I Thought Every Good Wood Cutter Knew This

I'm cutting on the farm next door and there's a friend of the farm manager there cutting as well. We got to talking and he'd been cutting and burning wood far all his winter heating for 30 years. He has a couple of new B.K's in his place now.

Anyway we began working together and I watched him 'dance a jig' around the tree he was about to drop. Then he began marking lines on the tree. I says "What's ya doin' there?" He says "I'm figurin the angle to cut the notch." I almost fell over and had to pinch myself real hard to keep from laughing out loud.

I says: "You does dat fur ever tree you cut?" "Yep" he says!

I said "Ya minds if'n I shows ya a neat trick?" Sure go ahead he says. I says "See da curves in the handle of you saw? if''n ya hols here hit gives ya the right angle fur da top cut and if ya holds da handle here or here hit gets da right angle fur da bottom cut."
"Well I'll be dammed, I never knew that!" he says.

Wow, I thought everybody that's been running a saw learned that just after they learned to start the saw.

 

Nope.
I only learned how to use the saw to drop the tree in the direction I wanted a couple years ago (still trying to get it right).
Bought my first saw in '07.

 

Ya learn something new every day!

 

I guess I was lucky. Back in '98 when I decided to buy a saw I talked to a a friend of a friend who worked for a tree service. He showed me several important pointers about cutting and told me what to read to help me learn.

I don't mean to be making fun of the guy, I just thought that after 30 years of cutting he would know a lot of tricks of the trade.

It was kinda fun to watch him get his triangle out and mark a 45° notch on the tree. It works for him cause the trees fell where he wanted them to fall and no one was hurt. And at the end of the day that's what it's all about.

 

engineer ?

 

Ralphie Boy Is there somewhere that this technique is better explained or showed. I think I know what you're talking about but not sure. Not all of us had someone there to explain the little stuff. My dad knew enough to get the job done one way or another but probably not the easiest in every case. Hence his back surgery and possible 2 back surgery. Care to enlighten us on some of these tips and tricks? I know some is better shown so maybe point toward a YouTube video? I don't know just an idea. I'm usually open to learning something new.

 

I'll see what i can find this evening.

 

He is talking about using the felling marks on the saw to aim the fall. It is a bit long but this guy explains how to use the felling marks on a Husky. Almost all brands have them these days.

 

Here's the stuff every woodcutter should know. TreeStuff - To Fell a Tree by Jeff Jepson

It's not just about felling trees either. It covers the entire firewood process - tools, safety, felling, bucking, stacking, seasoning. I gave my first copy away to a close friend, and then had to buy another one cause I like to review it from time to time. Very enjoyable read with great illustrations too.

If you dont already own a copy, you should buy one.

 

I say, I say, I resemble that remark!

 

I've ran into a few engineers in my time,they are great people and very intelligent.the problem is when they explain things to me I walk away and feel like someone just had sex with my brain . For me it's a couple of adault beverages and I can figure it out .IN OTHER WORDS HER HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS. LOL.

 

Try this for starters: Proper Chain Saw Techniques Still looking for others.

 

Cool. My copy of this came in about 4 days ago

 

Also, I am an Engineer and s finance guy, so we are not all useless. Many are, but my day job pays too good not to keep showing up.

 

me too
sometimes you use tools and thought processes you are familiar with
even if you end up overthinking things sometimes

 

Thanks. Kinda what I was looking for. I like pictures and diagrams and cut aways.

 

what does driving a train have to do with cutting down a tree?