Felling Levers

[Ronnie Tucker]

i use a pair of double blocks with a three quarter inch nylon rope if it is hung up back.ronnie tucker tn logger

[Scott G]

Pull it down with a choker by the butt or walk it down with a saw. Jason’s last segment on RH did a good demo on pulling down a hanger.

[near horse]

Thanks Scott and Ronnie,

I assume you’re pulling the rope or choker with your team correct?

Also, I missed the Healing Harvest RH segment because my provider (DirecTV) has the episodes of RH all screwed up. EX – it said it was going to be sustainable logging demo and ended up showing folks doing the Oregon Trail or something. Nothing wrong with that but it sure messes things up.

[Carl Russell]

Sometimes in thick timber I will just tip a tree into another on purpose, and hook on and drag it down, rather than struggle trying to get it to fall. It helps to make the bottom cut flush, so there is no hinge cutting into the ground when the butt come off the stump.

I have found that the arch-type cart works really well, because with the hitch high, the horses can get a lift on the butt, which tends to want to plow into the ground.

I also hitch the chain with the choker low to give more lift, and to keep the plowing to a minimum.

I have also used a team loose with an evener, by placing a block, or section of log cross-ways in front of the butt. By running the choker up over the block and to the evener, you can get a rolling lift on the butt.

It also helps sometimes to place a felling wedge on the ground where the butt will land on it as it comes off the stump to act as a ski.

And if all else fails, do like Scott says and cut blocks off the bottom. Sometimes you can reach a good 8-12’er. Or being the forester on the job, sometimes I just cut the other tree, if I can’t get it down.

Carl

[Gabe Ayers]

Geoff, You are right – Directv did screw up the listings here too. That was actually on the second segment in the series. The third one ran on August the 8th and we had the DVR set to record all the RH shows, so we caught it and of course people call on the phone and say hey man we saw you on TV… well, I missed the live showing, but do have it recorded.

But that is not the half of it, Joe Mischka, the executive producer – can’t even find our from RFD what and when it is going to show sometimes, the entire system if full of flaws way beyond what you would expect for Television… one would think that the schedule would be pretty easy to announce and what they say is going to air is actually going to air. This is being written by a guy that doesn’t have the program for the laid back Southern Draft Animal Days event yet. Some times are set and all three types (tillage, haying, logging) of work with be happening both days, but the details are still coming into form as the presenters confirm. There will be something for everyone….and southern cooking…. and everyone will get a program at the gate…

The saving grace is that Joe will have this entire series on DVD for sale at http://www.ruralheritage.com eventually.

We are now working on segment four and hope to have some of Chad Miano doing some real steep ground logging which includes some cabling off the mountain downhill and up the mountain skidding adverse or uphill.
We still have lots of unused or yet to be aired tape from the event we held last September. I hope to get a local fellow to edit it for us, we don’t have the technology to do that stuff, wish we did. Believe me the editors are not easy to work with either… nor is any of this cheap and Joe Mischka is called the executive director for a reason, he has helped us all along the way. The only way HHFF will get any return from this is if folks buy the DVD’s.

We do pull our hang ups out with the team and arch usually. The lift provided by the arch keeps the butt from plowing so bad while moving the top out of the residual tree. We often build a skid path with saplings like the wedge Carl calls a ski, this keep the big ones from digging in when the come off the stump.

If one happens to get double crotch locked…(sounds funky), but when one crotch in the falling tree falls behind a crotch of a standing tree you are in trouble. We have used the cable and sheaves and actually pulled trees over trying to get the hang up down. The good thing about the cable is that you can arrange to have you team moving away as a right angle from where the whole mess will fall if it doesn’t come out. It is dangerous under any circumstances and in every instance, so don’t take it on casually. It takes a really stout team, but not out of control and they need to know whoa even when trying as hard as they can. This is also when a fellow can use a special command so the horses know that it is going to be a hard pull. We only squeak or kiss to our horses in those situations, so don’t make a kissing noise around the logging horses if you came to the logging demo at Southern Draft Animal Days. Save it for the pulling contest that we will have both evenings…

We actually have a scene of pulling a hang up down in every segment….it is equally as exciting as dangerous. But of course it wasn’t exciting enough for Extreme Logging on Discovery and that is when we filmed this series, when we had scheduled to shoot for them and they waited until the week before and went with the Tn. mule loggers from the Dirty Jobs show instead. Still pisses me off… but happy to have it airing on RH and RFD and in DVD through RH.

We will film some of the activities at SDAD too.

I think there are lots of remedies for the small wood felling problems offered in this thread. Great job folks.

[Scott G]

Geoff,

Yes, pulling down with horse(s), skidder, winch, etc.. Just be careful when doing this, especially if you are on the ground. When the top of the hanger comes out of the crown of the tree it is hung up on, the butt you are choked to can often shoot forward a pretty good distance and really fast. This scenario is especially true when the ground is frozen hard.

What Carl mentioned about felling the other tree is an option as well. I wasn’t going to mention it as a method as it is extremely dangerous, that said, I do it from time to time. Remember that as you’re putting the felling cut on that tree more often than not the hanger is directly above your head and as soon as the second tree starts to go it comes down fast! If you are not extremely heads up and have a damn good escape route you are in serious jeopardy of being post driven; end of story…

[Tim Harrigan]

@TaylorJohnson 10777 wrote:

I cut the handle off all my axes and mauls to be the same length . I do this because my arms are very long for my body I am only about 5’9″…. And to top that off my inseam is only about 29″ or 30″…. One old boy I used to work with from FL used to tell me I looked like a little white gorilla when I worked.

Thats pretty good. Taylor, what kind of things did he say when he was mad at you?:eek:

This was a good thread, somehow I missed it earlier. I was looking to see if I could find any comments about preference in saw chain in reference to the mfgr. I need to replace some, I usually get Husky but in Bailey’s I see WoodlandPro, Windsor, Oregon and others. Does not seem to be a big difference in $. I know there was a recent, good discussion about type of chain, any opinion on cutting chain in general by mfgr? I cut hardwood, not real big, most less than 24 inch butt, almost never more than 30.

[TaylorJohnson]

LOL Tim he had a lot of names for me that we will not talk about … when he was mad that is. He is almost 6’4” tall and my arm span is as long as his and I am 5’9” .. he always thinks that is funny. Taylor Johnson

[Lanny Collins]

@TaylorJohnson 25738 wrote:

LOL Tim he had a lot of names for me that we will not talk about … when he was mad that is. He is almost 6’4” tall and my arm span is as long as his and I am 5’9” .. he always thinks that is funny. Taylor Johnson

Taylor, your comment brings back memories. I had an uncle (who is deceased now) that was I believe the tallest man in the world (sitting down). It was amazing how short his legs were but from his waist to the top of his head was extra long. I don’t remember exactly how tall he was (6’1″ or 6’2″) somewhere in that range and when standing up talking to him it was not too bad but when sitting down around the card table we was alway’s kinda looking up to him.:)

[TaylorJohnson]

Lanny that is funny I have cousin that I use to log with that is 6’2” and has a 29” inseam . We are all upper body . Taylor Johnson

[Author]

Posts