Spellfeller's Continuing (Mis)Adventures Aloft

I am glad you did it that way. I was getting concerned about the lean and size coupled with the warnings folks were giving about ash reliability (DMc got my attention).

Glad you kept out of the tippy top...sometimes you don't want to go somewhere even though you can.

Opening the face like you described for your topping cut has worked well for me...I seldom get "pushback" like I used to with a narrower face cut.
 
pantheraba said:
Opening the face like you described for your topping cut has worked well for me...I seldom get "pushback" like I used to with a narrower face cut.
Click to expand...

Gary, truth be told--and despite the fact I THOUGHT i'd followed its directions--upon rereading this passage, I'm confused about what it recommends...

Spellfeller said:
A good guideline for top removal is to open the notch to an angle that will cause it to close when the top is almost parallel or parallel to the ground, thus lessening forward movement of the remaining tree. A 45-degree notch used aloft on a straight up and down top will maximize the amount of “push back” the tree is experiencing when the hinge breaks, also increasing the ferocity of the ride for the climber. Here: http://www.treeservicesmagazine.com/tree-care-management/insurance/chain-saw-safety-aloft/
Click to expand...

Seems to me that in order for the cut to close when the top is parallel to the ground, the bottom of the face cut must itself be parallel to the ground too. (In other words NOT the Soren Eriksson "tilted 90°" open-face cut you might use on the ground to MAXIMIZE the amount of time the hinge guides the tree.) You want exactly the opposite aloft, namely for the hinge to break SOONER. So I THINK what this article is calling for is a more acute angle, i.e. one LESS than 45°...

Am I all wet?
 
Thanks, Sean. Was this the salient point of that T-Buzz thread...?

If the face closed and stopped from too narrow a face cut it could split out.
 
Just that being aware of barberchairing is important.

Your 540 lanyard wrap is better than a 180, but far worse than a central connection for both ends of your lanyard. Circle of Death.

A handsaw to finish can be slow and let a tree barber chair. If its leaning, you're not steering it much, and if rigging it, it doesn't matter so much. Cut fast up to the hinge. If its hard leaning, and you cut off the hinge, so what?

Golden Triangle, Coos Bay, bore-cut with back strap release...ways to reduce the barberchair.
 
Spellfeller said:
Thanks, Sean. Was this the salient point of that T-Buzz thread...?

If the face closed and stopped from too narrow a face cut it could split out.
Click to expand...

Seems like this could be about cutting slowly, or leaving too much hinge. The facecut angle will affect the rebound, but I was more thinking about the barber chair.


A guy in the San Juan Islands runs his firewood/ tree business from a Mini-x because he was crushed by the Circle of Death. It can squirt your guts out your butt. No joke.
 
Not a ton of good pictures from the weekend. My ace photographer was away on Saturday, so the 11-year-old understudy filled in. Then on Sunday afternoon, we had a crowd: Neighbor Eric on the pull line, his wife, another neighbor lady, and my photographer all watching--but minus the camera.

Too bad because that was when all the cool stuff happened! :lol:

Here's another shot of the TIP I had in an ash behind the removal victim. It was great for the lower stuff...

i-53cBZN9-XL.jpg


But started to get pretty horizontal as I got higher...

i-K8RdZqL-XL.jpg


It was nice to have a grown-up groundie on Sunday. The earlier crew was pretty distractible... :lol:

i-6nNZBLq-L.jpg


i-cxn4SJQ-L.jpg


i-nfQZpWb-L.jpg


Regardless, it was another awesome time, problem-solving in a vertical environment! :D

i-T8MbWn7-X2.jpg


Thanks for ALL the help, peeps. :thumbup:
 
SouthSoundTree- said:
Your 540 lanyard wrap is better than a 180, but far worse than a central connection for both ends of your lanyard. Circle of Death.
Click to expand...

Without having seen it in person yet, I'm thinking about one of these as the main attachment point on my harness for climb line and lanyard...
https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=140

SouthSoundTree- said:
Golden Triangle, Coos Bay, bore-cut with back strap release...ways to reduce the barberchair.
Click to expand...

I know #3. Will learn and practice #1 & #2...

SouthSoundTree- said:
A guy in the San Juan Islands runs his firewood/ tree business from a Mini-x because he was crushed by the Circle of Death. It can squirt your guts out your butt. No joke.
Click to expand...

That is POWERFUL motivation to avoid the COD. Ugh...
 
I tend to use narrow face cuts when climbing more than on the floor.

I like the hinge to snap earlier rather than later then I give it a bit of 'English' to line it up or send the butt towards the chipper etc.

With a bit of practice you will get to a point when you can read the wood. Eg if the hinge has been formed but the tree hasn't started going. The weight may be perfectly balanced or slightly back weighted due to a bit of wind. Just turn off the saw and keep the bar in the cut. Stops the piece falling back and snapping the hinge the wrong way. Likewise on the opposite side of the coin. If the tree is weighted or there is a slight breeze in the favour of direction you want it to go in. Narrow face cut, back cut and then watch that sucker fly. I like trying to get tops of trees to travel forwards and clear obstacles. ;)
 

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pantheraba said:
Ha! You've got my vote...I have two of those (though mine are 4-holers...I like the Penta)...one on my main saddle and one custom built into a New Tribe by New Tribe.
Click to expand...

Gary, I think it was seeing earlier pictures of your equipment that first gave me the idea! :thumbup:
 
When you have to use two climbing lines it really keeps things neatened up and sorted out...helps control what I call "visual clutter".
 
Nice!
Pretty good looking stump too.

On a completely different topic, looking at your groundies and their ear plugs...we were doing our chainsaw course for the Fire Brigade the other day (super basic crosscut felled timber) and in the discussion about hearing defence the instructor mentioned that those earplugs with the hard plastic neck joiner can actually accentuate noise. The hard plastic part acts like an antenna feeding noise directly to the plugs! Better to use the ones with a string, or over ear muffs.
Over ear muffs additionally block noise from being picked up by the skull bones around your ears...so best case plugs PLUS ear muffs apparently
Interesting...
 
If ever concerned about a hinge hanging on too much, you can add a kerf cut on both sides of the face,few inches below the the sides of the hinge area. I also think this can be touchy-feely if you don't fully understand how it affects the release.
I use it regularly myself,cypress,Palms,they can get hung up by a hair and it's not so pretty,it's a great tool to utilize.
 
Fiona & Sean: Thanks for the feedback on ear pro. I'll make some changes...thankfully the kids were well away from the running saw.

Peter: I'll stick to notches on something that isn't for life support!

Samuel: Thanks for the that. Joel and Sean first brought up the idea of sapwood cuts on page 2 of this thread, but there's so much excellent advice flying around, that sometimes I need a reminder!
 
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