Any other losers like me?CS31 not going too well ):

[Climber85]

A tip i would give you is to fell a tree at about 4 ft and sned the remaining stump. Then practise loads of gobs on both sides of the stump all the way down concentrating on keeping the saw level. I had trouble with unlevel gobs and this helped loads!

 

Hope that helps u!?

[Billy]

just relax and practice, you'll get it. Have fun don't feel under pressure. i presume they've shown you to use a small twig or piece of grass in the angle of the gob to help you line up the back cut?

[Climber85]

Beat me to it Frankie!! Didnt see your post! sorry

[themonkian]

Hello mate, I was exactly the same. Because the course I did was only 5 days and we had to sned, cut and stack every tree we felled - I rushed everything and made loads of mistakes, which in turn made me feel useless at it. Like the others say, take your time, make sure you have everything ready before you cut (so you don't have to walk in danger zones to get your felling bar etc.) and above all else: don't panic! Bad decisions are made when in a panic.

 

As for the test itself - I made plenty of mistakes and cuts didn't go right BUT I passed because I could tell the assessor what I'd done wrong and knew how to correct my gaffes. Good luck with the assessments, I'm sure you'll do fine...

[Hawthorn]

When I did 30+31 we did this for a whole morning Frankie, practicing felling cuts on low stumps from the last lot of 'customers'

 

Odd Bird. Bear in mind that, after the leaning trees, there isn't much more learning to do, mostly loads of practising

 

As the others have already said, take your time, think carefully about your position and position of the saw to tree. Ask for help as much as you need. If the others are confident/competent they don't need the instructor as much as you so don't be scared of 'hogging' him/her, the others won't/shouldn't mind.

[Bolt]

Fear not, odd bird,

 

First, don't worry what the others are doing. You are not in a race, or competing with them in any way.

 

Second, Its not doing good cuts on your training course that matters. Make all your mistakes now (and learn how to get out them / not repeat them).

 

Third, make your mistakes early in the course, so as you get better, your confidence builds.

 

Fouth (as toprotter said) "enjoy it". When its not going 100%, stop for a moment. take a step back from the tree, think how much you want it, and how much hassle its been to get this far, and ENJOY IT. The only reason to do tree work is that its fun.

 

Fifthly, be glad that you are not "using up all your good cuts on the training". This would appear to ge a genuine problem on training courses.

 

I have had candidates on training who were model pupils all the way way through training, but on the assessment, the assessor has contacted me wondering why I put such a hopeless case forward for assessor.

 

I have also had candidates who were above average for the start of the course, and seemed to go down hill on the last few days, not leaving you enough time to correct the multitude of "day1 week1" errors they are making.

 

I have has candidates who were nothing but, errrr "not good" through out the training, and never seemed to "get it", but for the assessment, they sailed through - so much so you wonder if its a different person (ooops, did I say that out loud) being assessed.

 

Finally Your assessment is the only day it matters. Listen hard to your trainer, and get as much experiance as you can on your course (I guess you are only a few days in). :-)

[odd_bird]

It's the same story here as Themonkian mentioned..we have to tidy everything away. Leaving us no time to practice actual felling very much. Shouldn't they let CS30 do it for us?

i presume they've shown you to use a small twig or piece of grass in the angle of the gob to help you line up the back cut?

nope! What is it?

 

I was thinking about cutting higher and then leaving practice on the remaining stump...Not a lot of time left though..The assessment is on Friday and..anyway..it's not about passing..it's about doing things right..

 

What happens if I fail? Do have to retake the course again? It's a lot of £££...

[Gareth Smith]

Chin up ! It ain't that bad . Your probably just feeling a bit down as it ain't going perfectly at the moment but you have to remember that your taking your first intense felling course with little experience and it it will all fall into place with a bit of patience commitment and time. Listen to what your being taught and like others says talk yourself through what your doing and take your time. It will soon all become natural ! Also remember that your felling trees not stacking shelves so it ain't going to be a simple 5 minute lesson then thrown into the job !

[Frankie Lawrence]

7

 

What happens if I fail? Do have to retake the course again? It's a lot of £££...

 

you dont need to worry yourself about that as you are going to pass:thumbup:

[mark_goldfinch]

are you using the stick method? use a small straight stick and put it in the sink cut. you can use it to gain your parallel lines with the bar of your saw. this is how i learned and may you never have a wonky hinge again.