Ooops!

[Mike Hill]

So I had my first proper cock-up today! I hesitate to write it here but it may just help someone else.

 

We were felling dead/dying horse chestnuts in a field next to a road. We couldn't fell them straight in to the field (at 90 deg to the wall) as there was some fencing within the field to avoid so we decided to fell them diagonally, ie at 45 degrees to the wall.

 

We put a line in the tree attached to a Land Rover as the tree was very slightly back weighted towards the road.

 

Unfortunately the hinge was inadequate due to my poor cutting. I had done my cuts, walked away from the tree and signalled for the Landy to pull away - then watched with horror as the tree started to go and then span around on it's hinge and toppled towards the road:scared:. I am pleased to say we had closed the road as a precaution anyway so no passing traffic was involved.

 

I was so gutted and rather sheepish for the rest for the afternoon.

 

Looking at the stump I could see my mistake clearly - I had left a minute hinge on the field side and a thicker hinge on the road side. That's right everybody: exactly the wrong way round! I also totally over-estimated the hinge strength in dead timber.

 

Did another tree almost identical later this afternoon and that one went sweet, big sigh!

 

Lesson learned,no harm done.I once cut through the hinge of a tree being winched as I got too cocky.It smashed a fence and landed in a pond.

 

Lesson learned and some harm done:thumbsdown:

[Dean Lofthouse]

Pecontools, Do you mean same method as the dog tooth cut?

 

[Lee Winger]

If I want to make sure I have a good hinge and make it perfect, I put in the gob cut and plunge cut behind, you can then take as long as you wish to get the hinge exactly how you want it.

 

When your ready, plunge your saw in and continue the cut back

 

 

snap....

[Paul Barton]

Don't worry about it Paul, unlike some people who would like us to believe otherwise, we all sometimes, get things wrong.

 

Thanks Carl. I thought you might just say "ha ha ha!!"

[Paul Barton]

Agree - could have used the dog-tooth cut I guess. I have only used that on strongly leaning trees or trees on a winch before but it could have worked today.

[conkers]

I used to employ a chap who did all my felling as he was so excelent. Forest worker not a climber. I would concentrate on the dismantles and he would drop the sticks but sometimes he would suprise me and the dismantle I had priced for two days he would turn around in a day by dropping it perfectly.

The felling cuts he would use would baffle me andthe control of the fell was always bob on.

 

Now he works down south I dismantle everything where there is the risk of loosing control.

Even so, dropped a 20 ft 3ft diameter stick I could of guarranteed was an easy fell and it sat there for three quarts of an hour while we applied numerous wedges and a land rover!

Centre of hinge not cut through enough. Simple but would would have been quicker to chog it down.

[Mr Ed]

Paul - Hahahahah!

 

 

 

Even I've done the same thing ... Dead wood is very inflexible...

 

[ame]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5PT1wddbSiI[/ame]

[Log-ologist]

Dead uns, when they are cold you have little or no chance of steering them as the hinges snap off rather than bend over. Glad it was a minor booboo that didn't escalate to a serious one.

[3dogs]

Must not have been big enough as i can't remember:wave:

 

it was the same day you cut that squirels head off and threw it at me:cussing:

[Pete Mctree]

it was the same day you cut that squirels head off and threw it at me:cussing:

 

pmsl i remember that, you squeeled like little miss muffet in a bath of spiders. :wave:

 

 

you shot it afterall, thought you would have liked a trophy