Falling and Bucking a HUGE cedar tree | Helicopter Logging

The most powerful felling wedge today is now available. With increased lifting power over other wedges.
The PowerWedge, limited supply, first 100 orders get a sweet deal at:
www.woodboss.ca/collections/w...
www.Trigvi.com - Forestry Forum for lumberjacks
My videos are edited by the talented Bieke Vandaele. You can check out her website here. www.biekevandaele.com/

[@swagtech_]

Remarkable craftsmanship displayed by these industrial giants.

[@ernestjoiner3040]

I was saying the other day about how I was more interested in the bucking than in the felling.. I guess I'm not the only one- 12:12 was the most replayed part of this video. Those big timbers can do some wild and unexpected things on the ground.. and it is not always easy to read as it is when they are standing in the air. Man.. walking down underneath that thing to make that first cut took some balls. What amazes me too, you had to cut the pinch last. I think I saw what you did. I think you made offsetting cuts in that compression wood to avoid getting pinched. Whatever you did, I'm glad that it went your way!

[@paulkiehne7618]

Brings back memories of the 80s and 90s used to cut big ones like that in Washington state on the peninsula doing aerial 🚡 cedar salvage for shake and shingle picnic every day love watching your videos

[@jimkey920]

n awsome Cedar. Full of wind shakes and rot. Not dependable for ship planking. My family had connections with 2 mills in N.J. 1920's to 1950's. There were a few White Cedars near this size . We used D4's to build plank roads to get them out of swamps. There was also a time that brackish marshes were mined to dig up White Cedar that was felled by circumstances during the last ice age. The Cedar and White Oak were destined for building boats. White Oak was..10 a foot. White Cedar .32 cents a foot. Red Oak, used in truck bodies was .08 cents a foot. We used two man saws, felling and buck. I was 12 and swung a 2 pound axe that was bought just for me. As I remember there was a lot of money involved, mostly outward bound. I just turned 79. We worked as a family . i am the last one who was there. I don't remember the heat of Summer or the cold of Winter. As if yesterday I do remember the satisfaction of spring water on a hot busy day.

[@BjarneButler]

That’s very interesting. Thanks for the story

[@anguskangus8222]

Hi Jim, Nice to meet you.

[@MasteringTheModel]

Awesome story Jim, thanks for telling it.

[@gregkahle9046]

Cool, thanks for sharing

[@spin230]

Thank you for sharing your story My.Key.

[@overthehills_faraway8320]

I logged for 27 years in Wisconsin.. it's the little ones that can get you..

[@KevinsDisobedience]

That buck was impressive! Sketchy standing up there on top the log on that hillside.

[@patmiddleton3947]

You could hear that thing cracking long before he stepped aside.

[@willardwooten9582]

Looks just like the west side of the Olympics. Back in 1970 I worked for a shake company bucking cedar logs where the fell but in smaller sections , the wood had to be between 22 - 24 inches . I would cut the rounds and later split with a froe and mallet .Hard work for great money back then it was a $140 for a cord of blocks and I would do 1-2 a day .

[@bob_frazier]

Willard, strikes me that you and I were almost the last of our kind in our respective locations, me in s. Oregon. The old growth is now gone except where he is, so Bjarne is truly the last generation of all of us in the old growth. What a life he has, and how easy it would be to loose.

[@michelchartrand7257]

I did some to,not the bucking but the splitting with the mallet and the froe,and then we would bundle them and strap them,but what I remember most about it was the sweet smell of the cedar fire that we would get going in the morning. I did this job just a few mounths is the Sechelt ,British -Columbia area in the early seventies.

[@lysergicheadcase]

Wow what an incredible drop. I have been cutting for a few years now but would not know where to begin on something like that. Clearly a lot of skill as you worked it over

[@smokeymcpots4288]

There's just something so satisfying seeing you cut huge timber with a 33"bar. I always see people put up videos of 6 and 7 foot bars and always feel it's unnecessary and just for show. You're a true master of your craft.

[@danieljosephson2452]

Id rather face a bigger tree with a longer bar less wrk!

[@brettblack7049]

Nice job, thanks for the link. When you were bucking it from below, you were running the saw left handed, was that to stay clear of where the butt could have gone?

[@stuart6973]

Takes a fit feller to do big stuff like this 👌🏻👍🏻

[@timmayer8723]

I remember hiking in the mountains above Bishop in California and coming across a lumber camp. This was back in the mid 50s. It was remote from civilization in all ways. My hiking buddies and I camped near by for two days. They worked with huge hatchets and two man cross cut saws. This was pristine forest at that time and the trees were huge. They used teams of Oxen to drag the timber to the steam powered saw mill. There were no small lumber jacks. They were big brawny men with work hardened muscles and full beards. Not interested in making conversation. They worked among timber rattlers which were three feet long and blended in with the ground cover. But their greatest danger was what they called ' widow makers' which were huge dead branches that fell from the towering trees and could crush them to death in an instant. At night there was a dilapidated lodge where they would eat and drink. There were empty beer cans stacked six feet high along one wall for fifty feet to the corner wall. The room smelled like greasy food, sweat and beer. Beer was not free to them, each can of room temperature beer was twenty cents which came out of their pay. This was truly a place for burly loners and drunks. There were no women, male cooks toiled away in the massive kitchen. I counted fifty lumber jacks in the mess hall on our last night. It seemed like a job for x cons or men who had hit the wall in society and had few chances to come back from the edge.

[@johnye4433]

Seems like there is a smaller but safer size of logs to handle, profitable business should be a safe one too

[@bob_frazier]

How do you end up working in the woods? Be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[@ronfox5519]

That's a cool story, we'll told

[@ksargent]

Fantastic. That first bucking cut was terrifying.

[@BjarneButler]

Ya as long as it’s not slabbed up then it’s relatively safe. Because my bar isn’t long enough I have to get the far side first and because the tree is so big I can’t reach from the top of the log so I had to climb to the bottom side.

[@Kimbeattie]

This has to be the most dangerous job in the world the trees are huge and the consequence of error is fatal. Total respect for these workers

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

Adventure excitement... the jedi craves not these things

[@billcoley8520]

Check out videos on highline power company lineman

[@craigreid1554]

It is #1 most dangerous job ranked.

[@rrssmooth6643]

Yeah lucky do not have to finish cut on bottom side.

[@bruceparks3124]

Personally, I was always more scared of bucking up a big tree than falling one. There's just so much more that can go wrong in a millionth of a second.

[@robertomoschetti1019]

FANTASTIC !!!!!

[@mikeyeager7328]

Broke it on that ridge

[@Morpheen999]

Fantastic Work!

[@FordManiac76]

I’m from the BC coast but now live in the central/Northern interior of BC working in the forest industry. The main thing I miss is the smell of the cedar, especially a cedar campfire. I thinking of heading to the coast this summer just to bring back a load of cedar firewood.

[@BjarneButler]

Ya I like the smell of cedar too

[@kusterflattail]

Kick ass!!! Great shots of your cuts!!

[@brianandrade9182]

That's a hairy buck right there! Nice work

[@tonypyatt196]

Bjarne love watching your videos.. what saws do you use ? And where do you get your belt and wedges

[@woos31]

Nice stick and nice work pard, just subbed in to support a small for now timber faller's channel. Safe cuttin out there men!

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks

[@aristeogonzalez6315]

Very skilled at what he does enjoyed your video

[@jerrellstrawn6409]

Pretty good when you have to clear away the 3' diameter brush out of the way.

[@blondemommyvomit]

That cedar cuts like warm butter.

[@jacobkeppler1984]

Awesome tree cutting And I hear a another chainsaw in back ground

[@ez87gn56]

Balls of a champion!

[@travis2557]

Awesome video. I’ve been reading the comments an haven’t seen anyone commenting on the amount of strength an stamina it takes to do this kind of work. Much respect to you, I bet you’re 10 times stronger an a 1000 times smarter than anyone playing in the NFL or Basketball. YOU ARE A LEGEND 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@stephenlee2894]

Always bittersweet to watch these videos. Hard to watch such a magnificent tree come to and end, but loe and appreciate the fine woodworkers who honor and respect this wood.

[@johnbrattan9341]

Just so tragic their endeavors are insignificant to the majesty of such a tree. A tree wasted. It's body used in the construction of fences blocking houses and communities. Truly a waste and a cause celebre to the insanity of humankind.

[@Pit315689]

@@johnbrattan9341 Agree, these large trees have been around for hundreds of years and are the greatest of all living things on the planet. To fell them is a crime against life, a tragedy beyond words. Just terrible.

[@johnbrattan9341]

@@Pit315689 I'm a forester. With degree. Watching this video was heartbreaking for me. Stephen Lee equates the death of a "magnificent tree" with that of a man with a large power-driven chainsaw.... The disconnect is mind-blowing.

[@isaaccollura66]

John Brattan trees are conscious of self? Maybe you’ve watched too much Disney plus’s and listened to too much David Suzuki

[@johnbrattan9341]

@@isaaccollura66 You're an idiot.

[@clydeacor1911]

nice! I bet that old cedar smelt awesome as you were cutting into it!!!

[@BjarneButler]

Ya I like the smell of red cedar, yellow cedar also has a unique smell

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

@Luis FromCanada you have a touch of the downs

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

@Luis FromCanada your so stupid you don't know a pierogi from poutine

[@kirkdavis1971]

@@BjarneButler i remember bucking big Cypress on northern Van.Isle. and the smell was intense, made me gag...

[@philipculver2719]

I have watched quite a few of these. This one scared me a little.

[@larrymbouche]

It me so much that I wouldn't even want to be close enough to see it in person. Glad it was on video, so I could see it.

[@dougberry1011]

These guys really know what they are doing.

[@deanjones2525]

Wonderful. Think about what it was like before chainsaws. Those men were truly a different breed.

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

Lasers

[@Recedinghairline180]

aliens

[@georgeshaw8925]

That is a beast of a cedar amigo.

[@tomsommer54]

That was beautiful on the cedar. I wish I could have seen the notch and back cut. What country are you in?

[@boomerdioramas]

I never forgot my last days in the bush on the Canadian west coast. I rejoice to this day that I live to talk about it.

[@tregforsyth1969]

I cut blocks in Ucluelet, Tofino thru 80's and 90's loved it.

[@buddyvibe9043]

I worked for mac and blo in juskatla in the mid 70's

[@brennoncheshire8613]

Nice work man.

[@raymonddigiuseppe2953]

That’s so awesome!

[@jordox]

nice job bud, i miss hand bucking the big wood on the coast, now i run processor in the interior, it's just not the same...

[@snapkrispies5324]

This guy should have 10 million subscribers he is by far the best on KZbin/possibly the best tree Faller in the world

[@irishbulldog3389]

Nice old growth cedar bud! And you did a great job on that downhill buck. You did it perfect an back in my time falling timber I would’ve crawled underneath it to get back uphill like the dumbass youngster I was when I first started out! It’s a wonder I didn’t get hurt more than I did in my 13-14yrs falling. I took too many risks like a dumbass. Paid for it a few good times too! Haha god I miss it!!!

[@AaronTheViking250]

In the ten yr's of falling I did I should've been hurt or killed ah few times but I'm still here. Now weather or not that was God's doing or something else there looking out for me and keeping me safe but no matter what it is not a job to take lightly.

[@maezzee]

Falling a dead snag ic dangerous enough.....bucking it up is even more dangerous...

[@lendavidhart9710]

I went to Oregon 2 times and the first thing i noticed was the smell in thr air, like the sweetest mulch, never smelled any place like it, tall trees and big pine cones, i mean big! Thank you for posting.

[@williamstidham1341]

Like your videos. Your cool

[@mikeantypovich3446]

bucking that big boy would take some skill on it own, a pro for sure.

[@andreakeeling9217]

Amazing!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@BjarneButler]

👍

[@keithdixon3913]

I notice a lot of the cedar smash when they fall dose that drop the price down of the timber

[@user-ih9ed2ki7v]

very big tree

[@georgewilliamssr5230]

Reminds me of my big cedar. But it was 14 footer and not checked. And, I was on flat ground. That looked exciting but not fun. LOL.

[@tomsommer54]

I’m trying to learn to avoid the under cut pinch. I fell an white oak yesterday and got a pinch. Lucky I was able to push the tree over with me tractor. I guess maybe I should have wedged it during my back cut? I didn’t see the back lean in the tree when I started.

[@oldscout2514]

Do the big cedars have a tendency to break when hitting the ground ?

[@BjarneButler]

That varies greatly. It depends on if it’s hollow or solid, how tall it is and what it’s hitting. A nice big solid tree will smash to toothpicks if it hits a stump or boulder. A lot of money can be wasted from a tiny mistake. Poor aim, poor planning, even bucking incorrect lengths will lose money and nobody likes that

[@pcdubya]

Not to be a dummy but how do you get it out? I see description says heli block, so does a giant chinook or something pick that behemoth up?

[@BjarneButler]

They used to be chocked with a cable but that not allowed any more. So it’s all done with a grapple now. I got some old footage of it in another video

[@snoozinglion8596]

Big wood... Nice job... Stay safe... Thanks for sharing...

[@quercus4730]

Damn tree is just about as likely to crumble like an avalanche as to fall. Nerves of steel that lumberjack.

[@Mike-vt6nc]

Not sure what was more impressive falling it or bucking it?

[@andreakeeling9217]

Wow your just like Buckin Billy Ray! Really awesome! 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks

[@Maczust63]

I used to get a little upset at forestry but either way all it takes is one car size rock from space to take all the trees down and us so. We're here now and people need homes and stuff made of wood. A lot of spots benefit from logging with regrowth. Just have to be selective. The old ones are sad but trees have life expectancies like humans. I'm an arborist and I know the dangers of the industry, just be safe. Put everything in your favour even if it seem dumb at the time. It's better to realize you didn't need it and it was dumb then to be dead and not realize anything.

[@BjarneButler]

Agreed. Safety first

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

Be safe

[@NatureShy]

Please don't support logging of old growth trees. These beauties take hundreds of years to grow. There's not much old growth left in the Pacific Northwest, as most of it was logged away. Instead we need to get our wood from younger trees on private land. These old growth rainforests are spectacular; we need to save more of them and build trails to them for others to enjoy. They are better used for hiking than for wood products.

[@jeffreymccarty1388]

@@NatureShy they're gonna die bro

[@bobswagger9047]

So much respect for what you do, and damn are you good at it.

[@ryanssawmill8224]

Nice job man be safe out there that's a monster of a cedar 💪

[@bob_frazier]

Nice cutting, Bjarne. It did look a little slabbed up to be down under it. Much respect to you, that takes balls, I couldn't bring myself to get below her. Be safe.

[@kenbirkin7753]

bucked many of those........but bigger than 6 ft is awkward for the reach around.

[@tupelomississippiflash968]

I own a couple saws , and cut a few trees down every year , they are the size of toothpicks compared to what you are cutting , respect . stay safe out there .

[@ZipWilly1]

I would have got my saw stuck, then I would have got my backup saw stuck trying to cut out my first saw, I would have had a dozen or so wedges stuck and I'm sure a wedgie by that point. I guess that's why I'm in sales!

[@BjarneButler]

Haha. Well I’ve been there, I have a habit of learning the hard way

[@riverrat1149]

I am not a logger, just a carpenter. I have survived bucking up some big hemlock and Doug fir on the steep side like this only on the Olympic Penninsula. There is no way I would have the courage to make the last of that cut. You would find me staring at it as the sun went down.

[@danhillman4523]

Heh. Yeah. It can happen.

[@danhillman4523]

@@riverrat1149 Wise choice. I will stare (in a matter of thinking) at the extremely large Red Oak trees around my cabin for a week, and even months sometimes, before I finally decide how to take them down. I bought a cabin in the forest and no one ever, in 200 years, thought about how big these trees would get and just how hard they would be to remove. Some people don't realize just how heavy and dangerous they are. I took three 100'+ Red Pines and one 28" White Oak this past spring and it all went well because of all of that staring. Never touched a shingle.

[@BjarneButler]

Dan Hillman well good on ya. It pays to think and plan then to rush it. You only got one shot at it

[@pauljohn5554]

That is impressive

[@kennytheguitarfanatic054]

Wow now that is what I call BUCKIN BIG WOOD!! I wish I was there to buck that massive tree looks like lots of fun! Great skills bjarne cutting that tree with a much smaller bar than the tree and not pinching your bar!

[@johnc5874]

I would've so needed a bigger bar to do that.

[@gregjorda3080]

the buck looked scarier than the felling

[@lordofall9030]

Awsome work

[@jacksorensen9449]

That scared the shit out of me.

[@olgrizz_____5373]

Dang such huge trees! I wonder how old it is? I went to Florisisant Fossil Beds and saw petrified stumps 8 - 12' in diameter. Pretty amazing how tall they had to have been. The sequoia and redwood trees are 5-600 feet tall and have different environments .

[@ryanhobbs3362]

It was impressive how large trees grew with a bit more CO2 in the air.

[@richtomlinson7090]

I have a Red cedar shingle as a wood sample, and it's about one foot wide and has 438 growth rings, and that doesn't include the sapwood they cut away or the faster growing pith or center. I often wonder if that tree was 600 years old or over 1000.

[@danielplainview4587]

I think I'll just go ahead and pass on being a logger. bucking was scarier than cutting it down.

[@BjarneButler]

Ya most hair-raising scenarios occur during the bucking because if something goes wrong it’s quick and right in front of you. Trees generally start going over slow so you got a little more time to run

[@jeremiahwarren2603]

Bucking IS scarier. Especially on steep grades.

[@dirtyshirtinfo]

At first I did not understand the cut sequence during the buck. After it all came together I was like...oh...

[@suzannenelson3221]

Same here!! I almost had a heart attack and then I was like...oh...

[@ChrisTian-lf2oh]

Large?! It bloody HUGE!

[@gregtaylor8327]

Great job.

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks

[@Donlewis4683]

Philadelphia checking in. Almost a half a million views and only 5,000 subscribers smh. I watch a lot of Buckin Billy Ray's videos and I guess this is why KZbin sent me to your page. Dig the content, keep it coming

[@stephentree3466]

Jees, just getting to the base of the tree on that slope with the challenging understorey and a big saw would be testing enough. Proper shiz. I'm a climber but your stuff right there on the ground looks pretty testing even on a good day !!! Respect

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks man

[@stoffes]

i could warm my house with that for a x nr of years :D

[@toadamine]

Half my house is built with that! My ceiling/roof is 6"x18" rough cut cedar beams with cedar planking laid on top that, and all the exterior siding is tongue and groove cedar. 😁👍

[@catchmeifyoucan2815]

I sincerely admire you, for having the guts and balls you have to take on a job like that.

[@stephanms661cm3]

Are you running your 390 in this one? What size bar are you using to mow these huge trees down?

[@BjarneButler]

I’m using my 390 with a 33” bar

[@stephanms661cm3]

Do you have any mods made or is the 390 bone stock?

[@isaaccollura66]

Amazing how the haters commenting here DO NOT seem to see the string connecting what you do (and oil n gas too) to their own comfortable and convenient lives in the modern 1st world. Pitiful how these types criticize the hand that clothes, warms and feeds them. Actually it’s disgraceful! I’m a carpenter building and fixing houses.... MADE OF WOOD, that PEOPLE LIVE IN!!!! So thanks for keeping me supplied so I can keep these nut jobs warm and cozy. Crazy out of touch with REALITY environmental terrorist quacks 😡😡😡🤯🤯😖

[@georgekirby3361]

So true!

[@dougberry1011]

Have to agree. If they make a mistake with a tree that size it’s game over. West Coast fallers earn their money. The tree huggers like to pound spikes into the trees and then the fallers saw gabs the spikes and spit them out or break the chain.

[@liamailiam]

you could make horizontal planks out of that thing

[@semutperang2300]

nice cut , nice work and be careful brotha..

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks

[@MrThenry1988]

Nice work. Looks tuff to get around in that woods.

[@BjarneButler]

It can be. Sometimes you have to cut your way around everywhere you go. The truck is to re-use trails and walk logs as much as possible and planning. A good efficient plan will save a lot of unnecessary time wasted and work

[@bertwyckoff7055]

Don't need a longer bar to buck you always start your reaching around as far as you can and coming back from the top side and cutting down to the bottom. Cut timber in the high country where you can't get away anything

[@BjarneButler]

Yup that’s about right. I try to finish my last cut around waist level

[@owtlawglock]

What saw are you using in this video?

[@BjarneButler]

390

[@dustinconlyn320]

I just saw you dump a cradle on shorts and HOLY FUCK!! NOW THATS A PROFESSIONAL!!! Good work please be safe!!

[@topsaw]

Great video of a big cedar coming down, scary stuff. I just subscribed

[@joepalanuk5718]

that is awesome wish i could cut some of those big ones ,oregon doesn't have to much big wood to cut 😑

[@natoshaward7588]

Oregon doesn't have big wood like this? Go west my boy...

[@NatureShy]

@Joe Palanuk And thankfully most of our old growth forest is protected now in wilderness areas! I'm a native born Oregonian, and avid hiker in our state. We do have quite a few old growth forests left in Oregon, you just need to know where to look. I've hiked among many groves of old trees here. But like I said, OUR big trees are all forever protected, for the most part. And rightfully so!!! Keep your chain saws away from our old growth trees.

[@bob_frazier]

@@NatureShy That's the spirit! Lock up that woods and when it finally burns, and it damned sure has been, then you can piss the fire out with all that vinegar you spew. Do you live in a wooden house? Use toilet paper? Probably not.

[@garydesbois5415]

Damn bro, that tree was HUGE !!!!👍👍

[@davidoyama9753]

Wow ! That was a big Cedar tree ! Looks pretty dangerous !

[@robertomoschetti1019]

SUPERMAN !!!!!!

[@000BigKev]

Mate you sure do have some guts. Thanks for the share.

[@bikedeefer]

As a Faller, do you enjoy the challenge of these large trees or is it a challenge you'd rather not have to deal with?

[@BjarneButler]

I do enjoy the larger trees. Bigger the better

[@johnmartlew5897]

Not just a skilled logger, you know how to compose and frame a good picture.

[@BjarneButler]

Thanks

[@deliverybryan1138]

Nice job brotha 👍🏻👍🏻 Please be careful man . That’s gonna make some good shingles etc !!

[@whosaidthat5236]

That would make a lot of great cedar shingles if the quality control ar the plant would get off his ass and actually look 👀. I have to cull upwards of half a bundle most times due to crap pieces maybe it’s just from Walden mill ... that other supplier has some shitty shakes also

[@jad2484]

You runnin an Echo saw????

[@royramey5659]

AWSOME

[@zeppelin67637]

That thing started talking to you almost immediately. And "Large" isn't a large enough word for that. lol

[@ducklive1518]

Beutiful video!!! Where is this?

[@scotgarland7526]

Nice job brother