Thread: one for the falling experts.

Yeah It gives a real good edge and will hold it all day(even when the old man drives it into the ground). The angles on the splitter are what I'm most impressed about separates wood like a layer and your money.
I recommend to everyone I work with/for or know that they are the only Axe/Splitter/Hatchet to own and have yet to have a bad word back.
By the way they are a composite plastic not a carbon fiber handle.
I now own 1 Axe 1.440 Kg 1 Splitter 2.460 kg 1 Hatchet .640 kg 2 12" Timber Tongs 2 Short Cant Hooks / Breaker Bar 1 Long Cant Hook / Breaker Bar
All Fiskars

So who gives a sh*t I'm addicted to these things I know but there has not been a tree that I had to walk away from Cos I didn't have the right gear(Btw this is just the stuff fiskars make wait till i start on the rest of it) Maybe I do need some help Maybe I just need more trees?

Originally Posted by Stopper

I was also told this statistic and follow it. You need to get more than 4 m away from the stump to dramatically improve your chances.
OK you can walk briskly if you are likely to stumble when you run but just make sure you get more than 4m or Carl's 6m away at 45 degrees or as the terrain dictates.
My run is more like a brisk walk anyway these days

cheers
Steve

If you saw the landline program about sleeper cutters the fellow who fell the ironbark was unfortunate to have a very close relative killed by a tree he was falling, very experienced but didn't have an escape route outside the danger zone, basically the tree should never been felled because it was in a location where the faller was trapped with a high bank around & behind the stump.

Originally Posted by BobL

While I agree tree felling is very dangerous most people don't realize that statistically you are much more likely to be injured or killed in a traffic accident

this is so true, but some people just don't get it & how to lower those risks as well, especially on narrow dirt roads, the worst being not keeping to the left over crests & corners.

Originally Posted by swing mill

yep same sort of scrub where the vines tangle in the tops of the trees and are strong enough to twist the tree on the stump as it falls, the trees are that close together when felling poles they hang up in the heads of other trees so you end up felling 2 or 3 more into it to get it to the ground ( should get a machine to pull it down but when you fall without one there arnt many options) yep great stuff.ha ha

as you said trees with excessive lean are seldom marked for mill log however if there is one as long as you can prove it is to much of a risk the forestry will usualy dismiss it as a habitat tree

i agree with the 4 meter thing but sometimes its almost imposible to move that far due to the undergowth.

all in all i agree with your post.

In thick HWD forests a common mistake that some fallers do is to fall trees through the heads of standing trees, you should only fall a tree through an opening large enough to let the head of the fallen tree to pass through without it breaking its or other standing trees limbs off. (the reason for falling another smaller tree to allow this room)
What happens is some of those broken limbs can hangup for only a short while, then you go & head the tree & a limb can fall down smashing the faller, a limb falling from 30m up doesn't have to very big to break a hand, shoulder or neck. If its really thick scrub I will leave my saw at around the 4m mark & keep going to a safer spot as it easier to travel quicker on my own.

Of course you don't intend to run when retreating from a falling tree, but at all times you must be prepared to, if something goes amiss, falling trees are the ultimate human fly swatter.
regards inter

Originally Posted by InterTD6

In thick HWD forests a common mistake that some fallers do is to fall trees through the heads of standing trees, you should only fall a tree through an opening large enough to let the head of the fallen tree to pass through without it breaking its or other standing trees limbs off. (the reason for falling another smaller tree to allow this room)
regards inter

this i agree with as i make a practice of this myself but what do you do when even the smaller trees will get tangled with other trees.

you have to asses the risk and take as many steps as posible in order to reduce the risk as much as you can.

Originally Posted by Krunchie

Yeah It gives a real good edge and will hold it all day(even when the old man drives it into the ground). The angles on the splitter are what I'm most impressed about separates wood like a layer and your money.
I recommend to everyone I work with/for or know that they are the only Axe/Splitter/Hatchet to own and have yet to have a bad word back.
By the way they are a composite plastic not a carbon fiber handle.
I now own 1 Axe 1.440 Kg 1 Splitter 2.460 kg 1 Hatchet .640 kg 2 12" Timber Tongs 2 Short Cant Hooks / Breaker Bar 1 Long Cant Hook / Breaker Bar
All Fiskars

So who gives a sh*t I'm addicted to these things I know but there has not been a tree that I had to walk away from Cos I didn't have the right gear(Btw this is just the stuff fiskars make wait till i start on the rest of it) Maybe I do need some help Maybe I just need more trees?

well it looks like they would be worth the expence, might have to open the walet and get one if the handle ever lets go in the plumb (or i loose it again).

hope i dont get addicted i dont need that many toys i have enough already.

Found out that Bahco make some of that gear with a Fiskars brand and then sold buy husqvarna

I really cannot get over the fact that some of you chaps a walking through scrub with what you call a plumb, I call it a sledge hammer that I consider to be an engineering tool, please do not get me wrong, I'm not having ago, I realize we all work in the bush and that bush environment changes in different climates. In tas, you only carry what is needed, Chainsaw tools, fuel(4lts +oil), fiskars splitter and wedges. With a 66, 4lts of fuel would go all day, I certainly would need more than a tank full as Carl mentioned is all he uses for 30 trees, find that a bit hard to believe myself but hey mabey he is cutting something a bit smaller than what I call a tree, who knows, still can't work out what you would want a sledge hammer in the bush for
regards John

Originally Posted by swing mill

this i agree with as i make a practice of this myself but what do you do when even the smaller trees will get tangled with other trees.

.

Accuracy & experience is critical when falling in heavily timber country, the more experience you have the less hangups you get & it still happens to the best of them sometimes, but then also the method of logging can change as well to whats called group selection where you fall in a circular area about 2 1/2 times the stand height / per hectare.
regards inter

[QUOTE= still can't work out what you would want a sledge hammer in the bush for
regards John[/QUOTE]

I started out with an axe and, as I said, flogged the eyes out of them trying to wedge trees. Fiskars weren't available back then so I started carrying a 7 lb hammer. (A little one with a medium length handle. Ocassionally I got caught out and an axe would have been handy but not often. The little hammer is just the thing for getting the trees where you want them. Even more so if you are amongst bigger trees.
Have to say the fiskars look like they will do the same job. Might lash out and buy one.

Steve

PS
Can't go along with Bob's comment about more likely to be injured in a car accident. I know a lot of blokes that have been clobbered in the bush and, like most who have worked falling full time, can rattle off a string of near miss stories. Most fallers would say a drive in the car is safer than a day at work.

Originally Posted by johnnyroberts

I really cannot get over the fact that some of you chaps a walking through scrub with what you call a plumb, I call it a sledge hammer that I consider to be an engineering tool, please do not get me wrong, I'm not having ago, I realize we all work in the bush and that bush environment changes in different climates. In tas, you only carry what is needed, Chainsaw tools, fuel(4lts +oil), fiskars splitter and wedges. With a 66, 4lts of fuel would go all day, I certainly would need more than a tank full as Carl mentioned is all he uses for 30 trees, find that a bit hard to believe myself but hey mabey he is cutting something a bit smaller than what I call a tree, who knows, still can't work out what you would want a sledge hammer in the bush for
regards John

plumb make all sorts of tools even axes have done for many many years i dont use a hammer i use a 3/4 axe made by plumb (3/4 the size of a full size axe).

items in which i carry when working without a machine are 1 round file, 1 saw spanner, 2 alloy wedges, 1 length tape, 1 girth tape (these are on a belt), 5 lt fuel, 3lt bar oil, 1 axe, 1 chainsaw (size varies on timber size), and 1lt water.

Originally Posted by johnnyroberts

I really cannot get over the fact that some of you chaps a walking through scrub with what you call a plumb, I call it a sledge hammer that I consider to be an engineering tool, please do not get me wrong, I'm not having ago, I realize we all work in the bush and that bush environment changes in different climates. In tas, you only carry what is needed, Chainsaw tools, fuel(4lts +oil), fiskars splitter and wedges. With a 66, 4lts of fuel would go all day, I certainly would need more than a tank full as Carl mentioned is all he uses for 30 trees, find that a bit hard to believe myself but hey mabey he is cutting something a bit smaller than what I call a tree, who knows, still can't work out what you would want a sledge hammer in the bush for
regards John

I'm hearing you & in a perfect world you would drive wedges with a sledge hammer, but an axe is a multi purpose tool & a really handy thing about an axe is when it comes to sharpening the saw, you just drive it in to the stump & align the bar past it & it stops the bar from moving while you file the chain, sounding the tree is also one of its uses which on thick barked trees can only be done with this tool.
regards inter

I took Carl's comment re. a tank lasting all day to mean the spare fuel carried on the dozer.
I too love fiskars tools - MUCH kinder on the body and muscles when splitting in particular.
Amazing how far 4ltrs goes when falling compared to firewood cuting isn't it.
Glad to see that people have calmed down a little, (a general comment, not singling anyone out) and we are getting some good dialogue on this subject.
There must be as many different ways of falling a tree as there are days in the year.
I remember a VERY experienced faller - falling before he could walk almost - recounting his embarrassment when falling douglas fir for the 1st time. Certainly had to rethink his approach.
As an aside to demonstrate the difference in trees between states, in Tassie when a certain tree species is burned out to the typical three toes state, they are usually still considered safe, yet the same species in Victoria is usually marked for immediate falling and flagged as unsafe.

Originally Posted by InterTD6

I'm hearing you & in a perfect world you would drive wedges with a sledge hammer, but an axe is a multi purpose tool & a really handy thing about an axe is when it comes to sharpening the saw, you just drive it in to the stump & align the bar past it & it stops the bar from moving while you file the chain, sounding the tree is also one of its uses which on thick barked trees can only be done with this tool.
regards inter

I thought sounding trees was a dieing art, any time i sound a tree and someone is with me they look at me weird and say what are you doing. great way to find out what to expect however it dose take practise.

Sounding trees is not a dying art these days but a necessity. I dont take one down for the hell of it, it all depends on its health, and with the knowledge we have now by studying a trees canopy, thats a good thing! The Yanks have been doin this for years and selective logging has not only created employment, but healthier forests, not like our government that treats our bush as revenue

Originally Posted by nifty

Sounding trees is not a dying art these days but a necessity. I dont take one down for the hell of it, it all depends on its health, and with the knowledge we have now by studying a trees canopy, thats a good thing! The Yanks have been doin this for years and selective logging has not only created employment, but healthier forests, not like our government that treats our bush as revenue

Thats good i was starting to think no one dose it any more,my old man taught me how to sound them some 20 years ago and have done it ever since as you say its a necessity now days just as it was then but not many people do it up here don't know why mabe something to do with the forestry as what they mark must be fell regardless wether its pile of pith or not, great for revenue not for us