I have been looking at a lot of videos to learn more about felling trees. What may have happened in the video to cause the tree to fall sideways? I know it is hard to see in the video since it was not filmed very close. It appears the notch is a humbolt notch. Edit: according to the description in the video, the homeowners had hired professional tree people to take the tree down. Perhaps they were not professional as in experienced.
Hard to say, but it seems like the center of mass was too far off too allow a wedge to over come it. His hinge may have been a bit thinner on the left dude so it gave way first.
Very hard to tell. Looks like the tree may have had some back lean (appears to be a curve in the lower trunk) and/or excess weight on the back side. The hinge obviously failed, may have been tapered and/or too thin. The ultimate cause was an unqualified faller.
My guess is he didn't go deep enough on the back cut and then introduced some wonky stress (pounding the wedges) with too much holding wood in the hinge. Or an uneven back cut.
Wrong way leaners aren't good trees for inexperienced fallers to practice on...especially if they can land in your bedroom
According to the description in the video, the homeowner had hire professionals to drop the tree. That is why I was wondering what could have went wrong with professionals doing the work. However, it could be that one should get references when hiring "professionals"? Maybe they were not really professionals after all?
Yeah, maybe they were just a couple guys with a saw that claim to be professionals...maybe they were actually pro tree guys and a lil gust of wind bit 'em in the arse
From watching the trees branches, and the smoke in the background, there was no gust of wind that I could tell. Wind has messed with me and it has helped me too, but it needs a decent wind.
From the look of the bottom of the tree after it fell, it looks like the back cut was plenty deep, possibly too deep. People use the term "professional" to mean someone who is good at what they do. In reality, it simply means that they get paid to do it. That's why "ladies of the night" are called "pros". pro·fes·sion·al prəˈfeSH(ə)n(ə)l/ adjective 1. relating to or connected with a profession. "young professional people" synonyms: white-collar, nonmanual "people in professional occupations" 2. (of a person) engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. "a professional boxer" synonyms: paid, salaried "a professional rugby player" noun 1. a person engaged or qualified in a profession. "professionals such as lawyers and surveyors" synonyms: white-collar worker, office worker "affluent young professionals" Hopefully, in this case, professional also means "has insurance".
That has been a question in my mind when I see videos of wedging a tree over; how much of a hinge should be left? Why wouldn't they just use the wedges to keep the tree from falling backwards and continue to cut with the saw?
Since he had already stopped cutting when the video begins, we don't know if that was what he was trying to do. The wedges can only do so much. Some trees have to be climbed, limbed and sectioned. I've had a hinge tear out completely while trying to coax an unwilling tree with wedges. Gravity, it's not just a good idea, it's the Law.
Many variables .... Even the best pros while following the "best practices" have probably had a few go different than planned. MN throws unknown variables at them now & then. But not being there, difficult to say ......Hope they were insured .......
When I took a Game of Logging training a few years ago, the formula was that the length of the notch should be 80% of the diameter of the tree, and the hinge should be 10% of the diameter of the tree. So, for a 20" tree the notch should be 16" wide and the hinge should be 2" deep.
A lot of things could have happened here, the first of which, in medical terms, is called Cranial - Rectal Inversion. The second would be: And he didn't!
Kimberly one of the best things you can do for yourself is to stop trying to learn something like this by watching a youtube video. You can't learn much by watching those videos.
Nothing beats hands on, but instructional videos do have value. IMO Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
Yep my guess is the tree was just leaning or more weight toward the house. Wedges will not over come that. You have to pull them over or cut them from the top down.
