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Hinge cutting

motorbreaker

*Supporting Member I*
1,542
63
North of Toledo
I'm going to do some hinge cutting on my property. I have large areas of cedars, 5 acres or more.
I was wondering if I should cut a tree here and there or cut multipull trees in the same spot?
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,061
223
Ohio
I'm going to do some hinge cutting on my property. I have large areas of cedars, 5 acres or more.
I was wondering if I should cut a tree here and there or cut multipull trees in the same spot?

It really depends on what you want to accomplish. You have to envision what it's going to look like AFTER you make the cut(s). Sometimes cutting only one tree here and there is all you need... other times not so much.

Couple things to think about... 1. You want the hinge-cuts tree(s) to block the prevailing winds, 2. opening up the south side will result in more sunlight hitting the ground... that's good for two things... sprouting new growth of woody browse and adding warmth to the spot.

While you're at it, you may want to consider girdling some undesirable trees as well. Crowding the crowns of mast trees will really hurt their nut production. Girdle any shit trees that are crowding good oak or hickory trees.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I checked on the section of sugar maples I cut two weekends ago and it appears they all fell exactly how I wanted them to. I made several cuts and attempted to drop one larger tree on the 5-6 smaller ones so they would all fall in unison. Well the big tree hung up and for the life of me, I couldn't get it to fall so I just left it. The winds helped it along and now I have a nice barrier of trees on the backside of a small flat that sits on a south facing slope. It is the perfect spot for a deer to lay down and feel safe while soaking up the sun!
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,761
274
North Carolina
Can y'all post some pictures of what you've done? Be interested on how the finished product looked...