The old growth redwood I climbed in 1989 still guides my cuts today

Back then we used hand saws and instinct on a 300 foot monarch near Eureka, but now I see folks with fancy rigging gear ignore the grain direction and leave ugly tear outs. I learned more from that one tree's reaction to a bad notch than any seminar since. Anybody else feel like the basics got lost once the big equipment showed up?

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craig.viola23d ago

Can a bad cut really teach you more than any class ever could? I used to laugh at the old timers who talked about reading a tree's grain like it was some kind of magic, but then I had my own moment with a dying oak that split clean up the trunk because I ignored the twist in the wood. That was years ago and I still see it every time I pick up a saw. You're right that the gear got fancy, but the tree never changed, it still tells you where it wants to be cut, you just have to listen. I was all about speed and power for a long time, but now I'd rather take a few extra minutes and make a cut that respects the wood, take that from someone who learned the hard way.