Awesome video! I almost learned the hard way how dangerous leaners were when I was 16 dropping a leaning oak over a frozen river. It barber chaired like the best of them and landed in my boot prints on the ice. Having no traction I barely got out of the way. After that I'm found the the felling instructions in the old Stihl saw manual from Grandpa's saw. Learned a lot, practiced a lot. Ran a tree removal crew to pay for college. I still pull side jobs clearing building sites. 20 years later I've still never felt like a pro. I feel like every tree could be the last one, like the first nearly was, if I don't think it through first.
> "I feel like every tree could be the last one... if I don't think it through first." This should be on a plaque in every feller/logger/arborist/DIYer's garage/office/shed. "Every tree could be the last one if you don't think it through first." I also like DanWoodTomwoodson's sentiment about extending it to power tools in general.
I cut a too large tree for my chainsaw. I have been procrastinating for a while, that was why because I felt the same way, it already broke a few ribs back in November. When I finally got strength to do it again, I was extremely careful. I definitely need a larger bar.
The only thing I could have added was an explanation for how this prevents a barber chair. A barber chair is a shear failure of the wood, as a back curt, approaching the face cut, crowds the compression forces at the face cut against the approaching tension forces at the back cut. At some amount of shear force concentration, the wood will fail in shear and the tree will split, vertically, bending over the wood on the compression side of the shear failure. Your plunge cut concentrated the tension forces further and further toward the rear, spreading and weakening the shear forces between compression and tension more and more, until the trigger tears off. Then, as the hinge bends, the tension forces on the back of the hinge, break the fibers, before shear failure can take over.
This is the type of vedio that should be used for training. Too many people with chain saws think they are qualified to cut down trees safely. When they don't have a clue. Seen it way to many times over my years in tree removal. 😢
uhm, IF you LIve, you learn. I think you just saved my life. Mine's leaning even more and started a notch, but lean so strong it pinched the bar...got another bar and was going to repeat...cuz I thought I was smart. NOW gonna do a notch like yours, plunge cut and release trigger. This video just popped up, I wasn't even searching tree vids. It's Luck or it's a miracle. lol. Many Thanks!
@@meledog1357Alive! I got a lot from this vid... Did my first plunge cut on Severe leaner and did the wedge with top cut/ bottom cut order, so you can see bar depth. Best to you, thanks !
@@meledog1357yeah, I thought it was advanced technique I'd never use...but it's really necessary for leaners -- I noticed how he eases bar onto trunk to get right position before plunging since bar wants to pull you can't just plunge it directly in without losing control. Let's all be careful to survive another day ; )
Thanks. I just bought my first chainsaw. The Stihl manual says to plunge cut one of the ways you describe it with that rear trigger cut last. It was good that you described that amd then explained why you cut all of the way out that time. I'll be cutting firewood sized trees for the time being. I've read my Stihl manual front to back and now I'm looking to see what others can teach.
interesting technique! I always plunge and then come in at it from the back. I like your method of just staying in the plunge. Also, I really like the idea to do the top part of the box first. I have always done the bottom first and it seems like it is much easier to connect the two in your top cut first method. Thanks for sharing these tips man! I am going to use both the next time I'm dropping a good leaner.
One downside to cutting the top of the notch first in a conventional face cut is you cannot use your sight lines as effectively compared to when you start with the bottom. Same is true for the Humboldt style face cut. It’s easier to aim if your first cut is with the bar level.
I have a banana leaner tomorrow. Will use this technique. Will let you know how it turns out. Appreciate your time spent with the explanation, and final stump view. UPDATE: Worked like you instructed. Thank you, Sir.
Thank you! the way you explained your actions and demonstrated it cleared up the confusion. It probably saved me from making a really bad mess of myself!
When I plunge cut a leaner I like to make the Final Cut standing as far away from a tree that might barber chair. So, cutting a small release strap from the back of the tree with the tip of my saw seems safer to me.
Leaving a bit and cutting the back strap about an inch below is the proper way. The tree could prematurely fall or twist a bit and pinch your saw if you cut straight from the inside out.
You can always tell a Eastern cutter by how they approach the undercut, you should always start an undercut horizontally to sight your tree in. That being said, the bore cut was text book
Doesn't that increase your chance of pinching if the lean puts pressure on the bar? Doing the angle cut first ensures that there is only a sliver of wood to pinch the blade against.
My world is ash, maple, hickory etc. Lots of leaners ... I always bore cut from the right hand side from trigger to hinge, easier to form the hinge. Get the hinge thin enough....sometimes on a real heavy lean I'll take a bit out of the hinge ( plunge from the front after the face cut. But getting the hinge right mean no pulls. Getting the hinge wrong is either pulls if its too think or collapses on your saw if you cut too much (1.5 to 2 inches ). Then do as you did to release. Done right there is no chair and no pulls, :)
Well, he did the cut quickly... realize the bar is not pushed straight into the tree at first. The bottom of the bar tip engages the tree first creating a deep groove. The bar is then gradually eased into the 90 degree plunge inside the mini groove. It resists kickback that way. Sort of like using a log to prevent an ax from hitting your leg. :)
@@michaelpcooksey5096 Great description of the cut, but you also need to add that your left hand gripping the handle, the thumb should always be around the bar, and not sitting on it like his was. That, we were taught is an incorrect grip.
@@nbco55 Understood, but knowing exactly WHY one is being taught that way is as important as keeping consistent with original training. Go Deeper. For instance it used to be that a drowning victim once brought around and talking was thought to be ok to go. Now we know he can walk away and drop over dead on the beach unless he has had oxygen and gotten the water out of his lungs. Blind acceptance of teachings is not a good idea.
Proper method other that it’s my opinion your hinge was a little to thick. That thick of a hinge increases the risk of a barberchair. Heavy leaners I thin my hinges as much as I can.
very well done. you are a pro. on the real heavy leans that seen to want to pinch your saw in the notch process try a diamond notch whith is two notches on 45s eliminating the chance to get pinched and also they go far enough up the sides , eliminating the chance of barbering.
I did this yesterday on a leaner, that also had a very large tree leaning on it. My bar was not long enough but I got the bore cuts aligned from each side. Cut the back strap, and worked like a charm.
Thank you for that. I probably will never cut down a tree like that, but not the less I learned something. I watched a lot of saw cut videos, and never quite got how they usually came out so clean.
A good safety demo, no need for such a wide scarf but probably done for instructional purposes. Many weekend firewood blokes are nervous about bore cutting but it is a necessary skill. Pro fallers would have a lower stump and if the log was valuable probably use a Humboldt
We agree, but the location of these cut are deliberate. It gave us better angles for the camera and the property owner wanted the wood to stay on the property. The other reason for the height and slope of the cut was to try and keep the other side of the fork healthy.
I never had any experience with felling a tree. My dad passed away and I had to go and clean up the property where he lived. There had been a strong storm that broke a large pine tree and the upper 30 feet of it had to be cut up for disposal. As I was cutting it into more manageable size pieces, the bulk of it shifted, and I could feel the weight of it through the shake of the ground when it moved. I stopped right then, and got the pros involved.
Good bar and chain and chainsaw in general, and a safety exit point before cutting trees is the number one priority no matter how experienced. Even experienced arborists can get seriously injured or killed.
I'm an ignorant homeowner, and this is what I do. I am still alive. I admit, I don't do notches much. I make cuts into the front most of the time and then do the bore cut and release the trigger from the back. Maybe I should think more about notches. I got myself a ratchet strap to discourage trees from splitting above the cut.
Just the video I needed. When I need instructions on how to do something, I am glad when I get just that and not the person's life history. Also, you must not be allergic to poison ivy.
@Tree Man Okay, well both of you know more about it than I do. I've watched dozens of videos of the subject and I've cut down a few leaners myself...but I can always learn something new and seeing as I have an Irrigation ditch full of leaning Cottonwoods (and I do mean leaning greater than 30 to 45 degrees) I'm trying decide if I'm capable of doing this safely or should I hire the job out...the problem is I have a new Stihl chainsaw...and just like a kid with a hammer...well, you know.
Just want to wade in here with a bit of advice from over the water in the UK. Firstly I endorse everything treeman has said, but a few things worry me. Firstly you have a new saw, probably means that you are a novice sharpener. For those leaners you really want to be off the stump fast. As you say you have multiple trees to fall, . I don't know how cotton wood cuts, we don't have them here, ,Ask treeman. If ur sharpening isn't up to scratch, invest in a second chain, and change it out for the later falls. Secondly assess your trees carefully, build up to the more difficult ones if space allows, do not rank them in order of size, a bigger tree can be easier as it gives you more margin for error both on the face cut, and the plunge cut. Best on the plunge to leave a bit to much hinge, stop assess and cut a little more, if needs be. Tree man has mentioned it, but be careful of limbs hitting the far side before the tree is fully down, they can propell the tree back at you, it goes back to assessing the tree carefully. One last thing, with such a significant lean and them been down in a ditch, it is likely that the tree won't have enough momentum to collapse its limbs sufficiently so as to have it settled nicely on the ground. You must be careful when cutting to settle it that it doesn't rotate over and on to you. One final point, if you're going to fall trees, please get urself a decent saw! Ditch the Stihl, and get urself a huski XP, 😁😁😁😁
@@jukeseyable Thanks for the great advice...I've felled maybe thirty or more trees. I live in an area where we all have 5-8 acres and some of us have a boatload of trees...I have somewhere near 80 trees on my property and friend the same. My new Stihl chainsaw is a new chainsaw but not my first. Yes I have three chains which I rotate and have professionally sharpened....it's just I'm not the Spring Chicken I once was and being able to get the hell out of the way is a little more difficult these days....so after the leaves drop off this season I've eight medium sized trees (diameters greater than twelve inches) all in that irrigation ditch. I think I'm going give the "Plunge Cut" a try. But I really appreciate your wisdom...Thanks.
@@brianfoley4328 appologies for my mistaken assumption, regarding your level of experience. Greater than 12 inches is better, bit more wood. Good luck , sure ull be fine
I prefer to leave enough of the tree to act like a hinge and then I pull using a rope puller from a safe distance. This seems pretty safe but I’m gonna stick to being far away from heavy leaners when they come down. I use a similar face cut with a much shallower back cut leaving approx 1/3 of the tree to act like a hinge. I’ve only seen trees barber chair in videos and I want to keep it that way!
We're you satisfied with the thickness of that hinge? I've seen s thinner hinge than that barber chair because it was too thick and the resistance diverted the tension upward. It was an ash tree, which is much more prone to BC
I wonder how many people knew that hairy vine was poison ivy? I hate dealing with that stuff especially when I worked for tree service/ PPL power in Pennsylvania
I love the bore cut. I'm experienced, but I'm no wizard with a saw. Bore cut lets me shape the hinge exactly like I want it before I release the tree. I know the pros can see in their minds eye exactly what the hinge looks like and can tickle it one way or the other, but that ain't me.
Hinge size is determined by how wide the tree is at breast height . Use 10/80 if tree is 20” at breast height then the hinge should be 2” thick and 18” across. For control and safety of felling tree. Also we call it bore cutting here in Indiana . Indiana department of natural resources has timber cutting training classes to teach this way of cutting. Well worth going to . There’s no fillin like tree killin ! Be safe.
I don’t know anything about cutting trees down. I’ve got a couple of 8” diameter small trees that I’m going to cut down myself. So I’m trying to get an idea of the correct and safe techniques to do the job safely. That was awesome!
Falling into the lean is not the problem; falling against the lean is. I have a 50' tall dead oak, 48" diameter leaning hard over a cabin. Been trying to think of the best way to drop it for several years.
@@mcallistertreetraining1383Thanks again, I just used this successfully to cut down a dead pine tree on a big lean. Big saw to keep a safe distance with a long bar. Ratchet straps around the trunk... it fell dead on, but it had been infested with pine beetles and was hollow! It was trying to barbor chair but didn't...
You could see as the last of the holding wood let go that it would of barberchaired had he done it like a normal tree. Some massive tension in the trigger. I don't cut them, I just load them but that was a great video.
Thanks for this video. I have to cut down a leaning tree that's dying. I have only taken down 20 trees so I am still learning and have never done a plunge cut. I know the tree is a very good candidate to barber chair so I will have 2 heavy duty ratchet straps above my open face notch as a precaution. My question is do plunge cuts kickback a lot of the time? The tree is not thick in diameter so can you still do a plunge cut on say a roughly 8 inch diameter tree?