The History Channel; Ax Men

Yeah,the 171 isn't all that nimble moving itself around!With the pole dropped and lying horizontal the machine is very back heavy and to be turned 180deg takes about five minutes of going back and forth just turning a little bit at a time.It can't be screwed around on the spot like a CAt or a tank can.
 
Another one tonight! I hope they have a competent person climb a spar next time. That was embarrassing to watch.:what:
 
That was pretty cool. I like that guy. He seems pretty squared away. Out of the outfits, I'd work for him first.
 
The deadman anchor was cool!

So, did anyone else notice the "feller" within about the first 10 minutes of show, who cut thru his hinge and the tree sorta rolled off the stump sideways?
 
I don't think he cut thru it, it just broke going over and rolled off. Happens alot, rolls to one side to the other.
 
top hopper said:
Well then he cut to much of it.
Click to expand...

I did see that, but didn't think much of it. He may have meant to break it off early, and have a narrow hinge so as to avoid fiber pull.

But yeah, he may have cut it through. I've done it on little "shit sticks" that (relatively) aren't dangerous. They'll commit and be on their way, and you just get the "aw it's on it's way and it'll fall where it may" and you just cut on through. It can't pull fiber or split on the stump if it's cut through. Smaller, green trees, crappy wood, etc.... Maybe I'm full of it, but I've done it. :|:
 
Maybe I'm full of it, or of myself, too...but I never cut through a hinge on purpose. I may thin it down as the tree commits, for the reasons Jeff mentions, but I try to always keep a functioning hinge throughout the fall.
 
Good Lordy! Who let Burnham in here? What does he know? :P:P



The "sticks" I've intentionally cut the hinge through are specifically trees wherein they're of such small consequence that I don't want to spend any more time on them than I already have, and they're small/green/light enough that they won't break their own hinge, and I'd have to pop the hinge with the tree on the ground. I'm talking about a 40' baby fir or an 8" dbh wild cherry in a stand of second growth.

The tree the guy did in the show is one I'd think would call for a good sound bit of holding wood all the way down, and it's size would for sure break it's own hinge. But my standards and that of a professional timber faller in the bush are different things. Maybe he's comfortable letting that one roll off, or maybe he accidently cut it through.
 
fishhuntcutwood said:
Good Lordy! Who let Burnham in here? What does he know? :P:P



The "sticks" I've intentionally cut the hinge through are specifically trees wherein they're of such small consequence that I don't want to spend any more time on them than I already have, and they're small/green/light enough that they won't break their own hinge, and I'd have to pop the hinge with the tree on the ground. I'm talking about a 40' baby fir or an 8" dbh wild cherry in a stand of second growth.

The tree the guy did in the show is one I'd think would call for a good sound bit of holding wood all the way down, and it's size would for sure break it's own hinge. But my standards and that of a professional timber faller in the bush are different things. Maybe he's comfortable letting that one roll off, or maybe he accidently cut it through.
Click to expand...

Makes ya wonder sometimes, don't it...the questionable things I'll say ;).

That all makes sense, Jeff. I wasn't correctly visualizing what you described in your other post. I have done that with small stuff too...smaller than 40 footers, but the same thought process. I haven't seen the piece of film in question, so I have no standing to comment on that.

I have been watching pro timber cutters here in the PNW for near 30 years, both in action and by autopsying stumps. My considered opinion is that they are pretty much like any other profession...there are some really good ones, some really poor ones, and the bulk are clustered around the middle of the bell curve. Don't expect to see top quality performance from all of them any more than you would expect it from every arbo crew you come across.
 
I've done it the other way.Not enough wedge and too thick of hinge and the damned tree hangs instead of snapping the hinge .Then cut the wrong side and it goes where you don't want it to ,duh .:(
 
Say he didn't cut it off. The small face those guys use, would close and break the hinge wood with the tree still a good ways off the ground. After that it would seem like its completely up to gravity to play with. roll flip jump or whatever... Or am i completely wrong?
 
I don't know about small faces. That's the whole reason they use Humboldts out here is so you take your face from the stump, and not merchantable timber.

But yeah, there's times, places and reasons when and why you'd want your tree to stay on the stump all the way down, or "jump" the stump and do something else on the way down.
 
fishhuntcutwood said:
I don't know about small faces. That's the whole reason they use Humboldts out here is so you take your face from the stump, and not merchantable timber.

But yeah, there's times, places and reasons when and why you'd want your tree to stay on the stump all the way down, or "jump" the stump and do something else on the way down.
Click to expand...

LOL...It's that "doing something else on the way down" that keeps us on our toes.
 
HA! True. I guess I meant coming off the stump, rolling to one side or the other or something like that.
 
The third episode was good. I just watched it today. The in-laws TiVo'd it for me. Were they showing trees randomly falling due to the high winds? Or did I misunderstand something?:what:
 
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