Analyze this stump...!!

Bermy

Acolyte of the short bar
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Tasmania
I was on holiday in Australia, and found this stump when we overnighted at a campsite in the Grampian mountains in SA. It was called Smith's Mill after a family logging/milling business that used to be in the area for many years 'back in the day'.

I went for a walk by the stream, looking at the old bits of machinery and stuff and came upon this stump in the bush. A very deliberate, complicated series of cuts, has anybody ever seen anything like it before? What would have been the point of cutting it like this?

The tree was about 15' from the stream and had been felled away from it. It didn't look particularly old...all burnt up though
 

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I reckon bottlejack to get it over the lean from the stream
 
its a bore cut set up fer multiple wedges. its used on heavy leaners. i wood think they had no pull rope on it and it took about 16 houndred wedges
 
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  • #6
I reckon bottlejack to get it over the lean from the stream

So you think they made the face, came round the back, cut a platform and a slot for the jack put it in place, then cut the two horizontal backcut sides then the vertical bores on either side of the bottlejack? It looks like the right side vertical bore cut was the release with the fibre pull pattern...
 
The slotted section in the middle might have been intended to help prevent twisting on the stump? If it was a heavy leaner and they needed a jack, then it would also make sense that it could have easily been a heavy side leaner.

Idunno, just guessing here. :|:
 
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  • #11
Maybe Stig fell that while he was there and that's as far as his short bars could reach.:lol:

Ha, ha! I was looking for signatures...it certainly is a work of art...
Imagine finding this in the middle of nowhere going on a random walk...only a treegeek would have these in their holiday picture album.:)
 
Looks like a tongue-and-groove.

Not a good one, but hey... it obviously worked.
 
ekka felled it...he had a vid bout that funky hinge thingy, if I remember correctly
 
Looks like a tongue-and-groove.

Not a good one, but hey... it obviously worked.
thats what i was thinking but instead i called it a bore cut. we dont see that cut used too often in pa. i am wondering if this cut is mostly used on evergreens? we have mostly hardwoods
 
I remember reading about it, I guess at AS? It's suposed to help guide a heavy leaner that is weighted to one side or the other.
The theory goes that th tounge keeps it from twisting on the stump so you can overcome the lean.
Beyond my skills!
 
obvious 50 cal :what:
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Tongue and Groove, as already stated.

Here's Ekka's vid I found on youtube.
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  • #20
ekka felled it...he had a vid bout that funky hinge thingy, if I remember correctly

Nope...left him away up in Queensland...I did actually meet the fellow...:/: at an Aussie ISA shindig...

Back to the tree, that's an awfully complicated way to fell a leaner...thanks for the vid ranger...that would appear to solve my mystery, I knew I'd get the answer posting here!
 
So the point of the technique is to be able to place a wedge on a small diameter tree before it sits back? Why not either make the backcut first or do a quarter-cut style backcut or a regular bored backcut and pound the wedge from the side. Any one of them is better than that goofy method. I've seen it demonstrated but never used...that says a lot right there.
 
Yeah the bottle jack idea didnt add up as if you look at the dropped tree the whole of the back rectangular "tounge" is still there so no place to put the jack. Interesting technique, might us it on a leaner if it didnt matter too much if it went bad otherwise Id just go ahead and top it..... Im a wuss.
 
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