Felling trees with an ax and an ordinary saw is a thing of the past; most owners of private houses and summer residents today acquire chainsaws. It is necessary to have a chainsaw – if there are no old trees on the site for felling, you periodically need to cut branches, and in case of force majeure, it often happens that a large tree falls or splits – here you really need to know how to properly cut a tree with a chainsaw.
A similar situation can occur both in the forest, where you will go on vacation, and in the country. If you notice that the tree is in disrepair and its fall threatens property damage, do not pull with a felling
Many do not think about safety, but several important rules must be learned to avoid dangerous situations.
Yes, there are special rules:
- Use appropriate footwear and clothing: non-slip shoes, safety glasses, gloves, heavy clothing. Ear plugs can help reduce noise levels.
- Check if the chain is well sharpened and tensioned. The tension is good if the guide teeth stay in the groove when you pull the chain off the top of the bar. When filling with oil, it is advisable to always check that the chain is properly tensioned.
- Do not work in windy conditions.
How to cut a tree with a chainsaw without harming nearby objects? Try to plan the trajectory of the fall, having previously studied the territory and the tree itself that you are going to cut down. If it is dry, large dead branches, the twigs may fall off, so they can be cut beforehand, and you need to be careful here.
You must leave the work area without hindrance. If there are other trees nearby, try to work so that the sawn branches do not get stuck in their branches, this can lead to an accident, and it is not easy to get them later. The cut tree you will need to then process and take out or remove from the site. Choose a felling direction so that you can easily cut and remove the tree later.
The material on uprooting tree stumps will also be useful:
Harvesting is an important step after felling a tree. Choose a place for the fall of the tree where it will be convenient to saw it into pieces, and then remove it from the site or load it onto a machine
Undercutting takes place in several stages. The first (upper) undercut is made at a quarter of the trunk diameter, at an angle of 45 °, you need to approach the tree from the side of the fall. Then an undercut is made from the bottom. It is done horizontally to the level where both undercuts are connected. After making two notches, you should have a 45 ° angle cut into the trunk. Do not cut the tree completely, otherwise it will be impossible to guess in which direction its trunk will fall.
The felling cut is now in use. Before starting work, make sure that there are no people, pets or objects that can be damaged in the fall area. The felling cut is made on the side that is opposite to the intended direction of fall of the trunk, it should be located at a distance of five centimeters from the bottom notch, parallel to it.
When felling cut, leave a hinge – 1/10 of the total diameter of the tree trunk. This is important as it provides the correct trajectory for its fall. If you do not make this cut, or make it less than the specified size, the path of the tree falling will become unpredictable.
Slowly lower the saw into the trunk. To prevent the tire from getting stuck in the trunk, insert a wedge into the felling cut before the tree starts to fall. The wedge must be made of plastic or wood, the metal wedge can damage the chain. The engine speed during the saw operation is maximum.
As you work, pay close attention to where the barrel is going. So you can take timely action if you feel that the fall has gone in the wrong direction.
The arrows indicate the cuts: 1 – upper, 2 – lower, 3 – felling. The unfinished part of the tree is a hinge to prevent falling in an unwanted direction
Two options for the notch: in the first case, the notch was made with a double right angle, it is more difficult to make it, but the tree is guaranteed to fall in the direction you planned, in the second case, the most common option of the notch, described above, is performed
When the trunk begins to fall, quickly remove the saw from the cut, turn off the engine and leave the work area. Perform all actions quickly, delay can be dangerous.
Advice. It is more convenient to cut a tree in the direction of curvature, the greatest development of branches and branches, if the trunk is flattened – in the direction of a smaller diameter.
The video below demonstrates an example of work – fast felling of a tree, where a minimum of time is spent on performing the necessary undercuts:
That’s all, we looked at how to properly fell trees with a chainsaw – if you follow the above rules, you can easily knock down the tree you want. And the main thing here is to be attentive and focused. Before the first felling, you can practice on a small dry tree, if you have one on your site, or look for one in a nearby planting.
