Plastic wedge “repair”

Treeaddict

Treeaddict

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So we’re getting dumped on from the remnants of Ophelia. I was supposed to deadwood a white oak and remove a couple lower beech limbs. I was looking forward to it but not happening now. I want to get into something tree related at least. How about grinding/sanding plastic felling wedges? Most of them had their tip cut off and won’t insert into the kerf anymore. I’d be changing the lifting angles to repoint them. Not sure if it would not penetrate at a steeper angle. Anyone “fixed” their wedges with good success?
 
Good success? No, but that's because I'm lazy and impatient. There's a limited amount of time I want to dedicate to them, and a proper job with my skills exceeds that. A double taper wedge shouldn't be too hard to do. Grind the tip til it's an appropriate size to start, and transition it into the main body. Careful doing it inside, especially with an electric grinder. It makes a lot of dust and fumes. The health detriments might outweigh the value of a used up $10 wedge. A respirator is warranted. I use a handcranked grinder outside.
 
Gerry's book got me onto this ... do it regularly , mostly on the mushroomed big side with an axe with good results , have tried grinding the small end with little success (not really worth the effort)
 
I always pick up a wedge or two when im at vermeer, my local saw shop did just get some redheads finally tho so no more 40 minute drive

ive never re pointed a wedge, I keep my cut and broken ones for when I need to double stack and to follow a saw, shorter wedge with less to hit the chain, but I always have new wedges long before I need to "sharpen" mine
ive also got some tiny ones, I think 4 or 6", love those things, and they are so short and stubby that they dont hit the saw very much
 
Re did the pointy end on a few with a sander. Of course, shorter and changes pitch. Where I use these is before I'll stack and/or in smaller wood. But you have to start with a slender wedge and then add them for more lift. All they are good for IMO. Only keep 4 of those. I'll buy more before I repair any more. Rarely use them.
Steeper angle means they can pop back out easier.
Wedges are a cheap consumable.
And most you guys got to quit fuggen around and get some hard heads in different lengths andpitch.
Just my .02
 
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I did pick up 2 hard heads. I like em. Need more. I really like the mini wedges as well: 4”

Gave one hard head to John and the other only gets used when I can be certain the chain won’t hit it🤣
 
ive got one hard head, ive seen where the endcap will break off when you hit it too hard but havent had that happen yet

me personally I reach for a K&H before any other, they just seem to work better (and not snap like the tractor supply ones)
I do however have a TSC yellow wedge with a dynaglide loop on it incase I need a wedge up in the tree, yes the last 2" of it snapped clean off lol
 
A ferrier file (horse shoe file) works very well for knocking down the mushroom and keeps the plastic dust from blowing all over your shop and sticking to anything with a static charge.
 
I never messed about with the tip...changing the lift angles wasn't really worth it, just replace when those are gone too far. Plenty of uses left if the tip thickness is not much over the kerf width. Beyond that, discard.

I trim mushroomed backs down by driving the wedge into a kerf on top of a log or stump, so it stands vertical, then use the chainsaw to square them up. It's fast and easy.
 
You should be able to reshape the wedges easily if you have access to a milling machine. The mill bits cut the plastic like butter, allowing to cut out all the surface. The slope stays the same and you can even mill some little steps (inverted) to prevent spit out. The downside is a bit of loss in lifting when fully driven in, but the functionality should be like new.
 
Burnham said:
I never messed about with the tip...changing the lift angles wasn't really worth it, just replace when those are gone too far. Plenty of uses left if the tip thickness is not much over the kerf width. Beyond that, discard.

I trim mushroomed backs down by driving the wedge into a kerf on top of a log or stump, so it stands vertical, then use the chainsaw to square them up. It's fast and easy.
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i‘ve done that but felt guilty for all the plastic shavings flying around :) i‘ve seen people use those oscillating saws to trim wedges, seemed to work great and easy to contain the shavings/off-cuts.
 
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Related topic: has anyone been injured from flying plastic mushroomed burrs separating when pounding? Obviously steel NEEDS to be ground when mushroomed for safety. Not sure the plastic matters as much? Stacking would be hard with severely shroomed heads but not sure about safety.
 
friedrich said:
i‘ve done that but felt guilty for all the plastic shavings flying around :) i‘ve seen people use those oscillating saws to trim wedges, seemed to work great and easy to contain the shavings/off-cuts.
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I guess that's a fair point...but think maybe I have more seriously bad deeds to feel guilty about that this one. I definitely have to manage the time spent feeling guilty about my environmental degradations ;).
 
Treeaddict said:
Related topic: has anyone been injured from flying plastic mushroomed burrs separating when pounding? Obviously steel NEEDS to be ground when mushroomed for safety. Not sure the plastic matters as much? Stacking would be hard with severely shroomed heads but not sure about safety.
Click to expand...
Stacking sucks with mushrooms.

I've converted to thrift store cutting boards cut into various sizes and shapes of stacking plates.
Thanks, @stig !!
 
If you mill plastic use an old mill. Plastic takes the edge off just like styrofoam dulls a jack knife edge. Maybe carbide mills are ok.(?) Wondered if plastic acts similarly on file teeth.
 
The reason they're plastic is because they'll likely get saw kisses. If you're spending more than maybe 30 seconds faffing with fixing a wedge, your doing it wrong. They are a disposable, consumable product.

They do not belong in a mill. That is not what a mill is for. You're doing it wrong and you should feel bad.

When the head gets shroomy, I might MIGHT dress it some with an axe on the stump. More likely it goes in the pile for the chainsaw mill, where mushroomed heads don't matter. Sometimes, I just cut the head off, because I buy the long RNA wedges, so I've got room to do that.
 
That sumbitch ain't felt bad a day in his life. He'd put this wedge in a mill, and think he's extra clever for it! 20240102_111619.jpg 20240102_111643.jpg

Like I said, they're long enough, that when they get good and boogered, past what can be shaved with an axe on a stump, I simply behead them. Also, the logo tickles me... 20240102_112028.jpg
 
That's a chonky wedge! I don't think I've seen one that thick before. Looks like it might be wider than average also.
 
12in long, about an inch and a half thick at the head. Lotsa lift! Stippled surface so they don't spit too bad.

Bit of a learning curve when I first went to them. Lots of "side stacking", where you parralel the bar in the kerf, from both sides so the points of the wedges overlap. I'll go whip a kerf into something and snap a pic for illustration.

They'll rip a hinge right out of the stump if you're not careful on the smaller trees.

You start stacking these babies, the shits already gotten real.
 
Not the best scenario, obviously, but serves to clarify. 20240102_114236.jpg

The real finesse part is not getting carried away with either wedge, since it'll tip the tree out of the lay, or worse, snap the hinge and drop the stem over your shoulder.

Had to do it with the smaller wedges all the time in little wood, so the technique was developed well before my big RNA wedges came into play.

Not my most advisable trick, but it can pull you out of the bite.
 
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