O.C.G.D. Thread, part two

sotc said:
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We had one of those hard head wedges that we tried out last time we bought some wedges. I liked in until that last tree that we dropped..... It was a 40" White Oak that we completely brushed out. Probably about a 50 ft stem was left standing pretty much straight up and down. I used two other wedges on the side of the tree and used the hard head to drive in from the rear. After the tree hit the ground I saw that the hard head had shattered inside the curf into about 5 different pieces. Kind of bummed out because we really didn't use that wedge very hard and we didn't have it very long either.

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Mick, that's a great idea traveling to actually run the machine you're intending to buy under real world conditions. I just think that is such a wise investment of time. Nothing adds work and frustration to your day quite like having the wrong piece of equipment for yourself.

Times years and years of use.
 
Thanks Merle.
It actually gave me a chance to meet up with a guy I've been arguing and bitching with on Arbtalk for years!
We got on famously.
 
Eric, why 2 in the sides, one in the rear?

The one wedge in the rear did way more work than needed. Plastic being brittle at 15*F seems reasonable. Its easy to beat wedges into the tree and have some upward and downward force, not being dead horizontal.
 
I've had great luck with hardheads. Very satisfying to whallop against and long lasting. I've used all sizes of them pretty much.
 
SouthSoundTree- said:
Eric, why 2 in the sides, one in the rear?

The one wedge in the rear did way more work than needed. Plastic being brittle at 15*F seems reasonable. Its easy to beat wedges into the tree and have some upward and downward force, not being dead horizontal.
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I guess I was taught early on that you place one in either side right up by the hinge to help support the hinge and the one in back is to help left the tree up and over center. It's just the way I do trees that are pretty much straight up and down.

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When I wanted to figure out how to make my own, I've taken apart a hardhead to see how they are made. The steel part penetrates a fair ways into the plastic, so I think that you could say that the overall structure is somewhat weakened by less plastic to absorb the blows. I haven't compared, but I suspect that longer or shorter wedges probably have the same amount of steel going inside, so the longer ones are somewhat more shock absorbent. Still, all in all they shouldn't break very easily the way that they are made, unless being wailed on with unusual force. i suspect a flaw in Eric's. My homemade ones haven't broken yet, but I make hardhead juniors that only have the steel plug in the middle without the plate covering the entire end, and less steel penetrating inside compared to the ones that they sell.
 
The flaw is the massive force by which I drive the wedges??? I must agree ;-)

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I don't think that the hinge typically needs any extra support by wedges. I'd go three across the back. More rotational leverage. Less unwanted vertical force on the hinge.


I've worked around a drum-hollow 4-5' cottonwood as the sawyer cut, I snugged wedges to prevent the weight from concentrating on, and crushing the hinge and shell below it. Then we called for the winch to pull.
 
The '99 Grand Cherokee I was driving finally died a couple of weeks ago. The track bar for the rear axle broke off from rust. I looked at a bunch of them over the last week, but I only found two types. The low dollar, high mile rust bucket, or the high dollar, medium mile, looks good on top, rusty underneath ones. Friday night my sister emailed a craigslist link to one that looked pretty good, but I figured it for another sneaky rust bucket. Turned out to be a lower (considering age) miles, one meticulous owner cream puff. New tires, battery, brakes etc. Even had a full tank of gas.:D

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No beams, just tools. I love those 4.0 six cylinders. My sister followed me home in the 2500 Dodge with the Hemi and wanted to know why I was tearing around so fast. I said it's all low end torque, it just takes off and it doesn't even feel likes it's working. It'll get right up to highway speed quick and not even hit 3,000 rpms. Computer said I was doing 18.5 mpg, but I'll have to verify that. Not bad at all for what it is.
 
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