New Climber Seeking advice (Video inside!)

Here's the video of that cut. I'll get the rest done eventually. Overall it went fairly smoothly except for this cut. Had a couple of other minor hiccups but overcame them fairly well and learned.

I will say after this one, I'm going to get some more experienced help with one of my upcoming projects with 2 leaners... even if it costs me money to bring in someone else that will be worth it.

 
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Looking back at my lanyard attachment point, I guess it's not a break-away like I thought. The salesman made it sound like it was, but looking at the stitching, most definitely not...

Guess a new breakaway saw lanyard is in the very near future...
 
I watched your chain snatch clip a few times...some thoughts:
Hard to tell what exactly caused it. places in the wood where the cuts dont line up neatly can break away unevenly with little tabs that the bar might get stuck in. also your chain was digging in a little too aggressively, getting the teeth stuck like when you started your first cut. As the piece came over you were still cutting through hinge wood so maybe the teeth dug in right at the last moment, taking the saw for a ride. Cutting through hinge wood as the notch closes can sometimes produce desired results, but takes a lot of practice and time to learn how it effects the motion of the fall. It also takes really precise cuts that match up close to perfectly. Take the time to make nice notches and back cuts that all line up and weird stuff shouldn't happen.
So maybe you left a little kerf in the notch that broke off around your bar or perhaps the chain just grabbed at the worst moment...either could have been avoided if the saw came out when it started to fall.
Its good that it wasn't large and heavy, keep that in mind when you feel like you want cut stuff really big in the future.
:boxeador:
 
Brocky said:
Instead of new lanyard, maybe add a loop of small accessory cord to the harness. Test the cord first to get the breaking strength you want.
Click to expand...
I like that idea. Much cheaper and can happen immediately... lol

rope-a-dope said:
I watched your chain snatch clip a few times...some thoughts:
Hard to tell what exactly caused it. places in the wood where the cuts dont line up neatly can break away unevenly with little tabs that the bar might get stuck in. also your chain was digging in a little too aggressively, getting the teeth stuck like when you started your first cut. As the piece came over you were still cutting through hinge wood so maybe the teeth dug in right at the last moment, taking the saw for a ride. Cutting through hinge wood as the notch closes can sometimes produce desired results, but takes a lot of practice and time to learn how it effects the motion of the fall. It also takes really precise cuts that match up close to perfectly. Take the time to make nice notches and back cuts that all line up and weird stuff shouldn't happen.
So maybe you left a little kerf in the notch that broke off around your bar or perhaps the chain just grabbed at the worst moment...either could have been avoided if the saw came out when it started to fall.
Its good that it wasn't large and heavy, keep that in mind when you feel like you want cut stuff really big in the future.
:boxeador:
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I'm not sure why my chain is digging so aggressively... It's seriously sharp (sharper than factory immediately after I touch it up) and I haven't touched the rakers yet, so in theory it should be biting less and less as time goes without touching the rakers. You'll see it was digging hard all day. (You can also see it in the birch video prior... That was even worse with the rich tune tho.)

7-8 feet is about as big as I want to take currently...

As far as notches goes, That's still a massive struggle for me... As you'll see in the full video... I slopped the heck out of the notch on the split/dying/broke-off cedar I was falling. It was big enough, and I started the face cut small enough I pretty easily recovered from it, but man it was ugly to start. And then the back cut I missed my mark... On the high side, which was fine, but it didn't end up exactly where I wanted it. My biggest struggle I think, is getting the saw level, and keeping everything 100% straight. Especially after I'm fatigued.


A lot of the Alder branches were taken down with the hand saw, then the chain saw used to trim the stubs. Maintained pretty fantastic control of the branches that way, and it worked flawlessly, so a HUGE thanks to the handsaw tip from the birch. That will come in handy on other similar trees.

Sorry to bring so many questions up without having the video done... My regular job/ other business is in it's busy season now, and so the tree videos have to take a back seat on the weekdays.
 
What make chain is it? I never had anything grab as much as oregon chain, it was aweful. Taker depth, tooth angle and the depth of negative space under the tooth can change the way it cuts. You might need to sharpen a little differently, change true shape a little so it cuts smooth. Sharpness won't help if your teeth get stuck in every cut.
 
rope-a-dope said:
What make chain is it? I never had anything grab as much as oregon chain, it was aweful. Taker depth, tooth angle and the depth of negative space under the tooth can change the way it cuts. You might need to sharpen a little differently, change true shape a little so it cuts smooth. Sharpness won't help if your teeth get stuck in every cut.
Click to expand...

It is an oregon chain.

Should I file them steeper or shallower? I'm not opposed to experimenting. I've got extra brand new chains so sacrificing one won't be too bad.
 
Also with the chain, are you sure it's the correct size file? I apologize if it sounds like a dumb question, I know your new to climbing but cannot remember how new you are to chainsaws if that was even covered. My point tho is that to small of a file will cause the chains teeth to hook, which can make the chain grab. It may also explain why it feels sharper than factory.
 
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Hi Stephen - for filing chain by hand I really like the european style roller guide thingys:
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/accesso...g-equipment/combination-file-guide/505243501/
These guys have some tips about the guide's use:
Also:

There's also the Granberg 12 volt grinder thingy:
(note - remember to buy the threaded grinder bits not straight shaft ones!)

[and - sorry for unrelated to topic - Swedish Homestead also has some good tips on bucking/limbing safely you don't see everywhere (I thought anyway):
]

Cheers,
Ed
 
Jehinten said:
Also with the chain, are you sure it's the correct size file? I apologize if it sounds like a dumb question, I know your new to climbing but cannot remember how new you are to chainsaws if that was even covered. My point tho is that to small of a file will cause the chains teeth to hook, which can make the chain grab. It may also explain why it feels sharper than factory.
Click to expand...

I have the correct size files for the chain. I wonder if freehanding it has led to a similar effect of too small a file, and also why my "ruler looking" file guide doesn't fit that chain quite right... Because that chain when it was new didn't get caught...

hmm...

ghostice said:
Hi Stephen - for filing chain by hand I really like the european style roller guide thingys:
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/accesso...g-equipment/combination-file-guide/505243501/
These guys have some tips about the guide's use:
(VIDEOS)

Cheers,
Ed
Click to expand...


I've tried various file guides. So far my favorite one is the flat one that looks like a ruler with some angle markings on it. That doesn't seem to work too well for my small saw chain (unless I'm doing something wrong with it... See above comment) , so that one I tend to do 100% freehand. I haven't used that roller tho.

I'll give some of those videos a look. I know I've seen a few of them. I've watched a bunch of Swedish Homestead's videos. They've got some great content, but something about the format mildly annoys me, which has kept me from binge watching it hahaha.
 
Oregon chain grabs like that when its new, i use it and love it though, you can't be aggressive with the saw with new Oregon chain, you have to "let the tool do the work" as my dad always said. As far as the saw going over I agree that your cut is most likely to blame wth it not being matched up or on a slight angle contradictory to your notch.additionally your chain might've been loose and allowed it to grab the log even more. Once it starts going over pull your saw out of there , you shouldn't be trying to cut through those hinge fibers just yet, that's suited for a far more experienced climber. There are many advantages of doing that( i do it all the time) however there are many factors that affect how you will cut it ranging from your saw to your chain and even the type of wood you're cutting! You'd be surprised how much all of this has to do with it. Eventually you'll get better, but I learned just like you did, by pushing my limits. However I reccomend buying the tree climbers companion, the Gerald Beranek DVD series and watching countless hours of YouTube videos on every single thing you can find.

A few good sources on YouTube are treestuff, wesspur, august hunicke, pfannerman, human, arborpod and arborist Blair Glen. You'll run across a couple other good accounts by watching he videos these guys have. Subscribe to them all, you'll learn amazing amounts of info. Watch and rewatch, I know the rest of us do.

Anyway that's my suggestion, do as you please. PM me and I'll give you my phone number if you want , I'd be more than happy to answer any questions
 
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Stephen, try the roller thingys if you can find 'em - used the round file guides for years and they are still OK for "touch-ups" but the roller guides seem much better at controlling angle of the tooth filing than the round file guides (to me anyway). Also the roller guides with the raker depth templates let you file an individual tooth/ depth gauge/ raker rather than an "average" over a couple of teeth - an advantage if you've hit a rocky bit and chunked out a couple of teeth - it lets you set these to .025 or whatever individually so you get a smoother cut. Plus they're lighter to carry (easier to lose?) if you're packin' in for trail work.
The Granberg grinder makes short work of big jobs/ long chains though. Sharp chain is a pleasure to use and much easier on your saw (detested cutting beachcombed logs on the west coast - they were packed with sand from being washed up on the beach and they did in chain after chain after chain - you know the job the young guy got after work to get ready for the next day!)
 
Looks like your chain pulled off the bar when the log started going over, then your saw was pulled by the chain.


For short, small diameter logs like that. I'd rather snap off some smaller pieces than get a groundie involved. .02.
 
Stephen.G.FIddes said:
Good day everyone! Been lurking around here and a couple other sites for about a year, but this is my first post. I don't like to waste space on questions that have already been asked, rather I feel this format will be far more beneficial to others in the future with time-stamps and actual video of what I did right and wrong, for other new climbers to see.

This video was my third removal. I Did my first couple removals on my property, and neighbors property next door a month and a half ago, and fell in love. There was a LOT I learned from those first two, and I was able to apply that knowledge to this third one I did last weekend.

I took my gopro up with me to watch and see what I can improve on myself, and also ask others with more experience to show me some improvements I can make as well.

I have a couple of local arborists that are interested in having me climb for them part-time. This will be a weekend job for me in the summer, and more frequently in the winter based on my other business I run, and it's busy/ slow season.

Here's a general timeline. Of where questions are and when things are happening.

0:00 verbal intro
3:03
4:32
6:20
10:00
11:00-22:00 branches chop and drop
22:24
23:25 top chop
24:20
26:30 spar chunking starts, shows how I work down the spar, which I feel has a lot of room for improvement.
38:25 verbal final thoughts and spar fell.



Also, please keep chainsaw brand bashing comments to yourself. Everyone likes different stuff, and I bought what I could justify to get myself going. That, and if they break, it's a lot easier for me to replace an Echo than it would be a Stihl or Husky. My saws cut wood, and that's what really matters :) (I only bring this up because I've seen other threads get derailed by stuff like that.)

And yes, I know the saws were running rough, I had just done a muffler mod on the TH saw, and I didn't get it tuned properly. It's now tuned properly. The bigger saw I set rich for the first few tanks so that's why it was down on power. Re-tuned it yesterday to proper, and she purrrrrs now.
Click to expand...

Good video. Just a couple thoughts. A cinching connection to the tree is what you need on the spar. A good knot and biner to your main connection can hang below your lanyard and loosens and slides down without reconnection when moved. Also your notches only need to be deep/large enough to get the piece to fall saving you effort. Two hands on the saw when cutting. I am learning too. Keep safe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ok, I've learned a few things so far... Still much to go.

FINALLY got the video from last weekend done. (This is the one that my chain was catching hardcore)

Things I learned and applied between the birch, and this one:

- Slow cut to slowly drop branches helps A LOT!!! Made for a much easier day with less rigging over the shed (Still rigged a few, but way less than I would have otherwise)
- Proper face and back cuts make a WORLD of difference... I botched every single face and back cut in this video in some fashion... Recovered decently, but it was annoying.
- Trust your gut on what to climb on... (14:30... When I dropped the top, it broke there when it hit the ground)

Things I need to improve from watching this video myself...
- Take smaller chunks (You'll see in my next video I did that, SO much easier...)
- Take time with face/ back cuts (Again, you'll see that in my next video, SO much easier...)
- Don't trust an old retired guy with no concept of safety as your ground guy... Ever....

On that bombshell: Again, 14:30. You'll hear my say "Pull" then it cuts to the top falling... What I edited out, was the ground guy (Un-beknownced to me) had gotten the "good idea fairy" that using a tree as a 180* redirect/ pulley was a good idea, instead of just pulling straight on the top. This of course added a lot of friction. I had him keep weight on the rope and walk around the back side of that tree and as soon as that friction was removed, the top came right over... That scared the ever living crap out of me because the tree had a lean in the direction that we didn't want it to go. Thankfully I opted to leave plenty of holding wood that helped it from going backwards... (I edited that part out and didn't put this text in the video because I know he will see that video...)

I think adding to the above issues I had, I was rushing a bit, because it was HOT that day... Once it started to get hot around 11, my brain slowed way down, and my decision making process suffered... Next video that day was nice and cool while I was in the tree (got a bit warm during cleanup but whatever...) it went very smoothly.

 
Are you the one that bought the gold runner off of Luke's floor? Lol

And another little tip, when you're cutting those branches don't leave stubs like that, it only creates hang ups and more cuts for you to make. Additionally make a slight undercut so those branches don't peel off and crack down the middle making your job harder. If you cut them at the trunk they'll stay whole and you'll still have enough wood fibers to let them hang down so you can grab them, finish the cut and chuck them where you want
 
image.webp Sorry
Don't mean to high jack the thread, but would this be a safe way to tie off on top of a spar?
Running bowline with Yosemite tie off
So I need a stopper knot?
 
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