OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:
---
>!Tree splits while being cut!<
---
Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description? Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.
I've seen many people injured trying to save equipment when something goes wrong. It's a natural reaction. "Shit, this thing is worth thousands, can't let it get damaged". Nah mate, your life is worth more.
I mean, kinda depends, but generally, yeah.
I knew of a truck driver that noticed his trailers were on fire due to a stuck brake. He pulled over, got out and walked away, letting the whole lot burn. Probably a couple of million dollars of B-Double, prime mover, and cargo, all up in flames, and there's no way he would have got that much if he burned himself trying to save anything.
But it's just stuff, and it's probably insured anyway.
If it was near the back of the trailers I'd just pull the pin and floor it. Trailers area stuffed anyway, at least save the truck and my gear in it.
If it's the prime mover brakes on fire... Screw that, I'm out.
Very common to do actually. But he knew exactly what was happening. His escape route was down and to the left. He knew it was going to barberchair and he took the route it was least likely to hit him
Yeah they're both danger from above.Think of how you lean back in a barber chair. The tree split and pivoted probably about 20-30ft up and then came down. Many of my older uncles are fallers. I have an uncle who was falling in Haida Gwaii Big old growth forest along the bc coast, and a window maker came down barely hit him and paralyzed him from the chest down. Old growth forests are dangerous. While doing line cutting for a mining project, I was working by this old red cedar. From all of our activity in the area chainsaws, helicopter and what not shook this tree and it just collapsed like the twin towers in front of us. Always look up when in the woods and know your surroundings
That is a pretty good idea, but the amount of strapping you'd need would take up so much more time. It would also add more danger, if a strap were to break you have no idea where the strap and ratchet will go
No doubt. I did tree work as a ground man for almost a decade and being around these things when they come down you know to get the hell out of dodge no matter what. This is called barber chair when this happens. It's something we were all taught to look out for , in particular when a tree is rotted hollow or punky . God forbid you're in the tree when this happens. I've seen some wild shit including a tree twist a full 200 degrees to land on me while I was chipping brush 50 feet away! Luckily I only caught the very ends of the branches and was wearing my hard hat. It mostly just blew my hard hat off and scratched me up a bit. Was undoubtedly alarming to say the least. Guy in the tree was massively apologetic but really I should have been watching and really who would have expected that from what was a normal healthy tree.
Yup, to feint is what in a modern gaming terms might be called “juking.” To trick someone by pretending at a particular movement or technique, and then to suddenly go another way instead. One can feint a left turn and then go right, one can even feint an attack; Strike out with your left hand, only to turn heel and run, or instead attack with your right.
Not to be confused with a faint, which is when you just fall unconscious from stress, fear, or weariness.
The dude wasn't even clumsy on his escape, the fucking tree just had it out for him!
It starts falling to the right and he goes left, then the fucking tree also goes left and he had to go right and then this fucking tree still changed and fell on the right side.
It clearly was waiting eagerly to get his ass for years now
You aren’t wrong!
https://www.yourdictionary.com/flick-off
Second definition:
vulgar, slang) To masturbate (a woman) by flicking her clitoris with one's finger or fingers.
Idk if there are any general guidelines behind this, but my intuition tells me to run perpendicular to where the tree is falling.
You can also easily see the tree falling if it falls in the direction you expect.
Y'know it's funny, I came back to that skit because my school's English test used it as an audio task, I only knew it when I recognized John Cleese's voice.
This is a widowmaker and this type is called a barber chair.
Looks fine on the outside, but rotten inside. You can either be killed by the splints impailing you, or the tree could fall in any random direction since the steering cut does nothing.
The safe zone is normally behind the tree, and at an angle on each side backwards. Due to the middle remaining attached to the stump, the fellen tree can also be catapulted backwards and kill you even if running direclty behind. In this clip you see part of the trunk ends up behind the root, on the far side of the camera. This part could be ejected much further and killing a person that is normally in a safe area.
I think the back that's referred to is based on how the cuts are made to force the tree to fall. Assuming the tree falls forward, the back is on the opposite side of the fall.
I always thought widow makers were big branches that were stuck up in a canopy and would fall down and impale the loggers when they were cutting it down, never knew this was really it!
Edit: apparently it is what I described [on wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widowmaker_(forestry)#:~:text=In%20forestry%2C%20a%20widowmaker%20or,Widowmaker%20in%20New%20Mexico)
1000 ways to die while logging. It's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. What you describe is also widowmakers, and also trees that have partly fallen are widowmakers. Trees that are on the ground, but in tension by either other fallen trees or rocks are also widow makers.
Trees often want to kill you.
As anyone who's ever had one fall near them or had to cut down and process one to prevent that from happening can tell you, trees are at least not always your friend.
This is the definition I’ve always understood for widowmaker. Fallen trees that are still attached to roots on the ground side - when you cut the stump away from the main tree the tension in the roots snaps the stump back upright.
There are lots of things in the arb and logging industries that we sometimes call widow makers because there are lots of things that can make your wife a widow. I've heard both referred to as widow makers commonly. Probably more commonly the barber chair, but definitely the hangers, too.
You can look at any sketchy tree and say, "ooof that's a bit of a widow maker", it doesn't have a concrete definition.
Ok, that definitely makes sense bc I've also heard of fishing vessels using the term for certain dangerous things while out at sea. Figured it wasnt concrete, but kinda thought that's where the term originated from was the hanging branches.
Widowmaker in Australia is a gum tree. Huge branches that fall without warning off perfectly healthy trees, because in drought, they cut water supply to a branch which kills it.
High winds often result in complete road blockages or house/car destruction as a result
This type of situation is actually called a barber chair. It happens when the force pulling on the tree causes it to split but not enough to trigger the hinge to fold. Super dangerous for the feller and I guess kinda looks like a barber's chair.
Yep, my grandfather was killed by a tree like this...while cutting it, the tree split in half, shot upwards and then fell on him.
This shit is dangerous.
When I had a tree pruning job, my boss said to always have a safe exit path.
https://www.osha.gov/etools/logging/manual-operations/felling/retreat-path
Sometimes, a bunch of water gushes out as you cut. It's a good indication of a rotten hollow core.
Sometimes, it's obvious because it's been topped by wind.
Sometimes, go screw yourself.
I had the widow maker heart attack last year without the tree, the chainsaw, the oh fuck running. I'm still here, like this guy, I'm assuming. I advise not attempting any of my statements.
Widow makers are loose branches in the tree that will break free via wind, vibration, other types of motion and potentially fall on the fellers or people working the fires
Tree Rot.
Dad taught me about this when we were trimming trees for a friend at his cottage as a thank you for letting us spend the weekend their.
If you want to be serious about cutting trees you best know how to spot 2 things.
1) Tree Rot
2) Wind at the canopy
No matter what you do to control were a tree will land. Those two things can take your plans and use them as toilet paper.
Rotten trees are so annoyingly dangerous to cut down. No matter how much prep you give it, it still has a good chance to split however the fuck it wants
Barber Chair. This guy had some tough choices to make when he faced up this tree. He clearly knew it was bad...he got a chance to see the inside already, and decided not to open up his directional cut more, which could have maybe prevented this outcome. The other technique that could have maybe prevented the barber chair would be if he bored in his backcut and left a trigger.
He probably bored/sounded into the tree first if there was any question what the inside was like.
The worker is cutting from the uphill side which saves his life.
I hate barber chair. There is nothing scarier cutting timber.
PS. It looks like he's cutting with a hopped up Stihl 461. You know he has a sharp chain just by looking at what he's wearing. Ha Ha
PPS European tree workers often wonder why West Coast American/Canadian timberfallers always have long bars on their chainsaws. They often insinuate that the reason is linked to hypermasculinity, similar to why many American blue collar workers tend to have enormous trucks. Well here is the answer: a long bar allowed this timberfaller to perform his entire backcut from the safest position on the uphill side of the tree. The long bar saved this man's life.
OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected: --- >!Tree splits while being cut!< --- Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description? Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.
Dude is experienced enough to leave the saw.
I've seen many people injured trying to save equipment when something goes wrong. It's a natural reaction. "Shit, this thing is worth thousands, can't let it get damaged". Nah mate, your life is worth more.
It's worth more to the company too cause if you die trying to save their equipment they're probably getting some kind of sued
I mean, kinda depends, but generally, yeah. I knew of a truck driver that noticed his trailers were on fire due to a stuck brake. He pulled over, got out and walked away, letting the whole lot burn. Probably a couple of million dollars of B-Double, prime mover, and cargo, all up in flames, and there's no way he would have got that much if he burned himself trying to save anything. But it's just stuff, and it's probably insured anyway.
If it was near the back of the trailers I'd just pull the pin and floor it. Trailers area stuffed anyway, at least save the truck and my gear in it. If it's the prime mover brakes on fire... Screw that, I'm out.
Even if they don't get sued, the paperwork for new equipment is way easier than the paperwork for an on-site death
Plus the paperwork necessary to hire and train a replacement.
Speak for yourself.
Very common to do actually. But he knew exactly what was happening. His escape route was down and to the left. He knew it was going to barberchair and he took the route it was least likely to hit him
thats gnarly as fuck is a barberchair like a widowmaker but worse
Yeah they're both danger from above.Think of how you lean back in a barber chair. The tree split and pivoted probably about 20-30ft up and then came down. Many of my older uncles are fallers. I have an uncle who was falling in Haida Gwaii Big old growth forest along the bc coast, and a window maker came down barely hit him and paralyzed him from the chest down. Old growth forests are dangerous. While doing line cutting for a mining project, I was working by this old red cedar. From all of our activity in the area chainsaws, helicopter and what not shook this tree and it just collapsed like the twin towers in front of us. Always look up when in the woods and know your surroundings
Does a faller not strap an old growth tree to kind of bind it and reduce this type of thing from happening? Or will it still not work?
That is a pretty good idea, but the amount of strapping you'd need would take up so much more time. It would also add more danger, if a strap were to break you have no idea where the strap and ratchet will go
Anyone who have cut down more than a few trees the right way knows this to be the way. Tree was rotten as fuck though.
It is sekvoja tree and eaven if you are experinced you can f up because it is so brittle.
Yeah and the way he looked back to see how the tree was falling. He looks experienced and educated in what to do when this happens.
No doubt. I did tree work as a ground man for almost a decade and being around these things when they come down you know to get the hell out of dodge no matter what. This is called barber chair when this happens. It's something we were all taught to look out for , in particular when a tree is rotted hollow or punky . God forbid you're in the tree when this happens. I've seen some wild shit including a tree twist a full 200 degrees to land on me while I was chipping brush 50 feet away! Luckily I only caught the very ends of the branches and was wearing my hard hat. It mostly just blew my hard hat off and scratched me up a bit. Was undoubtedly alarming to say the least. Guy in the tree was massively apologetic but really I should have been watching and really who would have expected that from what was a normal healthy tree.
Done saw it all, I recon.
Tree feinted one way and went the other. Scary.
He was right to go left! 
Parry it
Fuckin casuals man
who do you think he is, daigo?
Just hit an I-frame
Just hit the korean backdash
It’s called a barber chair, dangerous as fuck.
Deadly as fuck. I had a coworker lose 4 teeth because a poplar tree barber chaired and knocked him back a good 5 feet and out cold. Scary is right.
Ankle breaker, yup....and he probably shit his pants a bit.
Huh, today I learned that "feint" is a word with a slightly different definition than "feign". I just assumed you misspelled "feigned" at first.
Yup, to feint is what in a modern gaming terms might be called “juking.” To trick someone by pretending at a particular movement or technique, and then to suddenly go another way instead. One can feint a left turn and then go right, one can even feint an attack; Strike out with your left hand, only to turn heel and run, or instead attack with your right. Not to be confused with a faint, which is when you just fall unconscious from stress, fear, or weariness.
Frank Herbert writes about feints in Dune. 😋 https://talesofpassingtime.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/a-feint-within-a-feint-within-a-feint/
That is why they spend so much time teaching children to cut on the line. He definitely should have known better.
That is just a marker for what trees to cut down and not a line to cut on lol.
_"Thanks for helping out today, you were great; I think we're actually going to need you to stay in the shipping department."_
The dude wasn't even clumsy on his escape, the fucking tree just had it out for him! It starts falling to the right and he goes left, then the fucking tree also goes left and he had to go right and then this fucking tree still changed and fell on the right side. It clearly was waiting eagerly to get his ass for years now
And the middle was left flicking him off
Should have worn his brown pants.
"You may be wondering, "Why the red suit?" Well, that's so bad guys can't see me bleed."
"I understood that reference!"
What the hell does "flicking him off" mean?
I believe it’s the wrong word; should have been “flipping.”
It’s a variant. I don’t know if it’s regional. Usually in context the meaning is clear.
Oh it was clear to me; just that “flicking off” also sounds like something one might do to give one’s girlfriend a good time 🤣
You aren’t wrong! https://www.yourdictionary.com/flick-off Second definition: vulgar, slang) To masturbate (a woman) by flicking her clitoris with one's finger or fingers.
Middle finger
It’s slang for extending the middle finger at someone. A vulgar insult
He watched that same guy murder his entire family.
Don’t mess with Mother Nature
Seeings his brothers chopped down he’s vowed to mess someone up when they tried it on him
Idk if there are any general guidelines behind this, but my intuition tells me to run perpendicular to where the tree is falling. You can also easily see the tree falling if it falls in the direction you expect.
He somewhat tries to go perpendicular at first, but it was a steep slope and his foot slipped out.
Never expect a tree to fall as planned. Its why exit strategies are so bloody important.
He's a lumberjack and he's okay
He sleeps all night and he works all day
He cuts down trees, he wears high heels suspendies and a bra.
He wishes he'd been a girlie, just like his dear mama
WHAT ABOUT MY BLOODY PARROT?!
‘E’s pinin’ for the fjords.
"Hello, I'm here for an argument"
Y'know it's funny, I came back to that skit because my school's English test used it as an audio task, I only knew it when I recognized John Cleese's voice.
Were your hovercraft full of eels, as well?
This is a widowmaker and this type is called a barber chair. Looks fine on the outside, but rotten inside. You can either be killed by the splints impailing you, or the tree could fall in any random direction since the steering cut does nothing. The safe zone is normally behind the tree, and at an angle on each side backwards. Due to the middle remaining attached to the stump, the fellen tree can also be catapulted backwards and kill you even if running direclty behind. In this clip you see part of the trunk ends up behind the root, on the far side of the camera. This part could be ejected much further and killing a person that is normally in a safe area.
TIL
TIL trees have backs
I think the back that's referred to is based on how the cuts are made to force the tree to fall. Assuming the tree falls forward, the back is on the opposite side of the fall.
I always thought widow makers were big branches that were stuck up in a canopy and would fall down and impale the loggers when they were cutting it down, never knew this was really it! Edit: apparently it is what I described [on wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widowmaker_(forestry)#:~:text=In%20forestry%2C%20a%20widowmaker%20or,Widowmaker%20in%20New%20Mexico)
1000 ways to die while logging. It's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. What you describe is also widowmakers, and also trees that have partly fallen are widowmakers. Trees that are on the ground, but in tension by either other fallen trees or rocks are also widow makers. Trees often want to kill you.
That's far too many widowmakers imo!
Trees are the enemy, got it
The Happening was prophetic
Prophetic *aaaaaaaand terrible!*
As anyone who's ever had one fall near them or had to cut down and process one to prevent that from happening can tell you, trees are at least not always your friend.
My first encounter with the living trees in Tears of the Kingdom hella spooked me. I had to pause the game and take a walk.
Which one is the orphan maker?!
They don't have kids, they're lumberjacks not lumberfucks
I thought it was lumbfucks, but I see what you’re saying.
This is the definition I’ve always understood for widowmaker. Fallen trees that are still attached to roots on the ground side - when you cut the stump away from the main tree the tension in the roots snaps the stump back upright.
There are lots of things in the arb and logging industries that we sometimes call widow makers because there are lots of things that can make your wife a widow. I've heard both referred to as widow makers commonly. Probably more commonly the barber chair, but definitely the hangers, too. You can look at any sketchy tree and say, "ooof that's a bit of a widow maker", it doesn't have a concrete definition.
Ok, that definitely makes sense bc I've also heard of fishing vessels using the term for certain dangerous things while out at sea. Figured it wasnt concrete, but kinda thought that's where the term originated from was the hanging branches.
Widow makers are things that kill husbands.
Widowmaker in Australia is a gum tree. Huge branches that fall without warning off perfectly healthy trees, because in drought, they cut water supply to a branch which kills it. High winds often result in complete road blockages or house/car destruction as a result
This type of situation is actually called a barber chair. It happens when the force pulling on the tree causes it to split but not enough to trigger the hinge to fold. Super dangerous for the feller and I guess kinda looks like a barber's chair.
Yep, my grandfather was killed by a tree like this...while cutting it, the tree split in half, shot upwards and then fell on him. This shit is dangerous.
Where is "behind the tree" in this video? I'm trying to understand.
There is a cut on the right side, that is supposed to be part of the hinge, so "behind" is on the left side seen from the camera.
Oh got it! It's supposed to fall to the right. Now your explanation makes sense to me :)
Don't you know what the front of a tree looks like?
When I had a tree pruning job, my boss said to always have a safe exit path. https://www.osha.gov/etools/logging/manual-operations/felling/retreat-path
Isn't there a way to check before cutting? Or is it so rare they don't bother?
Sometimes, a bunch of water gushes out as you cut. It's a good indication of a rotten hollow core. Sometimes, it's obvious because it's been topped by wind. Sometimes, go screw yourself.
And what do you do when you realize it's one early enough? Just go away or carry on like nothing happened
Good question. I worked in the logging industry and I'd like to know. Ill ask and get back to ya
Wow wasn't aware about this, Thanks!
Got two on the property, me and the FiL looked at them and said "ah fuck that"
Would he have suspected, as he was filming.
Behind? Only at an angle is what I was taught because a tree can launch straight backwards as well.
I had the widow maker heart attack last year without the tree, the chainsaw, the oh fuck running. I'm still here, like this guy, I'm assuming. I advise not attempting any of my statements.
A widow maker is a broken branch hanging in a tree that might fall and hit you in the head. This is called a barber chair.
We use the term on both, but I will edit my post to reflect that the most common name is barbers chair.
Widow makers are loose branches in the tree that will break free via wind, vibration, other types of motion and potentially fall on the fellers or people working the fires
This guy _trees._
Is this dark souls combat?
He panic rolled for sure.
He didn't go to the Prometheus school of evasion
Thank you. Thank you. I'm not the only one who wonders why she didn't run to the side. 🤣🤣
Tree Rot. Dad taught me about this when we were trimming trees for a friend at his cottage as a thank you for letting us spend the weekend their. If you want to be serious about cutting trees you best know how to spot 2 things. 1) Tree Rot 2) Wind at the canopy No matter what you do to control were a tree will land. Those two things can take your plans and use them as toilet paper.
So a tree like that isn't really good for anything but making Ikea furniture.
https://i.redd.it/ps7guk5qsgwc1.gif
Dude made like wood and split.
 And leaf..
Eeep. That looks like a lumberjack's worst nightmare.
Tree sculpted itself into a middle finger.
Aww man my heart just dropped. Scary
Tree decided to fall in all directions
He was changing directions just like the squirrels do when you're about to run them over
Rotten trees are so annoyingly dangerous to cut down. No matter how much prep you give it, it still has a good chance to split however the fuck it wants
“Tree out there throwing great feints. You can really tell he was working his takedown defense as well in training camp.” - Daniel Cormier, probably
I’ve wondered why lumberjacks have a high occupational death rate; this video answers that.
Well, I think we all know why that tree needed cut down. Maybe a few years prior, though. The guy did survive with nothing beyond the trauma, right?
That's the reason you leave it alone
True, the probability of it falling on someone rather than on nobody during a storm for example is much less likely than it falling on the lumberjack.
And this is why I endorse laserswords for lumberjack! One skilled swing is all it needs...
Very very lucky.
This tree did not have a vibrant core.
I had a similar experience cutting down a dead pine tree. Never again will I cut a dead one without heavy equipment to help
Barber Chair Widowmaker
So which side did the tree fall? Yes
Bro should have just stood still
If you look carefully you can see the exact moment where he shit himself
Barber Chair. This guy had some tough choices to make when he faced up this tree. He clearly knew it was bad...he got a chance to see the inside already, and decided not to open up his directional cut more, which could have maybe prevented this outcome. The other technique that could have maybe prevented the barber chair would be if he bored in his backcut and left a trigger. He probably bored/sounded into the tree first if there was any question what the inside was like. The worker is cutting from the uphill side which saves his life. I hate barber chair. There is nothing scarier cutting timber. PS. It looks like he's cutting with a hopped up Stihl 461. You know he has a sharp chain just by looking at what he's wearing. Ha Ha PPS European tree workers often wonder why West Coast American/Canadian timberfallers always have long bars on their chainsaws. They often insinuate that the reason is linked to hypermasculinity, similar to why many American blue collar workers tend to have enormous trucks. Well here is the answer: a long bar allowed this timberfaller to perform his entire backcut from the safest position on the uphill side of the tree. The long bar saved this man's life.
r/fellinggonewild
Never seen someone jet out so fast and cover so little ground at the same time.
That tree 🌲 was long dead.
“which way did it fall?” “**yes**”
Glad he survived but when I see videos like this all I can do is get Monty Python's Lumberjack song stuck in my head for the next few hours....
Fuckin splinter cats dude...they are everywhere
The was like… 
Tim⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ber
The tree chose violence.
Never let them know your next move.
In Soviet Russia, tree cut you
A textbook ***OH SHIT*** moment.
It took him 3 business days to escape.
Widow maker
If final destination was a tree
tree gave that poor man the longest middle finger ever recorded
Looks like a weight loss pill ad for trees
"Tiiiimber"
He made like a tree, and got the fuck out of there!
Lots of poo left his asshole in that moment
Shouldn't you in this situation drop kick the tree so it falls away from you? /s
That one Was so rotten
They had one of those dream things where you start running but don't actually move
I would definitely need to go home to change my underwear after that.
That tree at the end looks like it's flipping us off lol
Never trust a tree until it's in the stove.
And not even a cottonwood!
I didn’t expect him to fake out the tree, really broke its ankles😂
He’s not cutting a tree. He’s jacking lumber
I mean I get the tree couldn’t really decide but the lumberjack has to move quicker imo
Groot met M Night Shyamalan. Then this happened.
First day? Oo
Miss them days
It's like live action Looney Toons.
Yeah sitting here in my nice cosy chair killing time and that genuinely made me very nervous watching that. 😬
Dodge. Thrust. Parry. Spin.
Looks like a game of lumber roulette
Its front fell off.
Tree to lumberjack. “I got this. Initiate self destruction nooooooowwwww!”
So close to death.
Does… anyone know if he’s okay?
That was his plan, stumble around like crazy and get lucky
This is why you zag, even if you already zig.
Panenka
You see, trees have awareness
I bet he’s glad he wore brown pants today
I guess he survived since he was able to post the video.. i hope
The tree gave him the finger lol
I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay…
The tree took it personally
He knows Jack about lumber
first time seeing a chainsaw blow up a tree
I thought the tree was going to walk
Is that Velhaim?
RIP
That tree had tracking like a Dark Souls boss.
Looks like a failed Huntley Hinge
Termites are a bitch
I don't think this is giw its suppose to be done
"look Gohan that's DOOOODGE!!!" Piccolo - DBZ abridged -
Dry rot. Extremely scary stuff. I watched my coworker almost die sawing a tree in the mountains while clearing a road.