Felling layout

[Tom Dunlap]

In another thread I talked about using gunning sticks to layout the face. [Pulling trees with vehicles]

On the same job I needed to lay out where the crown would lay. There was a side limb that looked like it would flatten another tree. On the opposite side there was a limb that might dust the house. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to lay out the felling plan.

YOu all probably are familiar with the stick trick. Take a straight stick and touch the end to your cheekbone, out to your side. Hold the other hand in your fist, tipped flat along your arm. Now, tip the stick vertical, extend your arm out in front straight. Site with the base of the stick at the face cut and the top of the stick at the top of the tree. Close one eye and walk forward/back until the tree is perched along the stick. The point that you are standing will be the top. Following the same procdedure I layead out the side branches. The lay line had already been determined using the gunning sticks.

With enough sitings you could lay out the shadow of the tree.

Tim Ard makes a pocket tool that can be used to set the height of a tree. I haven't used the new, folding one but I'm sure he will show us next month when he is pu herer for a training.

Are there any other methods for setting up the lay?

Tom

 

[TreeDr]

Thanks Tom, I printed your post and will share it with the crew at the next safety meeting.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

i think that anything that serves up 45-45-90 degree angles will work for 'stik-trik'.

Stick trick makes 2 legs of triangle equal, with 90 degree angle at base (we use rake so bottom is heavy and serves as plumbob; to maintain 90degree angle with ground). Maintaining these angles; makes horizontal line = vertical line. This is why some old timers can bend over and look through legs and site drop, as long as they are lined up with 45 degree angle (looking through legs), this will work too!

Making a horizontal center punch in hinge all the way through to back, will give nice sight for aiming of drop, in everything else being equal scenario. i saw gunning stix in catalouge long time ago; just used 2 equal polesaws when i played with it, or showing trainees.

Also, seeing as the stik-trik shows how the corners of hinge pull for aiming drop, i nip corners for narrowing this focus, on critical-narrow path drops. Always seek to throw in the direction of hinge; and use holding wood manipulation for balancing moving load's head and sweep through obsatcles.

[ February 01, 2002: Message edited by: TheTreeSpyder ]

 

[Gerald_Beranek]

Tom, The loggers tape (Spencer tape) or equivelent can be used to mark the corners of the hinge, and to verify the gun of the undercut. For marking the corners there's several methods using the tape. But to keep this short I'll give you one example for now. And it's one of the best methods to use by yourself for those "Thread The Needle" shots.
Try this. Place a stake or peg where you want to lay the tree. Plug the nail of the tape to that peg. Then draw out the tape to the tree. Figure in the depth of the undercut on one side of the tree, mark it, draw the tape tight and note the measurement. Then go to the other side of the tree, draw the tape tight and mark the trunk at the noted measurement as the other side. And at the same level, very important! Place your undercut up to those marks. And your in! It's very acccurate and one of the best used methods for gunning trees when you have too short of a bar and have to cut from both sides.
After an undercut is already in the tree and opened up you can verify its gun using two tapes. Plug a tape into each corner of the hinge and draw them out to the lay. Place the tapes together at an equal measure. You will be standing where the undercut is gunned. If it's not where you want it then move right or left and take note of the difference in the tapes. Then apply it to the hinge by pulling in one of the corners. Again, this is very accurate. And it can confirm any suspecions you might have about the gun of any undercut.
There are considerations. Make sure the undercut is clean, opened up and straight all the way through. If the nail on one tape is longer than the other!! Then smooth the bark and plug the tapes behind the hinge and makeing sure the measure of each where they run at the hinge is the same.
Keep in mind the above methods are for placing and verifying the undercut. If the tree has sidelean to the lay, or has a decided imbalance one way other those factors must be calulated in. And how you calulate them is done more by experience than any certain formula. Greenies beware!! If it don't feel right don't do it.
An old timberfaller told me once "When you're gunning a tree, Jer you gun the top not the stump." Never truer said. But there's more to it than that. In the last twenty-five years I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks from the old fallers and learned a few on my own. Hopefully I can pass some of it on.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Wow; and i for one would like to hear'em! Even before noticing your name; the experience seethed out as i glanced down to see '1 post'; then said "Who is this guy"! Welcome a-board sir!

i seek reflections on tree work in other day to day activities, mechanics and physics of motions are always making me do so in the simplest ways!

These, reflections even go for quotations that are all pervasive. In "The Patriot"; Mel Gibson, instructs his cubs, in aiming to "...aim small, miss small...". When i'm rigging and dropping; it is sometimes a mantra!

Thanx for a great; explanation and examination of a tecqnique evolved so far from where wee stand, with ones working on the same princi-pal!

-KC

[ February 02, 2002: Message edited by: TheTreeSpyder ]

 

[Mahk_Adams]

Tom;

Someone described to me the following technique, but I have never tried it.

Fill a standard rectangular cake pan about half full of water. Hold the pan so that you can see the reflection of the tree in the water and then walk forwards/backwards until the top of the tree is in the middle of the pan. Walk towards the tree the distance that is equal to the height of the face cut above the ground and this is where the top of the tree will land (assuming you cut so that the tree slides, rather than jumps, off of the stump).

This works on the same principle as the stick trick. The height of the tree and the distance you walk are the two equal legs of a right angle triangle.

I seem to remember that the guy said something about putting rocks in the bottom of the pan, perhaps to help sharpen the reflection of the tree. I wondered for awhile about the water---why not use just a mirror? The water makes you hold the pan level. If you were to use a mirror you would probably tip it slightly and this would distort the right angle triangle and hence the height of the tree would not equal your distance from the tree. For example, you could stand in one place and variously move a mirror so that you could see the top, middle or base of the tree.

This helps to estimate the height of the tree, but does not help with gunning the direction of fall.

Mahk

 

[John_Paul_Sanborn]

Mahk, I've heard that with putting a mirror in the bottom of the pan. The water was explained to me at the time. Can't remember where though. I think we were talking about the stic-tric. That's a lot easier