Tree felling vids

Glad to know my brain isn't as frigged up as I thought.
Got a test at the hospital monday that'll show the truth of that.
 
Looks like he left that bit in his facecut...
What was that vertical cut at the back for?
 
Big trees landed as planned. Undercut not immaculate, but it worked. I think that the vertical cut is to alleviate some internal tensions, as it seemed to sort out binding issues that he was having with the saw
 
Big trees landed as planned. Undercut not immaculate, but it worked. I think that the vertical cut is to alleviate some internal tensions, as it seemed to sort out binding issues that he was having with the saw
That's hilarious... "not immaculate".... HAHHA... let's see you make that cut.
That's a 5' tree, with a complete drop-off on the left side.


Good eye on the vertical cut. It appears to be set in a seam.

Looks like he lost the entire right side of the hinge, but still got the tree to the lay. Hemlock is one of the best hinging woods around here.

Wonder what Rico would say about this vid.. HAHAHAHHAHHA
We can only hope that Bjarne's sawdust is acceptable looking!
 
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I think he got a little complacent and didn't look around. Ten feet more and he would have been in the clear but the snag still would have fallen anyways. That should have been dealt with first.
Walk the site find your targets and traps, come up with a plan, get it done, and go home safely.
 
I've seen that vid before and originally just looked at it like a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. Taking a closer look this time there seem to be a few issues that could be useful as learning opportunities.

1) Taking a close look at the impact should be a great lesson in the value of hard hats. He easily could have been knocked unconscious without the helmet, which could have a much different outcome such as suspension trauma or the risks associated with an aerial rescue.

2) He lost focus on the task as soon as the top went bombs away, showing that he did not consider the potential of spring back from the snag as a potential danger. I'm guessing that will never happen again. In retrospect, that's the kind of thing you have to witness to really "GET IT". SO thanks Jake for showing the world this potential hazard.

3) in considering how he could have protected himself in that situation if he had recognized the danger he could have been cutting from the other side of the tree, which would have kept the stem of the tree he was in as a blocker from the snag spring back. He could have also left some stubs on the sides of the stem to extend the added protection.

4) Having the hammer on a safety lanyard could offer added protection for the groundies.

5) Obviously, if he had been aware of the potential danger, he could have been looking for it and not get blindsided
 
Difference between arborists and loggers.
Loggers are used to shit coming down when we fell a tree.
I think he got a little complacent and didn't look around. Ten feet more and he would have been in the clear but the snag still would have fallen anyways. That should have been dealt with first.
Walk the site find your targets and traps, come up with a plan, get it done, and go home safely
.

These two posts cover the situation...it needed to be mitigated beforehand. He got a whole lot more than a little complacent. Also luckier than maybe he deserved. That could easily have been a killing strike. I sure hope it's a lesson learned and taken to heart forever after in future practices.

D.D. Dent expected us to walk out the intended lay of every fell at least a third of the tree height, looking for snags or small trees that might come back at the stump when the target fell came down. Fall any potential hazards before the main target. Fail to do that, get "corrected" :).
 
That makes sens. But it's very common, at least in the youtube vids, to see the loggers working between some old rotten snags. I know, it's only the youtube wold, but still. I guess that's because that's only a cost and it produces nothing worthy (beside safety). It seems that D.D.Dent's legacy has to be spread wider.
 
that might come back at the stump when the target fell came down.

I think you missed this part Marc-Antoine.

Nothing wrong with rotten snags, as long as they are not in your intended lay.
 
OK, I had the feeling that all the surrounding snags are a threat and needed to be cleared, not only the ones along the tree's path, as they may be destabilized by the ground shake or pulled over the faller by the wines.
 
True that.
I've had that happen, but that is why you keep an eye out when the tree falls and have an escape route in mind.
 
Wood can travel a remarkable distance. On that stream resto job, I was working(doing my thing) along with the faller. He pointed where the tree was going, I nodded, then waited for the tree to go over. The tree went down, and out of nowhere a limb was coming for me from >50' away. I'm watching, watching, then "Holy shit! It's gonna make it over here!", and I got out of Dodge. It actually fell short, but under slightly different circumstances it might not have. I don't even know where it came from. I think it was a neighboring tree, but I'm not sure. It was good to see. Makes me more cautious when cutting wood, and more aware of potential problems.
 
I was standing 45' away from a limb that was getting lowered at X week. David Driver was doing the cutting.. big old dry oak limb, maybe 12- 15" diameter. The way the rigging was set up, the limb made a huge swing right towards me (I had been told to move there when I was originally standing out of line with the swing) At the "perfect time" of the pendulum upswing, a piece broke off and sailed right over my head. It was 12-15' long and moving fast. I ducked and it missed me by inches. I had been videotaping all day and just decided to put the camera down for this one. That would have been nice footage, but it would have been near impossible to duck and keep the camera on the subject. MattD was running the rope right next to me. That was a trip and comes under the category: if you're in this biz long enough you're bound to see some strange things happen.

This was the tree:

 
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Emergency tree job today....homeowner is building a new deck. Realized today at 3PM that the 60 foot tall sweetgum has a rotten base...we had to cut it at 20 feet to find enough good wood to hinge the tree. We made the face cut, I came down and Alex pulled with the truck to see if we might just break the whole tree at the base. It held strong so we carried on. The limiter line worked well. I'll post a short video later of how we set it up and get some feedback from youse guys.

 
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That'll do, Gary. Though I'd not have left my ladder standing or my saw hanging there to take a hit when something went sideways from expectations.

But nothing did. Good job.
 
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