Wall of Shame: Wannabe Experts

[SeanKroll]

Wedging trees is an art that many are not familiar with.


Instead of pulling harder, more wedging!

 

[cory]

Wedges probably aren't the answer for that hog

 

[davidwyby]

Maybe some old redwood wedges

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Fug no

 

[davidwyby]

Fug no

I just meant if you were gonna insist on wedging, that’s all that would do it.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Sitting too hard back, you would destroy a redwood wedge before you would get it to sink. So. Still no.
Or did you mean "redhead"
And still, hard head would serve better or magnesium IMO

 

[davidwyby]

Sitting too hard back, you would destroy a redwood wedge before you would get it to sink. So. Still no.
Or did you mean "redhead"
And still, hard head would serve better or magnesium IMO

The monster thin steel wedges they used to tip the redwoods before jacks.

I’m not dumb enough to think you could wedge a tree with essentially cedar. I’ve tried euc and it doesn’t hold up.

 

[SeanKroll]

Multi-prong approach.

I have wedged some big trees. A bottle jack, if you don't have a real tree jack is a whole lotta 'go over there" with plenty of tight wedges. I've only jacked big trees with Silvey jacks.

He called for more rope force which went from whole lotta (insufficient) pull to zero when it broke.

2 more (good rope-angle) ropes on two more machines would have also been a good way.

5 long wedges can do a lotta lifting.

10, twice as much.




How much backweight does it seem to have had?

 

[flushcut]

Wedges aren’t that effective in trees with large canopy spreads. You might get the log to tip but the back weight can balance out a lot of wedge.

My SOP for big pull trees is to cut some of the back weight off first. They had the gear on site it wouldn’t have taken that much more time to rig out the back weight so they could destroy what ever pavement later.

And leaving a good hinge is probably a solid idea.

 

[davidwyby]

Wedges aren’t that effective in trees with large canopy spreads. You might get the log to tip but the back weight can balance out a lot of wedge.

My SOP for big pull trees is to cut some of the back weight off first. They had the gear on site it wouldn’t have taken that much more time to rig out the back weight so they could destroy what ever pavement later.

And leaving a good hinge is probably a solid idea.

It’s funny that comes up. After slamming one tree after another for a couple days, I’ve got a lot of felling stuff rattling around in my nugget. Wedging is way harder on back weighted short wide canopy “yard trees” vs. conifers. The hardwood resists bending more. The center of gravity is way further back and possibly much heavier. The conifer is taller and once the weight is shifted forward (usually not having to travel as far) the weight helps you and has the leverage of the long trunk to pull it over. This is why I often use Bjarne’s power wedges and a heavy axe. I put lots of them in there and pace myself beating them.

Not a great example or video but it is possible with a lot of wedges. Before I discovered power wedges

 

[davidwyby]

With a real gnarly back weight I do the same, take it off, or pull it.

 

[SeanKroll]

How much back weight compared to front weight? The trunk looks reasonably straight. The crown goes front and back.

Pulling/ wedging/ jacking force had to overcome that difference in weight plus bend whatever hinge is present.

Enough oomph will tip anything.

Once we had a terribly rotten maple backleaner. Too rotten to cut.
Leaning way back.

I weakened the tree with only a backcut while attached to the St Parks 40 y.o.Garrett skidder that had a hella skookum winch (skidder butted against a strong tree). Not enough to pull over. Weakened some more. Cleared out, again. My boss pulled the whole thing over backwards. We didn't use the 1/2"/ 34000 pound mbs Amsteel, rather steel cable.

Enough speed and power of pull and you can flip anything, anywhere... give a big enough lever...





I wouldn't have done it their way at all.


Who was it?