Crane picks cutting style

woodworkingboy

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A guy showed me this method awhile back, one advantage being in that when done correctly, there is little tendency for the saw to bind, and also the big plus of the butt of the tree being held in position by the ears sticking up, until the crane makes the lift. With risks to anything close that could be damaged if the butt swings, it works very well.

I was hesitant to use it, because of the additional time involved, compared to just whacking the tree off straight across, but now that I've learned it, have come to rely on it for almost every large crane pick these days. On smaller trees, you can just leave the ears sticking up on two opposing sides.

It's enjoyable in trying to get your cuts precise, and the secret to success is after reaming through on two sides, going around to stick the nose of the saw through the reams and cleaning out the middle of the tree from each side well, so the cuts meet. When slanting down with the saw to finish it, the order of cuts lets the tree get shifted in one direction or another if necessary, depending on the position of the crane boom, and where the object that can be potentially damaged is located. Any binding is quickly relieved. Lastly, the tree can get leaned away from the vulnerable object, but still is held in position when the final cut is completed.

I have never seen anybody else using it, besides the person who showed me, and folks that I've shown it to. Some sacrifice if the wood in the butt is highly valuable, but it's really a cool method, imo. Not such great precision here from yesterday's job, but I think you can get the idea.
 

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Not that I have ever done a crane job.... But that sure looks like some extra effort compared to the traditional cuts I have seen. But hey if it works...
 
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  • #5
That was my take as well, Stephen, but once learned, and when working with an operator who knows what you're doing, and no verbal communication required, it's very efficient and quick. I've shown it to some folks, and they all use it now. It always gets met with skepticism about the seeming extra work.
 
When I'm cutting and lifting big wood chunks with my material handler, I often have to come down to make my cut and then raise up to tension the winch and lift the log. I cannot just cut it off because my material handler doesn't reach up above the bucket and I cannot just drop logs and shock load the boom.

Anyway, my preferred cut on straight up and down logs is simply a snap cut. There is still a danger of the log falling and shock loading the boom before I can get above the load, but it usually holds quite well until I wiggle the log back and forth to snap it off.

Your 'ears' look a lot like a cradle for the log where it just sits in there like a bowl. I think I prefer utilizing the strength of the wood fiber itself to hold the log in place until I lift it.
 
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  • #8
I'd be interested in what you see as the drawbacks, Wiley. Please explain.

That's it, Skwerl, acts like a cradle. Have yet to see a tree break out of it, even with small ears, since no momentum is going. A tiny ear will hold two tons easily.
 
Thats a new one on me.
I say dont knock till u try it though , so im all "Ears",,, pun intended.
 
3 cuts that have to meet. On the size stem in the pic, 1 cut with a single strap overhead would be perfect.
The ability to use a wedge is lost.
If any wood is left in the center, it is now more difficult for the operator to clean the pick off due to the binding action of the cradle.
On any diameter over 24" it looks to be a royal pain.

I use load calcs and clean pass thru cuts. Or offset snap cuts, again with load calcs being performed in 95% of the crane ops. I'll keep the fact in mind that somewhere, someone employs this new method. I see no benefit to using it in any circumstance at any tempo of operation.
 
I start my cut on the side that it'll break away from, working around (and setting my wedge at this point) to the other side and then slice through. No drama, hopefully.
 
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  • #12
I see the hesitations. I will say that the advantages of the method are a factor of how adept at it you are, the accuracy and thoroughness of the cuts. If you do leave holding wood in the middle, it can be a hassle. There was a learning curve for me. As I mentioned, a big plus to the method, is when no movement horizontally of the butt is allowable after completing the cut. The tree won't turn either, basically, and if something doesn't look kosher, the operator just need lower the pick....you can get a rope on it, whatever. The couple inches lift but still secure, lets you see what is going on, gives some time to get a handle on it if required. I've used all the standard cut methods when doing crane removals, I think. This way I explained, has just become matter of course for me now, in part a habit, when it isn't necessary.
 
A fellow I know uses a cut to provide similar results. He didn't have a name for it. So I called it a trap cut. In that it traps the butt of the stem in between the cuts.

In the past if I ever felt the butt of the work may kick out towards me from the way it's rigged I have made the cut with a ledge on a particular side, but essentially a snap cut nonetheless.

To each his own in this respect. If it works for you then by all means.
 
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  • #16
Trap cut....appropriate name.

I didn't like it when a big tree would drop down on the bar. My technique may have been lacking...not using a wedge, etc. This method alleviates that.

We run into a lot of tight situations here.
 
Jay the problem I see from a crane operators eye is this cut has no obvious direction (cuts do have a direction in relation to the choke and tip position) it limits what the operator can effectively do with the boom because of its "trapping" function. choke point placement is vital on smooth picks, with a single sling it would be difficult to get the benefit of that pinch point and boom tip placement.
 
maybe on a hollow trunk...wedges seem to work ok for me. Most of our crane jobs are in tight spots too. I think the skill of the operator to be smooth as well as the rigger to sling it right are more critical then the actual cut.
 
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  • #19
I see your point. Perhaps it can be better envisioned, and I don't want to flog a dead horse here, but the ability of the tree to lean in a desirable way, is dependent on the order of the horizontal slanting cuts. With a lot of crane picks here, we have the most desirable angle/direction that we want the butt of the tree to pull away from the stump toward, if not a direct vertical lift, or just leaving in the direction of the crane, which is probably the most common one with a long reach.

You've got the tree held on the three exterior points, basically, and say that first cutting the ear in the direction that you want the butt to leave is a given, the butt isn't going to drop down, then cutting the ear next to it and leaving the one on the far side for last.....once you've opened it up like that, even with the far attachment still intact, the crane can pull the tree over in the direction you want, in any direction really, the holding wood fibers will stretch a lot, you can actually lean the thing over more that you might expect. Some trees will tear away the final ear if it is too small, or the crane exerts too much pull, the point being that you've got a lot of movement available with still an attachment point going on. If I didn't explain it well, that is the sweet thing, I believe. The tree is cradled, but it isn't held solid so it cant lean. Going over to the far corner to cut last, and having the tree pulled slightly away from it, eliminates any tendency to bind, and you're directional advantage that you desire, is in effect. Too much pull over and the fibers will break and can catch the bar, so it takes some coordination with the operator. We will often have a brief conversation about which cut to make last, so he knows how to orient the boom. I'll give him a sign when I go to do the last cut, so everything is understood and flows. Often when you are pulling straight up, there will have been no discernible movement of the butt through the whole operation, the cuts are completed and it might appear that the tree is still attached, but it leaves vertically effortlessly when the crane lifts. It's neat.

I think that the method is an advantage rather than a disadvantage, given the variable in which you have the tree cabled off, as mentioned. The cable attachment orientation is less critical when you have the boom able to work for you, and the tree can be shifted to a greater degree before leaving. With the standard snap cut, you don't really have this so much, with only the width of the kerf to allow the tree to be pulled over, and then there is the binding which can come into effect as well, and if you pull a tree over with the snap cut, it's going to take a walk when it leaves. With the whole middle of a tree cleaned out, and three voids along the perimeter as well, you can really lean the sucker over if required. It usually isn't, but some lean is a very positive thing in a tight situation, is my take.

I guess my main point on this, is that the method gives some directional advantages while the tree being held secure, if required, including after the final cut is completed.

I've never explained the advantages sufficiently until someone sees it being used, and then the interest heightens.

I can't draw worth beans either :(
 
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