Getting a tree to drift during fall by thinning the hinge.

[rico]

But who here has block faced a top? While I consider myself a pretty damn half decent faller I don’t really use block faces other than in a modified face. Meaning a few inches in where the apex of the notch is. That suits my needs but I rarely use that aloft.

I do use a block face with a snipe from time to time when taking large tops as it can help mitigate the chances of a barberchair..

 

[evo]

I do use a block face with a snipe from time to time when taking large tops as it can help mitigate the chances of a barberchair..

Exactly my point. Those who have honed certain skills will use those skills in various applications.

Experience tells one when to use these techniques.

Personally I don’t even think about all the various cuts I could use and carefully weigh out each one for every tree. It just comes into place at the time, I may consider 3 or so for tree x, and a different tree would/could have 3 other techniques.
It’s not a one size fits all thang, very few if any here take tops the size you come across.

 

[evo]

I suspect the effect is relative to the overall mass and length of the tree, so we would see it more clearly out in big tree country

Ehh not really. I tend to pull more tricks out for 12” diameter alders than 36” Doug’s. Partly alders need more tricks and Doug’s are a quite a bit more malleable.

 

[Matias]

Ehh not really. I tend to pull more tricks out for 12” diameter alders than 36” Doug’s. Partly alders need more tricks and Doug’s are a quite a bit more malleable.

Good to know! I very much feel like a yellow belt in all this. I know I am past stage one, but not far past.

 

[Treemuel]

Ehh not really. I tend to pull more tricks out for 12” diameter alders than 36” Doug’s. Partly alders need more tricks and Doug’s are a quite a bit more malleable.

Species dependent of course, but I know from playing around in the past with a swinging dutchman on less than 12" diameter Ponderosas, I could often get them to swing nearly 90deg off the face (different dynamics of course than what's being discussed here, but relevant to the idea of holding wood pull as a factor of tree size).

In regards to the current topic, I definitely steer at times by manipulating holding wood at the stump if the species and circumstances of the particular tree allow it. Can't speak to the physics of it, but it definitely works.

 

[Phil]

However if I stand up, and someone is holding my left ankle as I lean forward into a fall, I would fall towards the left/or roll (ie - cutting one side of a hinge thinner to create this “roll”).

I don't think you would fall in any direction other than straight because your support points, your feet, never move from their position...just like the two corners of a hinge. I had of a kind of funny visual pop in my head as I was thinking more about this scenario. If a pirate with one good leg and one peg leg is standing with his legs together and there is a board on the ground touching the front of both his peg leg and the toes of his foot, and someone pushes him from behind, does he fall forward, or slightly to his good foot side? The smaller support point of the peg leg representing the thinner side of the hinge. Neither the peg or the foot will move past the board during the fall. I have no idea if this is a relevant analogy or not but it the visual gave me a good laugh. I think I need a hobby lol.

 

[Bart_]

An uneven hinge can be viewed as glass half full glass half empty, extra or deficient. August views it as making one side deficient to have less pulling influence on the trajectory because he literally removes material from that side. Other oddball hinges leave extra material in the face configuration to have more influence. The physics as I see them is each side of the hinge makes a resisting torque to the spar fell kind of like a guy line offset to the side of the trunk diameter. If one guy line pulls weaker then the other the fell goes off the center line. To get perspective on the size of torque note that the tree won't even go over until the hinge is down to the equivalent of a 2x12 or 3x12 oak plank. Then figure how much force it would take to snap off said plank say extended 6 feet - sizeable. Neglecting the progressive weakening as the hinge fiber fails during the trunk' down trajectory, that's considerable steering force.

That brings up that as the spar gains speed you need more oomph to deflect it. Right at about the time a fair proportion of your hinge fibers have failed. So steering with hinge torque is more effective early in the fell trajectory.

That being said I once had a small live topped conifer go over unintentionally a bit off center due to uneven hinge but the eye opener was that the wood was so chewy the hinge held the entire spar off the ground horizontal. Go figure.

 

[Daniel]

 

[Phil]

And? Any context to add or is this just a video of you dropping trees? Are you saying you swung these mid fall with partial hinge thinning or are you advocating for just aim it right the first time and send it?

 

[Daniel]

 

[Phil]

So...tree falls where you aim it. Got it.