Leaner

[Dennis J. Aitken]

I am helping a farmer and he had 4 trees leaning heavy onto his field.
I took care of 3 of them but the 4th one gave me trouble.
They were all about the same dia roughly 11-12".
I put in my first conventional undercut to where I wanted it to fall but only cut about 2" deep then I started a bore cut and when I got about 4" in - the bar stuck.
I went back in the shed and got another chainsaw and started a bore cut on the other side.
Well damn it if didn't happen again. I removed both bars for the saws and left them in and got my 3rd saw and just did a back cut and the tree fell right where I wanted it but I can't understand how that happen.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be helpful for the next time.

 

[hobbitman]

Sounds like that tree was under a lot of tension causing the bar to pinch during your cuts . Your shallow undercut was a good start, but sometimes the wood closes up fast and traps the saw. Using the back cut with the third saw probably relieved that pressure and let the tree fall where you wanted. Next time, try making a deeper undercut or use wedges to keep the cut open and avoid pinching. Hope this helps you

 

[Alistair03]

Sounds like that tree was under a lot of tension causing the bar to pinch during your cuts . Your shallow undercut was a good start, but sometimes the wood closes up fast and traps the saw. Using the back cut with the third saw probably relieved that pressure and let the tree fall where you wanted. Next time, try making a deeper undercut or use wedges to keep the cut open and avoid pinching. Hope this helps you

I agree with this. For future cuts, pay attention to lean, compression and tension points, and use felling wedges early to guide the tree and prevent the saw from getting stuck.

 

[TmK.logger]

Next time, try using wedges as soon as you get the bore started to help keep pressure off the bar and givs you room to work

 

[What]

This is the best video I've ever seen on doing a bore cut.

 

[Alan]

I am helping a farmer and he had 4 trees leaning heavy onto his field.
I took care of 3 of them but the 4th one gave me trouble.
They were all about the same dia roughly 11-12".
I put in my first conventional undercut to where I wanted it to fall but only cut about 2" deep then I started a bore cut and when I got about 4" in - the bar stuck.
I went back in the shed and got another chainsaw and started a bore cut on the other side.
Well damn it if didn't happen again. I removed both bars for the saws and left them in and got my 3rd saw and just did a back cut and the tree fell right where I wanted it but I can't understand how that happen.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be helpful for the next time.

When you start an undercut, the wood can close fast and pinch the bar, especially on a lean. Using a back cut like you did with the third saw relieved the pressure and let it fall where you wanted. For next time, a deeper undercut or wedges early on usually keeps the bar from getting stuck and gives more control. Good job getting it down safely.