Process to cutting a tree up?

[eclipseman]

I am by no means experienced at cutting a tree down, and then ultimately cutting it up. I understand all the best safety practices with regards to cutting a tree down and have cut a few down but I'm still trying to figure out the quickest and best approach to cutting the tree up once it is on the ground. Do you cut all the limbs off first? Do you, start at the top of the tree and work your way to the base or vice versa? How do you prevent your chainsaw blade from hitting the ground when you start cutting the main trunk up? Thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

[chickenlittle]

I'd recommend taking the Game of Logging l and II classes. The 2nd class covers limbing and bucking. Hands on and safety focused classes.

 

[ksgobbler]

If I still have the books from my wildfire chainsaw class I’d send them to you. I limb first. Then I start at the base and work my way up. Pay attention to how it is laying so you don’t pinch the bar off. Sometimes I start on top and cut a little way down then switch to the underside and cut up to finish it. There are also some lessons that experience proves to be a great teacher.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Limb and clear the area, make a clear safe working environment, you dont need to be tripping on, over branches with a running chainsaw.
after that, I just looking for where the log is hanging, and cut pieces from the hanging piece. If the log is on the ground, or has a valley under it, sometimes depending on size, you can lift the log, and rest it onto something so there is more hanging. Keep the bar and chain off, out of the dirt, and avoid cutting in pinch points your saw will thank you for that. Always be aware of where your legs are inposition to the saw, and predict how chunks will fall on roll off, so they dont knock you off balance. Work slow, and pay attention to whats going on around you, and experience will be your best teacher.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

A few other tips, never work alone, and fatigue is probably the biggest cause to accidents. Once your body is sore, stop, take a break. I will usually burn 1 tank, and stop for a half hour or so to rest, and hydrate. Even if I dont feel sore, I still try to break after each tank of gas.

 

[mglenn005]

A few other tips, never work alone, and fatigue is probably the biggest cause to accidents. Once your body is sore, stop, take a break. I will usually burn 1 tank, and stop for a half hour or so to rest, and hydrate. Even if I dont feel sore, I still try to break after each tank of gas.

Those breaks are the perfect time to give your chain a quick sharpen. Or swap the chain and flip the bar.


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[Bowsnbucks]

4Wanderingeyes has the best one - don't work alone. ^^^ DO NOT cut with the tip of the bar - that's the easiest way to get a "kickback". Very dangerous.
Don't be in a hurry. Wear leather gloves ( cloth ones slip ). Eye protection. High leather boots and safety chaps.
I'd recommend a chainsaw that has a chain-brake, so if you get a kickback, the brake lever hits your hand and stops the chain immediately. My saws have those.
After clearing the area so you don't trip on anything, I limb first, so the trunk is clean. Shut saw off - then haul limbs away.
Once area is again clear, look to see if any part of the trunk is off the ground. If, say, the top is off the ground, you may be able to make several cuts and have the pieces fall away cleanly and not pinch the saw chain.
For the sections that are on the ground, a log jack is the best tool to have. It's a long-handled device that grips the trunk / log with a pivoting "tooth", and when the handle is pushed down toward the ground, it lifts the log up enough to make several cuts cleanly. It's just a fancy lever of sorts. After you make some cuts, you disengage the jack and move it further down the log and lift the log in the same way.
If the trunk is light enough to lift some of it, a piece of the cut-off wood can be placed under it to raise it off the ground for more clean cuts without chain ever touching the ground. The log jack mentioned above saves a sore back from lifting !!

 

[Peeps]

Even if you have a buddy with you carry a first aid kit and a phone in case something goes wrong. The most important thing to have in the kit is a tourniquet. Get one and practice using it. Better yet get 2. They save lives.

 

[TreeDaddy]

To Fell a Tree....Jeff Jepson

Read this before you pick up a saw

bill

 

[Jeff23]

Simple answer: top first, beginning with limbs not under tension. Remove debris as you go so you can see and move around easily. Once you get to the limbs under tension (if you are figuring this out as you go), you'd better have a working understanding of physics, because the whole "equal and opposite reaction" thing can teach you a lesson you don't want to learn. If you're not comfortable, learn from and watch someone that is. Log last, and there are numerous tricks to keeping your saw out of the dirt, including blocking up the log and a cant hook.

 

[Someday isle]

They’re not inexpensive but the best chainsaw accessory I’ve added to my tool kit is a 48 inch cant hook with a log stand. I’ve got a Stihl but I believe it’s made by Log Rite. I limb the trees first and then use the Cant hook to lift the log for cutting.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

That's the log jack I was referring to above. ( post #7 ) It's a modified cant hook. But that's the thing to have for sure. If you can weld, you can make your own.

You've been busy Someday !!

 

[Tap]

To Fell a Tree....Jeff Jepson

Read this before you pick up a saw

bill

Great book.
I limb 1st. I want to remove as much weight, leverage and other forces from the trunk as possible before I start working on the trunk.

Use the smallest saw that will do the job. Large saws cause fatigue. Fatigue causes accidents.

A second saw is valuable for removing a pinched bar. If you don't have a 2nd saw, then have a 2nd bar and chain. You might be able to remove the saw head from the pinched one and resume working. Sometimes bars are so stuck that you can't get them out with just a cant, especially if it has even a couple limbs remain on it. It's pretty much impossible to roll a 2,000 trunk if it still has a limb or 2 jammed underneath it.
Watch those limbs under stress that are touching the ground. They can be storing a tremendous amount of energy. I was hit with one across my ribs once as I cut thru it. It felt like I was hit with a baseball bat and it happened instantly without warning.

After I get as much of the top de-weighted as possible, I start working on the trunk. Open notches and proper hinges are very important. I love it when the hinge stays intact after the tree is on the ground. If the hinge is still attached (which is a good reason to cut an open notch as opposed to the traditional 45 degree notch...refer to the book "To Fell a Tree" for top notch notches), I start as far away from the felling cut as I can get the saw underneath without hitting dirt, and I cut from the underside. Cutting from the top risks pinch, cutting from underneath keeps the bar in a kerf that will stay open, instead of closing. Sometimes you can't cut from underneath without hitting dirt. A plastic wedge solves that problem. Cut from the top and as soon as you have cut deep enough to have clearance, jam a wedge in.

I've pinched more bars than I care to admit. I always think I can cut just a little bit farther, and the second I stop concentrating on if the kerf is closing, in a blink of an eye it's too late to get the bar out. Stop each cut a little before you think you should. Once a bar is pinched, it's a pain in the ass.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

This isn't your first time in the woods - is it Tap ?? ^^^^^^^ I've pinched 1 or 2 bars myself. Lesson hard learned !!

 

[TreeDaddy]

almost as much fun as getting your tractor stuck.........

bill

 

[Rit]

Listen to the post about being tired and stopping. I had worked a midnight shift and thought I could run out and get a few hours in before getting some sleep.

Ran off in a hurry no chaps and too tired to be on a chainsaw. Luckily it was wet out and I put a spare pair of leather gloves in my pocket. They stopped my saw when they were got caught up in the chain.

No doubt I would have lost some blood if not for those gloves.

 

[ksgobbler]

I’ve seen chaps save 2 legs. I keep meaning to buy them but haven’t yet. Our maintenance guy dug the bar out of the trash and spent 10 hours trying to log Kevlar fibers out of the sprocket tip.

 

[Lee Haakenson]

Chaps saved my legs once. Was cutting small brush and carried the saw with the side handle. The chain was still spinning and hooked my left thigh cuz I was in a hurry and wasnt paying attention. Its not always a kick back that causes injury

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[Tap]

I’ve seen chaps save 2 legs. I keep meaning to buy them but haven’t yet. Our maintenance guy dug the bar out of the trash and spent 10 hours trying to log Kevlar fibers out of the sprocket tip.

I had chaps save my thigh. I would have been cut badly. That was before I was on blood thinners. A saw wound now could be fatal for me.
And yeah, it takes a lot of effort to pick kevlar fibers out of saw sprockets. Been there, done that!


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[Jeff23]

If your chain spins with the saw at idle your chain is too loose and/or your idle is way too high.