What size mallet for felling wedges

[pantheraba]

Felt like an idiot cause I brought wedges but no hammer . It worked but was not real comfortable on the hands.

Ever had a hammer but no wedges?

We used these at Katrina to free up a pinched saw...

whadda ya think, Burnham...maybe I can auction these?

 

[sotc]

my buddy has some oak wedges his grampa made for falling

 

[Old Monkey]

Has anyone ever broken their handle or just lost the axe/maul/hammer completely and carved one? I carved a hickory mallet one time to beat on a wedge. Felt like an idiot cause I brought wedges but no hammer . It worked but was not real comfortable on the hands.

We call it a whomping stick.

 

[Ax-Man]

I don't have many oppurtunities to drive wedges to fall a whole tree in one shot. The most we use wedges for are to keep saws from being pinched when doing the last cut on a spar or bucking the log. I use a 3-4 lb short handled sledge with a fiberglass handle. I got tired of broken wooden handles or the heads working loose which is a big pet peeve of mine.

 

[Stumper]

Gary, More than once I've chainsawed a felling wedge out of the face cut or a limb (limbs work better).

 

[pantheraba]

my buddy has some oak wedges his grampa made for falling

It may be that grampas excel at wood wedges...it was an 80 year old fellow that made those for us...we were working on his trees at Katrina and he heard us grousing about needing a wedge. He got busy and made us some.

 

[Frans]

this thread gave me the idea to clean out my day-to-day wedge bag.

Also is a pix of my friends Lamborghini tractor. Air cooled like a Deutz

 

[MasterBlaster]

Lamborghini makes a freaking tractor? How 'bout chainsaws? That would be sweet... I think!

 

[Tom_Scheller]

They also used to make a "Rambo - Lambo"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lamborghini_LM-002.JPG
I saw one in NYC with spinners. Possibly, the ultimate tricked-out ghetto sled.

TS

 

[Al Smith]

My father told stories of driving wedges back in the old days.

They would fall a big old dead oak or whatever.Then they used some big old 14 inch steel wedges backed up by oak wedges to split the trunks into smaller pieces ,small enough to feed through a buzz saw.

You have to remember the times,mid 30's right dead in the middle of the great depression.Gasoline saws were all but nonexistant and if so,who could afford them? He said the few they encountered,those young strapping farm boys could out cut with their misery whips.

They packed in a sizeable amount of fire wood and saw logs with just two man cross cuts and horses.He said a team of Belgians could drag a pretty good sized log out of the woods.The mules didn't do too badly either.

 

[Burnham]

Ever had a hammer but no wedges?

We used these at Katrina to free up a pinched saw...

whadda ya think, Burnham...maybe I can auction these?

Sure ya could, Gary . That is an experienced wedge that knows what the job is all about!

I guess I am just a boring ol' cutter...I have no stories of makeshift wedge drivers...I don't forget my axe and I don't break my handle and I keep the head tight by working in the PNWet and paying attention to when it needs attention in late August.

We used to get GSA wooden wedges years ago, oak I think...they made good door stops and kindling. I'd consider them dangerous for actual use felling real trees.

 

[GASoline71]

Ol' Faithful, and Ol' Reliable...

Ol' Faithful (axe) has seen it's fair share of wedge poundin' over the years...

Ol' Reliable (maul) has only been used twice on some big wood to drive wedges.

Gary

 

[stehansen]

I have used a prybar before when I didn't have any wedges.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Those old ones they use on a railroad crew are awesome! You can pry the planet with one of those big suckers.

 

[gf beranek]

5 pound Stroh Axe. I still have two heads. One on a short handle for beating wedges in the redwood clumps. Those long handled bastards got me in nuts more than once.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Theres when having brass balls comes in handy!

 

[Burnham]

Want to sell that second Stroh axe head, Jerry? Serious offer.

 

[jamie]

we mainly use a maul to knock em over. not that we do a lot of wedge felling.

We have alu and wood 'high lifters' but i prefer using steel wedges. i love the sound of steel getting melted into teh tree. 2 hits here 2 hits there 2 hits.... etc.

dumping big tops off and sending trees over on wedges are two of my favorite things.....and splicng

Jamie

 

[Bodean]

5 Pound falling boy so you can chip out the
back cut and smack them wedges deeper.

 

[GASoline71]

I agree Deva... I couldn't imagine not havin' at least a single bit axe with me to drive wedges... that sharp side of that single bit comes in handy just like you said.

Also comes in handy swampin' out brush.

Gary

 

[Al Smith]

I do have an 8 lb sledge I have used for various things including driving a wedge.The short handle does have the advantage of not wacking you below the belt ,a foul in boxing and a rather humbling experiance .This brings up a story.

Years ago my middle bro was driving home from a night of carousing ,about three sheets to the wind. He smoked at that time.He flipped a butt out the window but neglected to first roll the window down.In bounced back and landed in his lap.Unthinking he beat the fire out,oops.This lose of concentration ,as well as added pain caused him to put that Ford Maverick directly on top of a 6" elm tree,all four wheels off the ground,in a snow bank no less.

After all was said and done my bro decided that smoking was injurious to his health.He never smoked again.As far as the Maverick,I suppose it's a bumper on a Chevy or something by now.I really think the danged thing started out as recycled tin cans in those days any ways.

 

[gf beranek]

I once used some splitting wedges to drive a pine stub over, my early years before I knew what the F I was doing. Anyway, the pine stub was cock over about 20 degrees and the wedges were drove in so far they cut through the hinge and was comeing out the face. Swinging a 6 lb maul like a pro.

Yeah, those were the good ol'days.

 

[Big A]

we mainly use a maul to knock em over. not that we do a lot of wedge felling.

We have alu and wood 'high lifters' but i prefer using steel wedges. i love the sound of steel getting melted into teh tree. 2 hits here 2 hits there 2 hits.... etc.

dumping big tops off and sending trees over on wedges are two of my favorite things.....and splicng

Jamie

maul here too, steel is good, but the other day I was splitting into some beech, I heard a zzzzzzziiiiiiiipp! and a piece of shrapnel had broke off the head of the wedge and struck a shed about 30yds away. Lesson #1, keep them dressed!!

 

[Blinky]

5 pound axe in the car but usually I use a short felling bar I keep in my takedown bag... truth is, I use a rope for felling. I use wedges for bucking big stuff more than for felling... that is, big stuff by East Coast standards anyway.