Tell me I'm wrong--wranglerstar!

B

BG_Farmer

Joined
Mar 13, 2014
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I thought I was imagining this video, but I found it again accidentally last week!

[video]https://youtu.be/fTC25KlVB3E[/video]

Is it just me or does he fell the tree "sorta" toward his backing cut? I also think the limbing technique is about as wrong as possible, but not really dangerous like his felling. I've had a few falls go awry due to unexpected wind, unseen vines, etc, , and what impresses me is how unperturbed he seems! Have I been cutting down trees wrong all my life?! Should I have videoed all these accidents as instructional material?
 
He's in his own back 40 I suppose, maybe his front cut wasn't quite deep enough?
It's only Wranglerstar though, not someone to watch for expertise.
 
Front cut wasn't deep enough, back cut could have been a little higher. But sometime even when it's done correctly the tree doesn't do what you have planned. I wouldn't have posted that video as a how to, maybe a how not too.

CaptureWranglerstar.JPG
 
I would really feel bad if someone got hurt emulating some of the things he does. In my opinion some of his "techniques" are just an accident waiting to happen.

In this thread I responded to a challenge from post #65 re Cody Crone (aka wranglerstar):
Bladite said:
. . .
i suggest you show us your CV and your journey . . .

anyone that says he's doing it wrong? cool. show me, tell me, prove to me, you know better, that benefits everyone. if you can't or won't? eh, next.
. . .
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In the spirit of "that benefits everyone" I replied (post #66) with my opinion of one of his videos. As I said in that post "I'm not claiming to be right or to be argumentative. There are just some things here that I wouldn't do.".
 
Looked to be leaning that way to me, but a video isn't much proof. I don't think depth of cut matters for direction of fall, in this case at least (you can cause a twist for a certain degree of the lay, but not go 180, or even 90 without some leverage help). The problem would be if it is leaning heavily and you cut the back cut first you may be risking a barberchair (Basically he cut out the greatest strain on the tree first). Probably just a mistake of not taking the lean into account. I did it once when I was learning.

That size of a tree you could probably push, if there's not too much of a lean and you cut lower. I cut as reasonably low as possible, but really only for safety reasons. Upswings are insanely dangerous if you use any power, and a glance from either upswing or downswing can come back towards you. If you've ever seen a timbersports competitor glance an upswing you'll know what I'm talking about, you would have to control it so it doesn't hit you in the face. And a glanced downswing could cut your leg off.

His method seems very common though. I guess people think they save energy if they use only their arms and never bend down.

As for limbing, normally you notch out, so a closer angled hit to the branch and then one parallel with the tree. If the limb is essentially cut out then it's easier to drag or carry, and you don't have to worry so much about cuts to your body or clothing.

Goes to show how much thought is required for axe use compared to saws, and chainsaws especially. The majority of axe users would probably be in a situation like his, to be honest.
 
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as a Professional lumberjack i would not contract him,but a proper fellow!

at first sight he makes 1° notch the wrong side, then and so it bends back at the end, and more dangerousely tree makes not a complete half turn,but close to, while falling.

in his defence,is he very acurate,but slow (i mean carefull) with his axes blows.
 
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heres an old video ive made to demonstrate how i chop down a dead tree using a double bit axe. wouldnt say its the best method or that I am quick, but at least my tree fell the way i intended it to! Hehe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3RzmxeZyfM

Feel free to laugh, I dont claim to be a pro, im just having fun.
 
RixAxe said:
Front cut wasn't deep enough, back cut could have been a little higher. But sometime even when it's done correctly the tree doesn't do what you have planned. I wouldn't have posted that video as a how to, maybe a how not too.

CaptureWranglerstar.JPG
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FortyTwoBlades said:
That is often the case with his videos. Part of why I loathe his gross abuse of the word "proper".
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With commentary and post mortem analysis, it could have been useful. As is, I fear most viewers see the proper axe and spiffy clothes and assume that " that is how to fell a tree!". Unfortunately, felling even a smallish tree can be lethal.



rjdankert said:
I would really feel bad if someone got hurt emulating some of the things he does. In my opinion some of his "techniques" are just an accident waiting to happen.
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I'm not sure he realized how wrong it went.
 
I have said it time and again - this guy is, well I can't say it.

The amount of poor information, bad techniques, etc - is really of the charts overall.

Very bad. BAD BAD BAD.
 
RixAxe said:
Front cut wasn't deep enough, back cut could have been a little higher. But sometime even when it's done correctly the tree doesn't do what you have planned. I wouldn't have posted that video as a how to, maybe a how not too.

CaptureWranglerstar.JPG
Click to expand...

This wasn't a how-to, it was a "look what I'm doing today". It was part of a video series of him building a bridge in the field from start to finish for his wife. You should watch the whole thing, it's nice.

I have said it before and I may be in the minority, but I like the guy. That isn't a comment on his techniques at all, I know that I am a beginner with little experience. If strictly judging on his professionalism I can't argue with you, and I agree that many of his early stuff was of that flavor and could be a turn off. However, for quite a while now the tenor has changed, and for the last year or two he has been quite open about not being an expert and does not present that way. He frequently says thing s like "I'm not sure if this is correct but we will do our best and learn together." He always films his errors, leaves them in the video and comments on them, frequently laughing at himself. His attitude is much more humble than early on and he is very likable IMO. I just look at it as a guy doing what he loves and not afraid to put hard work in. When you see his videos through that lens they are quite enjoyable. Although he may use flawed techniques and is learning as he goes, I appreciate someone who is willing to try and do things rather than most people that just talk about it. (That isn't a comment on anyone here, but the populace in general).

But anyway, the guy took some trees down, converted them into boards and beams in the field and built a bridge by hand so that his wife could cross a stream without getting wet feet. Proper or not, give the guy some credit for doing it.
 
Seriously? She stands on the tree to buck it while it's still on the stump? That's some pretty basic physics... How do you not know better than that?
 
Ahh. Chopping relatively small trees is fun until one 'gets away' on you, and then all of a sudden you become a little more studious, and cautious, when attempting the next one. White Birch is a classic for suddenly breaking off, not maintaining the hinge direction, and without any warning.
 
I agree with JB that wranglerstar seems like a good guy. Definitely don't agree with the responses to comments and the celebrity status portrayed at times, but that goes with the territory and he seems to have considered how this popularity has changed him. He is just an average guy and that is how most work, not necessarily 'proper'.

The Fiskars video is a classic at least:
[video=youtube;4M58jaWHB84]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M58jaWHB84[/video]
 
rjdankert said:
Just for fun a fictional character felling a tree.

Ti-Jean Goes Lumbering
http://youtu.be/LM_a3gLvrc8







How does this stack up to Wranglerstar's "...It's time to get back to what is real..." method?

Bob
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Thank you for this! NFB (National Film Board of Canada) was gov't-sponsored and public-revered back in the day and inadvertently (thank you NFB, whose funded budgets have eroded into nothing over the past 50 years) recorded daily life and industry from all over Canada during the late 40s to the early 1970s. This story vignette was not composed in a movie set but at a real lumber camp in a real setting in central Quebec and the convenient characters in it must have all been awarded new checker-patterned 'horse blanket' wool coats from T. Eaton's and Hudson Bay Co in exchange for being actors in the film. Made in 1953 just before gas engines, tracked machines etc, trucking and chainsaws destroyed the traditional ways of doing things. Notice how 'Swede saws' had already become a mainstay over axes by that time. And notice how the chubby kid actor didn't seem to have any problem with appearing to be competent with horses, rigging or hand tools; probably because he grew up in a rural situation where TV, central heating, automobiles, piped water, flush toilets and electrical appliances were still novelties.
 
Chignecto Woodsman said:
I agree with JB that wranglerstar seems like a good guy. Definitely don't agree with the responses to comments and the celebrity status portrayed at times, but that goes with the territory and he seems to have considered how this popularity has changed him. He is just an average guy and that is how most work, not necessarily 'proper'.

The Fiskars video is a classic at least:
[video=youtube;4M58jaWHB84]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M58jaWHB84[/video]
Click to expand...

this is the best video ever :D
 
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