Felling Levers

Rick,

I got one a several years ago to try out for post & pole material and I don’t like them. The Scandanavians’ like them. Smaller material they are cumbersome and larger material you lose the added compression advantage as you have when your tapping wedges. I wouldn’t even come close to trusting a felling lever on a fairly large stem.

There are definitely good wedges and poor wedges. The hard, brittle plastic ones (usually red) that are marketed, i.e. by Stihl and others I hate. They have a real tendency to spit out when you’re driving them. My favorite wedges by far are Black Bear and those with steel heads and a shallow insert. Softer plastic that works better, especially in cold weather and you can lift the world by being able to pound on the steel cap. The insert is shallow enough so that you don’t rock your chain. You could get these from either Madsen’s or Bailey’s.

Take care,
Scott

I’ve been using mid range plastic – the farther the wedge is from the hinge the easier it is to move the top – Two wedges always work better than one – some trees need a “cookie” or two a green wood disc from a limb or sapling between 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch thick that you put your wedge on top of in the cut – using an open face notch and a bore cut allows you to place your wedges for maximum advantage and safety-
John

Forgot to mention doubling up and stacking, definitely. Another option that I forgot to mention are rifled wedges. They are really handy for stacking as they don’t go sideways and the technique is the same as Carl mentioned for doubles; pound one and then the other. The only issue I’ve had with them is that they are almost too soft. Those might be your cold weather option, Rick. As far as getting them locally it is tough to get anything other than the hard, brittle ones peddled by the saw manufacturer’s. Go with Madsen’s or Bailey’s and they’ll have them to your doorstep in a jiffy.

What Jason mentioned that the small ones can be harder than the large ones can definitely be true. I can side bore down to 8″d and have a hinge & latch to work with and side wedge but less than that and tall with a back lean can be problematic. Something that I have found that works fairly well is what we refer to as a quarter cut. Face cut, come in from the back as in a traditional cut to your hinge width but only make the initial backcut in half of the backside. You can then place a small wedge in that kerf, set it, then go to the other side and CAREFULLY cut the other quarter, give the wedge a couple of good smacks and you’re in business. If I could figure out how to put a sketch on this thread it would be a lot easier to understand.

As far as timber jacks, felling levers, and other gee whiz devices I have no need or desire to haul that much luggage into the woods. Just more unecessary, expensive things for me to lose. If it can’t hang on my wedge pouch belt it is a hinderance. A felling axe for thumping wedges or a sledge back at the truck if I know I’m going to have to get really serious is all I need. If it is really a problem tree with bad potential if something goes wrong (i.e. power line, building, etc..) I’ll throw on the spikes and harness and put a tip line in the crown. I’ve also used a poorman’s Silvey tree jack (a.k.a. bottle jack) for serious back leaners that are in the huge category.

Take care,
Scott

It occurs to me, reading all your posts, that we should put together a discussion on directional felling and harvesting with horses. I know a lot of mechanical loggers who only use directional techniques infrequently, yet I have always championed the need and efficiency, especially for low impact, and animal powered forestry.

This is one of the issues that I think animal powered loggers should promote. It is a limitation of logging with animals that requires us all to become skilled choppers. These skills not only facilitate the use of animals, but they support the careful approach to the forestland that can set us apart from the mechanical community.

Carl

It is hard to get someone who has been a production cutter for years to learn to slow down enough to cut proper for a horse and like you said if your not doing what it takes to get those trees were they need to be then you might as well be pulling them out with a 648 john deer. You take a cutter who’s job it was to put an average of 20 cords a day on the ground and he seas know sense in taking the time to put a tree down were you would ever need more than a cut club and a single wedge that would just be a wast of time to him. If he did something like that there would be a skidder breathing down there backs in know time. The big difference is that skidder can make up for poor placement just with pure power , ripping it up a hill tops and all what ever it takes to produce. I have had a hard time with cutters truly understanding the difference between a horse and a machine. Instead of stopping there thought on what there doing and relearning they try to modify what they know and in my opinion it is a different world ( horse VS machine) and some things transfer but most should be left behind with the skidders. If it takes 20 minutes or more it is better to take the time and put that tree in the right spot because if it is in the wrong spot it could take you a day to clean up the mess and maybe cost you a job. We use to cut off an average of 80 acres a week with are crews each crew of 3 men were suppose to av 100cords per 5 day week. That is 20 cords per day and av that there are a lot of days you have to hit that 40 45 cord mark. Now you take these guys that were pushed that hard for production and try to tell them to carry a 8lb maul and they just think you are nuts , they move way to fast for that. A friend of mine told me once that in horse logging fast is slow and slow is fast and if any one ever told me something true it was that . Proper placement is a huge part in getting any thing done and making what we do worth wile to the land owners even if it takes a long time to do it . I think this is a topic that gets over looked a lot buy folks in talk of horse logging . Taylor Johnson

I had a couple back in the ’70’s when we first using saws with centrifugal clutches. I remember them working pretty well. One lasted me well until 1985-6. It seems that when you cut them they stand up a little better.

I just started buying plastic when they started being available.

I rarely have a wedge spit out. I drive them tight before I cut the trigger wood, and I always use two wedges when I have to pound hard, which may make the difference. I also use double taper, and 12″ wedges.

Carl