Why 1/3 notch depth?

Keep comparing yourself to lessers in your area. You work in the suburbs with medium sized trees, with largely open drop zones, except that whizzy off the ladder over the drain field video.
 
Keep comparing yourself to lessers in your area. You work in the suburbs with medium sized trees, with largely open drop zones, except that whizzy off the ladder over the drain field video.
I'm waiting for Mark's real pros to shut me up.

You certainly can't. You pretend that you know enough to preach about tree work, but it's just an act.

When I do explain the answer to YOUR QUESTION, you'll see how simple it is. SO SIMPLE It's like common sense. Then you'll act as if you knew it all the time and keep talking your crap.

YOU'RE NOT EVEN CLOSE.
 
Last edited:
Daniel, you are the best ever.

Everyone help Daniel's self- esteem.

He's the best ever, just ask him.



If any real tree people know he's the best, please chime in.

It's tiring for someone to always blow their own horn.
I’m waiting for him to take credit for x man’s shark gil cut technique.
 
Aerial cutting allows one to experience the challenges of heavy end weighted trees (branches) more than a cutter at ground level. And I have been thinking about how I position the face in these frankly absurdly over tensioned scenarios. Rigging doesn't count here because ropes manipulate weight and tension. Lets say a 10 M long Zelkova branch that sits between 0 and 10 degrees. Firstly, the informed choice that I make is based upon the advice that those with longer experience than I have or had, have passed on to me. And also the experience that I have been able to build myself. The experimenting that I may or may not do possibly affects my 'vocabulary' of cutting techniques, so one would hope that someone with a longer history of cutting has a deeper and more varied 'bag of tricks'. For the branch in question I would be nervous asking a climber with less saw experience to use certain techniques, some of which will be based upon specific depth of undercut (step) or speed of back cut (shallow face). And would prefer them to use climbing techniques in order to position further along the branch and cut in areas with less intense fibre tension. That said, and bearing in mind that it is difficult to think up a specific example that we can all imagine in the same way, species type, health, true weight etc. In nearly all cases like this, I will put both step and faces toward the side of the branch, downward facing. Which allows the back cut to be made more leisurely (speed matters less).
As far as vertical timber goes, long levers and short levers matter less, so it would seem that a shallow or deep face, placed any where around the tube of fibre, seems to get the job done. Over cutting a longer lever shifts the weight that way, to the extreme point when it collapses. A small face allows less fibre to work in the hinge, less holding power.

Cricket Bat willows in Essex county, south east England. If the face is too small the weight of the timber often collapses the weak fibre as it folds over. I have never experienced a more difficult tree to cut. Some hairy moments in cricket bat willows.

One thing that I have explored fairly intensely over the years is rigging techniques, especially climbing rigging. And I have gone way out of the normal box in this regard. I have gone to the proverbial moon and back. For the last couple of years have found myself putting simple building blocks of technique together, that from the outside looking in, seem 'complex', but in reality this is not the case. Simple building blocks, solid technical ideas that an Arborist of six months, six years, sixteen years etc can all understand. How far one choices to stack the ideas is a personal choice, but that one can dial the technical level UP or DOWN, with ease, seems to me a vital development in my own practice.

(( I see some things in modern harness and climbing device design that seem to build on ideas for no good reason. It seems that some fundamental (and historical) climbing technique are overlooked. Another discussion for another thread. ))

Experimenting is good. Having a deep bag of tricks is good. But what happens when your time is up, can the things that you do transfer to a newer generation? Is there solidness and simplicity in your techniques? Will the new generation be able to understand and use them, or does intellectual curiosity take precedent?

Mr Daniel, Daniel san, wax on /wax off. Hai !
 
Last edited:
I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread for the incredible wisdom and insight you’ve shared on tree felling. This thread has bolstered my confidence in felling because I have a better understanding of the “why” (and “why not”) behind the felling decisions I make.
Great feedback to hear.

Just be cautious of well intended information that is flawed. Practice any new tree felling methods in situations where a failure is not critical to your safety or property damage. Complex methods of tree felling often have reduced reliability that results from variables not discussed or identified when you give it a go. Learn to be very competant with core skills first and leave being fancy to the "peacocks". Just my thoughts.

Regards
Graeme McMahon
 
Great feedback to hear.

Just be cautious of well intended information that is flawed. Practice any new tree felling methods in situations where a failure is not critical to your safety or property damage. Complex methods of tree felling often have reduced reliability that results from variables not discussed or identified when you give it a go. Learn to be very competant with core skills first and leave being fancy to the "peacocks". Just my thoughts.

Regards
Graeme McMahon
Wise advice !
 
1651488702363.jpeg
This shows a section of felled bush with the density of trees behind and the boundary to the clear coupe (high left). The alpine ash are all 50 - 60m trees and pull heavily down hill. The "free grain" of these trees have a very high tendancy to split up. The strength of the outside fibres to hold are clear.

This picture shows a rare display of a tree departing before the "back release" strap is cut or breaks. The strap whipped down to the rear hitting the ground before standing back up again. Note there is no pulled wood on any of the stumps which demonstrates employable skills for a production faller. The high steps are obvious however may not work for all species. The thick fiberous bark sends most would be fallers packing as we do not take this off to fall.

A tree every 2 - 5 minutes for 9 hours a day in steep country is steady work for my old legs.

Regards
Graeme McMahon
 
View attachment 81707
This shows a section of felled bush with the density of trees behind and the boundary to the clear coupe (high left). The alpine ash are all 50 - 60m trees and pull heavily down hill. The "free grain" of these trees have a very high tendancy to split up. The strength of the outside fibres to hold are clear.

This picture shows a rare display of a tree departing before the "back release" strap is cut or breaks. The strap whipped down to the rear hitting the ground before standing back up again. Note there is no pulled wood on any of the stumps which demonstrates employable skills for a production faller. The high steps are obvious however may not work for all species. The thick fiberous bark sends most would be fallers packing as we do not take this off to fall.

A tree every 2 - 5 minutes for 9 hours a day in steep country is steady work for my old legs.

Regards
Graeme McMahon
Very high steps. How does the height of the face compare?

I saw one of your videos, years back, folding trees. It helped me out of a tricky situation once, typhoon damage on the Bullet Train guarding. I folded two large sections that day, have never had to use the technique again.
 
IMG_1240 a.JPG
A view of about a third of one of my hand felled coupes 2018. Center near the top of the hill is a 30 ton excavator for perspective. Seed trees left as prescribed and a tuft to go to complete it. Credit to the crew on the machines to prepare the bush, process and load that volume of wood.

My motives for adding to this thread is to assist persons with consolidating sound core skills not to facilitate antagonistic behavior. Some would say that, "falling trees infrequently in a boutique existance does not give the repetition needed to be in judgement".

Regards
Graeme McMahon
 
View attachment 81708
A view of about a third of one of my hand felled coupes 2018. Center near the top of the hill is a 30 ton excavator for perspective. Seed trees left as prescribed and a tuft to go to complete it. Credit to the crew on the machines to prepare the bush, process and load that volume of wood.

My motives for adding to this thread is to assist persons with consolidating sound core skills not to facilitate antagonistic behavior. Some would say that, "falling trees infrequently in a boutique existance does not give the repetition needed to be in judgement".

Regards
Graeme McMahon
Thank you for sharing what you do. I’ve been in residential tree care for 19 years now, at one level or another, and our company specializes in limited access trees, so we do a lot of very tight space felling, but I have nowhere near the experience you do. I greatly respect your skill and your tenacity in cutting at that level!
 
My motives for adding to this thread is to assist persons with consolidating sound core skills not to facilitate antagonistic behavior. Some would say that, "falling trees infrequently in a boutique existance does not give the repetition needed to be in judgement".
I didn't intend any criticisms of industry knowledge or practices, or the other comments or contributors in this thread to refer to you.
Please don't take anything here personally.
I have HUGE respect for you. Your Tahune Day 3 video was an amazing piece of art and tree work. I've watched it countless times. To this day it is still my favorite tree video of all time. You are operating at a different level.

Different perspectives and differences of opinion do not have to be antagonistic. It's somewhat unfortunate that it was set up like that.
 
You've dressed the stage..now its time for your One Act. The audience awaits
I want a refund on my ticket. Back on April 16, post #56:

"How does a shallow facecut increase barberchair potential? Here's your chance. I'll write it up and post it in another day or two and we'll see who knows what they're talking about."

Here we are two weeks overdue and nothing. Now I'm having second thoughts about listening to someone who can't tell 2 days from 2 weeks.
 
View attachment 81708
A view of about a third of one of my hand felled coupes 2018. Center near the top of the hill is a 30 ton excavator for perspective. Seed trees left as prescribed and a tuft to go to complete it. Credit to the crew on the machines to prepare the bush, process and load that volume of wood.

My motives for adding to this thread is to assist persons with consolidating sound core skills not to facilitate antagonistic behavior. Some would say that, "falling trees infrequently in a boutique existance does not give the repetition needed to be in judgement".

Regards
Graeme McMahon
Much respect Graeme and I have an honest question. How do you feel about working in clear cuts like the one pictured above? I spent a decade working in similar looking sites in Sountheast Alaska and eventually realized I could no longer participate in such devastation so I became more involved in the sustainable selective logging practices that were beginning to take hold in the redwoods of NorCal. Logging in Alaska was an amazing time in my life but even after a few decades I still carry some regrets.
 
Last edited:

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom