modified coos bay

[murphy4trees]

modified coos bay in this case means making a front kerf cut instead of a notch, which was used to shorten up the needed length of the side cuts.

probably 44 to 50 inches diameter at the cut, using only a 24 inch bar.

I intentionally stopped cutting so I could video the fall. as a result this one did barberchair, which surprised me (though it was not completely unexpected) as I didn't think there was enough connected fibers between the stump and the log to split the trunk. And if I had kept cutting this tree would not have barberchaired, so the technique does work well.

this was a massive white ash with a whole lot of front lean. for those not familiar the white ash is by far the species most prone to barberchair in this area.

I know the technique has been discussed here before.

 

[Nutball]

Video please.

White... what? Oak? I'm thinking Ash by the bark?

 

[murphy4trees]

That was a typo above.. definitely white ASH

 

[stig]

Sure must be nice to work in an environment where you can do stuff that kills loggers just for the fun of it.

Nice matching cuts BTW.

 

[Frankie]

I’m a girl watcher ... I’m a girl watcher ... watching girls go by

 

[Nutball]

So you had plenty of time to finish the cut, why did you decide not to? Could have kept a little tripod handy for the camera. I thought I recognized that video from a while ago.

Why did you decide on no normal face cut? Just to experiment? How did you safely resolve the situation having a giant log 20ft in the air?

 

[flushcut]

That's no Coos Bay. I would have labeled it Modified back cut or some other random name.

 

[murphy4trees]

NO tripod. I honestly didn't think there was enough wood fiber remaining between the tree and the stump to barberchair it. I was filming with an android phone.

I was basically cutting a coos bay so no face was needed. I only put the front kerf undercut in because I was using such a short bar.

When we cut the wood up about 40 feet, it released some compression, the log twisted and slid right off the pedestal. That was a lot easier than it looked like it was going to be.

The barber chair actually saved me a lot of time on this job by splitting the main stem like that, I was able to cut longer pieces, and grip them the grapple bucket. The entire rounds would have been to big to grip.

And I only had a 24" bar on site, so I was able to cut the biggest pieces much more easily. It would have been a hassle to try to cut that big wood with a 24" bar, and there were places it may have been over 48".

We were in a big hurry as this was the only window of dry weather in a while and it was supposed to rain that night and lawn preservation was a major concern. We got there late per the description, maybe 1:23 PM. So I could have made a face cut and plunged the back cut, but that would have taken a whole lot more time. Time was actually the deciding factor.

 

[murphy4trees]

That's no Coos Bay. I would have labeled it Modified back cut or some other random name.

Pretty sure there was a thread about the coos bay and maybe it was Rocky that mentioned he cuts them like that. Basically, shorten the side cuts up by making a kerf cut undercut. The only thing to be careful of is that you don't cut so far in as to pinch the bar, which who can really say how far that is going to be given the mass and lean of that tree. This one wasn't hollow, but that's another x-factor cause of bar pinch.

 

[murphy4trees]

Something similar this afternoon.

this ash was front leaning 25 degrees or more

I could have tied it up, but I trust the cut .

It had so much front lean that the little kerf cut began to pinch.

 

[gf beranek]

I don't think that was a coos bay cut. Looked more like a backcut and barberchair.

 

[Frankie]

It’s an optical illusion

 

[Tree09]

By definition a coos bay can't cause a barberchair tho, right? That's kinda the whole point of it all i thought.

 

[lxskllr]

I think it probably could, but it reduces the chances. You have to get through the post cut as fast as possible.

 

[murphy4trees]

I don't think that was a coos bay cut. Looked more like a backcut and barberchair.

The tree fell almost directly to where I was standing when taking this photo, so the kerf cut was made perpendicular to the lay. And no it's not a coos bay. I called it something similar.

 

[Nutball]

The boos cay cut.

 

[murphy4trees]

there are definitely some cracks in the trunk. but it held together.
I could have easily strapped the trunk above the cut, but I trusted it.

I'm not sure if that trunk cracked when it hit the ground or it happened during the cut.
The trunk was leaning and clearly bowed, but I don't think it would have cracked the trunk all the way to the but, so I'm pretty sure that it cracked during the cut.

And for clarity, one of those black lines is a stick, the other two are the crack. And it's weird how the trunk rolled after impact. I should have that on another camera

 

[Nutball]

By now you know Ash tends to split. Good firewood too, I like mine split to about 8x12x18"

 

[murphy4trees]

I dropped three loads of ash on the F550 12' flatbed at my buddy's house today. He brought out a donut and a tasty plate of rice and beans as a gesture of thanks. Ash is pretty much the only tree around here that you really need to be careful not to barberchair. While any tree has the potential if there is enough force in play, ash is notorious. That's why I use it to experiment with. 5 years from now there won't be many left.