Where do you put your notch?

How high do you like your notch?

  • As low to the ground as possible

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Knee to waist height. I don't need to be bending over for no reason

    Votes: 11 42.3%
  • As high as I can

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • These polls never have enough options

    Votes: 10 38.5%

  • Total voters
    26

NickfromWI

King of Splices
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
4,992
Location
Snowless California
I saw a vid on here earlier today where someone was felling a cottonwood and his notch was above the fence. It made me wonder, where do you put your notch?
 
In the front of the tree.:lol:


If there is access for my crane truck, alap to avoid ending up with a silly little cookie.

If the stump is being ripped out with an excavator, anything up to head height. Once or twice 4 metres off the ground. (Ask Ed :D)

Otherwise, 2 firewood lengths up, for a nice comfy felling height. Your back will thank you.
 
Rarely as low as possible, due to straighter grain at waist height and better felling ergonomics. At State Parks, at least waist high if not higher, so people having cocktails in the campground are less likely to trip over them, and so they age into big crumbly stumps over time, providing habitat. If we find nails, and sometimes its when we find nails, we might drop lower to avoid them.
 
It really depends on the situation. Every tree is different. I would be close to Peter's 'two stove lengths" if cutting for myself or firewood, granting that I felt the tree would fall where I wanted it to, safely, if I cut it at that height. There are a lot of variables in falling a tree that might be taken into consideration, and I am not anywhere near the top of the heap when it comes to bringing trees down. I have done well enough to consider that I am either very lucky or blessed though...:)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7
... 2 firewood lengths up, for a nice comfy felling height. Your back will thank you.

Rarely as low as possible, due to ... better felling ergonomics.

I get that every tree is different and you often have to accomodate for the finer intricacies that each tree offer, but if we're talking a standard healthy-ish tree standing upright that is in someone's yard and is going to be cut down to ground level, why would you cut higher? I am of the opinion that you're gonna have to crouch down to make that ground level cut anyway. Might as well do it right off the bat.

What is the advantage to doing the felling cut a couple feet up, then finishing up from there?

love
nick
 
I saw a vid on here earlier today where someone was felling a cottonwood and his notch was above the fence. It made me wonder, where do you put your notch?

Had to high stump that one cause of rot down below. And the beavers (nutria acually) had faced up the tree down low... had it headed for the neighbor's house, lol.

If I'm falling timber, I do whatever the boss man says or the bid info says, etc., etc.

If I'm falling hazard trees, I try and find where the best holding wood will be. Generally though, they are getting high stumped - makes me a smaller target for widowmakers and increases my vertical awareness. (Which can be further increased with a conventional face cut.)
 
In addition to other factors mentioned above, cutting alap usually involves cutting in an area where dirt etc is on the stump so therefore the alap process is much more easily accomplished by cutting alap with technique the dirt requires without having to deal with felling the tree at the same time as cutting alap, so you have a better chance of your saw still being sharp when you are done.
 
Ditto what Cory said. A stump cut is simply lining up your ALAP cut and circling the stump. It seems like those who put their notch at ground level either leave the stump 2"-3" too high and/or they have to deal with root flares affecting the notch. I can make a much more accurate notch when it's up high enough for me to see it and not worry about dirt in the chain.
 
i low stump all timber on the 1st cut, not to waste scale
i high stump in dirty situations
and above fence height when there is metal in them

i have some pics of gary dumping a 6 ft dia cypress, at fence height, standing on his tippy toes
 
I put it as low as practical, we nearly always grind the stumps and dealing with an extra nugget and the time associated with cutting it isn't to my liking.
 
I get that every tree is different and you often have to accomodate for the finer intricacies that each tree offer, but if we're talking a standard healthy-ish tree standing upright that is in someone's yard and is going to be cut down to ground level, why would you cut higher? I am of the opinion that you're gonna have to crouch down to make that ground level cut anyway. Might as well do it right off the bat.

What is the advantage to doing the felling cut a couple feet up, then finishing up from there?

love
nick

Cause it's easier to keep an eye on things, easier to skeedaddle if needed, might be a sweep in the trunk that you want to use to your advantage or one you want to get above, or decay to avoid or to make sure the tree fits in the yard or so you can jump it over the sprinkler head or.....
 
Usually at one fire wood length.
It avoids the root flare, it's at right high for cutting with a knee on ground, easier to sight (in opposite to alap), easier to smack the wedges with the maul (in opposite with 2 lengths) and keeps the chain sharp for bucking. The stump cut alap is often my last big cut of the job, so it's less important (and less stress in my mind) if the chain become dull with grit or rocked by an included stone.
Not funny in you cut throw a dirt pocket during the falling cut.

I can't get how the forestry workers manage this point with the alap cuts for valuable logs all the day.
 
Since the vast majority of felling I do is of trees deemed hazardous in one way or another, I always like to perform those cuts standing up, so getting away from the stump quickly is easier. I couldn't care less about having to whack off another chunk afterwards, should that be needed...I like life :).

Beyond that, I'm with Willie.
 
To help this thread be a little more valuable, maybe we could discuss the reasons for making the notch higher or lower? Here are some that spring to mind for me:
1. Sometimes you have to move it up or down to avoid knots or cavities.
2. Sometimes when falling on steep ground I go low with an extra wide notch so the holding wood never breaks, which (usually) keeps the trunk from sliding down hill.
3. Sometimes I go high in order to give the butt some air time to clear an obstacle.
4. But unless the situation dictates otherwise, I usually just make it at about waist height where it is most comfortable.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21
And I never really thought of it, but reading the thread has shown, "It makes for an easier getaway in case things go squirrelly"
 
Most decidedly. I suppose in the urban/suburban environment there are better opportunities to observe loose bits that might fall out during sizeup, and the usual scenario I face where I'm felling through the crowns of adjacent trees is less common, the risks of sticking around the base of the tree are lower, but nonetheless...

I'm strongly in favor of being able to see the top as I'm felling, and one can do that much better from an upright posture. And then, should you decide to bail for any reason, it's far faster to be away if you're already standing.

Sean's points are all valid.
 
Ditto .That low as possible might be the thing for veneer cutters but these old knees don't get me up fast enough in case I might get bonked in the noggin . By golly the old feet can still boogie if I'm upright from the start .:)
 
I think Willie answered this question as well as it can be answered.

There is no finite answer, it depends on the tree and the situation.

That said, Y'all know I put 99% of mine 3-4 inches above ground level.
 
I take it the other 1% are really valuable trees where you can't afford to leave the stump that high?! :lol:
 
Back
Top