Thought some would like this, of a pretty complicated log we cut out of a trail this week.
None of the crew I brought, (myself +3) had done crosscutting other than the training I gave them a week ago, and one day on the grade with a handful of pretty easy ones. A lot of things they will improve on with time, but they did great. I started and finished these cuts, to make sure they were set right and not damage the saw.
There were two logs across, the one on top knocked down the other, and then hit the boulder, partially broke and slid sideways, pinning the lower log and burying it in the trail. They were both suspended across the creek below the rock and the larger one was suspended over the trail.
A little clearer view from up top after I limbed it up. Nowhere easy to put the cut logs, lots of possibilities for stored energy, and it's all either way up off the ground or buried in the trail.
So first thing I want is to get that log to the right, underneath, out of the way. But I don't dare cut it under that break, as it's possible that the whole thing will come down off that rock after I cut the bottom log since its pinned. So I went down and cut it where its suspended over the creek. I could do it safely there and release any loading.
So far so good!
When the lower log dropped, the end that was buried in the trail lifted up. We also knew it wasnt going to turn loose the big log on the rock. So we could dig out under it, and make and easy cut to lop the end off.
I left the handle on this cut so he could hit that on the ground instead of the saw. Woking in a hole on the uphill side basically.
Speaking of saw, here she is. A 7' Simonds Royal Chinook. It's a beautiful bucking saw, fast and smooth, and great to single buck with.
Time to start on the next step. From what I could see, the log was resting on the rock, at the break. The rootball was connected, and there was both that and a lot of log uphill of where it rested from above. Enough to carry it in the air. But there isn't enough room to move this log we need to cut out in one piece. The rock wants to send it one way, and the bank uphill of the trail wants to send it the other way. If we took it in one piece, as it fell it would spin and lay down the trail behind the boulder. Then we'd have a problem!
So we cut here, by the rock first. A potentially dangerous cut that will have to be finished as a single buck, to keep everyone out from under the log if it falls off the rock once released. Also, we need to keep a close eye on that cut and the wedges tight in case I read the log wrong, or we will have a badly stuck saw.
The cut wasnt moving much, but it opened as we went. As soon as I drove a wedge I could tell it was good. I also knew the upper part was rock solid then. As soon as it started to pop a little, we went to single bucking.
We had put some padding down, but for fear of rocking the saw, right after this pic I jumped up and finished the cut, and it went fine.
She rolled out a bit, and then got bound up on the wedges. It was badly cracked and you can see that in the picture. Thats why no one was under there!
Now things are looking good. There's a lot of sawing to go, but the tension has mostly been unlocked and it's just a matter of getting it done.
As high off the ground as it was, the next cuts were all single bucked from uphill. We dug spots to stand, I started the cuts, then we all took turns.
Next cut. This piece is going to roll toward the sawyer off that rock, but we were high enough up the bank it wont hit anyone.
It held right to the last inch with the wedges locking it all together. I under underbucked a few strokes off to the side about an inch, and the whole thing came apart clean as a whistle without dragging the saw down. After that, It was easy enough with a couple of rock bars to get it on down the hill.
Saws cutting good. It was a green tree, but the middle was all soft whitespeck. It's prettyeasy to see in the pics. There was water in a couple of the cuts too. The combo makes for some grabby sawing, as the water swells the spongey fibers after cutting them and they bind the saw. It feels like your about to get pinched, even as the kerf is visibly widening at the top.
The green sapwood cuts good though!
On to the next cut.
We put a bunch of wood down as ramps to send this log along after it fell, and get it past the rock. Worked good! A couple minutes with the rock bars to turn it 90 degrees, and away that one goes.
We built a little rock repair for the hole in the trail, while the single bucking was going on. And in the end, had a good result. All told this took about 6 hours.
Thanks for coming along!
None of the crew I brought, (myself +3) had done crosscutting other than the training I gave them a week ago, and one day on the grade with a handful of pretty easy ones. A lot of things they will improve on with time, but they did great. I started and finished these cuts, to make sure they were set right and not damage the saw.
There were two logs across, the one on top knocked down the other, and then hit the boulder, partially broke and slid sideways, pinning the lower log and burying it in the trail. They were both suspended across the creek below the rock and the larger one was suspended over the trail.
A little clearer view from up top after I limbed it up. Nowhere easy to put the cut logs, lots of possibilities for stored energy, and it's all either way up off the ground or buried in the trail.
So first thing I want is to get that log to the right, underneath, out of the way. But I don't dare cut it under that break, as it's possible that the whole thing will come down off that rock after I cut the bottom log since its pinned. So I went down and cut it where its suspended over the creek. I could do it safely there and release any loading.
So far so good!
When the lower log dropped, the end that was buried in the trail lifted up. We also knew it wasnt going to turn loose the big log on the rock. So we could dig out under it, and make and easy cut to lop the end off.
I left the handle on this cut so he could hit that on the ground instead of the saw. Woking in a hole on the uphill side basically.
Speaking of saw, here she is. A 7' Simonds Royal Chinook. It's a beautiful bucking saw, fast and smooth, and great to single buck with.
Time to start on the next step. From what I could see, the log was resting on the rock, at the break. The rootball was connected, and there was both that and a lot of log uphill of where it rested from above. Enough to carry it in the air. But there isn't enough room to move this log we need to cut out in one piece. The rock wants to send it one way, and the bank uphill of the trail wants to send it the other way. If we took it in one piece, as it fell it would spin and lay down the trail behind the boulder. Then we'd have a problem!
So we cut here, by the rock first. A potentially dangerous cut that will have to be finished as a single buck, to keep everyone out from under the log if it falls off the rock once released. Also, we need to keep a close eye on that cut and the wedges tight in case I read the log wrong, or we will have a badly stuck saw.
The cut wasnt moving much, but it opened as we went. As soon as I drove a wedge I could tell it was good. I also knew the upper part was rock solid then. As soon as it started to pop a little, we went to single bucking.
We had put some padding down, but for fear of rocking the saw, right after this pic I jumped up and finished the cut, and it went fine.
She rolled out a bit, and then got bound up on the wedges. It was badly cracked and you can see that in the picture. Thats why no one was under there!
Now things are looking good. There's a lot of sawing to go, but the tension has mostly been unlocked and it's just a matter of getting it done.
As high off the ground as it was, the next cuts were all single bucked from uphill. We dug spots to stand, I started the cuts, then we all took turns.
Next cut. This piece is going to roll toward the sawyer off that rock, but we were high enough up the bank it wont hit anyone.
It held right to the last inch with the wedges locking it all together. I under underbucked a few strokes off to the side about an inch, and the whole thing came apart clean as a whistle without dragging the saw down. After that, It was easy enough with a couple of rock bars to get it on down the hill.
Saws cutting good. It was a green tree, but the middle was all soft whitespeck. It's prettyeasy to see in the pics. There was water in a couple of the cuts too. The combo makes for some grabby sawing, as the water swells the spongey fibers after cutting them and they bind the saw. It feels like your about to get pinched, even as the kerf is visibly widening at the top.
The green sapwood cuts good though!
On to the next cut.
We put a bunch of wood down as ramps to send this log along after it fell, and get it past the rock. Worked good! A couple minutes with the rock bars to turn it 90 degrees, and away that one goes.
We built a little rock repair for the hole in the trail, while the single bucking was going on. And in the end, had a good result. All told this took about 6 hours.
Thanks for coming along!
