Along with the yard work, you add in tree work, leaf removal, gutter cleaning ,chimney sweeping, light excavating, driveway sealing, sky's the limit... These are all relatively simple but labor intensive jobs that many people, especially seniors don't want, or can no longer do. Upgrade equipment as profits build to make things easier. You already have the labor, just need to direct it.

Need to get them both Competent enough to run a crew and then run 3 crews. I made a lot of money working for myself.I was younger and had more energy to hustle the work. I also have a problem with work life balance a d when working for myself I would never quit. I was on a job, geting ready for one, working on equipment, or thinking about geting more 24 7.

I still work to much now but when I'm off I'm off and don't think about the place at all. so when I'm home I'm here both in Mind and body. Working for myself I may have bee there but my mind was not.

Now I have the income and ability to get good equipment.

Been putting up firewood since '72 and I can say I've loved every minute of it. Till lately. Now I'm 76 and a lot of things ain't as much fun as they used to be!

I think you take a lesson from the Mennonites , you don't hire a bunch of outsiders who will stress you out , you work with family , you take the jobs you want to take , you do the work well and you will probably hardly even need to advertise.

His notch looks ok but you should post picture of the stump and hinge . He should learn the Swedish open face notch felling method using a bore cut, much safer than the Humboldt method for someone with little experience. White Ash is very straight grained and easily barber chairs if you leave too wide of hinge and do not cut a bit of the corners.

A Humboldt comes in from the bottom side, we do it because in large diameter wood the undercut slides out instead of having to wrestle out an undercut that might weigh several hundred pounds, also a Humboldt cut largely prevents the butt of the tree from coming off the back of the stump when the cuts close and there's a large amount of pressure, because the butt would have to climb up the stump, as opposed to having a ramp ready to slide the butt back like with a conventional cut. I use a conventional cut on occasion when I have to top a tree, because it doesn't "load up" on the stump like a Humboldt can which creates the rodeo effect when the top cuts loose, so it's smoother topping with an overhand (conventional) notch. The key to not barber chairing is not in the type of notch, so much as how open you make the notch, it's entirely possible to open up a Humboldt enough that the tree can hit the ground still attached to the stump if you want, also having a sharp enough chain and enough horsepower to keep up with the tree. Also if it has a really heavy lean, don't go with the lean, go sideways.

The notch and stump end have been cut off and burnt already or will be by the time I get back home in 5 or 6 days. it was your basic thing with a few inches of hing wood a little more on one side as he used that to give it to fall where it would bust up the fewest trees.

I never learned proper names of techniques just how I was taught mostly from the old guys I worked under doing line clearance. Instead of the normal know it all youn guys they were used to I made it clear I was there to learn and if I asked questions it was to know the why and not questioning their ability. That went a long way and they took me under their wing. BUT There is a Ton I don't know I promise. Heck there is so much nice climbing gear and new methods that have became popular in the last 20 years I know nothing about.
There are so many different thing in the forestry industry It would take many lifetimes to learn just the basics. I would love to learn more about logging and sawing Timber just to have the knowledge but it's not likely to happen.

I can't teach him something I don't know about so off to look up the method your educating me on and see how it's different.

And thanks to everyone for the input I often spend time looking things posted even if I fail to say so.

here you can thank the Canadian tax payers for this educational stuff

https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resou...ideo-series/introduction-1-of-17?lang=en

lots of info on the undercuts and the why

17 videos

maybe the boys can do some homework.

Cutter college. We did some helicopter units in coastal BC, they were willing to accept 10 years verifiable experience cutting on the west coast of the US also.

So basically reversing the notch and that pushed the tree forward and down vs allowing it to possibly go up. makes since. Will be fun geting my cuts to come together after decades of making traditional notches.

Reversed of what you're used to is a Humboldt (I'll add a picture) the open notch someone mentioned is where you combine the two and come in from a 45° angle from the bottom AND the top, creating a giant 90° open face cut. I use them on very rare occasions if I want to make absolutely certain the butt of the tree stays attached to the stump (like if someone asks me to cut a tree beside their house and I don't want it bouncing or rolling when it hits the ground) but it's a PITA when you have to cut the tree off the stump after it falls in a commercial setting. I cut most everything up really tight as it's starting to go, I stay in the cut and steer them off the stump (big NO NO if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing) the only time I try to bail early is if I'm on a springboard that's a reasonable jumping distance from the ground, if I'm up high I just tuck tight into the stump and mumble a prayer as the face closes

You have a lot of larger trees up there. over the last decade the log truck down here are falling small and smaller diameter logs.

On some of the linked videos those Saws sure would eat. I'm guessing partly being soft wood and the other part powerfull Saws and very sharp chains.

What timber tramp states is true. I mostly use the Humboldt method but I have 50 years experience felling northeastern hardwood timber. Here in the northeast most every logging contractor now uses a feller buncher, with a hot saw felling head, faster , safer and because it’s safer it lowers their workers compensation rates.


Most contractors here in NY still hand felling with a chainsaws have to take several courses to get logger certified in order to obtain affordable workers compensation insurance. The courses teach the open face notch and bore cutting method because like I said it is safer for someone who does not have much experience felling timber. Like timber tramp said the Humboldt sometime forces you to try to keep up with the cut while the tree begins to fall, making you to stay by the stump sometimes longer than you want to.


When bore cutting, the notch is cut , the proper amount of hinge is left , so the tree is ready to fall. But the small amount of holding wood in the felling cut keeps the tree from falling. So you have your escape route already cleared, then you saw the holding wood and exit on the escape route.

there is also the swenson

it is basically a humbolt but you cut a second plane a bit more open

I have only used it a few times on some old maples 42 across

it helps it slide off the stump it is explained in the videos

Squash......I'm not a pro tree person......I only cut for firewood or storm damage on my farm ...use16 inch sthil with easy start...a really good product.....your description of bore cutting is exactly what I have experienced to a T. .....my problem is aligning horizontal cuts to all match up at right points.....is there trick to this........would painting lines on trunk help keeping cuts matching up....thanks.....

I'm no pro and not whom you asked. but you don't need to use paint just score marks in with your saw.

That's what I do to give the kids guide lines.

They are busy for sure
Don’t they ever go to school???

What do you think this is? How many kids at school can identify over 26 native trees by leafs and bark identify what's killing them and run a chain saw and fell trees safely.? And at 12 and 14.

Just one of the many things they learn home schooling and with 4H they can't get in public schools. Math, science, English, Spanish, history and Geography only take a few hours a day when yiur not teaching to the slowest kids in the class and have all the distractions.

Kind of the same way they can effectively set traps, hunt and clean and cook game. Everything is a learning experience and teachable moment. My youngest put a new motor in our gator with my guidance in 4.5 hours and that included a trip to town for special tool. He was 8 at the time so I did pick the old motor up and out and set the new one in. He did the rest.

So that’s a long answer of NO ? I done all those things plus went to public schools interacting with others. Developing social skills. Lived in the woods if I wasn’t in school.Read constantly because no tv back then. Spent EVERY Saturday cutting wood entire month of October at 13. 2 pickup truck loads. 1 for my grandmother 1 for my parents. My father suffered a massive widow maker heart attack at 38. 11 days in intensive care. I cut the tree. Sawed up the wood. Split it by hand. Loaded it then ricked it when it got home. Trapped foxes and sit every evening by a den shooting greys when they came out. Average 55 foxes a year walking every step doing it. Only thing that kept my parents from losing every thing they had. At 45-50 bucks each that was great money for r a young teenager. Parents got every penny of it. Paid me back every penny of it also. So if the need is there most thing you want your kids to do can and still get an education.
Today’s schools are unfortunately different than when I went !!

read it any way you want to hot rod. My young boys can and do more than most grown men. And they have never crashed the boat.