5
After 5 years I switched from rope to mechanical felling wedges
I used to swear by plastic felling wedges and a good saw. Then last month I was taking down a leaning red oak outside Richmond and got my bar pinched so bad it took me 45 minutes to work it free. Borrowed a set of steel mechanical wedges from a guy at the shop and popped that tree right over with two pumps. The difference is night and day for anything with back lean or side tension. Has anyone else made the jump and never looked back?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
lindaowens19d ago
Jumped on the mechanical wedge bandwagon about three years ago... wish I’d done it sooner. I was taking down a nasty hickory with a back lean and my plastic wedge just bounced right out. Spent a good hour sweating and cussing trying to get it to work. A buddy handed me his steel set and I had that tree on the ground in five minutes flat. Felt like a real dummy for waiting so long...
1
kaid5919d ago
That "spent a good hour sweating and cussing" part hit home. I think people miss something about plastic wedges though. They actually work better in wet wood. The plastic has a little grip when things are damp. Steel ones just slide around and can pop out too easy in rain or snow. So it's not always a straight upgrade. Depends on the tree and the weather that day. A lot of guys ditch their plastic ones too fast without thinking about that.
7
angela_grant19d ago
Totally agree, same thing happened to me with a gnarly oak last fall!
4
mila_flores819d ago
Did you try leaving the plastic wedge in the sun for a bit before using it? I had a similar problem with a wet maple last spring, and what finally worked for me was warming up the plastic wedge with a heat gun on low for maybe 30 seconds. That softened it up just enough so it grabbed better and didn't pop out. The plastic gets brittle in cold weather, and the harder it is, the more it slides. Once it warmed up a little, it held tight and I got the tree down without much fuss. Might save you some frustration next time you run into that same issue.
10