felling cuts

[Andy Collins]

I hear what youre saying about the garden situation , but the boundary trees in woodland situations poses similar situations .

 

Yes they do, I have a regularly-used footpath running up the side of the plot I'm on now, luckily there arent too many to drop, but I shall put in a pull-line to assist on those, along with wedges and anything else I have to hand. TBH I dont enjoy heavy back-leaners, and will ehaust all other options before trying to get them upright and down in the right space.

[Stephen Blair]

heavy back leaners= spikes ha ha

[18 stoner]

How so???????

 

Sorry its taken a while, i just got back from havin a 20oz sirloin:001_smile:

 

Ok, what i have tried explaining is how i see a comparison between the extra force needed compared to the benifit of mechanical advantage, by moving the fulcrum backwards.

 

Yes, there is a major point about setting a wide gob so as to get a nice wide hinge. Fair do.

 

But, moving the fulcrum back increases the force needed(at the back of the felling cut) by more than the gain achieved by the small amout it gets the fulcrum nearer the center of gravity.

 

And as Andy says, moving the hinge backwards means you get more movement in the top of the tree for the same height achieved at the back of the felling cut, but it needs much more force(power to lever) as the distance from fulcrum is less.

 

And yes, i also agree a tag line is one of the better ideas

[skyhuck]

But, moving the fulcrum back increases the force needed(at the back of the felling cut) by more than the gain achieved by the small amout it gets the fulcrum nearer the center of gravity.

 

 

I would agree this is true on a heavy back leaner, but on a more balanced tree moving the fulcrum is very beneficial, IMO and IME.

[Stephen Blair]

it all depends if the tree is wide and dumpy, tall and skinny, larch or sycamore, experience makes the decision in your head in seconds thaty i could never explain to someone, you just know, its either a big gub, wee gub, hell i have done some with no gub and a jcb and a huge wire rope, the guy ended up on his back wheels jumping up and down on the independant brakes working the tree over, it was on a cliff and i had to put the back cut in from a tiny ledge, so i was wasting time with a hinge, we got her over in the end, she was wider than she was tall. Others i have left monster hinges and got them over with 360's. or its spikes on, thump off the back side stick it a line and pull them over, i hate leaning sycamores personally

[skyhuck]

, i hate leaning sycamores personally

 

Me too, so little flex in the hinge.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I would agree this is true on a heavy back leaner, but on a more balanced tree moving the fulcrum is very beneficial, IMO and IME.

 

Totaly agree with that, a deep gob on a balanced tree forces the fall into a void, like knocking one of your legs out!

 

Depth of cut also helps control angle of decent a high top cut gets the tip down fast whil a shallow gob keeps the tip up till last minute.

 

shallow gobs can really help "jump" a butt and give a fair clearance from the stump when required.

 

I dont really use much fancy cuts, I might sometimes leave a thicker hinge and bore out the centre but its a rare event when i need to do it.

 

back leaners, judgment tells you wether its a climbing job or could be done with mechanical advantage, best off get the tractor!

 

A realy big tree back lean with targets is safer climbed IMO

[skyhuck]

Totaly agree with that, a deep gob on a balanced tree forces the fall into a void, like knocking one of your legs out!

 

Depth of cut also helps control angle of decent a high top cut gets the tip down fast whil a shallow gob keeps the tip up till last minute.

 

shallow gobs can really help "jump" a butt and give a fair clearance from the stump when required.

 

I dont really use much fancy cuts, I might sometimes leave a thicker hinge and bore out the centre but its a rare event when i need to do it.

 

back leaners, judgment tells you wether its a climbing job or could be done with mechanical advantage, best off get the tractor!

 

A realy big tree back lean with targets is safer climbed IMO

 

[Andy Collins]

It takes a lot of skill and judgement to get it right every time, or even some of the time. its one thing to read in the books or listen to the wise old sage telling you how things were done back in the day but to get out there and actually fell the buggers day in day out without one going wrong takes a lot of skill. I find it so exhilarating to get tree after tree dropping perfectly, then one hangs up and brings you back down to earth with a bang. One misread tree, one badly made cut, and everything goes to ratshit. love it.

[Big 'Ammer]

Been following this thread with interest.

 

Different gobs for different jobs IMO.

 

There are circumstances where a larger gob that moves the fulcrum and COG are more suitable than a traditional gob and vice versa.

 

A lot depends upon the space in which you have to fell the tree and the amount of pull you can get with a top line, and also the angle of pull.

 

The amount of back lean will dictate how its done, and also how you use your wedges.

 

Are the wedges in there to stop the saw nipping up and just a few taps will move the tree, or are you intending to drive the tree over with multiple wedges and progressive higher lifting?

 

The equipment you have at your disposal will influence how the tree is felled.

 

If you only have a pulling rope and a transit you're going to tackle the job a bit differently than if you have a huge winch with a spade on.

 

One of the main things I consider in how far to put the gob in, is how rotten is the tree!

 

Don't think anyones mentioned that so far!

 

As an arb business, most of the large trees we fell have something wrong with them.

 

The depth of the gob is often dictated by where the most sound wood is, position of buttresses etc.

 

With these sort of trees it all comes down to experience and judgement where, how deep, angle of gob, height of hinge, species of wood etc.

 

How much to cut, how much to hold and where?

 

Does the hinge need chasing on one side so the crown turns where you want it?

 

The tree will tell you the right way to fell it.