Black & Blue Oaks Get A Bruising!

It has been interesting to see how this thread has progressed since my initial question about your bore cuts. I have always thought that the bore method was the best option for felling leads from up in the tree. My perception was that they minimized the chance of barber chair. Am I wrong?

I can see how a barber chair could happen if there was too big of a hinge. The 1/10 rule is good to go by though, right?
 
I don't know that rule but if you inspect your hinge after the break you'll see the holding fibers are in the last 3/4 of an inch. The ones that bent and didn't break. With heavy laterals you don't get a chance to make a thin hinge before it's going to release. The best solution is rigging otherwise if you think it could split avoid tying into the lateral and position yourself near the exit. Have you heard of a saw snatcher?
 
That little jack in the box moment in Bixler's vid tells the story quite well about why these bore cuts should be avoided without an immediately available escape route. That trapped rat feeling is something to be avoided at all costs both on the ground and in the air.

Do any of you dispute that when the trigger strip fails under tension that high, the barber chair can run either up or down?

That failed trigger strip moment at 1:45 in Bixler's vid is just a tiny example of an unexpected wood grain failure, that on a larger scale could have serious consequences for the climber next to it if the rip runs down the stem he's attached to.

The best friend a pro climber has up top is a razor sharp saw, and sufficient horse power to make that felling cut faster than gravity can affect it, much like a zip cut.

jomoco
 
I don't think barber chair has an official definition. It's probably more of a feller's word than a climber's but to be technical even if the tree splits in half downwards that would still be fiber tear and I think it would be going against gravity to be a barbers chair. Who knows but it should only happen when you expect it.
 
bore cut was the way to go, black oak has a sraight grain to it, easy barber chairs on big pieces wheres there a big lean to it, not like live oak having a zig zag grain....taking smaller pieces would be safer, but sometimes go big works just make sure your not lanyard in below the cut but on another leader.
 
Depends on how much tension strap is needed to consistently support the weight of the stem/leader you're felling?

I personally don't like using bore cuts meant to avoid barber chairing on trees that aren't conifers myself.

You can pretty consistently get conifers to hinge quite tenaciously and hold on far longer than is even remotely possible with other hardwood tree species like ash, pecan and oaks.

Even certain species of conifers whose lateral branches are under tremendous compression and tension forces, wil simply explode at whichever radius you initiate your first cut at! And knowing that can be extremely important in terms of whether or not to lanyard into such an explosive situation?

These guys go to the extreme of remotely triggered demolition charges to avoid dicey highly unpredictable tree work.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=KdpqGS2Kg...ture%3Dyoutu.be

jomoco
 
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