"Triangle" Method of Falling Head Leaners to Prevent Barber Chair?

[SkwerI]

Gary, IMO stopping even longer to fiddle with a wedge could have proven disastrous (referring to your video). Sort of like the squirrel in the middle of the road stopping to figure out which way it wants to run. I think in most cases using this type of cut you need to commit and follow through without any fiddling. Unless of course something unexpected arises and you have to change course to prevent an accident.

Most of the time the biggest factor in avoiding a barberchair is to follow through and not dawdle in your cut (assuming you are making the correct cut).

 

[Burnham]

I'll go with your general premise to combat barberchair tendencies, Brian.

But in the case of a Coos Bay cut on a tree with some not too bad side lean and major head lean, your first cut would be the side cut on the side lean side. That tree should go nowhere while a wedge is placed on that side, unless there is rot to compromise the stem. So assuming solid wood, a wedge can be safely placed before proceeding with alacrity though the rest of the process.

Now if the tree has significant sidelean, then you have to reconsider what you have determined is the head lean direction .

 

[pantheraba]

When I read this part I thought it meant use a wedge in a side cut to prevent the tree pinching on the compression side of the sides:

As long as the tree is standing....keep cutting the sides. And..... in trees of size be sure to use a wedge to keep the cuts open. You really do not want the tree to shift over to any side. Because it can cause the tree to twist off the stump rather than break off of it.

Not using a wedge in the back cut but on a side...does that make sense? Hep me...my interjected compression (by pulling the top) could have led to the tree twisting off the stump, maybe.

And I have read your "don't dawdle" idea before from several folks "in the know"...thanks for reinforcing that notion.

 

[Burnham]

See my post, Gary...we hit "post" at the same moment, I think.

Yes, you are correct, not in the back cut. And the wedge in the side is more to counteract the possibility of the tree tearing off the strip and heading off from the direction of the head lean.

 

[Burnham]

Remember, you have no control of direction with a Coos Bay felling cut; lean and gravity rule all. You have to go with that and aim there. This cut is solely to keep barberchairing at bay.

 

[pantheraba]

Thanks, B....I did miss your post. Glad I was understanding the wedge aspect correctly. Eyes been wrong before.

 

[Sgriff]

I'll go with your general premise to combat barberchair tendencies, Brian.

But in the case of a Coos Bay cut on a tree with some not too bad side lean and major head lean, your first cut would be the side cut on the side lean side. That tree should go nowhere while a wedge is placed on that side, unless there is rot to compromise the stem. So assuming solid wood, a wedge can be safely placed before proceeding with alacrity though the rest of the process.

Now if the tree has significant sidelean, then you have to reconsider what you have determined is the head lean direction .

Excellent post👍👍

 

[SeanKroll]

Further, a wedge on both sides, at the lower part of the cut, can keep the tree from pivoting to one side or the other, pinching the bar and chain, mid-cut, when you need to be able to cut Fast as possible. Sharp sharp chain, high HP saw, no unwieldy, excess bar length, especially if in tight quarters. Cut until it commits to the fall. You don't want to have it sitting, hanging on, straining for long periods of time while you stand aside wondering if it will just go, or if you need to get back in and cut more. Standing back at the stump resetting your bar and resuming cutting is a long time in a dangerous place.

Its really important to get the cuts all in one plane, so you aren't re-cutting either side, only the middle, as much as feasible.

 

[Altissimus]

I like the way Hank Stamperer said something about someone not knowing something something from a "Coos Bay Whore" .... love that line , Coos Bay Whore Coos Bay Cut ... Hehehehe

 

[SeanKroll]

Is this the "Golden triangle"?
Is that where you have a directional hinge, with the triangle the other way, and cut the corners a bit?

 

[stig]

Nope, other way round.

 

[Burnham]

There seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding the triangle cut. It's really very simple, people. Look at the diagram closely, read all the words, do it slowly if you have to.

It's a simple concept, too. Just like a Coos Bay, the whole point is to allow for a fast back cut to lower the chance of a barber chair. Go hell for leather with a sharp saw and plenty of power. Simple.

 

[squisher]

But what direction is the fell if you're looking backwards while standing on your head?

 

[SkwerI]

But what direction is the fell if you're looking backwards while standing on your head?

Spread your legs and pretend they are goal posts.

 

[squisher]

That's how you gun the lay.

 

[squisher]

But when your endowed like me there's no need to adjust for parallax error...........

 

[Burnham]

 

[SeanKroll]

Nope, other way round.

Is the Golden Triangle the non-directional Coos Bay-ish cut originally being described, or the other triangle cut with a hinge- corners cut off?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Coos bay Sean. Stiglitz will correct me if I am wrong

And WTF is Stiglitz? Auto correct ....seriously?

 

[sotc]

I feel like the side cuts themselves may help keep the tree from slabbing to some extent

 

[murphy4trees]

There is a little more to it than just cutting speed.. IN order for a tree to BBC the force on the trunk at the cut must be enough to cause the trunk to split (obviously), before the hinge or holding wood fails... by taking out the connecting wood fibers on the sides, between the stump and the trunk, there is less surface area over which that force is applied. ON solid wood, there will not be enough connection between the stump and the trunk to split the trunk... Another way of saying it is that the surface area of the holding wood is not large enough to split the trunk... Its the holding fibers parallel to the head lean that cause the split... when those fibers are only 2-4" wide, its very unlikely that they are going to split the entire width of the trunk in solid wood, no matter how fast or slow the cut.

 

[SeanKroll]

I feel like the side cuts themselves may help keep the tree from slabbing to some extent

I call that a "belt". Holds tight around the outside, even when stuff wants to burst out.

 

[sotc]

I like that, didn't know how to put it in words but that's pretty good

 

[Burnham]

There is a little more to it than just cutting speed.. IN order for a tree to BBC the force on the trunk at the cut must be enough to cause the trunk to split (obviously), before the hinge or holding wood fails... by taking out the connecting wood fibers on the sides, between the stump and the trunk, there is less surface area over which that force is applied. ON solid wood, there will not be enough connection between the stump and the trunk to split the trunk... Another way of saying it is that the surface area of the holding wood is not large enough to split the trunk... Its the holding fibers parallel to the head lean that cause the split... when those fibers are only 2-4" wide, its very unlikely that they are going to split the entire width of the trunk in solid wood, no matter how fast or slow the cut.

Bullcrap.

 

[murphy4trees]

Just physics