The felling of trees can be dangerous if it isn’t done right. To safely fell a tree, you have to have the proper equipment and follow the right procedures. There are several different kinds of trees., some trees require a chainsaw to fell them while others may just need a good pair of loppers or a bow saw.
The Do’s and Don’t of Felling Trees
Felling trees is a serious business, and if done wrong can cause a lot of hassle. When felling trees there are several do’s and don’t to pay attention to.
Use Safety Gears:
Always fell trees with the proper safety gears on. This includes everything from leather gloves to goggles, earplugs, hard hats, boots, and so on. Whether as a professional tree- -remover or not, you should always use your safety gears correctly before felling a tree.
Use the Right Equipment for Felling of Trees
The equipment you use should be appropriate for felling the tree. For example, you wouldn’t feel a thick tree with an ax, felling thin trees is best done by cutting them down slowly and directly with an ax or large knife. Trees larger than 12 inches in diameter should be cut with a chainsaw. Also, choose a chainsaw that won’t be too heavy to lift. An average chainsaw should weigh between 10-25 pounds.
Carefully read the instructions on how to use a chainsaw before using one if it is your first time handling a chainsaw. Check for the fuel and oil level of the saw before getting to work.
Check Out The Tree and Its Surrounding Before Felling:
Before felling a tree you have to make sure it is safe for felling. Examine the tree and check if it is decayed or rotting. If you are feeling a tree for the first time, you shouldn’t try to feel one that is rotting or decaying as it can spill or snap while cutting.
You should also examine the surroundings where you intend for your tee to land. Do not fall a tree if it is close to a power line or is at risk of falling on your car or house. Make sure when you fell a tree it will land entirely on the ground.
Is the tree within a few feet of your house or another building such as a fence, garage, or parking lot? Are there any electrical wires in the area? Is the tree dead or sick, with broken or dead branches? Does the tree lean to the left or right as it falls? Ask yourself these questions before you start felling trees.
Cut Down Any Low Branch Before Felling The Tree:
Before felling a tree, fell any low branches. Cut off any smaller branches at the trunk with an ax or other sharp tool and then fell the tree. Make sure that you fell all of them and none remain in the tree when felling it. Low branches can disrupt the feeling process if not removed.
Plan an Escape route:
Before felling a tree make sure you have an escape route planned. This means that you need to plan what will happen if the felling goes wrong. Make sure your escape route is safe and can get out of there quickly if necessary.
The best plan would be to fell the tree away from surrounding buildings or people, but this isn’t always possible. If felling a tree near a building make sure there are at least 10 feet of place around the trunk where you fell the tree.
Choosing a Direction to Fell the Tree:
When felling trees, felling from downhill or uphill will be easier for most people. To fell a tree from uphill, approach it from the uphill side and fell it as if it were a standing tree. To fell a tree from downhill, fell the tree in the same way as if felling a standing tree but use gravity to your advantage.
Get Someone to Help you Fell The Tree:
Felling a tree with another person is much easier than felling it alone. You can either fell the tree together or fell it at the same time one on each side of the trunk. Make sure that both of you are holding your chainsaw correctly before starting.
Everyone should hold their chainsaw with one hand on the rear handle and one hand on the front handle. Don’t fell a tree alone if you have someone who can fell it with you.
Methods of Felling Trees
There are many ways to fell a tree.
- Hand Felling: felling trees with your hands can be very dangerous so you should fell small trees only. Fell the tree by cutting through the trunk in a downward motion with an ax or knife. A tree is felled using an ax, saw, or chainsaw and then limbed and bucked when using this method
- A Feller Buncher: It is a machine that fells trees, removes the branches, and piles them in rows. It is a heavy felling machine with a tree grasping device on top, felling head in the front, and a grapple skid at the back.
The Felling Process:
The felling process is simple, fell the tree in the direction away from where you planned your escape route to be. Make sure you fell the tree as straight as possible, if it looks like it will go off course correct it by felling slightly in another direction. Avoid felling a long way around an obstacle instead of just going over or under it directly.
If felling a tall tree, fell the tree in stages. First fell a part of it and then fell the other part of it after getting past the first felled half. When felling tall trees try not to fell them to the ground at once as you risk snapping massive branches on your way down.
Step 1:
Start cutting with a notch. A notch is felling cut which is on the side of the tree facing your escape route. Start felling just above your foothold, felling to either side of it if necessary. fell straight down on one side about halfway through. When felling a tree you should fell it in stages, meaning that you will fell one half then move past it and fell the other half. Make sure to fell the tree in stages and fell more on one side of your foothold than the other. This will keep the tree felling straight and not force it into an awkward position while felling.
Step 2:
Felling cuts on the opposite side of the tree facing your escape route. The felling cuts on the opposite side of the tree should be done after felling the first half of the tree. They are called back cut because they are made so that when felling it will push away from you, this is just like felling into a standing tree. First fell about halfway through one side of the felling cut then fell the other half on the opposite side of your foothold. fell as straight as possible and fell it as far as you can before having to move past the felled part of the tree.
Step 3:
Felling cuts below your foothold. Once you have felled about halfway through a tree, make more felling cuts below your foothold. Fell them as straight down as possible, felling almost directly underneath you then fell to either side of the felling cut. The more felling cuts you make the straighter and smoother the felled tree will be.
Step 4:
Felling cuts around the trunk of the tree that is facing your escape route. The felling cuts around the trunk should be made from the opposite side of the felling cut that felled your stand. fell either to one side or fell straight down until you have felled a complete circle around the tree’s trunk.
Step 5:
After finishing making all of your felling cuts, finish felling the tree. fell it by felling directly above your foothold and felling away from you as straight as possible, felling to either side of your felling cut. If you fell the tree correctly then all of the branches should fall like a deck of cards after felling.
Type of Cut
There are many different types of felling cuts, some work better on certain felling angles than others. There are four main cutting methods that fallers use to fell trees: the back cut, the felling cut, the side felling cut, and the plunge felling cut.
The Back Cut:
In felling, this is a felling method where you fell the tree in a downward direction towards your escape route. In this type of cut, you should make it go as far as possible away from your foothold and fell it as far underneath you as possible before felling the other side of it.
The Felling Cut:
When felling a tree this is a felling method where you fell the tree in a downward direction away from your escape route. This type of felling cut makes you fell your foothold and make sure there is a felling cut on either side of the felling fell.
The Side Felling Cut:
This type of felling cut is a felling method where you fell a tree in an upward direction away from your escape route. To perform this type of felling cut, fell straight down to halfway through then fell outwards to one side and fell the last half of your felling fell.
The Plunge Felling Cut:
This type of felling cut is a method where you fell a tree in an upward direction toward your escape route. To perform this type of cut fell straight down to halfway through and fall out on one side, felling away from you as straight as possible.
Knowledge of felling trees is a great tool to have, felled trees can be used to create shelter, and fell wood can be used for fire. It is advised you read about felling trees if it’s something you want to do often or if you plan on felling one at some point in your life. Practice felling trees at a felling site if possible.
It is also advised that you fell trees with someone who has experience felling them and knows the proper way to fell a tree, as it can be very dangerous work.
