That time a 19 year old groundie corrected my wedging method

I've been falling trees for about 7 years now and always wedged from the back, same as my old boss showed me. Last Tuesday we had a big red oak with a slight back lean and my wedges kept popping out no matter how hard I drove them. The kid I'm training, fresh out of a two year program in Ohio, just casually said to set the wedge on the far side of the saw cut instead of dead center. I laughed it off but tried it on the next stump and the bite held way better, let me lift the tree exactly where I wanted. Turns out the center cut was flexing and closing up on the wedge, and off-center placement keeps the gap open longer. Anyone else had a rookie tip that actually rewired their whole approach to a basic cut? I still feel dumb about it but the results are obvious.

2 comments

2 Comments

samrodriguez27d agoMost Upvoted

Seven years and you let a program kid show you up, that's on you for never questioning the old school method. Center wedging works fine if you read the hinge right, this off center trick sounds like a lucky day on one oak, not a rewrite of the rulebook.

ryan79327d ago

Man, I feel this one. @samrodriguez is gonna roast me for saying it, but getting schooled by a kid who just came out of a program is humbling as hell. The fact that you actually tried it and it worked says more about you than the kid, honestly. Most guys woulda doubled down on the old way and blamed the tree. That off center trick makes sense too when you think about how the cut breathes, I just never woulda figured it out on my own. Good on you for posting this, cause it saves the rest of us from feeling dumb alone.