Attention to detail with your cuts!

[Stephen Moore]

Rico said I brought up a good point, that being that many of us spend a lot of time being gear sluts. Some of you may be new to the sport of tree work and others seasoned pros. I consider myself fortunate to have worked with seasoned pros for many years before I took up residential tree dismantles. I spent 4 seasons felling rotten Big assed cedars on North facing slopes covered in devils club and swarmed with mosquitoes! The trees were all very dead, very hollow and very big! Your skill with a saw was a life or death thing every time you cut into a powder blowing shake maker. An escape route was sometimes just a dream on a 50 degree angle. We would need to cut a spring board from a nearby tree because the face cut would be 10 feet up and the back cut near ground level. The key to survival was a bore cut or two with the bar vertical to sound the tree to find out how much wood was actually there, not enough and it would collapse, either sit on your bar or totally come down like a sack of shit and crossbones.
So just the other day some people hired a local building contractor to clear their lot. They managed to get it done albeit not without removing the power lines off the poles on the street! I took it upon myself to trespass for the good of this post. And not surprisingly, the stumps I found are evidence of a lack of understanding and in a few cases laziness. Here’s a few of these stumps.

 

[Stephen Moore]

Ok this first shot shows a cottonwood sitting on 2 limbed trees at an angle toward the street. This is a setup for steam rolling. The angle is not well represented in the photo. This clearly should have been made safer.

 

[Stephen Moore]

 

[Stephen Moore]

This for tree narrowly missed a shed on someone else’s property. The lay of the tree is nowhere near the direction of the undercut. Can you see the mistake?

 

[Stephen Moore]

 

[Stephen Moore]

This tree is half in the creek! Illegal by the way! This cut is disturbing, no attempt at controlling direction at all, no roping - nothing! Sickens me to think someone payed for this level of incompetence.

 

[Stephen Moore]

 

[Stephen Moore]

Folks, this is the cedar that took out my power and that of everyone else in the area. I don’t even know what that cut is? Perhaps y’all can enlighten me?
I want to remind you guys this is me randomly walking around the same patch of land.

 

[Stephen Moore]

 

[Stephen Moore]

The dead fir, again is in the creek the cottonwood was badly cut and has some unusual side tear the undercut is ? Again this type of stump is a warning sign that someone should seek professional help and training. This individual is the kind of person that will sooner or later seriously injure or kill himself or those that work with him. He has already caused damage that clearly was avoidable with even basic skills.
My hope with this display is that we remind ourselves that an undercut and backcut are critical and great care and attention need to be payed. The cut must be precise, cleaned of any extra material and be properly gunned in the intended direction. Or the backcut should not be made. The back cut should have an anti kick step appropriate to the size of tree you are cutting and must be aligned to the undercut. Dutchman’s and fancy shit should not be used in my opinion, there is seldom ever a reason to use one. K.I.S.S method.

 

[rico]

Good Gawd those are some ugly stumps!
Although is doesn't always work out, I strive to make a picture perfect cute every time, whether in the air or at the stump.

 

[Barc Buster]

Looks like the stumps the road commission around here leaves. Sometimes you can't fix stupid.

 

[Stephen Moore]

Well I'm glad you guys can tell the difference between garbage and goodness! I had a word with the genious that put that cedar over the power lines. I asked him if he was insured, he said yes, I then asked him if he was insured to fell trees specifically, he said he wasn't sure but he thought he had blanket coverage. I then said, well you don't, your policy stipulates the type of work you do and the coverage you get. He got angry with me. I reminded him that if he hurt or killed someone doing this he will never make an honest dollar for the rest of his life. It ain't worth the risk. He said I was just mad because I didn't get the job. No, I said, do you want to see how many jobs are on my board? I would refer this to my competition. I also pointed out that one call to WCB inspector would have him fined and shut down, another call to fisheries for dumping that wood in the creek would have him arrested for violating the fisheries act. I told him he has till next week to remove the trees from my creek or the phone will be a dialing. He's an out of town scab contractor, the kind that dump wood in the creek and leave town. Then someone else has to clean up the shit he left behind. I won't stand for it!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

CSI= Cut Scene Investigator

 

[rico]

Sometimes you can't fix stupid.

Very true, and I am living proof!

 

[Barc Buster]

Very true, and I am living proof!

You and me both man! You guys wanna talk next level stupid though, I just watched farmer Jerry and his sisters cousband straight back cut three dead ash beside a farm field.

All three barber chaired in a predictably scary way. I happened to be driving by on the way to a bid when I saw them start in on the first one. I slowed down to watch and slammed on the brakes when the first one split. I got out and let em know they should notch them before they back cut. I got colorfully told to mind my own business and "we got this, we've done it before". So I got back in my truck and they proceeded to back cut the next 2 in the windrow. These weren't big trees maybe 24" dbh but for fucks sake the last one nearly got the guy running the saw. All I could do was shake my head and drive away. Expert stupidity.

 

[oldoakman]

You and me both man! You guys wanna talk next level stupid though, I just watched farmer Jerry and his sisters cousband straight back cut three dead ash beside a farm field.

All three barber chaired in a predictably scary way. I happened to be driving by on the way to a bid when I saw them start in on the first one. I slowed down to watch and slammed on the brakes when the first one split. I got out and let em know they should notch them before they back cut. I got colorfully told to mind my own business and "we got this, we've done it before". So I got back in my truck and they proceeded to back cut the next 2 in the windrow. These weren't big trees maybe 24" dbh but for fucks sake the last one nearly got the guy running the saw. All I could do was shake my head and drive away. Expert stupidity.

Thinning the herd! Ought to require operators competency license with chainsaw sales. One of my biggest peeves is my neighborhood hardware store... the guy sells saddles, climbing spikes rope etc with no warning regarding the need for proper training. I've had to stop several of his clients before they got into a situation they couldn't get out of.

 

[Stephen Moore]

Thinning the herd! Ought to require operators competency license with chainsaw sales. One of my biggest peeves is my neighborhood hardware store... the guy sells saddles, climbing spikes rope etc with no warning regarding the need for proper training. I've had to stop several of his clients before they got into a situation they couldn't get out of.

I remember many years ago WCB here in BC started making anyone that makes money and uses a chainsaw periodically as part of their job, take a chainsaw safety course. It’s the same one that wildfire guys need to take here. The course study is stupid basic - start saw on ground, never walk with running saw etc.
A basic rundown on PPE and why you need it and what a notch is and why it should be there. Each contestant was supposed to demonstrate the felling of one small tree using the conventional or humbolt or combo cut. Most did not have time to do so. At the end of this seminar each contestant walked out the door certified to fell trees? Hmmm? I’d already been actively felling big assed dead cedars and stuff for years and I could see that none of these contestants had any real world skills. The certificate was a cash grab thing that gave people license to potentially get in way beyond their pay grade.
Do I think it should be needed? Yes but with certain stipulations. Just like in the Bush the bullbuck needed to sign your card at the end of your shift. It included info about slope of the cut block, average diameter at breast height and height of stand. How many hours you worked. Any safety issues? Was a safety meeting done? Was a rescue plan made? Etc.

 

[Stephen Moore]

Perhaps the contractor that takes such a course needs to demonstrate competency at a certain level before he can be insured?
As for tree gear, it is line a loaded gun right? If not correctly used someone could die or be seriously fucked up! Maybe a competency card should be mandatory for climbing gear to be purchased? Just like the FAC firearms acquisition Card here, I think it’s called something else now? But you get my point.

 

[oldoakman]

Like my byline says, some people ought not be allowed to have sharp tools.