Tree felling vids

Speaking of crazy cuts, Gerr and everyone, did you ever see this guy do a soft dutchman to swing a tree 180*?? Geez if a tree can be swung 180, who needs wedges?


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I watched that vid before, Cory, and despite the fellows cool mannered delivery I believe his claim is highly embellished. But my observational skills of such videos is not always 100 percent either.
 
Ye, even though he looks like a heckuva sawyer, a full 180 seems basically impossible.
 
Oh, no, it's definitely not impossible Cory. I think that the reason Gerry or any good faller would disapprove of a swing dutchman is just because the task can be accomplished a lot faster with three wedges, and twelve hard smacks; AND with a much higher degree of consistency.

"Trick Falling," I think, is Burnham's slur.
 
Pulling a trigger is a lot easier than beating wedges, tree after tree, I'd say. Don't get me wrong, wedges can do wonders, and what would seem like the only way to get a true 180. I'd say put it in the bag of trick for open terrain. Doug-fir hinges wonderfully, and I bet those trees are pretty straight plantation trees.
 
Well if it hinges crazy good (didn't know that, not many d firs here), that's half the battle.
 
I've beaten over backleaners that were dead, dead from laminated root rot away from outhouses, into tight lays, at state parks. Can be crazy good. I'm spoiled. Helps to compensate for some bad centers. Good corners can go a heckalong way.
 
Just from the one glance towards the top of the tree in that vid can a viewer accurately determine the true favor of it to prove the results to an audience that the faller presumed to present.

I know how to shift the favor a tree, but 180 degrees from its natural favor without using an implement to help it out I doubt very seriously. There's a very fine line, or should I say a diminishing point, in what you can do with the natural favor of a tree. And touting 'free falling' any tree 180 degrees against its favor is ludicrous. It sets the stage for newbies to believe it's true, and further take into their own hands to try the same and fail.

That vid should not be taken seriously. Just my opinion.
 
Point taken. I tried it with a 90' Cottonwood in an open field and failed. A faller named Wade Fagen from Bend Oregon told me that he used to do it all the time (full 180's) with Lodgepoles, and skinny Pondos. Drew me a diagram on a piece of paper to show me the progression of cuts to get it to roll around. Looked good on paper, but I couldn't pull it off. Not sayin' much I guess. A residential arborist gets a shot at something like that about once every five years.
 
Now, I've seen a few trees commit and swing damn close to what that fellow claims in the video, but the trees I seen do it were all very small / young, and with very resilience sap wood to hold them to the stump and pull them around once some momentum got them to going to the side of their favor. But it's so damn rare no firm rule can ever be written to tell anyone how its supposed to be done.

Oh, theories and opinions abound on how to cut a stump to swing a tree. In the private sector though I would never try some of the things with a tree that I got away with in the woods.
 
Yeah, just about every time I get brave... I regret it. Today I busted up way more greenbelt trees than I had to just because I was too lazy to climb, and I wanted to fall them. Ended up making way more work for myself AND the boys. Hung a tree up pretty nasty, bucked it down, and ended up running away fast enough to not want to do it again. Laziness... I tell ya...
 
I'll go with Jerry on this one.
I) do a bit of "trick felling" when called for, but that claim of 180 degrees goes against the laws of physics.

Something else to think about.
When you post videos showing your extreme skills as a timberfaller, you probably pick the ones where things went according to plans, right?
 
Seems like the Idea is to have the tree hold onto the stump by a thick area of tension fibers, and as the tree swings, it finds an ever deepening face cut (don't know how else to say it) and ever changing 'lean' that it follows, sorta with a ramp that the far side is rolling off of.


Might be worth doing with a small kerf'ed saw on a small tree and see what happens in the wide open.

Still not expecting 180*.
 
I'll go with Jerry on this one.
I) do a bit of "trick felling" when called for, but that claim of 180 degrees goes against the laws of physics.

Something else to think about.
When you post videos showing your extreme skills as a timberfaller, you probably pick the ones where things went according to plans, right?

But the laws of physics are fully operative with the 180 dutchman Stig. The way Wade explained it to me was that, the initial kerf is only made about 10 degrees contrary to the favor of the tree, but once the momentum is generated (via the backcut) that ten degrees then becomes ten more via the next in the series of "ramped" kerfs, provided the momentum is not lost.

The interesting thing about Jack's (soft dutchman guy) video, is that you can distinctly hear the tree sitting down on his bar and chain at least twice in the rolling process. He is totally prepared for this, and only torches off more holding wood when the tree has swung around enough to commit to the lay.

By the way: anybody out there seen that guy.... He totally disappeared off the internet about four years ago, after having posted about a 150 vids. Hope nothin' went wrong in the woods. :(
 
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A friend just send me this link....I have not seen this one before...I knew it might be dicey when he said "5 wraps on the porta-wrap should be about right" :lol::

Several arborists tried to talk some sense in the comments but folks didn't really want to hear it.

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Im cttreeclimber on youtube commenting on the video. That dudes a turd.

Treestuff sent him that stuff free too. :O

Hes got a popular channel regarding homesteading? I guess you can call it. After seeing the vid it makes me wonder about how much of his other vids are bullshit.
 
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