Jerry B's Fundamentals Photos

I just came in from splitting wood for the next week...gotta agree that it is about the best exercise a guy can get...plus you get to enjoy that caveman feeling of keeping your family warm with wood that you harvested and split :)

I have not lifted weights for a couple of years and kinda miss that too though. Wood chopping or splitting for endurance and fat burning...lifting weights for muscle building and strengthening :)
 
Cody, I have the SB shoe in my truck if you are going to fab/ have someone fab one. I can get measurements and pictures if it would help. The ability to spin it seems sweet. I say seems, because I have only used this kind, never the less arched type that I hear is less stable.
 
Thanks man :) Actually have a friend that has fabbed a couple of them for some other guys, so he could make me one.
 
Speaking of those fundamentals I'm going to have to review them again .With few exceptions all I 've ever used for a fall is either a wide open face or a standard notch over with a 2 inch higher back cut .Only two three times ever an undercut humbolt .

Well it's getting closer to what in these parts is a giant.4 foot plus dead one year bur oak .So I'll have to review that deal where you take a giant slice out of the middle and analize if it would be best .I have no idea what it's called but it's the same deal as dropping that big top from the big redwood.

It's not a situation that I can't cut it ,hell I can cut anything .It's if it would work best with a snipe thrown in
 
Butch, as Jerry states, it allows the hinge fibers to bend further and have better holding and guiding ability, compared to a sharp cornered face that closes abruptly and the hinge breaks from the shock of that.
 
A taller hinge with more flexibility. It gives the tree room to tip before the top and bottom connect. With the snipe, it gives it even more angular movement before the top of the gap hits the snipe, and the snipe directs it, as well. On a big tree like those redwoods, I believe you put in two horizontal kerf and break the face out. It shears along the vertical grain, helping to keep the hinge fibers intact.

When I have to bust out a big humboldt face that I don't have lined up quite right, but can't see very well because of its width, I"ll bore in the center of the facecut toward the center of the tree, and pound a wedge, spreading the two halves of the face, and/ or put two wedges, vertically aligned, above and below the facecut. Pounding them in tends to spit out the face.

The snipe, or "kicker" as its called, if cut on an angle different from perpendicular, can be used to tip/ kick the tree to the side somewhat after the inital motion has occurred. The one side of the face closes before the other, introducing a new force on the tree, plus starting the tear of the hinge on the one side, instead of evenly across the stump. If you need to clear some canopy conflict during the fell, or get the tree to roll, it is a tool.

We had to pull a tree 5' old growth Dfir with P. schweinitzii (aka rotten in the butt!!!) away from a camp ground restroom (only 6' away from the stump. Sidenote: F'ing stupid engineers!!!). We had to clear some other trees' canopies, but wanted the tree to fall and roll away from the building. A slight snipe, cut closer back to the hinge on the side opposite from rest room, got it to move toward the lay, then pull and roll away from the building.
 
Well yeah I would like to kick the very top sideways about 6 feet .Oh this is one of those deals in these parts might only happen a couple times in a life time .I've put some thought into it before I make the first cut .

It's not something I'm obsessed over it or lost any sleep over because gravity will take it down .I just kinda want to help old gravity out as to where to put it .
 
Al Smith said:
Well yeah I would like to kick the very top sideways about 6 feet .Oh this is one of those deals in these parts might only happen a couple times in a life time .I've put some thought into it before I make the first cut .

It's not something I'm obsessed over it or lost any sleep over because gravity will take it down .I just kinda want to help old gravity out as to where to put it .
Click to expand...
Hey Al, just bumped into this thread whilst mooching, did you ever do the tree? How'd it go?
 
Southsounds description of the face cut is right on. Everyone can use the "snipe" to help guide the tree longer after it closes on the face. You "gun" the snipe just like you do the face. Not having the two face cuts line up ,(leaving a kerf 1' or 2'', more in really big trees) helps keep the tree from closing on the face and helps guide it longer(make sense?) All of you guys that are concerned with getting an accurate "shot" should learn and practice these techniques that were developed by guys cutting big expensive wood. Another thing to try if you can't get the face out, because you are leaving a kerf inside the face(hinge wood) is splitting it in the middle like Southsound explained. What happens though is the saw wants to kick back an scare hell out of you. The solution to this besides raker height, is to rotate the handle bar back and forth(left to right) as you push the bar into the face to split it. If done properly the saw will quit kicking back. Everyone can be a real "pro" at falling if you use and practice these simple steps. Also learning to plumb the tree for head and side lean is critical. Do it on every tree, even if you think it is obvious how it leans until you get proficient. This takes all the guesswork out of falling and gives amazing confidence. Hope this helps.
 
I think what you mean by leaving a kerf at the hinge is what is commonly called a "gap". Your simple steps to successful tree felling are what we have often been discussing in depth here for many
years. :lol:
 
Old Irish, good info there. Have you ever read Gerry's "The Fundamentals of General Treework"?

If not, I am positive you would find it good reading, and also quite sure you would learn at least one tidbit of good useful info that you had never thought of nor heard of before. And even though you would already know at least 95% of the info, you would like seeing the way Jerry laid it out.

And one more thing, the title is a bit misleading, imo. Much of what is discussed in the book is far from what many folks would consider "general tree work," as in your average removals in somebody's back yard. Instead it is crammed full of high end,
technical cutting, felling, and bucking on steep ground, and lots more of that done aerially.

It is indeed the Bible of tree cutting. Much more wide ranging and far more readable than Dent's tree falling book btw, imo.

Edit: Irish, if you read this whole 7 pages of thread here then, duh, my bad:|:. Reading your last post made me think you weren't aware of Jerry's book. So, carry on.:)
 
Same impression here, Cory. Some terminology from GB's book makes describing easier, like gap, tight lining, types of cuts, mistakes at the stump, etc. It doesn't waste words.
 
Yeah guys thanks for the kind words. After I wrote the post I thought about "the book" which I have never had the pleasure of reading. I figured that this stuff was probably covered, but what I was trying to say is if you just stick to these few principles without making it complicated you can be a pretty good "back Yard" cutter without a lot of experience working in a logging type situation. For those that don't have Gerry's book or the time to study it maybe these principles will click. I have read some threads where talented arborists get a little intimidated when they get "to the stump" in some situations. If I get the book and read it I am sure that I will learn something. That is why I am here. You won't see me giving any advice about climbing etc. so I just try to contribute what little knowledge that I have gained from cutting many millions of board feet. This is all good stuff.
 
I think that you make a real good point, old irish, about the basic principles covering a lot of ground. We see at the thread showing fool's cutting mistakes in vids at youtube, that for many, the basics are not within their grasp as they go about doing potentially very dangerous things..
 
Cory I think that I have run them all Mac's and Homelights too. I have a Solo (German saw) that is 103cc.'s It runs good. Right now I am running a stock Stihl 660 that I really like. I like my .046 too. It sucked until I changed the stock filter. I have a lot of old Husky saws that all run good. A hopped up 2100 with 36" for cutting this hard old Fir in Montana. if it is over 3'. I guess I don't have favorites, but I haven't run the newer Husky's so I am no authority on the subject. One thing I do know is the new lightweight bars that have the aluminum centers are worth every penny from Bailey's.
 
All this talk made me go an purchase a copy. I'll have to find a fav and report back.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #75
That's right, you won't regret it. And after you read the book, buy the DVD's and see the concepts and principles that Jerry talks about put into action. You will find yourself saying WOW! a few times, I guarantee it.
 
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