GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: cut down a tree

  • Is This How To Cut Down A Tree? – GF Video

    Is This How To Cut Down A Tree? – GF Video

    When you are learning how to cut down a tree, its best to start with trees smaller than this one, but even after doing this for years, I still make mistakes. Thankfully, nothing bad happened this time. Watch the video to see. And then check out the safety gear that is a must have for chainsaw safety.

    Here are the basics of how to cut down a tree:

    • Use and wear safety gear. (list here)
    • Plan the cut, study the tree.
    • Plan your escape route.
    • Use a sharp chainsaw chain, new is best.
    • Wedge your back cut.
    • Be very careful.

    There are many posts on how to cut down a tree, here I’ll touch on some of the techniques I use.

    If you don’t wear safety gear, you need your head examined.

    Plan your exit from the tree 45 degrees from the back of the tree. Make sure you have a clear path, with no obstacles to trip on. Turn off your chainsaw after making your cuts and before you start your exit.

    I use a 70 degree wedge cut that cuts the front 20% of the tree. The wedge faces the direction you want the tree to fall. Some will cut the bottom of the wedge flat level, I think the longer the tree stays hinged, the more control it has, so I cut the bottom part of the wedge lower.

    How To Cut Down Tree
    Not a perfect hinge, but it worked.

    The back cut is ideally about an inch above the center of the wedge cut. In this chainsaw video, that didn’t happen. Going forward I am going to chalk or spray paint the cut lines on the tree before I start. When you are actually cutting the tree, it can be hard to make sure the chainsaw stays level.

    I use plastic tree felling wedges to keep the tree from pinching the saw or worse, falling back on itself. You can use wedges for several types of tree felling cuts. Be sure to use plastic wedges that are designed to be used with chainsaws, metal wedges will damage the chainsaw if you happen to touch saw to wedge while working the tree.

    A sharp chainsaw chain is so important. Dull saws can hurt you and the saw, and hamper your tree felling. I will buy a new chain for a large tree.

    Chainsaw safety equipmentLearn about the must-have safety gear when felling trees here

    If you have the least bit of hesitation, don’t do this. Hire a professional to cut down the tree. You can then go in and cut it up for firewood.

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  • Cutting Firewood With A Chainsaw – GF Video

    Cutting Firewood With A Chainsaw – GF Video

    We dropped a tree that was dead last fall, of course we made a video about that click here, and we needed to cut the tree up into firewood for the wood stove at the camp, so I had my phone camera with me while we worked. So out come the chainsaws, safety gear, and camera. It took a while to cut this hardwood cherry up, dead wood can wear out your chain quick.

    In this video we use a peavey to move the tree and the logs. Its a great tool to have, makes it much easier to roll stuff and save your back. We talk some about using the peavey here.

    The most important thing when cutting firewood is to keep in mind what it is going to be used for. This is for a woodstove, so we measured the wood stove opening and then marked the tree accordingly to make sure each log was just the right length to fit in the stove. Don’t want to do all that work and then find out the firewood wont fit, not a good thing.

    This tree had been dead a year, so it was good to be split and ready to burn. If you are cutting down a fresh tree, let the firewood dry a year, I say. We used a hyrdraulic wood splitter to break up these big logs, there’s a video about that in the links below.

    I keep two or three newly sharpened chains with me when cutting down trees or firewood. There’s nothing worse than a dull chain, your saw will overheat, and you wear out your saw and yourself. Chains are cheap, buy a few, and sharpen them regularly.

    Always keep safety in mind when using a chainsaw, they are dangerous tools. Note that I am wearing a helmet, ear protection, eye protection, chainsaw chaps, and steel toed shows. Links below to sources for these items. Be smart and be safe.

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