the 'todays job' thread

[Ian Flatters]

id love to work a day with you guys, looks better than most of the conny smashing jobs we get

 

 

Well talking of conny bashing that's what we're doing for the next 2 days.

[simonm]

Well talking of conny bashing that's what we're doing for the next 2 days.

 

Yeah but your skid steer makes conny bashing look good lol

[Ian Flatters]

Hahaha well there has to be some perks.

[atree]

Ill have to come and do some work with you as well sometime Ian

[Brushcutter]

Is anyone else actually teaching the toes on thingy?

 

 

 

All joking aside, I've picked on this subject for some time now, yet amongst all the posts connected to it, I can't recall anyone giving a justified reason for cutting toes off.

 

In general the nearest excuse for doing it is the faller didn't have a big enough saw, ie couldn't fell 2 or upto 2+1/2 times bar, or simply have just seen it done that way.

 

On that basis, it beggars belief that this practice is actually shown in colleges and training centres. If it is being shown as a general rule, it is wrong and unsuitable in most cases. If a general rule is being shown it should be of them being kept on in line with the hinge. Not in every case the best, but sure the safest for the very vast majority of fells.

 

 

When i was taught you took off anything that wasn't helpful. You would always leave stuff on the back you you have wood to play with. The ones on the side sometime left on sometime taken off no hard or fast rule. I remember struggling sometimes because you'd do pines that were cylinders and easy to make all the cuts line up. Then a birch with butresses all over the shop its very different and one of the situations where more butresses are better than taking them off.

 

On my refresher course with a guy who does a lot of 30/31 courses. He said you must always put the face cut in first. Then you have established direction and have removed a 1/5 of the tree to check the condition of the timber. Thus you then have information available to you on what butress material you can remove. If its rotten you leave them if not take them off.

 

(I started this an hour ago and went to phyiso and have lost my train of thought....)

 

Problem is arb and forestry and two different things with a chainsaw overlap. CS31 is an attempt at forestry training. Where you may only have one saw with you and it has to do everything so taking the butresses off a plantation grown Larch isn't a massive thing. However a tree in someones garden when its a bit iffy and there is a 660 with a 3' bar on in the truck i think its best to leave them on.

 

The other thing is about butresses from a training point of view that its a hell of a lot easier to fell a round tree than an odd shaped one. Some experience down the line it isn't but from picking up a saw on monday to felling a 15" birch with buttresses all over the shop is a big step. Hence why i guess most courses are in conifers. I bet everyone newbie even in a low stump forestry environment would fell where its round and then take the stump.

 

Buttress fiber is also all over the shop as it's reactive and tears like anything even if you do any variation of sapwood/ears/feather cuts. I've never seen all of these pulls it all over the place results old school cutters talk about but i've torn a fair few butts due to leaving buttresses on.

 

From my felling i'm 60/40 in the keep them on camp. If i'm doing high value i'll take them off but in that case the timber is normally fine. If the saw goes across then why take them off. People with 18" bars round up 13-15" trees really annoys me. It goes across just fell it. I prefer to get the tree on the ground then dress the butt when it's off the deck, saw stays sharp longer.

 

Some thoughts on buttresses that was interrupted by dinner and physio.. the point i was once trying to make escaped me.....

[Ian Flatters]

Ill have to come and do some work with you as well sometime Ian

 

 

I'm starting to have a few each year for a week. Pricey, Nathan and now Marcus.

[Marsh Monkey]

i just want to know how you keep your portable winch looking so nice mine always looks like its fallen in a bog....start at filby again in 2 weeks can't wait for the floating fires to start

[felixthelogchopper]

Well John, much better IMO. However if the tree your mounting too isn't upright it can cause it to stall out. I do use off cuts of wood if I need to level it up.

 

Had exactly that experience today.

[NickinMids]

Small Acer but overhanging everyone else's sheds etc

[18 stoner]

When i was taught you took off anything that wasn't helpful. You would always leave stuff on the back you you have wood to play with. The ones on the side sometime left on sometime taken off no hard or fast rule. I remember struggling sometimes because you'd do pines that were cylinders and easy to make all the cuts line up. Then a birch with butresses all over the shop its very different and one of the situations where more butresses are better than taking them off.

 

 

 

On my refresher course with a guy who does a lot of 30/31 courses. He said you must always put the face cut in first. Then you have established direction and have removed a 1/5 of the tree to check the condition of the timber. Thus you then have information available to you on what butress material you can remove. If its rotten you leave them if not take them off.

 

 

 

(I started this an hour ago and went to phyiso and have lost my train of thought....)

 

 

 

Problem is arb and forestry and two different things with a chainsaw overlap. CS31 is an attempt at forestry training. Where you may only have one saw with you and it has to do everything so taking the butresses off a plantation grown Larch isn't a massive thing. However a tree in someones garden when its a bit iffy and there is a 660 with a 3' bar on in the truck i think its best to leave them on.

 

 

 

The other thing is about butresses from a training point of view that its a hell of a lot easier to fell a round tree than an odd shaped one. Some experience down the line it isn't but from picking up a saw on monday to felling a 15" birch with buttresses all over the shop is a big step. Hence why i guess most courses are in conifers. I bet everyone newbie even in a low stump forestry environment would fell where its round and then take the stump.

 

 

 

Buttress fiber is also all over the shop as it's reactive and tears like anything even if you do any variation of sapwood/ears/feather cuts. I've never seen all of these pulls it all over the place results old school cutters talk about but i've torn a fair few butts due to leaving buttresses on.

 

 

 

From my felling i'm 60/40 in the keep them on camp. If i'm doing high value i'll take them off but in that case the timber is normally fine. If the saw goes across then why take them off. People with 18" bars round up 13-15" trees really annoys me. It goes across just fell it. I prefer to get the tree on the ground then dress the butt when it's off the deck, saw stays sharp longer.

 

 

 

Some thoughts on buttresses that was interrupted by dinner and physio.. the point i was once trying to make escaped me.....

 

 

Maybe lost train of thought but still a good post, especially for the less experienced to learn a wee bit.