Skidding logs

[Short Game]

I've never had a pair of chaps. I have gotten a chainsaw into my britches three times (all, many years ago). Two of those times I was wearing Levis and long-johns. Once, it was just Levis. The two times, I cut holes in both the Levis and the long-johns, but not my skin. The other time, I cut the Levis and got a minor cut in my skin. I got more careful. :laughing:

All three of those times I was bucking limbs. Now I buck limbs with a PTO buzz saw.

I know an expert tree faller/tree remover. He weighs about 120 but does his on-the-ground limbing with about a 40 inch bar. He says it's so he doesn't have to bend over. He's the best at tree work of anyone I know, but he's still had a couple of broken legs and arms, some knocked out teeth, and a broken back (among other things) over his career. His latest broken leg was about a year ago. He's had to give up the competitive tree topping contests, but he's still traveling the country by invitation to do log rolling at the logging shows.

When I get a tree that worries me too much, he's the guy I call.

 

[Baby Grand]

The alders we have here are especially prone to barber-chairing. The worst of them are the smaller, but tall ones. I know one quadriplegic who can attest to this. However, my closest call came from a fairly large big-leaf maple. It was hollow and had an unseen crack in it. When it jumped off its stump, it landed right where I had jumped from, as I hurled my saw.

For those who don't know, barber-chairing happens with trees that are leaning enough that they split their trunks before the back cut gets close enough to the undercut for it to hinge to break and the tree to fall. The part of the trunk above the uncompleted undercut flies upward as the trunk splits up the log. The part that splits away from the log, springs straight up in the air and when the hinge does finally break, the inertia of the upper, splitting away side, jerks the butt end upward. The top of the tree falls short of its full length and the butt end usually lands several feet backward past the stump, trying to reach out and touch someone.

Here's a tip for leaning trees that you think could possibly barber-chair: take a logging chain and wrap it tightly around the trunk just above where you are going to do your cuts. I use a whole 20 foot chain and take as many wraps as it can reach, and hook it back into itself. This way, if the trunk splits, it can't spring apart. I've done this many times. The guy who told me about it was 8 years older than the 20th century and had worked many years in the woods.

Clever. I'll have to remember that one!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I've never had a pair of chaps. I have gotten a chainsaw into my britches three times

Some things boggle my mind :confused2:

 

[s219]

Here's a schematic of the Coos Bay cut, which can be used to take down a leaning/loaded tree without threat of barber chairing. This is out of my notebook of felling tricks:

Cut #1 is a slightly shallow notch or face cut (maybe 20% diameter). Cuts #2 and #3 come in from the side and can be stabilized by wedges as needed. Cut #4 is your final back cut.

The Coos Bay removes outer holding wood that acts or leverages against the central grain to create shear, and also removes much of the central grain, only leaving a hinge and small perpendicular back strap that forms a "T". You can cut away at that back strap and the tree will gradually begin to go over. There may be a mini barber-chair within the small strap, but it's been isolated to a small grain region far from the outer holding wood, so it's not of significance.

My personal experience is that the Coos Bay T is versatile given a range of tree and bar sizes you may run into, and it also slows down the final felling action for a bit more control. I even use this when cutting a downed tree with a large rootball attached, which can barber chair horizontally and/or violently swing the rootball back into the ground. With a Coos Bay, you can slowly control that cut (I'd still brace the rootball in most cases).

There is also a variation of this cut which replaces the T with an upside down triangle.

 

[Short Game]

Some things boggle my mind :confused2:

Sorry. I didn't mean to do that to your mind. Hey, I rode diesel submarines and motorcycles too. Didn't have any chaps then either. For a long time now, I have stopped cutting my britches. Doing that makes me nervous.

 

[g0rd0]

another diesel submariner, be still my heart. Wich class did you ride? I rode HMCS/M Okanagan a "O" boat built in 65 by the brits for the Canadian navy.

 

[Short Game]

another diesel submariner, be still my heart. Wich class did you ride? I rode HMCS/M Okanagan a "O" boat built in 65 by the brits for the Canadian navy.

Just one boat, a GUPPY III conversion.

Okanogan? Is that like Okopogo?

 

[Tollster]

Knee feels better,I was able to burn a pile yesterday, I kept the chain sawing to a very minimum and really wanted to wear my chaps,but they irritate my stitches. Needless to say,i was very cautious with any cutting.

 

[bcp]

From my logging folder, found somewhere on the internet:

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Any tractor is infinitely better for skidding logs than doing it by hand.

Trust me, skidding 12 foot, 12 to 15 inch logs a quarter mile with chains and a shoulder harness is hard work. And that's with a half dozen 2 foot lengths of 3 inch saplings for rollers.

And yes, I've never claimed to not be totally nuts.