How to saw the wood in the right direction

Felling wood: how to cut a tree to fall in the right direction, how to saw with a chainsaw in pieces with your own hands

A chainsaw with the right power can cut as much wood as the cutting attachment can cut. You have to work very carefully and follow all the rules. Particular attention should be exercised when there is a risk of unpleasant situations due to too thick, frozen or contaminated wood. Take into account all the factors that can complicate the work, and use the chainsaw carefully, constantly monitoring your actions and the work of your partners. In this article we will talk about how to properly cut down a tree with a chainsaw. scheme and instructions.

How To Rout in the Right Direction

Tools for felling trees

To fell a tree in a certain direction professional feller and not only use special tools. The most common of them are felling forks, wedges and paddles. Special hydraulic or mechanical jacks can also be used.

Wedges can be made from wood directly at the place of felling, or they can be bought in specialized stores. Polymer wedges are widely used, the size of which is selected depending on the diameter of the tree to be felled.

To get an idea about felling jacks we recommend to see a video with this device which shows how a logger fells and lays a pine tree in a certain direction.

Felling blades work like a wedge, but have a lever that allows the operator to increase the force and help the tree to fall in the right direction. The principle of the felling blade operation, or even it is called a lever, you can learn by watching the video below.

How to correctly fell trees with a chainsaw

At first glance it may seem that this is quite a simple task, especially since most gardeners have a chainsaw in their arsenal, and hardly anyone in the old way chops trees with an axe. But, in fact, this work requires considerable effort and skill. About how to correctly fell trees, we will tell in this article.

First of all, we should talk about safety precautions, which, unfortunately, many people neglect. First, to work with a chainsaw do not wear wide clothes and jewelry. Secondly, do not forget about the protective equipment: special glasses, thick gloves, mufflers. Your shoes should be non-slip. Before felling trees with a chainsaw, be sure to check that the chain is sharpened. It is also very important to tension it properly, if done correctly, when pulling the chain from the top of the bar the guide tines must not come out of the groove. Check the chain tension every time you pour oil in.

Now to the job at hand. Felling trees in the countryside can be complicated by the fact that there may be houses or various buildings nearby. Therefore you should carefully look around the area and plan the path of the tree so that it does not damage nearby objects. Note that it is not recommended to work in a strong wind. If you want to cut an emergency tree, make sure there are no dead limbs which could fall on you.

In addition, you should think of a way out of the work area without any obstacles. When felling a tree it is important not to let it get hung up in the branches of neighboring trees, it will not only give you a lot of inconvenience (because it will be quite problematic to remove it), but also can be dangerous. Also understand that you do not just need to cut the tree, but also to process it further, so it is advisable to choose such a direction of felling that no obstacles (such as the terrain or the presence of foreign objects) arise during further work.

But nevertheless we advise to look at how professionals do it!

But if you do decide to fell the tree yourself, the sequence of steps should be as follows

First we prepare the tree for felling. We remove unnecessary objects from the trunk, cut down the lower branches so they don’t interfere with the work. From the fall side of the tree to a depth of ¼ of the trunk, make a slit from top to bottom at about a 45 degree angle. Then we trim it horizontally and get an undercut in the form of a wedge. The next cut is made from the side opposite to the fall. Specialists call it the felling cut. It is a few centimeters above the wedge-shaped felling notch.

At the dawn of my career as a gardener I bought a 40 meter long rope at the market. It looks like it was an element of mountaineering equipment. Before felling the tree at the highest possible height I tie a rope to the trunk. I do it with a stepladder. If I can, I can lift the loop of the rope with a light pole as high as possible. It is desirable that someone helps you with this, support the rope on the trunk with light tension, otherwise the loop could slip down.

Pull the other end of the rope in the direction of the intended fall of the plant. While sawing the trunk, the free part of the rope can be held by an assistant, and if you work alone, tie it to another tree, stump, peg or other object. The length of the rope must be at least twice the height of the tree. The free end has to be outside the fall area of the tree.

Make the felling cut carefully, do not miss the moment when the tree starts to move. Before you reach the wedge-shaped cut about a tenth of the trunk diameter, take the saw out and pull the free end of the rope in the direction of the fall of the tree. Again, you must stay at a safe distance from the tree. The described method of felling trees was tried out personally, but the diameter of the trees at the butt did not exceed thirty centimeters. I think you need to use specialists for felling more powerful plants.

That’s all, the main difficulty is over. Remove the branches from the trunk with a saw and an axe, and saw it into logs or poles, depending on whether it is to be split into smaller pieces.

The main thing is to be very careful and cautious so you can do it.

Felling with hanging

If you have a question about how to cut a large tree near a private home with a small area, it is worth considering the option of felling with the hooding. This means the tree to be felled must be hitched to a high pole in advance, so that when the tree is felled it does not fall off, but hangs on the rope. This method will allow you to cut the tree accurately without damaging the surrounding objects.

It is worth noting that hanging up on the same trunk (below the place of sawing) is highly undesirable, because after the cut piece of wood after sawing it will swing to the sides strongly. A piece cut in this way can cause injury to the tree operator or damage to nearby property.

How to cut a tree with a chainsaw and log it in the right direction?

The higher and branchier the tree, the harder it is to cut. The thicker is the trunk, the more damage the tree can do with its uncontrolled fall. A good chainsaw, a ladder and a good friend can help you get the tree down in the right direction. The main thing is to remember about safety techniques and follow the sequence of actions, which are described in this article.

How to cut a tree with a chainsaw

After the saw has sawn the trunk, push it with the hand or a pole, with the support at the height of 300-400 cm. To prevent the cracking of the log, the business timber is cleaned as soon as possible from limbs, after which the crosscutting and storage is carried out.

In order to fell a trunk by hand, you need to follow certain rules:

• the longer the hand saw blade, the more it springs, which can make it much more difficult to cut through hardwoods including ash, maple, and oak;
• Determine the length of the hacksaw blade in accordance with the rule which states that the length of the saw should be two times the diameter of the trunk;
• The teeth of a too short hacksaw will jam inside the wood, and uncomfortable work will cause rapid fatigue.

As a rule, the manual method is used to cut down young and not too tall trees.

Felling with pre-cutting

There are a number of trees that can not be removed from the site, if you do not cut down extra branches first. This is especially true if there are power lines or gas pipes nearby.

The main task of pruning is to balance, so it is not necessary to cut branches on the side where the trunk will fall.

It is important to correctly calculate the area where the unwanted tree will fall. If the entire length of the area can not be released, the tree is cut in parts.

• after processing, it is clearly visible that the felled trunk will fall in the right direction;
• The height is 30 to 50 percent less than the cleared area for the drop;
• Nearby are stationary objects and other trees that can be used to attach the stretch when tilting the trunk.

When all points are in alignment, you can proceed with the felling.

What you need to know to cut a tree correctly

Dacha owners and owners of private homes are sometimes faced with a difficult task: you need to cut down a tree located on the site. but how to do it correctly and safely? Let’s find out what methods and techniques can help solve this problem, what you should pay attention to and how to choose the right tool for such work.

To get good lumber a tree has to be sawn in the right way