Author Topic: how do you fell a tree  (Read 4927 times)

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Offline Morgan

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #45 on: January 22, 2021, 06:31:17 pm »
We need to note that the originating poster is a 16 year old boy. Stick to a handsaw, please.
He is old enough to drive a car which is a lot more dangerous than a chainsaw

There is something to that, but.... you have to be trained to drive a car, pass a test to prove that you are proficient. I’ve been thinking and cannot remember my age when I started using a chainsaw bucking firewood, was young enough that pumping the bar oil with my thumb was difficult ( the saws we had did not have auto oilers) . Was probably early teens when I started felling trees. I don’t remember well the one on one instruction I received, as I believe it came in tif bits here and there and the learning was natural. Most kids now are not growing up the way I did, and the work that came natural to me and the caution and awareness that goes along with it is not there. You cannot learn to use a saw proficiently and safely to fell trees from a video. There are countless variables that only experience can teach. One on one teaching is also difficult as it is hard to hear over a screaming saw, and being close to the operator can be a dangerous situation. There is good advice given here and bad, good instruction and bad. Some is regurgitated, some is just the way people do it not knowing there is a better or safer way. Lots of ways to skin a cat, and people develop their own way of doing things and that becomes the right way for them. People with thousands of man hours on a saw regularly have life changing or ending accidents that are a result of complacency and doing the things that has always worked for them.
My advice to you, start cutting 4” or smaller diameter trees with a hand saw and axe  Read the lean of the tree and slope of the land it’s on. Pay attention to the soundness of the tree, a tree that you think is sound but is rotten inside can make for a bad day, it is unpredictable. I do not cut a 4 inch diameter tree the same way I do a larger diameter tree, but for learning purposes it would be good for you to wedge cut and back cut as if it was a large tree and learn how the timber reacts in different situations. Look up how to make a proper wedge cut and back cut. Should be videos on it, try to find a video from a saw mfg or other professional source. There is more to it than hacking out the wedge and making the cuts meet. Do not cut when it’s windy, this is your hobby and you don’t have to cut in those conditions, so don’t.
Be careful.

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #46 on: January 22, 2021, 06:49:10 pm »
You all are scaring him.  Caution is good but using a chainsaw is not rocket science.  You just have to be mindful when using one and pay attention to what is happening around you. 
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

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Offline Yooper Bowyer

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #47 on: January 22, 2021, 07:34:43 pm »
What's so hard about rocket science?  You only have to consider fluid mechanics, gravity, materials strength, navigation, thermodynamics, electronics, chemistry, coworkers, and a few other details. ;D

Offline Fox

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #48 on: January 23, 2021, 12:09:51 am »
I doubt this is scaring anyone.... he’s not a baby  :D ;) ::)
Why must we make simple things so complicated?

Offline Del the cat

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #49 on: January 23, 2021, 01:55:49 am »
Regarding the ideal number of hands required...

Mick and Paddy are walking down alongside the woods and see a sign:-
"Tree fellers wanted"
Mick say "Ah, sure 'tis a shame there's just the two of us"  ;D

Del
PS. The old ones are the best, and no offence intended by racial stereotyping .
« Last Edit: January 23, 2021, 03:15:33 am by Del the cat »
Health warning, these posts may contain traces of nut.

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #50 on: January 23, 2021, 07:18:50 am »
I doubt this is scaring anyone.... he’s not a baby  :D ;) ::)

Exactly
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Offline stuckinthemud

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #51 on: January 23, 2021, 09:14:41 am »
So, I live in Wales and our church hired in a crew of 3 professionals  to fell a dangerous, very rotten tree overhanging the building.  When they arrived it turns out they were a group of Irish lads.  So they were a crew of t'ree fellers who were tree fellers that were felling that tree...

Offline scp

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Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #53 on: January 23, 2021, 02:52:30 pm »
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is cutting loaded branches or tree tops. I cut a sapling that a storm downed pine had bent over beneath it, I cut it near the pine tree trunk, it sprung back and hit me in the shoulder so violently that it knocked me off my feet and back about 6 feet. If it had hit me in the head it would have killed me. I was carelessly standing in its spring path.

Another time I cut an osage branch on a downed tree that a bulldozer had pushed over. I cut the limb I intended to cut OK but didn't notice the one behind it that was loaded with tension. My saw cut through it as well, it sprung forward and hit me dead center in the mouth.

I was knocked backward, I saw stars and the blood flew. The first thing I did was to run my tongue over my front teeth to see if I still had any, thank goodness they were still intact.

You gotta' be careful.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2021, 02:55:53 pm by Eric Krewson »

Offline Yooper Bowyer

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #54 on: January 23, 2021, 03:01:16 pm »
Quote
it sprung back and hit me in the shoulder so violently that it knocked me off my feet and back about 6 feet. If it had hit me in the head it would have killed me. I was carelessly standing in its spring path.

They call those 'baba chars' (barber chairs) here in Maine.  Mainers can have thick accents.

Offline organic_archer

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #55 on: January 23, 2021, 05:21:36 pm »
You don’t need to be afraid of a chainsaw. Yeah, they can mess you up... so learn how to use it safely. The bigger the displacement of the saw, the bigger the chance of fatal kickback. A small 50-60cc farm saw will cut just about anything you will ever use as a bowyer. You don’t need a 100cc pro/milling saw.

Watch videos. There are many, many professional felling tutorials out there. It really all comes down to proper setup of your directional hinge and wedges. You can get big trees to fall safely and exactly where you want them with a little planning and a good hinge.

Wear your PPE. I was almost killed a few weeks ago by a large and unseen dead branch hanging in the canopy while felling a massive 30” osage. It missed my head by a foot. Observe the canopy very thoroughly for widowmakers.

Start with small trees. They’re pretty harmless. Huge trees hold their weight in gold in clean bow staves, but they can kill you or your equipment in the blink of an eye.

Have a clear exit path and as the tree is almost ready to let go, position your body so you can leap out of the way if needed. Learn your equipment, learn the process and operate with confidence. Timidity and uncertainty can be fatal.

Edit : I just saw you’re 16 years old. Cut firewood for a few years and learn to set up a proper directional hinge with an axe and hand saw. Trees up to 10-12” or so (as long as they’re not super tall and heavy) will be no problem to learn on with hand tools and you’ll get plenty of staves!
« Last Edit: January 23, 2021, 05:37:41 pm by organic_archer »
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Offline stuckinthemud

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #56 on: January 24, 2021, 05:35:20 am »
Its tbe canopy that causes most of the dangers,  that's why a pro team sends a climber up to remove all the branches before the stem is brought down, the stem is the easy bit,  unless its rotten, that's a whole different  can of worms.

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #57 on: January 24, 2021, 12:15:18 pm »
Russell, clean out your mailbox,  It's full!  As everyone said - be careful and pay attention to the job at hand!  That applies to any sharp tool, and especially power tools!
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
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Offline Deerhunter21

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Re: how do you fell a tree
« Reply #58 on: January 24, 2021, 01:35:14 pm »
Thanks guys! I found a place to cut some trees, I promise i wont be using my chainsaw, i spent around an hour and a half sharpening my axe so im not gonna let that time go to waste!  )W(

Hawkdancer, I cleared my mailbox out!

So im for sure not gonna start out with a chainsaw, and i never was! lol! ;D I know alot of the hackberry trees are around 6" so im gonna shoot for around that width. i should be able to get at least 2 staves out of a tree like that, but lets be honest. i doubt ill find a perfect tree. Ill probably find one under 6" or over 6" or whatever. either way, i gotta start somewhere, ill make sure im starting safe though!  ;D
Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.