Timber Falling Technique How to Wedge Small Trees

[@bolokraymond3190]

Thank you very much, appreciate it.

[@stefflus08]

I usually plunge cut for the wedge. (Sometimes before the front cut) But this was interesting.

[@TheAcenightcreeper]

You can drive a Wedge in sideways as well

[@UFDionysus]

Thanks for this. I ran into this very problem recently. However, I wanted to also remark that standing dead trees are very valuable to wildlife.

[@stefflus08]

Schroedinger's Fir

[@charlesfite9240]

Lol! Called preloading!

[@FindersKeepers88]

Good, Thx. Don't cut trees or even own a saw, but always glad to learn how things work. Particularly when it's done right, looks like you know what your doing.

[@hanselito2416]

5:23 surgical precision

[@prioritytree]

Another great video, now I have to try this on some small diameter trees.

[@HarrisT]

The bore cut thru the hinge is a killer tip for a bottomed out wedge. I’ll have to try that out.

[@lasharael]

Could I get some advice for how to do this with an ax? Don't have a chainsaw.

[@pocket83]

Why on Earth such highly skilled, competent, and intelligent people choose to use a heavy chainsaw is beyond my comprehension. Everything done here would've been easier with a little throwaway MS170. It's not only about back pain and fatigue: it's about ease, expense, control, and agility. Not to mention that grazing even the tiniest rock with that beast would end up making it a really bad time investment. And don't say it's about the long bar, either, because he's keeping the dogs against the tree.

[@dustincousins2825]

Why do you make such confounding problems ease... makes me feel silly sometimes. Thanks for your work.

[@harryharry3193]

great vid, but why such a ridiculous long bar ?

[@michaelwheadon1078]

Thank you.

[@mclarksws]

I just want you to know, you have taught me how to fell trees enough that I have dropped hundreds of trees and feel that I have done it safely and efficiently. All the guys that have seen me cut or seen the stumps want to know where I learned to humbolt cut the face. Thanks for putting out quality information with a touch of humor.

[@DemoMan-fq9zi]

How many have you planted?

[@jackdad7411]

🤔Who planted the ones that he cut down?🥴

[@jimhofoss9982]

simple, light and effective….winchstrap

[@dennisstahl7621]

You make that look so easy.

[@AlexSlader-pc4gm]

That tree looked pretty green to me.. but maybe I missed something

[@Raul28153]

thanks for that. I have such a tall slender dead tree threatening my high tensile garden fence. And it is positioned in a manner that makes getting a pull over rope on it not an option. I'll do this. You sure did not leave much hingewood

[@Delgwah]

Thank you, I use both these, often.

[@brianjonker510]

You keep a sharp chain.

[@SunriseLAW]

4:00 "I am sure it is leaning that way, I am just pretending that I am not sure for the video"

[@DickHowe-c5q]

You explain things very clearly. It makes a dangerous situation lots safer. Thank you for the video!!!

[@coder010]

I’ve learned a lot from your videos. Much appreciate your channel.

[@Averagewhiteguy4980]

Good job.

[@JohnHoffman-p9w]

Thank you for the tips and the entertaining humor🤓

[@FindersKeepers88]

I heard that it's possible to make a directional fall where you can't get your cuts in the way you would ordinarily do so because of other trees or rocks (obstacles) are in the way, so you might cuts so that the tree would begin falling in one direction and turn it's direction while it is falling to correct the intended direction. Is that possible ???

[@BobE.Dancho]

Good

[@davidwyby]

If you think about it, in the case where you plunge and drive the wedge clear thru, you, need a conventional face, otherwise the butt of the tree will stall on the thin end of the wedge after it starts to go - a hard way lesson.

[@Zebracat5]

Thanks for the Video. Always enjoy you going into detail about Face Cuts ,and Back Cuts.

[@TheRussellStover]

I really like the knowledge and humor of your content. Great job.

[@BandiMasha]

Two booms. Excellent 👍

[@jp6234]

Great advice!!! Thx.

[@ejsocci2630]

Another great video thanks

[@bquade70]

Great info! Thx-

[@warped2875]

You crack me up!

[@anemone104]

Greetings from Dorset. Confident felling, accurate felling cuts with a sharp saw. Nice. The 'backwards' technique is simpler to explain but harder to do if your felling isn't confident and your cuts accurate. Or the saw is a bit blunt or cutting a bit of a curve or you're new to felling or perm any of them. Put another way it's easy to cock it up. So over here we use (are taught) the Danish pie cut or cushion cut. Which is kind of like your second technique but with conventional birds mouth (or gob, what you call face cut) which is put in first, about 1/3 of the way through the stem. Then you cut a 'quarter' out of the back (half the felling cut) and insert the wedge and tonk it with the sledge to set it. Leave a good parallel hinge. The tree won't fall because of the wedge being there. Then your felling cut, which is just over 1/4 of the stem and usually just higher or lower than the first felling cut - the two cuts just overlap. Stop at the hinge. Wedge it over. I tend to use hi-lift wedges not those shattery plastic things. Less likely to run into the back of the felling cut if you've not got everything totally bob on. So I'll use a holding wedge (pocket sized plastic thingy) in the first part of the felling cut. And I'll use a small saw with a short bar and semi-chisel chain 'cos I'm old, grumpy and have had carpal tunnel syndrome and it resolved without the damn operation (lucky) and I really don't want it again. cock up informal•British: ruin something as a result of incompetence or inefficiency. "David Cameron cocked up the Brexit elections 'cos he never believed anyone would vote for Brexit and was too lazy and out-of-touch to bother telling people what the down-sides of Brexit would be". A polite person would never call David Cameron (or Boris Johnson or Keir Starmer) a cock 'cos that is something completely different. Etymology The first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from a 1948 Dictionary of Forces’ Slang. The OED suggests that it derives ultimately from the noun cock, but gives no further detail.[1] The nature of the earliest citation suggests that this expression entered the wider language from military slang, making etymologies from typesetting or archery (see below) seem unlikely. The term is sometimes attributed to the days of manual typesetting, when a letter that had become wedged slightly higher than the other letters on the line was said to be “cocked up”. Another claim relates to medieval archery. One of the three feathers on an arrow is a cock’s feather. If the arrow was incorrectly placed on the bow for drawing and release, the arrow would go off course because of the cock’s feather being up and therefore the arrow positioned wrongly on the bow. This was then known as a “cock up”. Best one? Naval and army, derived from flintlock firearms and gunlock cannon. Fire the gun by pulling trigger or lanyard and the lock doesn't fall and it's cocked up. Nothing apparently holding it. Will it be solid jammed? Will it go off on its own or if you just touch it? You've cocked up the shot. (C.f. 'going off half cocked' or 'hanging fire'). No, I'm not old enough to remember gunlocks...

[@davidwyby]

Hi-lift is those mechanical screw wedges? Was thinking those would be good for small trees.

[@anemone104]

@@davidwyby Nope. These jobbies. The included angle is greater than for plastic wedges and the wooden haft allows them to go much further into a big stem. But if you whack it with an axe poll, it'll cut up - use a small sledge.

[@westwindcharters9146]

Nicely done.

[@danz0007]

Is this guy for real ? I would use my top handle with 14" bar for that little tree , looks like he has a 32" bar on that saw !

[@billbryce2538]

Been waiting for this information for 40 years. I've been getting out the cables and comealongs.

[@stormcrowe9820]

+1000!

[@Hunter-ei6hv]

I apreciate your videos and the way you teach! Amazing work and knowledge. I have been felling some old dying red maple trees to make boards and you have absolutely given me a lot more confidence in the cuts I make. Much different when you are under the tree then in front of a computer.

[@pastorbarnett3049]

Excellent advice. I have done that exact thing myself. But without the interesting dialog.

[@bard44]

You could have also made a plunge cut and put your wedge in that, but to each their own.

[@jackhollingsworth868]

That’s great tree felling technique.

[@craigvanhousen559]

Great information!

[@trumpzilla4193]

Wow! Many thanks and thanks for the humor as a value add!😂

[@krissingh4015]

That's why you're the man! Thanks for the awesome instruction! Greetings from Michigan.

[@daveh4106]

6:45 you can also stack your wedges for more lift. I also have some stubby wedges but usually forget to bring them and shove it over with the blade / bucket.

[@tims6232]

Wow, trees are TALL!

[@warped2875]

Yeah, ...they go all the way to the top!

[@riparianstudios]

So glad I'm subscribed to your channel, brother.

[@botfoblhrp]

😅

[@thomask4836]

For all you do, Thank You So Much! I LOVE watching your channel and at age 69, I'm still learning a bunch. We're suppose to get rain today and tomorrow in northern Wisconsin and I'll be glad when it gets here. I have a bunch of wood waiting to burn underneath tarps right now. The sky is dark and there is a musical breeze running through the trees. As I type this, I can smell the rain coming. Uh Oh! Wind is picking up. The whole state is Yellow and Orange ( very high fire danger )! Can't wait for it to go back to green again! Best Wishes and Take Care, Tom

[@rantmarket]

So glad I found this channel. Awesome info and a fun time. Thanks!

[@71cromag]

Love your show and I will always watch. Question, I have a ton of hardwoods here in Kentucky and not any pines. Do you recommend a channel out there of someone who deals in those types of woods? Kevin's disobedience is a good one that I'm aware of. Can you recommend?

[@I00kingin]

thank you

[@craigmiller7591]

Great! BYW, are you the guy from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”? You look and sound like him. Great voice!

[@alan-sk7ky]

How to push a tree too small for a wedge? First use a really long bar... 😀

[@LiveFreeOrRIP]

well done. True pro demonstration!! This helps out awesome

[@misterdubity3073]

Nice technique. Good comedy. I get to laugh while I learn.

[@grahamgeiger3206]

Thanks for the great tip.

[@andrewhanson5942]

Good stuff Wilson. Never really thought about that before. But I have run into that problem, so now I've got a "go-to" approach for that. Oh, and I think you need a bigger bar on that saw pal. 🙂

[@tjh_8913]

Well that’s useful. Thanks

[@_FZ06]

If only you had a bigger chainsaw.... 😂

[@themalacast]

Rarely been so charmed by a fella. Hope you’re doing good, fella.

[@Dustin_the_wind]

Thanks, fella.

[@Supercharged111]

Well damn! That bore cut has been my missing link all along! My leaners are smaller than these and so are my wedges, but often times even the back cut first won't save me as the wedges just bottom out. That bore cut ahead of time will save me some frustration and ratchet strapping for sure.

[@zactillett9820]

Can you make that large tree falling multiple times the into. Ive forgotten what it looks like.

[@mtsarch]

Yay, I do love me some slash burning videos.

[@Andrew-sanders]

I actually do do it opposite 3/4 thin face cut then a short back cut. When it set fown on bar you can just hand push over. 10 inch base is a large red cedar on AVR. Actually got to cut so pine last week 40 inch stumps. That was a blast after all the little cedar.

[@academicmailbox7798]

Goofy conventional cuts, eastern style etc (Wilson Forest Lands episode from months back on the Humbolt). It's actually a common way to work in western Europe. Really, with those 'full wrap' handles do open up a lot of options. What I'd say though, maybe? Conventional cut can be nice when saws were just heavier, larger, cumbersome and aggressive. Plus, if you consider 'a tool' that is just a lot less user friendly than what modern saw tools are like today, . . from what I can see of American east coast style felling, . . . those guys like to use a different part of the chainsaw bar, than western style fellers. The western saw users are super comfortable with being in the center of their chainsaw bars. Eastern style, not so much. And as you take your stump lower to the ground, ergonomically speaking, a felling technique that uses more of the end of the bar can become useful. Now I will say one thing to qualify all of the above, and the Humbolt tutorial episode several months ago looked at the back-cut as being an inch or two above the horizontal of the front-cut. With the eastern of goofy cut, maybe think more inches of height difference between back and front cuts (front cut lower down, but back cut can be a lot higher than an inch or two above the horizontal part of the front conventional cut). I know that sounds odd, but you can get the back cut to go deeper into the tree up top). And you end up with what I would term 'negative' hinge dimensions, as opposed to a hinge dimension that is zero or more. This is where one is felling in emergency wind conditions (in Europe we tended to see chains saws originally as emergency response tools for clearing roads in mountains to access centers of population). And if there's a storm happening and you are felling, you can do conventional front cut, but bring the back cut six inches above the horizontal of the front cut if needs be). Because 'the wind' is going to propel this dangerous tree structure in it's chosen direction anyhow. When the tree was down horizontal you just went in to buck it, using the .404 inch chain, that just kept pulling through the wood, no matter how much gravel or stone you hit in doing that. This wasn't gentlemens' felling method or production felling. It was emergency response.

[@academicmailbox7798]

And what happens as you are out there using a blunted chain anyhow, is that guys did what they did to keep operating. Was they learned how to use the one (dangerous), part of their bar that would still cut something, that was the end of the bar. I compare what early 1950's style European chainsaws were like, a bit like what construction saws with two-stroke engines used to saw 'concrete' are like today. If you look at the older European chainsaws they don't look or feel like chainsaws, they look and feel more like concrete saws do.

[@academicmailbox7798]

There's a small amount of Stihl BLK model (57, 58 etc), footage of those saws in use. They actually came with their own wooden chest for transportation on backs of lorries. They feel like something that a small active platoon of emergency responders would deploy with. As a traveling mobile piece of artillery. With all of the necessary tools, and pieces in that large heavy tool chest. They sold them to the army at first and that was the business plan I think. I don't know, but old model 57 McCullough saws were clones of the Stihl BLK tools in Europe? Unless I'm incorrect. I knew guys who used the BLK here, but the last of them died in the late 1990's. Long before I knew what a chainsaw even did, apart from the obvious. I had zero appreciation for machinery or farm equipment of any kind, despite growing up around it.

[@academicmailbox7798]

And for some reason, judging by guys who still run the old McCullough tools now. I think that McCullough was a tool maker that stuck with that original concept of what a chainsaw had to be, a lot longer than Stihl itself did.

[@academicmailbox7798]

What I'd like to see is a few conventional front cuts, but analysis to look at what happens when the backcut is displaced by more than a couple if inches in level, from the front cut. Because no one cuts this way now, but having used it a bit on some heavy hardwoods, I was surprised (especially in the windy condition), how well it worked. Yes, you tend to get strands or fibers being pulled from the stem and stump. And that's the primary reason to move backcut and frontcut together. But if you're felling simply to clear pathways, then perhaps that isn't as important.

[@johnpauloregan4593]

Great video Michael, what model is that stihl

[@dgoodman1484]

Good info but after decades of screwing around trying to wedge small trees, I just gave up and bought a maasdam. Safer than screwing with small cut up back leaners that just won’t go over, and spit out a double wedge. I’ll admit if a guy has enough experience to know for certain which trees will and won’t come over, it’s a good tool to have in the box. 👍🏼

[@AndrewMoizer]

massdam, as in a cable puller? (Not familiar with that name ... I'm guessing they're the original? I've only had cheap ones, which is probably why I find them a pain to use)

[@dgoodman1484]

It pulls 3 strand rope. But basically the same thing. Only way to fall small back leaners in my opinion. 👍🏼

[@prjndigo]

We'd just always used a set of tent poles to put a loop with two leads up and draw it over the way we want. Much much more reliable and higher control and works in wind too. Wedges are like prayers, when they work you think its because you did something and when they don't you just figure it was bad luck. Don't use wedges for anything more than keeping your saw from being destroyed. You can vertically slit a tree like that into a parallelogram hinge and walk it in the direction you want to use gravity to build intertia or even kick-block the trunk to apply rotation. Using wedges on a tree smaller in bole than 2.5x the wedge length is largely pointless. Sure you can make them work some of the time but even a fart has more power than wedges on a tree like that. Don't spread techniques and skills that the average viewer can't handle. Use a pole to lift a loop and snatch it down after weakening it, it takes a _monster_ of a tree to resist even a 15 foot advantage load. Just don't stand under the draw shadow.

[@jerryrogers147]

Make normal face cut . Bore thru the cut in the center out the back . Insert wedge in back. Cut each back cut side to the hinge. Please comment

[@GlorifiedG-z9c]

you could get a really long 4 x 4 out of that

[@efo1358]

I’m still wondering what Humboldt Cut would be ? If you could just send a Face Pic Or just a Hindrance of the Same Thing with the Facebook? 👍😂👌🤙.

[@samb7652]

I thought I was the only one who said..... Don't look at that stump! Lol.

[@edwardfinn4141]

Tree cutting bloke or blokette…. Glad I’m just here for the comedy!

[@coriellallan1620]

Mint flavors saw dust

[@michaelwheadon1078]

One thing I would like to add. I look at my stumps and evaluate my cut job. If you pretend that you can not improve on your technique ... some day it will catch up to you and bad things will happen.

[@sldulin]

so what is stressing your firs, is it bugs or fungus?

[@davefran01]

You and Buckin Billy the small wood wedge men , who always get them where they want them 😁

[@brianfoley4328]

wedging small trees? Why not just snap them in half with your bare hands?

[@digger413]

Different

[@АлексейК-г9т]

I think, it is pretty dangerous to hammer wedge in dead tree. Saw rotten top of dead birch, that detach easly.

[@Bushman9]

I think, you mean a rotted tree. Definitely could be trouble if the core of the tree was punky. Otherwise, only difference would be moisture level between a live, dying or dead tree.

[@АлексейК-г9т]

@@Bushman9 Core was indistinguishable during cutting, only top affected. Probably, some damage or abnormal development leads to rotten top, it is hard to find out. Anyway, extra caution needed when dealing with dead trees. Maybe, something could be seen in binoculars.

[@Bushman9]

@@АлексейК-г9т Odd. Trees, I thought, always rotted from the bottom up. But definitely, dead standing require extra caution. Especially when the bark is starting to fall off. That’s a good sign that limbs could break off from vibration… wedge hammering being the most impactful.

[@iknownothing-m8c]

The best thing about one man videos is that every guy develops such awful humor when they're alone. 😂👌

[@saltrock9642]

My wife watched this video. She says Wilson and I share DNA. 😂

[@fuegonater]

It's really interesting how all your trees are limbed up high. That doesn't happen naturally when they are spaced as far apart as you have them. You must have done a bunch of work.

[@acajutla]

It's called thinning

[@JohnComeOnMan]

Hmm, did you just hint that we're gonna see a tree-cutting blokette on the channel soon?

[@jimputnam2044]

So at 2:25 did it fall forward or backwards.

[@MsdMakingSawDust]

Now you got me confused ……… dead dying , dying dead ……dying but not dead ? Dead and is dying ? OK ITS DEAD !! TIMBER…….

[@allenandmain]

Rain?

[@danieloblinger1199]

The word is felling not falling.

[@billy-go9kx]

Did that tree flip you off?

[@dirkdevreker5168]

Thank you. I really learned something !!! Usefull !!

[@loggerjohn01]

I think your saw is too small for these huge trees lol.

[@DanielAtkinsFirewood]

😂😂

[@ericconner9971]

You did it wrong. I don’t cut trees for a living and I don’t have a better way to do it. But you did it wrong anyway

[@AlexSlader-pc4gm]

Wow, what an insightful comment!

[@ericconner9971]

@ I try my best to

[@annaaron3510]

Great tutorial for small wood. BUTT--do not quit your day job for stand up comedian please. (Just kidding ).

[@zeke1eod]

Thanks for sharing. Stay safe, and God bless