Aiming with Framing Square

evo said:
Leaving a little holding wood on either side can alter the lay, this can be intentional or unintentional depending on the head lean, back lean, side lean, or kinks in the stem.
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You put it very well evo - twists, bends, leans, imbalanced crowns, funky grain at the base of the tree (if your cutting too low for some reason) and rot, of course, etc. can all have redirectional powers and trump your perfect notch geometry.
Redressing this with a tapered hinge is a real science based art.

I typically take a good look at every stump (especially the ones where my aim was off) and study the hinge to better understand what happened. (It’s not me eh!)
 
pete3d said:
You put it very well evo - twists, bends, leans, imbalanced crowns, funky grain at the base of the tree (if your cutting too low for some reason) and rot, of course, etc. can all have redirectional powers and trump your perfect notch geometry.
Redressing this with a tapered hinge is a real science based art.

I typically take a good look at every stump (especially the ones where my aim was off) and study the hinge to better understand what happened. (It’s not me eh!)
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blind knots get me the worst... And then there was that tee post in the hinge that one time... That took a lot of wedging.
 
Reach said:
A T-post would certainly add some excitement! The worst I ever did was a 6’ tall chain link fence, completely embedded, not a hint it was there until the saw said “You think I’m cutting what?!”
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Damn thing was just on the back cut side of the pith... It took a lot of wedging, but the tree stayed on the stump.
 
ON the other end of the 'hidden in the stump' scale from a T post.

Basswood stump cut fall with a head lean. Routine.

Face cut aimed right into the street.

I made the face cut and it was all clear, no decay wood.

shift to doing the back cut.

I set the saw dogs in and cut the far side of the holding wood. I noticed a short spurt of dark chips in the sawdust. then the tree breaks at the face and flops 90* off the face!!! Yipes!

Time for CSI..Cut Scene Investigation

Looking down at the stump...the lay was at 6 o'clock...apex went from about 8 to 4...typical sorta face cut.

But! there was an off-set decay pocket in the nine to noon quadrant. That was the dark chips the came out.

I was dogged in at 3 and pivoted the saw to cut the far side with the tip.

When I cut into the hidden decay pocket my hinge cut changed to only leaving me a 'fin' of hinge from the center to about noon.

The tree ripped off the stump and fell on the new driveway.

That was the one and only asymetric decay column I ever found. Scary!

I cracked the brand new driveway..dang! But...a buddy of mine from high school ran a concrete company so he helped me with the repair.

I wish that I'd taken pics then...wayyyyyyyyy before digital.
 
Get down low for aiming, using gunning sites like a sharp-shooter, but like blasting a burglar with buck-shot.

If gunning a 3' tree, all else being equal, you should be aiming about 24" to the side of the intended "lay", to compensate for where the sight is offset from the center of the stem. 18 inches from center of stem to edge of bark, plus 6" from edge of bark to gunning sites.
 
southsoundtree said:
Get down low for aiming, using gunning sites like a sharp-shooter, but like blasting a burglar with buck-shot.

If gunning a 3' tree, all else being equal, you should be aiming about 24" to the side of the intended "lay", to compensate for where the sight is offset from the center of the stem. 18 inches from center of stem to edge of bark, plus 6" from edge of bark to gunning sites.
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Great explanation, and the face cut direction is just a tool to manipulate your observations...just like a rifle.
 
When I first started there was an older man that was an excellent treeman and faller. He introduced me to jacking over a tree. When he had to be extremely accurate he would use a big framing square. He had a string somehow connected to the back corner. He would set the square in the notch and line up the edge. I would take the string and walk out about 50 ft. Then move the string left and right until it met up with the long end of the square which was aimed at me. Once it gently touched the square he knew where that side of the tree was going. Assuming the tree was straight, on level ground, the hinge was perfect and sound wood. If not, then the human factor has to kick in and start adjusting as needed. I've never used that trick. Just the sight on the saw and occasionally walking out to look at the notch. I'm usually working around power lines or houses so if it gets that close I'll price it for taking some size off to make it safe. I'm very against taking chances when a little extra work will help to even the odds. You can fall ten thousand trees perfectly and no one remembers but barely brush one gutter and every old man in the county will hear about it at the coffee shop before the dust settles.
 
Benjo75 said:
When I first started there was an older man that was an excellent treeman and faller. He introduced me to jacking over a tree. When he had to be extremely accurate he would use a big framing square. He had a string somehow connected to the back corner. He would set the square in the notch and line up the edge. I would take the string and walk out about 50 ft. Then move the string left and right until it met up with the long end of the square which was aimed at me. Once it gently touched the square he knew where that side of the tree was going. Assuming the tree was straight, on level ground, the hinge was perfect and sound wood. If not, then the human factor has to kick in and start adjusting as needed. I've never used that trick. Just the sight on the saw and occasionally walking out to look at the notch. I'm usually working around power lines or houses so if it gets that close I'll price it for taking some size off to make it safe. I'm very against taking chances when a little extra work will help to even the odds. You can fall ten thousand trees perfectly and no one remembers but barely brush one gutter and every old man in the county will hear about it at the coffee shop before the dust settles.
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I totally agree with taking off some size to make it safe. The main scenario where I want to be aimed perfectly is when pulling over a leaner against the lean. I like my pull rope collinear with the lay. (Or appropriately offset to account for any side lean.) May not matter if I'm off by a foot 100 ft from the base of the tree, but I can usually be within inches. Not having felled thousands of trees, I like to eliminate/reduce as many variables as my abilities allow, like side loading or torquing the hinge with my pull line.
 
evo said:
A tee square with a laser in the center.... I bet Danny still couldn't hit his lay
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If that was directed at me, did I do something to offend you? I just joined thinking this would be a good resource for increasing my knowledge. If new members get insulted for well-intentioned posts, I guess I had the wrong impression about this forum.
 
Dan Cobb said:
If that was directed at me, did I do something to offend you? I just joined thinking this would be a good resource for increasing my knowledge. If new members get insulted for well-intentioned posts, I guess I had the wrong impression about this forum.
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No, that post was not directed at you, of that I am quite certain. I’m glad to see a new member, and wish to welcome you here and apologize for your confusion.

There is another Dan here with a penchant for missing his targets and claiming he meant to smash whatever ended up under the tree he dropped on it.
 
Reach said:
No, that post was not directed at you, of that I am quite certain. I’m glad to see a new member, and wish to welcome you here and apologize for your confusion.

There is another Dan here with a penchant for missing his targets and claiming he meant to smash whatever ended up under the tree he dropped on it.
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Thanks. Had me worried for a minute. Fortunately, in my limited experience, I've yet to have one fall off target. I suppose if you fell enough, you eventually run into an undetected factor that screws things up, but I don't expect to be doing tree work for too many more years as I'm 58 now.
 
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