@@jakes-dev1337 I appreciate your sentiment but strictly speaking they were not competent. But if you’re saying that their mistakes are a natural step of the learning process then I agree
Posted this before, but a good friend of mine from work died a little over a year ago helping a neighbor cut down a tree. He was a very generous person and had experience helping other neighbors with their trees, but he was not a professional. I miss him very much. Please, be careful and if at all possible, get a professional to deal with your trees.
@@willkimball7677 one of my friends nearly died from a leg wound. he survived thanks to fast action and a tourniquet on his leg. he was a volunteer firefighter and was back burning slash with the other firefighters for days to help control a massive forest fire. it was super long hours and exhaustion that caused him to slip up and send his long bar chainsaw down into his thigh. he is a professional too. and he wears those chaps now!
Wow, oh wow oh wow. From someone trained in felling trees (including how to fell a tree with high explosives, thanks Army), I'm so glad you guys walked away from that. If you had called me in to fix it, I'm not even sure where to start. May I say, that the standard safety distance is at least twice the height of the tree. So on a 10m (33ft), you want everybody at least 20m (66ft) away. And once you've started on your back cut, you should never walk in front of the tree (where the face cut is). As a part of your chainsaw tool kit, you should always have the T wrench (which you did, a flat file and round file sized for your size of chain and a second chain. I'd also highly recommend a depth gauge tool and a round file guide attachment. These tools are very important. Not only can you adjust the tension of your chain and sharpen it, but it allows you to replace the chain quickly if you need to finish a cut, and sharpen later, or replace a broken chain, or, SWAP OUT A PINCHED CHAIN. Where you unbolted your saw and the guide bar pulled out easily, all you needed was a second chain to put on and you are good to go. Most everyone who has really used a chainsaw has pinched the chain. Nobody starts off as an expert. Please please get an expert in to show you the basics and some more advanced cuts. It would make for a great show and maybe he can even review this video and critique the advice you have been given. For the most part, it's not bad advice, but it's still very clearly lacking the expert knowledge of someone who actually does it for a living.
i think the biggest danger is that felling a tree is not dangerous in obvious ways. i didn't even know things like barber chair existed until i saw a video of a feller in canada get hit so hard and so fast that he was lifted off the ground. it was only a few seconds and he was running from the second the tree started, and it still hit him (he survived). There are obvious things, like don't get squished by the tree as it falls, but there are so many more dangers. and a slip up with felling a tree can just have massive consequences. its not like working with other dangerous things like a table saw where you might get really hurt but can still get to the hospital. if a tree gets you, it can just kill you from the impact
@@Gunbudder I once had a tree fall 90 degrees from intended. It was an old dead tree, my cuts were all good and I was hitting the wedges to do the final fall, as I tapped in the wedge on the left side of the back cut, the tree went went over to the right. The right side of the hinge tore out, as one might expect, but the left side of the hinge actually lifted out from a fault lower down and stayed connected to the tree. There was no panicked running away, I stepped back carefully as I observed what the tree was doing and both my vehicle and the few bystanders were positioned well clear of the tree and it was in an open area, so it didn't really matter which way the tree came down in. I just picked the most convenient direction for cutting up the tree later as to where I was aiming. A less experienced person, perhaps a little more confident than they should be, could have ended up in all sorts of trouble. Even cutting downed wood can be dangerous, aka cross-cutting. Knowing which way the tree will move if you cut this limb, which side of the wood is under compression (and will pinch your saw) or worse, which is under tension and may spring back at you can be very difficult to read. I'm sure most people are aware of, if not experienced personally, pushing a branch aside as you walk past a tree and having it suddenly whip back into the face of the person behind you. Now imaging hundreds, if not thousands of pounds of solid wood doing the exact same thing. A lot if it you can predict from sight, there is feedback when you are cutting IF you are paying attention and know what to look for and of course there are methods to minimise the risks. And different species of tree have different risks, need different methods of cutting etc. I'd never call myself an expert. I will say that I know enough that I can identify when I can safely cut a tree and when someone better than myself is required. And I hope I can pass on enough knowledge to others to make them aware that you can't just watch a TH-cam video and become an expert. You need hands on training in a safe environment.
As great as Brandt is, they missed a real opportunity to bring in a trained arborist to talk through this. Though I suppose it could have been a bit of work to find someone taking the right tone for the channel as they dressed the boys down for this.
I hope y'all actually pursue this format further. There have a been a few things where y'all have not gotten it quite right, and it'd be cool to see you go back and see what you missed and correct it. Of course the level of danger here really lends itself to the need to do this, but there are other less dangerous things that would be cool to learn more on.
Call the series "wow we're dipshits" and maybe even get actual experts in to explain how and why, as much as watsisname did a great job here. Maybe actual youtube experts rather than a youtube educated novice. Pretty funy how even a novice could understand how poorly this went though.
There is nothing as amazing as seeing them do something stupid, and have it cut back to the studio where Brian is covering his face and Jason is laughing his ass off. I really love you guys knowing that you messed up bad and turning it into a cautionary tale.
The classic advice dads give somewhat rings true; if you're doing something potentially dangerous with power tools or whatever, and you get a bad feeling about it, or don't know how to proceed, stop, because that's your self preservation kicking in. Once they realized the chainsaw was too dull to cut effectively, or that they didn't have all the steps clearly planned out that was their first clue. And then you see how things quickly spiral into a more and more dangerous situation. I think this video is a good example how situations can quickly get out of your control if you aren't careful, not just with woodcutting.
I grew up around a lot of loggers, we heated our house with wood, and I've run a saw or three. I'm not a pro. Brant did a better job of expressing how complex this is without leaving someone thinking, "Yep, I know everything now" which is something that pros actually have a lot of trouble doing. They explain something so well that the listener misses all the reasons they should be more cautious. Loggers also have a very mis-calculated sense of risk, or rather they calculate risk for themselves most of the time, their tolerance is way higher than yours, but they cannot share how you should calculate risk. So if you think you will need to run a saw, there are a lot of vids, watch a lot of them from a lot of other people. Understand that in most places the first two years on a crew you only are allowed to cut wood on the ground, then you get to fell "easy" freestanding trees for a year, and only then are you allowed to cut "complex" stuff like trees hanging up in other trees, and that's still "on the ground" no ladders, harnesses, crap like that. All of those are specialized skills. Get exposure, and learn that skill when there is no pressure. And wear that hard-hat. The branch that is most dangerous is just the one big enough to knock you out, or make you stumble while you need to be minding the saw or the falling tree. That three seconds of lights on might keep you from taking the permanent lights out. Thanks for sharing guys, it's easy to play that up as "look how good we did" instead of "look how lucky we got"
That's a really good way to put it. I definitely did a couple hours of research and was left just thinking "oh, I get this." And then when things didn't work like in the tutorials, stuff got really tense. I'm really hoping this episode serves as a cautionary tale. -Brian
I agree but also in my opinion, watching pros on TH-cam and amateurs on liveleak is an important part of doing dangerous things safely. Also there's some arborist channels that do a really good job of highlighting the risks along with great technical knowledge and skills, the community just lost a man in the NW that professionals looked up to for guidance and it was just a random accident, the whole professional crew missed a widowmaker and it made a widow... fuckin tragic shit.
I'm glad to see you guy's do this video, to at least acknowledge what you did wrong. I see way too many videos with people ignoring basic safety practices and even acknowledging it as they do it, but then continue to do it anyway. Adam Savage did something similar after he injured himself working on his lathe, and I respect that.
Okay but major respect for being willing to upload the correction of errors up for everyone to learn what not to do. Humility- necessary trait for a modern rogue.
This felt more educational than just watching a video on how to do it right. I think going through the mistakes and possible outcomes will make it stick better in my mind.
I see the Modern Rogue as an indirect educational channel: you learn by watching Jason and Bryan learn, and you get to learn from their mistakes instead of making the mistakes yourself. That's what I've always loved about this channel! It's about the process of learning, not being spoonfed information 😂 this taught me immensely more than if I was only taught how to do it correctly
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Mad props on doing this autopsy video and not just deleting the original footage. Glad all of you made it out safe!
This is actually an excellent idea for a show or a new channel - Complicated task, group of inexperienced do-ers, and an expert who will *only* step in to stop them from killing each other.
Wonderful content. You deserve a redo video with a smaller tree with the arborist you suggested to guide you. Glad you’re all safe. That could have gone sideways…. Oh wait…
It takes a lot of bravery to post something like this, cause what you did was really dumb, coulda killed people, and I see it all the time on youtube, makes it real easy to look like you know what you're doing when you're behind a camera, and I'll bet can make one think they do in fact know what they're doing, all the while risking their lives and others. So to be so bold as to not hide your failure, or try to dress it up like it wasn't, but to ALSO explain in detail precisely why it was so bad and dangerous is such a responsible move, good job Brandt!!! thank goodness y'all made it out unscathed, well, maybe not your egos.
This is probably one of my favorite episode of Modern Rogue to date. There's a lot to learn, and not only do all y'all go into the do's and don'ts, but also the why, which is a VERY important thing for learning. Many people who can't understand the why will resist learning due to that lack of understanding. I'm not an arborist, but the one thing that was first on my mind when you first put the wedges in was "how are they going to complete the cut with the wedges in the way?"
Owning to one's mistakes takes balls. Kudos on doing so on a public platform, and especially for doing so in such a good nature and sincere manner. I can't recall the times I've fell victim to Dunning-Kreuger effect and after realizing so, I've felt so guilty, demoralized and ashamed that apologies or explanations I owed seemed near impossible to express unless forced to. When the video started I was pretty judgmental, but at the 10 minute mark, I realized _how little I really know_ on this subject and how many of the same mistakes shown I would've made (and how many more, that you guys avoided I would've made and be unaware of!) again, bravo for ultimately exalting the virtues of a gentleman more than those of a scoundrel on this topic!
I actually really love this "MR reacts to MR" format for situations where the project went wrong. It was educational..and really funny. I do see the suggestions to bring in a professional for the critique, but I think that having and outsider in the position of putting them on blast would potentially rob some of the charm. I *would* love to see a follow-up expert where a pro walks them through taking down a similar tree the RIGHT way.
Can we just take a sec to appreciate Jason? As the tree was falling, Brian was trying to pull out the chainsaw and Brian grabbed him by the side and told him to move
Watching them cut the tree started giving me anxiety, but then i was like "but they clearly survived as they're sitting there watching all their mistakes"
I originally thought one hour long was going to be too long: i started the video ... and just watched it till the end!! It was informative, entertaining, even hilariously funny at times, this one video might actually be one of the best you have made! It shows the nonsense, but this time it also shows what is REALLY going on behind the scenes (rather than just the innuendos we get here and there through various videos) and how much you all invest in making a video! Also this time, you really educate your audience and i guess many of us watching can feel it: SAFETY IS NO JOKE. Hopefully this video will be very helpful to many! Thanks again for this very good video!!
This could have gone so much worse. Thank god you are safe. To the people who watched this and now think they now know all the pitfalls and can go cut down a tree, I would suggest you consult a professional arborist and have them either cut it down for you, or if you want to learn, have them supervise you. There is a reason for the statistic about deaths in the logging industry, it is very dangerous even for veteran loggers.
This video COULD save lives. Before I watched some tree felling videos, I assumed I could cut down any tree and be fine without knowing proper methods. This video helps prove that you need to know what you are doing FIRST. At least do some reading and watching some videos like Brandt did, that way you can avoid making seemingly logical assumptions that are completely wrong.
Now this is how you salvage a bad video that would hurt your credibility as a somewhat educational channel. You turn it into a "What not to do" video with insightful and comedic commentary. This is a "hindsight is 20/20" kind of thing and I dig it.
Double-props to Brandt for that, he took the footage from that day and whipped up the commentary and research himself and it is an essential part of the story.
Thanks for this one. It's a needed follow-up to clarify things, because going through every single thing place where a fuck-up occurred is critical to communicate clearly what shouldn't be done.
Guys, I'm just glad you guys are okay. I watched where this was going and I immediately started checking you guys out for missing limbs. Seriously, leave this to us pros guys.
GA 4H has a forestry program, there were competitions for identifying types of trees based on leaves, using forestry sticks to find the height of the tree and had an idea of how long our average step was to walk from that point to the tree to get a rough measurement.
I am far from finishing this vid but Brian walking in front of the cut really does me in. I want to scream at him for entering the danger zone. That's only from 3 months of working with an auditor for civil engineering, I can only imagine what professional safety auditors would think from that moment alone. Cheers for the entertainment Edit: 18:30 come on guys, twice? If this was a Livestream, you would've given a brother a heartattack. Glad you all survived because any damage like that to a tree, pole, structure, you don't know what's inside. Could have easily dropped itself if it had a hollow core Edit 2: Brian isn't the only offender. You guys need a safety officer of some kind lmao
Another thing I saw here, unrelated to forestry, NEVER use a trailer hitch to pull something. If by chance the rope you're using is stronger than the metal of the hitch. it could snap the ball off at high speed.
This format would make workplace safety videos way more interesting and engaging. I vote that we switch all workplace safety videos out with videos of incompetent workers reacting to recordings of their horrendous mistakes.
Can we please have more of Brian and Jason blindly attempting to do stuff and then teaching from their mistakes? This is so hilarious, but also really is such a good way of teaching as well.
Ya'll are worth the time and money it takes to be safe. Please don't skirt safety in the future. You talking about safety and PPE gear and what research you did and what you needed to protect yourself is good content. Please don't hurt yourself. It's not worth it
I've cut down trees a few years myself. I'm by no means a professional but I'm fairly decent and can maintain my own property. There is NEVER a time I am not afraid of cutting down a tree. By this I mean it's extremely dangerous and anything could happen. It's always good to spend your time planning, maybe get a second opinion, and always follow through. Things like guide ropes and vehicles are also really nice in terms of making a tree felling safer.
I was in my mid 20s up in northern California with almost zero knowledge of the right way to cut down a tree. I picked out a tree that was dead and thought I could cut it down with an axe. Turns out it was dead oak. And my ability to sharpen an axe was beginner at very best. Took me a few days but I did it. And after seeing this episode. I know now I did a 1000% better job then they did.
Great informational video, proud to see something like this when you guys make a mistake. I would love to see a follow up video where you do it exactly how you're supposed to!
I want more of these podcasts type grading vids it goes well with the uncut practice realism that you guys have it also goes with becoming a modern rogue with stuff taken time and practice and KNOWLEDGE 👏
This kinda kills me. I want to just step in and help so many times. I'm not a professional arborist or tree feller, but I took training from the forest service on cutting down trees, and have taken an arborist coarse. I would love to come down there and do a "what to do" video since this was a "what not to do" we could cover sharpening the chain since it could be done with some reasonably affordable tools. As well as basic saw use & care. Then we could get into the different ways to cut down a tree. In the end, I was captivated through the whole hour of this video. Hope you can make another, but less nerve-wracking one.
Every time Brandt pauses the video and just _looks_ at Brian and Jason in that certain way before saying anything is just... so good, lol. Can't believe I missed this one.
I honestly think this is one of my favorite episodes so far and I hope you never have to do another one. I'm so glad no one was injured. Next time your doing a video like this can you please add a safety briefing to the start of the video and can you guys please start doing them before rolling the camera for most other videos. It's amazing what a quick 5 minute conversation can do for safety.
My great grandpa was a tree cutter and he had similar happen to where it cut wrong he ended up getting crushed to death by a huge tree. He apparently was insanely good at his job but it was a freak accident that took his life. Also yes you can sharpen your chains my dad does once maybe twice then he gets a new one
as a professional logger i have to say i find this . . . very amusing lol. i love how confident they always are despite knowing that they dont know anything. believe in your dreams no matter what and go right at it as long as there is no one in the dangerzone. someone else might have just deleted the video. sometimes you have to be brave AND stupid
Lots of gun/hunting stores have noise-cancelling headphones with microphones and speakers in them. They relay all audio into the headphones, but if a certain sound above the hearing-safe threshold is made, it mutes that. Could be a good MR episode testing them out, finding out what household items/tasks are muted by the technology.
Actually really appreciate this episode because was recently wondering how difficult it would be to cut down a tree that needs to go and had no idea about much of what was covered. So I'm no longer considering it lol. Thanks 👍
As someone who has a dead tree and wondering if I could fell it myself, I learned SO much from this episode. Other videos made it look so easy I am hesitant because I knew I would basically do what happened here. Now I can go home and have a better idea of what to do. Thank you thank you for being that guy so hopefully I won't be. Thanks.
I appreciate that we have reached the point of MR where we acknowledge they have no clue what they're doing, have a tendency to be really dangerous, and wish to provide opposing accurate information... Once they've nearly crushed themselves 😂
I would love to see you guys do another autopsy video of the original with @Guilty of Treeson (a professional arborist), one of his close friends actually died doing this, but it was an entirely different story. He would be great to tell you guys what went wrong, and how you could improve for future trees that need felling.
On the PPE note, they sell a construction colored helmet that protects the head, comes with a face guard, and hearing protection. They can be pricey, but you can wear earbuds under them. Also, and pardon the shouting, NOISE CANCELATION IS NOT HEARING PROTECTION. Get something that's rated for hearing protection, and don't assume other measures (e.g., "it provides a seal") mean it'll protect your ears.
@@ProtoV33MK1 What I know from various safety sources (OSHA, Boy Scouts, etc.) is that only equipment rated to protect hearing is considered "safe" when hearing damage is on the table. My understanding is that noise canceling is better than nothing, but it can't cover everything (especially sudden spikes and certain frequencies outside the norm). My perception is that noise canceling sucks to protect hearing, based on the headaches I'd get when trying to block out the sound of a screaming infant back when I lived in the same house as my sister and infant niece. Nothing like ringing ears and noise headaches *when you can't hear what's causing it*. AFAIK, the headphones transmit the opposite frequency, but you're still taking those decibels (it can't isolate the sound, just mask it).
The height measuring trick Brandt showed with the 45 degree angle should be pretty precise, but only on level ground. A trick that´s quicker and works on slopes as well would be, while standing off about 90 degress to the intended felling direction, to have something in your hand upright (branch, tool handle etc) that from your point of view compares to the height of the tree, and then just tilt it until it´s about level with the ground. If you keep the bottom of your implement at the base of the tree, its tip will be where you can expect the tip of the tree to hit the ground. Also, when you´re pulling on a tree with a rope never do that inline, have an anchor with a pulley and pull perpendicular to it. That way you´ll get out of the danger zone further the more you pull.
That oar to find the height of a tree is the best thing I learned this video. I may not cut down a tree, but at least I can find out the minimum distance stuff should be away (further than that, but great starting point)
So much about this just felt icky to watch from a safety point of view but I think what scared me the most is 1) the amount of tension on that rope knowing how unpredictable that snap was going to be and 2) how many times Jason just walked in front of the already notched side of the tree while they were trying to get it to come down. But it wouldn't be the Modern Rogue without a little pucker factor :P
55:25 I love the realisation of the pickaxe being bent and Brian just swearing non-stop, immediately followed by the silence of Brian using a push saw and both of them losing their sh*t 🤣
Other than the complete disregard for the sanctity of life its kind of amazing to get a peek behind the curtain and a glance at the process and behind the scenes of it all. When you take all the death defying i mean
One thing not mentioned in the critique is that axes and hatchets are NOT usually made to be hammered on from the back. I had a friend who was chopping wood, got the axe stuck, and thought he'd finish the split by hitting the back of the axe with a hammer. The back of the axe split on the edge, driving a hot iron spike through his boot and into his foot. Use wedges to wedge. Never a sharp and possibly splinterable axe. Or in this case two hatchets. If your axe/hatchet gets 'stuck', get a wedge and use that to take off the tension and free it. But in this case, they freely chose to wedge the hatchets into the tree, so they were doing both parts wrong. Just one of the many mistakes that I can't believe allows them to be alive :)
This was like a masterclass of how to take a tree down in as dangerous of a fashion as possible. As a total amateur who thought about removing his own tree and bailed on the idea, the semi professionals who removed it definitely cut the limbs off first and did not fell the tree in 1 go, it was broken down into several pieces, which took a while, but definitely seemed like a safer method of removal. All in all, glad nobody got hurt/died, any landing you can walk away from....
"In the yukon we just wedge the shit out of them" As a yukoner our trees are not big enough to worry about that also Jason's outfit 10 out of 10 red green vibes
Most important thing you can do to keep a chainsaw blade sharp is keeping bar oil in it at all times and making sure the oiler is actually working and isn't clogged up. You can sharpen the blades by hand with a round file or with a Dremel, but if you aren't getting any oil, it's not going to stay sharp for very long and isn't going to cut very well and can actually damage the chain and bar, plus it makes it very difficult to cut through dense wood. I know this first hand because I had to cut up an ash tree that fell in our yard last year after a storm and the chain started smoking while trying to cut through a section. Turns out the oiler was clogged up and I was getting no oil and it dulled up the chain pretty badly. I was using the same model Stihl that Brian got from his dad. They seem to be prone to getting the oiler channels clogged up and not lubing the chain like they're supposed to if you don't clean them out.
this is something i wish my dad had watched prior to trying to cut down trees in our yard. One time he "nicked" himself with the chainsaw but got SUPER lucky
A note on the hearing protection point! you can buy earmuffs that connect to bluetooth and they are great for listening to whatever tf you want when doing loud stuff! I use mine when using the dirt compactor a lot
I’m surprised no one talked about Jason hammering in the wedges with the back of an ax in such a way that the recoil of the hammering was sending the blade of the ax towards his torso and other arm
An hour long Modern Rogue video with entirely fresh content and meta commentary is a blessing
This video sucked😂
Absolutely a blessing lmao
I appreciate that you are not afraid to show and acknowledge your incompetence while also teaching the viewer what's right
Nice pf pic :D
As a tree worker, I agree 💯
The guy did a decent job explaining things but they probably should’ve brought in an expert
This is not incompetence this is called learning...
@@jakes-dev1337 I appreciate your sentiment but strictly speaking they were not competent. But if you’re saying that their mistakes are a natural step of the learning process then I agree
This after action report is probably one of the best episodes in Modern Rogue history.
Yeah we need more of these kinds of videos
This was anxiety inducing , glad no one got hurt and Brian still had an office
And we got some tree knowledge
Why did I read this as orifice the first time around... 😅
@Mrich775 not sure, lucky no one got any new ones making this video though 😂
Shout out to Jason for pulling Brian out of his focus when the tree was falling and yelling "move! Move!" That was really wholesome
Posted this before, but a good friend of mine from work died a little over a year ago helping a neighbor cut down a tree. He was a very generous person and had experience helping other neighbors with their trees, but he was not a professional. I miss him very much. Please, be careful and if at all possible, get a professional to deal with your trees.
We also had a neighbor die from a tree. Co
I do not know this man. But now I've heard of him. Thank you
@@willkimball7677 one of my friends nearly died from a leg wound. he survived thanks to fast action and a tourniquet on his leg. he was a volunteer firefighter and was back burning slash with the other firefighters for days to help control a massive forest fire. it was super long hours and exhaustion that caused him to slip up and send his long bar chainsaw down into his thigh. he is a professional too. and he wears those chaps now!
Wow, oh wow oh wow.
From someone trained in felling trees (including how to fell a tree with high explosives, thanks Army), I'm so glad you guys walked away from that.
If you had called me in to fix it, I'm not even sure where to start.
May I say, that the standard safety distance is at least twice the height of the tree. So on a 10m (33ft), you want everybody at least 20m (66ft) away.
And once you've started on your back cut, you should never walk in front of the tree (where the face cut is).
As a part of your chainsaw tool kit, you should always have the T wrench (which you did, a flat file and round file sized for your size of chain and a second chain.
I'd also highly recommend a depth gauge tool and a round file guide attachment.
These tools are very important.
Not only can you adjust the tension of your chain and sharpen it, but it allows you to replace the chain quickly if you need to finish a cut, and sharpen later, or replace a broken chain, or, SWAP OUT A PINCHED CHAIN.
Where you unbolted your saw and the guide bar pulled out easily, all you needed was a second chain to put on and you are good to go.
Most everyone who has really used a chainsaw has pinched the chain. Nobody starts off as an expert.
Please please get an expert in to show you the basics and some more advanced cuts.
It would make for a great show and maybe he can even review this video and critique the advice you have been given.
For the most part, it's not bad advice, but it's still very clearly lacking the expert knowledge of someone who actually does it for a living.
i think the biggest danger is that felling a tree is not dangerous in obvious ways. i didn't even know things like barber chair existed until i saw a video of a feller in canada get hit so hard and so fast that he was lifted off the ground. it was only a few seconds and he was running from the second the tree started, and it still hit him (he survived).
There are obvious things, like don't get squished by the tree as it falls, but there are so many more dangers. and a slip up with felling a tree can just have massive consequences. its not like working with other dangerous things like a table saw where you might get really hurt but can still get to the hospital. if a tree gets you, it can just kill you from the impact
@@Gunbudder I once had a tree fall 90 degrees from intended.
It was an old dead tree, my cuts were all good and I was hitting the wedges to do the final fall, as I tapped in the wedge on the left side of the back cut, the tree went went over to the right.
The right side of the hinge tore out, as one might expect, but the left side of the hinge actually lifted out from a fault lower down and stayed connected to the tree.
There was no panicked running away, I stepped back carefully as I observed what the tree was doing and both my vehicle and the few bystanders were positioned well clear of the tree and it was in an open area, so it didn't really matter which way the tree came down in.
I just picked the most convenient direction for cutting up the tree later as to where I was aiming.
A less experienced person, perhaps a little more confident than they should be, could have ended up in all sorts of trouble.
Even cutting downed wood can be dangerous, aka cross-cutting.
Knowing which way the tree will move if you cut this limb, which side of the wood is under compression (and will pinch your saw) or worse, which is under tension and may spring back at you can be very difficult to read.
I'm sure most people are aware of, if not experienced personally, pushing a branch aside as you walk past a tree and having it suddenly whip back into the face of the person behind you.
Now imaging hundreds, if not thousands of pounds of solid wood doing the exact same thing.
A lot if it you can predict from sight, there is feedback when you are cutting IF you are paying attention and know what to look for and of course there are methods to minimise the risks.
And different species of tree have different risks, need different methods of cutting etc.
I'd never call myself an expert.
I will say that I know enough that I can identify when I can safely cut a tree and when someone better than myself is required.
And I hope I can pass on enough knowledge to others to make them aware that you can't just watch a TH-cam video and become an expert.
You need hands on training in a safe environment.
As great as Brandt is, they missed a real opportunity to bring in a trained arborist to talk through this. Though I suppose it could have been a bit of work to find someone taking the right tone for the channel as they dressed the boys down for this.
Pin this!
You gotta tell us more about taking down a tree with explosives, sounds really cool.
I hope y'all actually pursue this format further. There have a been a few things where y'all have not gotten it quite right, and it'd be cool to see you go back and see what you missed and correct it. Of course the level of danger here really lends itself to the need to do this, but there are other less dangerous things that would be cool to learn more on.
100% and getting more brant
100% need more of this
+2
Call the series "wow we're dipshits" and maybe even get actual experts in to explain how and why, as much as watsisname did a great job here. Maybe actual youtube experts rather than a youtube educated novice. Pretty funy how even a novice could understand how poorly this went though.
There is nothing as amazing as seeing them do something stupid, and have it cut back to the studio where Brian is covering his face and Jason is laughing his ass off. I really love you guys knowing that you messed up bad and turning it into a cautionary tale.
The classic advice dads give somewhat rings true; if you're doing something potentially dangerous with power tools or whatever, and you get a bad feeling about it, or don't know how to proceed, stop, because that's your self preservation kicking in. Once they realized the chainsaw was too dull to cut effectively, or that they didn't have all the steps clearly planned out that was their first clue. And then you see how things quickly spiral into a more and more dangerous situation. I think this video is a good example how situations can quickly get out of your control if you aren't careful, not just with woodcutting.
I grew up around a lot of loggers, we heated our house with wood, and I've run a saw or three. I'm not a pro. Brant did a better job of expressing how complex this is without leaving someone thinking, "Yep, I know everything now" which is something that pros actually have a lot of trouble doing. They explain something so well that the listener misses all the reasons they should be more cautious. Loggers also have a very mis-calculated sense of risk, or rather they calculate risk for themselves most of the time, their tolerance is way higher than yours, but they cannot share how you should calculate risk. So if you think you will need to run a saw, there are a lot of vids, watch a lot of them from a lot of other people. Understand that in most places the first two years on a crew you only are allowed to cut wood on the ground, then you get to fell "easy" freestanding trees for a year, and only then are you allowed to cut "complex" stuff like trees hanging up in other trees, and that's still "on the ground" no ladders, harnesses, crap like that. All of those are specialized skills. Get exposure, and learn that skill when there is no pressure. And wear that hard-hat. The branch that is most dangerous is just the one big enough to knock you out, or make you stumble while you need to be minding the saw or the falling tree. That three seconds of lights on might keep you from taking the permanent lights out. Thanks for sharing guys, it's easy to play that up as "look how good we did" instead of "look how lucky we got"
That's a really good way to put it. I definitely did a couple hours of research and was left just thinking "oh, I get this." And then when things didn't work like in the tutorials, stuff got really tense. I'm really hoping this episode serves as a cautionary tale. -Brian
I agree but also in my opinion, watching pros on TH-cam and amateurs on liveleak is an important part of doing dangerous things safely. Also there's some arborist channels that do a really good job of highlighting the risks along with great technical knowledge and skills, the community just lost a man in the NW that professionals looked up to for guidance and it was just a random accident, the whole professional crew missed a widowmaker and it made a widow... fuckin tragic shit.
@@ModernRogue I would HIGHLY URGE YOU to please keep safety in mind as absolutely first thing whenever you are on the stump
I'm glad to see you guy's do this video, to at least acknowledge what you did wrong. I see way too many videos with people ignoring basic safety practices and even acknowledging it as they do it, but then continue to do it anyway. Adam Savage did something similar after he injured himself working on his lathe, and I respect that.
Okay but major respect for being willing to upload the correction of errors up for everyone to learn what not to do. Humility- necessary trait for a modern rogue.
Thanks, man.
Oh man, when Brian presses play on the video to move on, but Brandt immediately pauses it again, like "No, we're not done yet"... :O
This felt more educational than just watching a video on how to do it right. I think going through the mistakes and possible outcomes will make it stick better in my mind.
I see the Modern Rogue as an indirect educational channel: you learn by watching Jason and Bryan learn, and you get to learn from their mistakes instead of making the mistakes yourself. That's what I've always loved about this channel! It's about the process of learning, not being spoonfed information 😂 this taught me immensely more than if I was only taught how to do it correctly
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Mad props on doing this autopsy video and not just deleting the original footage. Glad all of you made it out safe!
This is actually an excellent idea for a show or a new channel - Complicated task, group of inexperienced do-ers, and an expert who will *only* step in to stop them from killing each other.
That is a horrible idea…when do we start
Wonderful content. You deserve a redo video with a smaller tree with the arborist you suggested to guide you. Glad you’re all safe. That could have gone sideways…. Oh wait…
It takes a lot of bravery to post something like this, cause what you did was really dumb, coulda killed people, and I see it all the time on youtube, makes it real easy to look like you know what you're doing when you're behind a camera, and I'll bet can make one think they do in fact know what they're doing, all the while risking their lives and others.
So to be so bold as to not hide your failure, or try to dress it up like it wasn't, but to ALSO explain in detail precisely why it was so bad and dangerous is such a responsible move, good job Brandt!!! thank goodness y'all made it out unscathed, well, maybe not your egos.
This is probably one of my favorite episode of Modern Rogue to date. There's a lot to learn, and not only do all y'all go into the do's and don'ts, but also the why, which is a VERY important thing for learning. Many people who can't understand the why will resist learning due to that lack of understanding. I'm not an arborist, but the one thing that was first on my mind when you first put the wedges in was "how are they going to complete the cut with the wedges in the way?"
Owning to one's mistakes takes balls. Kudos on doing so on a public platform, and especially for doing so in such a good nature and sincere manner. I can't recall the times I've fell victim to Dunning-Kreuger effect and after realizing so, I've felt so guilty, demoralized and ashamed that apologies or explanations I owed seemed near impossible to express unless forced to. When the video started I was pretty judgmental, but at the 10 minute mark, I realized _how little I really know_ on this subject and how many of the same mistakes shown I would've made (and how many more, that you guys avoided I would've made and be unaware of!) again, bravo for ultimately exalting the virtues of a gentleman more than those of a scoundrel on this topic!
I actually really love this "MR reacts to MR" format for situations where the project went wrong. It was educational..and really funny. I do see the suggestions to bring in a professional for the critique, but I think that having and outsider in the position of putting them on blast would potentially rob some of the charm. I *would* love to see a follow-up expert where a pro walks them through taking down a similar tree the RIGHT way.
Can we just take a sec to appreciate Jason? As the tree was falling, Brian was trying to pull out the chainsaw and Brian grabbed him by the side and told him to move
I think you mean Jason grabbed him
@@catchara1496 I did In fact mean that
Watching them cut the tree started giving me anxiety, but then i was like "but they clearly survived as they're sitting there watching all their mistakes"
I originally thought one hour long was going to be too long: i started the video ... and just watched it till the end!!
It was informative, entertaining, even hilariously funny at times, this one video might actually be one of the best you have made!
It shows the nonsense, but this time it also shows what is REALLY going on behind the scenes (rather than just the innuendos we get here and there through various videos) and how much you all invest in making a video!
Also this time, you really educate your audience and i guess many of us watching can feel it: SAFETY IS NO JOKE.
Hopefully this video will be very helpful to many!
Thanks again for this very good video!!
This could have gone so much worse. Thank god you are safe.
To the people who watched this and now think they now know all the pitfalls and can go cut down a tree, I would suggest you consult a professional arborist and have them either cut it down for you, or if you want to learn, have them supervise you.
There is a reason for the statistic about deaths in the logging industry, it is very dangerous even for veteran loggers.
This video COULD save lives.
Before I watched some tree felling videos, I assumed I could cut down any tree and be fine without knowing proper methods.
This video helps prove that you need to know what you are doing FIRST.
At least do some reading and watching some videos like Brandt did, that way you can avoid making seemingly logical assumptions that are completely wrong.
Being willing to share and teach using your mistakes, explaining how you get there, and why it is a bad idea. Glad you made it out alive.
Now this is how you salvage a bad video that would hurt your credibility as a somewhat educational channel. You turn it into a "What not to do" video with insightful and comedic commentary. This is a "hindsight is 20/20" kind of thing and I dig it.
Double-props to Brandt for that, he took the footage from that day and whipped up the commentary and research himself and it is an essential part of the story.
Props for Brandt for calling it and having you sit down instead of just uploading the material as is.
Loving all the new episodes. Looking forward to yall bringing in more guests. Don't go resetting that injury counter too much though!
Thanks for this one. It's a needed follow-up to clarify things, because going through every single thing place where a fuck-up occurred is critical to communicate clearly what shouldn't be done.
i don’t know if it’s every time brian laughs but at 50:19 it really sounds like he’s about to start singing feel good inc.
I feel like this format, of having someone sit you down and review everything you did wrong, would be perfectly valid for half your videos.
58:11 I like how Brandt didn't even mention that he was basically directly under where it fell, glad it was a slow fall indeed.
Honestly, I think this is my new favorite format and probably one of the best videos ever
As a fellow Texan who learned almost these exact lessons in a very similar manner, thanks for the trip down memory lane. Trees are tough, yo.
Can you do more of these? This really long video/podcast deal is oddly relaxing and interesting.
Guys, I'm just glad you guys are okay. I watched where this was going and I immediately started checking you guys out for missing limbs. Seriously, leave this to us pros guys.
GA 4H has a forestry program, there were competitions for identifying types of trees based on leaves, using forestry sticks to find the height of the tree and had an idea of how long our average step was to walk from that point to the tree to get a rough measurement.
Glad you've fine after this. It could went so wrong
I am far from finishing this vid but Brian walking in front of the cut really does me in. I want to scream at him for entering the danger zone. That's only from 3 months of working with an auditor for civil engineering, I can only imagine what professional safety auditors would think from that moment alone. Cheers for the entertainment
Edit: 18:30 come on guys, twice? If this was a Livestream, you would've given a brother a heartattack. Glad you all survived because any damage like that to a tree, pole, structure, you don't know what's inside. Could have easily dropped itself if it had a hollow core
Edit 2: Brian isn't the only offender. You guys need a safety officer of some kind lmao
Another thing I saw here, unrelated to forestry, NEVER use a trailer hitch to pull something. If by chance the rope you're using is stronger than the metal of the hitch. it could snap the ball off at high speed.
This format would make workplace safety videos way more interesting and engaging. I vote that we switch all workplace safety videos out with videos of incompetent workers reacting to recordings of their horrendous mistakes.
Can we please have more of Brian and Jason blindly attempting to do stuff and then teaching from their mistakes? This is so hilarious, but also really is such a good way of teaching as well.
Ya'll are worth the time and money it takes to be safe.
Please don't skirt safety in the future. You talking about safety and PPE gear and what research you did and what you needed to protect yourself is good content.
Please don't hurt yourself. It's not worth it
The bad part is they always bring it up but then don’t…”should we have gloves? Nah I need the dexterity”
I've cut down trees a few years myself. I'm by no means a professional but I'm fairly decent and can maintain my own property.
There is NEVER a time I am not afraid of cutting down a tree. By this I mean it's extremely dangerous and anything could happen. It's always good to spend your time planning, maybe get a second opinion, and always follow through. Things like guide ropes and vehicles are also really nice in terms of making a tree felling safer.
He didn't even cover the multitude of ways that tools were misused. Thanks, Shwood. This was a great episode.
Well done everyone! I love and appreciate the integrity, humility, and authenticity.
I was in my mid 20s up in northern California with almost zero knowledge of the right way to cut down a tree. I picked out a tree that was dead and thought I could cut it down with an axe. Turns out it was dead oak. And my ability to sharpen an axe was beginner at very best. Took me a few days but I did it. And after seeing this episode. I know now I did a 1000% better job then they did.
these last two videos have been absolute gold, Some of the best modern rogue probably ever
42:16 "This is the worst f@$king WarioWare game ever."
learning how to do something by watching someone else do it wrong, is honestly one of the best ways to learn.
Great informational video, proud to see something like this when you guys make a mistake.
I would love to see a follow up video where you do it exactly how you're supposed to!
I want more of these podcasts type grading vids it goes well with the uncut practice realism that you guys have it also goes with becoming a modern rogue with stuff taken time and practice and KNOWLEDGE 👏
I love that they gave us this and the thermite in a one-two consecutive punch, I'm gonna rewatch these so much, lol
We need more of these. I need to understand more of the writhing things that control your actions from between your ears.
Getting back to the old Modern Rogue I fell in love with years ago
This is very responsible, owing your mistakes this way and helping educate others.
This kinda kills me. I want to just step in and help so many times. I'm not a professional arborist or tree feller, but I took training from the forest service on cutting down trees, and have taken an arborist coarse.
I would love to come down there and do a "what to do" video since this was a "what not to do" we could cover sharpening the chain since it could be done with some reasonably affordable tools. As well as basic saw use & care. Then we could get into the different ways to cut down a tree.
In the end, I was captivated through the whole hour of this video. Hope you can make another, but less nerve-wracking one.
Every time Brandt pauses the video and just _looks_ at Brian and Jason in that certain way before saying anything is just... so good, lol. Can't believe I missed this one.
I honestly think this is one of my favorite episodes so far and I hope you never have to do another one. I'm so glad no one was injured. Next time your doing a video like this can you please add a safety briefing to the start of the video and can you guys please start doing them before rolling the camera for most other videos. It's amazing what a quick 5 minute conversation can do for safety.
My great grandpa was a tree cutter and he had similar happen to where it cut wrong he ended up getting crushed to death by a huge tree. He apparently was insanely good at his job but it was a freak accident that took his life.
Also yes you can sharpen your chains my dad does once maybe twice then he gets a new one
as a professional logger i have to say i find this . . . very amusing lol. i love how confident they always are despite knowing that they dont know anything. believe in your dreams no matter what and go right at it as long as there is no one in the dangerzone. someone else might have just deleted the video. sometimes you have to be brave AND stupid
Yo the relation ship between Brian and his employees is so great gets rooted all facts and he takes it like a champ
Lots of gun/hunting stores have noise-cancelling headphones with microphones and speakers in them. They relay all audio into the headphones, but if a certain sound above the hearing-safe threshold is made, it mutes that.
Could be a good MR episode testing them out, finding out what household items/tasks are muted by the technology.
Actually really appreciate this episode because was recently wondering how difficult it would be to cut down a tree that needs to go and had no idea about much of what was covered. So I'm no longer considering it lol. Thanks 👍
As someone who has a dead tree and wondering if I could fell it myself, I learned SO much from this episode. Other videos made it look so easy I am hesitant because I knew I would basically do what happened here. Now I can go home and have a better idea of what to do. Thank you thank you for being that guy so hopefully I won't be. Thanks.
This is the single most informational tree cutting video on the web now.
I really appreciate all the gesturing with tools whether with the chainsaw or the axe.
I appreciate that we have reached the point of MR where we acknowledge they have no clue what they're doing, have a tendency to be really dangerous, and wish to provide opposing accurate information... Once they've nearly crushed themselves 😂
I would love to see you guys do another autopsy video of the original with @Guilty of Treeson (a professional arborist), one of his close friends actually died doing this, but it was an entirely different story. He would be great to tell you guys what went wrong, and how you could improve for future trees that need felling.
"FORE! (?) Timber, TIMBER!"
That's definitely my favourite part.
On the PPE note, they sell a construction colored helmet that protects the head, comes with a face guard, and hearing protection. They can be pricey, but you can wear earbuds under them.
Also, and pardon the shouting, NOISE CANCELATION IS NOT HEARING PROTECTION. Get something that's rated for hearing protection, and don't assume other measures (e.g., "it provides a seal") mean it'll protect your ears.
@@ProtoV33MK1 What I know from various safety sources (OSHA, Boy Scouts, etc.) is that only equipment rated to protect hearing is considered "safe" when hearing damage is on the table.
My understanding is that noise canceling is better than nothing, but it can't cover everything (especially sudden spikes and certain frequencies outside the norm).
My perception is that noise canceling sucks to protect hearing, based on the headaches I'd get when trying to block out the sound of a screaming infant back when I lived in the same house as my sister and infant niece. Nothing like ringing ears and noise headaches *when you can't hear what's causing it*.
AFAIK, the headphones transmit the opposite frequency, but you're still taking those decibels (it can't isolate the sound, just mask it).
I'd love to see a part 2 where you have an arborist show exactly how to do it safely. Maybe a collab between you and Guilty of Treeson!
The height measuring trick Brandt showed with the 45 degree angle should be pretty precise, but only on level ground. A trick that´s quicker and works on slopes as well would be, while standing off about 90 degress to the intended felling direction, to have something in your hand upright (branch, tool handle etc) that from your point of view compares to the height of the tree, and then just tilt it until it´s about level with the ground. If you keep the bottom of your implement at the base of the tree, its tip will be where you can expect the tip of the tree to hit the ground.
Also, when you´re pulling on a tree with a rope never do that inline, have an anchor with a pulley and pull perpendicular to it.
That way you´ll get out of the danger zone further the more you pull.
I like the format of a how-to video, that’s actually a what not to do video.
That oar to find the height of a tree is the best thing I learned this video. I may not cut down a tree, but at least I can find out the minimum distance stuff should be away (further than that, but great starting point)
So much about this just felt icky to watch from a safety point of view but I think what scared me the most is 1) the amount of tension on that rope knowing how unpredictable that snap was going to be and 2) how many times Jason just walked in front of the already notched side of the tree while they were trying to get it to come down. But it wouldn't be the Modern Rogue without a little pucker factor :P
"I would like to ask what do you think the wedges are doing at this point?" Great question. Amazing video
Oh my god. it just gets worse and worse.
yep.
I'm so happy the injury counter didn't need to make a appearance in this episode
55:25 I love the realisation of the pickaxe being bent and Brian just swearing non-stop, immediately followed by the silence of Brian using a push saw and both of them losing their sh*t 🤣
Other than the complete disregard for the sanctity of life its kind of amazing to get a peek behind the curtain and a glance at the process and behind the scenes of it all. When you take all the death defying i mean
This really reads like "besides that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?"
One thing not mentioned in the critique is that axes and hatchets are NOT usually made to be hammered on from the back. I had a friend who was chopping wood, got the axe stuck, and thought he'd finish the split by hitting the back of the axe with a hammer. The back of the axe split on the edge, driving a hot iron spike through his boot and into his foot. Use wedges to wedge. Never a sharp and possibly splinterable axe. Or in this case two hatchets. If your axe/hatchet gets 'stuck', get a wedge and use that to take off the tension and free it. But in this case, they freely chose to wedge the hatchets into the tree, so they were doing both parts wrong. Just one of the many mistakes that I can't believe allows them to be alive :)
This was like a masterclass of how to take a tree down in as dangerous of a fashion as possible. As a total amateur who thought about removing his own tree and bailed on the idea, the semi professionals who removed it definitely cut the limbs off first and did not fell the tree in 1 go, it was broken down into several pieces, which took a while, but definitely seemed like a safer method of removal.
All in all, glad nobody got hurt/died, any landing you can walk away from....
"In the yukon we just wedge the shit out of them"
As a yukoner our trees are not big enough to worry about that also Jason's outfit 10 out of 10 red green vibes
Most important thing you can do to keep a chainsaw blade sharp is keeping bar oil in it at all times and making sure the oiler is actually working and isn't clogged up. You can sharpen the blades by hand with a round file or with a Dremel, but if you aren't getting any oil, it's not going to stay sharp for very long and isn't going to cut very well and can actually damage the chain and bar, plus it makes it very difficult to cut through dense wood. I know this first hand because I had to cut up an ash tree that fell in our yard last year after a storm and the chain started smoking while trying to cut through a section. Turns out the oiler was clogged up and I was getting no oil and it dulled up the chain pretty badly. I was using the same model Stihl that Brian got from his dad. They seem to be prone to getting the oiler channels clogged up and not lubing the chain like they're supposed to if you don't clean them out.
glad no one was hurt,
loved the layout of this video,
buy a new chainsaw,
dont do that again
😅
this is something i wish my dad had watched prior to trying to cut down trees in our yard. One time he "nicked" himself with the chainsaw but got SUPER lucky
@@DingDingTheTH-camBuddy oh, he was fine, just a few stitches and a 6 inch long scar on his forearm
@@DingDingTheTH-camBuddy well, for a couple years, cancer got him back in 2016
Love this format fellas. Would be interesting to see Brandt every time you guys really stuff it up for analysis.
God i hope not.
A note on the hearing protection point! you can buy earmuffs that connect to bluetooth and they are great for listening to whatever tf you want when doing loud stuff! I use mine when using the dirt compactor a lot
For height, I have run a DJI drone to the top of it and and used the height meter from that. Love the idea of holding the stick up though!!
Just came back to the channel, haven’t watched y’all in a long time and I hope things are doin good for you guys
I’m surprised no one talked about Jason hammering in the wedges with the back of an ax in such a way that the recoil of the hammering was sending the blade of the ax towards his torso and other arm
I saw the thumbnail and immediately knew, this is going to give me sweaty palms.
What bothered me was Jason constantly walking in front of the tree after the back of the tree was cut
Brandt embodies everything about me as a viewer
Watching this being a city perrson who has learned to cut down trees a few times - It's amazing that no one was hurt...
i would love to see both the boys put all of what they have learned to use with another tree of same or near the same size