of a Bitch. Anybody that's been in the business for long can attest to it. Even treated with the best of your knowledge and skill they can still get you. Always treat them with the utmost respect and have a clear and safe way out of there.

Up in the tree? Always excute the cut from above.

Thank you Mike Davis for the knowledge. RIP, 2003'"

https://www.masterblasterhome.com/showthread.php?9410-Beranek-s-Coos-Bay-felling-cut-vs-Burnham-s

 

 

The coos bay & it's variants are fantastic tools  to have in the box, but I am very sure that I would not use it in this scenario though. It, functions by gradually releasing the tension stored in the tree. However, it does not cleanly separate the tree from the stump and because the climber is relatively low down in the tree it could be dangerous. The tree could stay on the stump, hitting the ground tip first & then pushing the butt back towards the climber potentially striking them - not good.

Whatever cut chosen when felling in this position, (dropping  a long leader from low down in the tree,) then this factor must also be considered.

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Pete Mctree

[tree-fancier123]

1 hour ago, Pete Mctree said:

The coos bay & it's variants are fantastic tools  to have in the box, but I am very sure that I would not use it in this scenario though. It, functions by gradually releasing the tension stored in the tree. However, it does not cleanly separate the tree from the stump and because the climber is relatively low down in the tree it could be dangerous. The tree could stay on the stump, hitting the ground tip first & then pushing the butt back towards the climber potentially striking them - not good.

Whatever cut chosen when felling in this position, (dropping  a long leader from low down in the tree,) then this factor must also be considered.

 

Interesting input from someone who's obviously tried these things out - thanks for the heads up as it were

[Haironyourchest]

15 hours ago, tree-fancier123 said:

do you think it would have worked though?

Oh yes, it would have prevented the barberchair, no question. Now, with no gob cut, and sufficient lean, there would be a possibility of the stem splitting underneath the cut and crunching him between the stem and his lanyard, but that could be prevented with another ratchet strap further down the stem, below the cuts. Chaining/strapping the stem always works, provided the bindings are strong enough to contain the forces involved - its just a question of time vs risk. I'll only do it when in doubt, and the timber is big enough to be dangerous. But still, no matter what, you got to have a gob cut, or its just asking for trouble.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Haironyourchest

[Mark Bolam]

He did cut a gob.

[Joe Newton]

This is part of the problem. Amateurs commenting on how a job should be done. 

[tree-fancier123]

33 minutes ago, Haironyourchest said:

Oh yes, it would have prevented the barberchair, no question. Now, with no gob cut, and sufficient lean, there would be a possibility of the stem splitting underneath the cut and crunching him between the stem and his lanyard, but that could be prevented with another ratchet strap further down the stem, below the cuts. Chaining/strapping the stem always works, provided the bindings are strong enough to contain the forces involved - its just a question of time vs risk. I'll only do it when in doubt, and the timber is big enough to be dangerous. But still, no matter what, you got to have a gob cut, or its just asking for trouble.

No - if you read the exerpt i posted above JB is talking about felling huge leaners without touching the front of the tree at all, takes sides out to better than a third of diameter, wedge if it favours one side and back cut fast till its gone. I accept Petes explanations as to why this cut isnt always suitable, but a face cut notch not always used by experienced people

23 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

He did cut a gob.

some will not read all the posts, at least not carefully, at hoyc how could you have missed that info clearly included above?

Edited December 19, 2018 by tree-fancier123

[tree-fancier123]

4 minutes ago, Joe Newton said:

This is part of the problem. Amateurs commenting on how a job should be done. 

Ive always thought forums will be at least half amateurs, as many pros are fed up with helping newbies and dont want to think about work when they get home

[Pete Mctree]

8 minutes ago, tree-fancier123 said:

No - if you read the exerpt i posted above JB is talking about felling huge leaners without touching the front of the tree at all, takes sides out to bettet than a third of diameter, wedge if it favours one side and back cut fast till its gone. I accept Petes explanations as to why this cut isnt always suitable, but a face cut notch not always used by experienced people

some will not read all the posts, at least not carefully, at hoyc how could you have missed that info clearly included above?

I don't understand the point you are trying to make - that you could safely cut that tree with a face cut? 

 Anything but a face cut would be at the best be folly - you would remove  all control over the cut piece - even if you avoided the barberschair then direction & the way is would depart the stump would be unpredictable & dangerous. 

[Carl1991]

Possibly a young inexperienced lad. Must have been against the clock or peer pressured into that surely? Hope he recovers soon