Stump on toes

[Tom Dunlap]

My brother shared a head-slapping-obvious new technique that I've never seen anyone do before. Maybe this is common and no one has ever talked about it.

Here goes...

Tree is down and its time to flush cut the stump. My normal way is to find the high side of the stump and set the saw dogs in so that the bar is level. Then I swipe the bar forward rotating on the dogs. My first swipe goes in as long an arc as possible. Then I 'walk' the saw around the stump in a dog and swipe pattern.

Pretty soon...if my chain is sharpened right [and I'm lucky] the stump kerf closes back onto itself. A wedge or maybe a stick is used to hold the kerf open.
Pull the saw and make the one final cut from the outside.

If the chain isn't sharpened right and/or I'm not lucky the stump settles down and pinches the bar...or many other crappy outcomes.

What Jim suggested, and this works especially well in stumps with flares, is to leave 'tabs' on the outside tip of three or four flares. These tabs hold the kerf open. Then, when it's time to cut the stump free the tabs can be nicked with the bar out of the kerf and it plops down onto itself.

After cutting trees for 40 years this is a really obvious way that I never learned.

Jim taught me after me teaching him so much...nicely done, Brother!

 

[ROYCE]

I am a fan of using the top side of the bar and pushing wood chips into the saw kurf. Then the stump just sits on the packed wood chips. I also use the same technique for crane cuts.

 

[JontreeHI]

Pocket wedge! Cool idea definitely though tom

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Yup..pulling chain works but I find that it can be tiring because of the awkward position.

Wedges...yup...unless they aren't at hand. I try and have them right with me when I fell the tree then drop them next to the stump.

 

[tc262]

I keep three wedges in the pocket of my saw chaps. It's a good way of making sure I chap up before running a saw on the ground. It sucks not having wedges on hand.

 

[southsoundtree]

I will cut vertically into those couple holding points dropping the wood onto the stump. I then cut horzontally to remove those couple 'tabs' of wood that were suspending it. Stump will slide right off, never pinching.

Dogs and wedges work better than backchaining to pack chips under a heavy round, IMO.

 

[TreeCo]

I use plastic felling wedges.

Also quite useful when bucking large logs into firewood when the kerf wants to close up on the saw.

If at all possible I try to keep the tip of saw bars out of the wood.