Tree Felling Technique Thread

[XP_Slinger]

Rich river flat type of soil is what I've noticed where black walnut likes to grow. Too rocky around me until you drive further south, oak grows like grass here though.

@XP_Slinger just practice swing cuts when you can, even a quick dutchmen can make life easier.

I want to diversify my cutting skills for sure. Can you recommend a basic level type of swing cut to start with?

Y’all may chuckle at me but; what’s a Dutchmen? I’ve heard the term many times but have never looked into it.

 

[Skeans1]

I want to diversify my cutting skills for sure. Can you recommend a basic level type of swing cut to start with?

Y’all may chuckle at me but; what’s a Dutchmen? I’ve heard the term many times but have never looked into it.

A Dutchman is a bypass cut normally put in well sighting in the direction of fall.


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[XP_Slinger]

A Dutchman is a bypass cut normally put in well sighting in the direction of fall.


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Just looked it up, I’m an idiot. I use that all the time...lol! Didn’t know it had a name.

Sometimes I do it backwards by approaching the hinge at an angle in the back cut. Gotta be careful not to cut the hinge on the thin side though.

For others reference...

 

[RI Chevy]

In your pictute above Josh, where would the tree go? 10 to 11 o'clock? Verses 9 o'clock if the little Dutchman cut was not there?

 

[Ryan Browne]

In your pictute above Josh, where would the tree go? 10 to 11 o'clock? Verses 9 o'clock if the little Dutchman cut was not there?

The idea behind the Dutchman is to get the tree moving in one direction, then have it turn or swing. In the picture above, it's going to move left, or towards 9 o'clock until the narrow Dutchman pinches shut. Then, assuming the hinge holds, it'll swing away from us towards 10-11 o'clock.

Sometimes this is done to avoid obstacles, sometimes to overcome lean. If you can use a dutchman to get the tree in motion, then you can sometimes use the momentum that's been created to achieve motion in a different direction.

Edited to add: it's a little tough to describe the directions currently from that picture. It may be more like the tree was going left and a little towards us at first, maybe 8:00 instead of 9:00, but either way it will swing further away from us.

 

[RI Chevy]

OK. Thanks Ryan. Kinda what I thought. Seems like an advanced cut.
Next time I am in open field, I am going to experiment with some of these cuts. Instead of just the simple straight forward cut.

 

[XP_Slinger]

The idea behind the Dutchman is to get the tree moving in one direction, then have it turn or swing. In the picture above, it's going to move left, or towards 9 o'clock until the narrow Dutchman pinches shut. Then, assuming the hinge holds, it'll swing away from us towards 10-11 o'clock.

Sometimes this is done to avoid obstacles, sometimes to overcome lean. If you can use a dutchman to get the tree in motion, then you can sometimes use the momentum that's been created to achieve motion in a different direction.

Edited to add: it's a little tough to describe the directions currently from that picture. It may be more like the tree was going left and a little towards us at first, maybe 8:00 instead of 9:00, but either way it will swing further away from us.

Good post Ryan.

To help others, in simpler terms the tree should end up going toward the side of the hinge that’s thicker.

 

[ManiacalMark]

Apparently my term for quick dutchmen was taken too Dutchy. I meant quick dutchmen by taking your face out chop a piece off and put it back in the face.

 

[XP_Slinger]

Apparently my term for quick dutchmen was taken too Dutchy. I meant quick dutchmen by taking your face out chop a piece off and put it back in the face.

Never heard of that trick. Pretty slick

 

[beaglebriar]

Chestnut oak/white oak/cherry don’t grow out west and they pay good for veneer grade logs. Not too much black walnut here in New England. Most of that is in the Midwest it seems.

We have plenty of black walnut here. Not as common as say oak or Maple but any low lying area near a stream/river is likely to have some.

 

[ManiacalMark]

Never heard of that trick. Pretty slick

But remember that's usually something used for a tree thats not a crazy amount out of the lay.

 

[junkman]

Dutchmans work ,but not allowed in a lot of areas because are dangerous

 

[ManiacalMark]

Yeah definitely not an exact science to it

 

[Skeans1]

Apparently my term for quick dutchmen was taken too Dutchy. I meant quick dutchmen by taking your face out chop a piece off and put it back in the face.

That can work more like a soft face with a humboldt allowing the butt to slip and roll vs turn like a bypass Dutchman. Both have their places just like skipping stuff off the stump does something to add to the bag of tricks to make life easier.


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[hseII]

That wouldn’t fly here in the east tearing a lot of fiber loggin high $ hardwood trees, unless your just using it for firewood or not selling it. Seems like a different ball game out west. It is interesting to see the difference in styles of logging for the type of timber your cutting.

Notice where the fiber was mostly pulled from.


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[hseII]

Never heard of that trick. Pretty slick

Oh yeah.
You wanna see a top move, pitch a section of the face you just cut back in there on one side & watch it dance to the opposite side.


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[mdavlee]

Ash with some natural lean. No bore cut but a little fiber pull. I cut one beside it a couple years ago and bored into and when I got the hinge set it set down on the bar. The wedges in it wouldn’t lift and not enough room for more so it had to be pulled over

 

[mdavlee]

Never heard of that trick. Pretty slick

There’s one in this video of Jasha or treeslingr falling on fires backseveral years ago

 

[Drptrch]

There’s one in this video of Jasha or treeslingr falling on fires backseveral years ago

He’s an Ultra-Marathon’r now. Mad Man I tell ya


Erik

 

[Drptrch]

He’s an Ultra-Marathon’r now. Mad Man I tell ya


Erik

Footage of Jasha from this

https://www.hrcllc.com/pdf/History ...Sky_Statistics on Lightning Siege of 2008.pdf

Non-stop ignitions from a passing front

Was on the Shasta-T for 6 Weeks , finished on the Iron Complex out of Big Bar along the Trinity River, East of Weaverville and Redding.

Had the unfortunate crash of a Helo transporting crews down from Trinity Alps before a Storm set in

Iron 44
https://www.wildfirelessons.net/Hig...eb1-84a2-4819-8801-bc1b28288f01&forceDialog=0
RIP my friends !!



Erik