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An old climber told me to stop cutting my hinge so thin, and 3 months later I finally get why
I was taking down a big silver maple back in April on a job in Rochester and this retired climber named Dale was watching from the sidewalk. He told me my hinge was too thin and I was gonna lose control of the piece one day. I shrugged it off because I'd been dropping trees fine for years with that same notch. Fast forward to June, I'm doing a similar maple and the top barber chaired on me and swung way off toward a fence. Nobody got hurt but it scared the hell out of me. I went back and looked at the stump and the hinge was paper thin, just like Dale warned. Now I leave way more meat in there and my drops land where I want them. Any of you got a piece of advice from an old timer that only clicked after you messed up?
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phoenix2142d ago
Man, I don't know if one close call means the old guy was right about everything. A thin hinge can bite you but so can a dull chain, wet bark, or just a gust of wind at the wrong second. I've seen guys run a tight notch for years without a problem, and I've seen fat hinges still swing sideways on a leaner. Half the time when a top goes crooked it's the back cut that was off, not the hinge. Feels like Dale's advice is more of a "be careful" nudge than some hard rule.
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