GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: tree felling

Chainsaw Chaps and PPE Gear I Use
Chainsaw chaps have saved my leg twice. Lots of people don’t wear them when using a chainsaw, and I think those people are not being smart. I am not the ultimate expert on chainsaw safety and PPE (personal protection equipment) but I do cut down trees and cut firewood on a regular basis.

My chaps saved me from tearing open my leg

Basically, chainsaw chaps keep your chainsaw from cutting into your thigh or leg. The chaps are filled with a threadlike material. If you get a running saw too close to your leg, the chain cuts into the chaps instead of your leg, and the inner material blooms out and stalls the chainsaw. And you are not bleeding all over the ground in the woods.

This has happened to me twice when I was not paying attention. The first time I was kneeling and cutting up a felled tree, and my leg slipped right up against the running saw. The saw stopped almost immediately after hitting the chaps.

Chainsaw Chaps and Tree Felling PPE Gear I Use

These are links to Amazon:
- Chainsaw Chaps (pick your size here)
- Chainsaw Helmet
- Steel Toed Boots
- Tree Felling Wedges
- Leather Work Gloves
Buy chaps a bit shorter than your regular pant leg size, or you will trip over then in the woods. You can get brand name chaps or generic ones. I have both and they both work fine.

I didn’t have a hard hat for a while, then I whacked my head on a limb as it was coming down. Then I bought a hard hat. Its super easy to take on and off. Plus, with the eye screen, you don’t have to keep pulling off safety goggles. If you don’t get an all in one, buy ear and eye protection separately. Its worth it!

Steel toed boots are a must. Logs will roll onto your feet, and anything you damage now will become arthritic later in life, learn from my experience.

Carry several pairs of gloves, you will lose them, and in all that leaf debris, you wont find them. Plastic wedges make tree felling much more controllable, you wont get your saw pinched in a tree anymore once you buy them.And I am a convert to pre-mixed fuel. Yes it costs more, but it saves on repairs. Its cheaper to buy the fuel than to have your chainsaw in the repair shop for a carb rebuild before it needs it.
May 19, 2016
Split Wood With A Log Splitter – GF Video

If you have a lot of wood to split, you should split wood with a log splitter. We borrowed our neighbor’s wood splitter to tackle a large cherry tree that had died. We made a lot of firewood in a few hours, watch the video:

Some safety tips when you split wood with a log splitter

Know how to stop the machine immediately.
Where is the off or reverse switches? Know how to back up the piston real quick or to turn off the rig. Don’t become lax about operating the log splitter, its a powerful machine.

Be aware of everyone near the machine.
Accidents will occur if more than one person is operating the log splitter. Don’t assume your co-worker knows where you and your fingers are at all times.

Always wear ear and eye protection, and steel toed boots.
Its obvious, but prolonged exposure to loud noise, like that from a small engine, takes it toll on your hearing. Eye protection is a must have, after all, we’re splitting wood here. And good boots will save your feet. You need them to get along in life, OK?

Block the machine wheels to keep it from rolling.
Log splitters are on wheels so they can be moved around, so chock the wheels when its where you want it, so it doesn’t roll. Remember, round wheels will roll. Gravity wins.

Keep fingers out of log splits.
When splitting wood, its easy to get you fingers in the openings of the wood, don’t do it. Those cracks can just as easily close back up, with your fingers in them. A bad thing if you ask me.

Square the ends of the log.
You want the logs to sit flat on the back plate of the splitter. If that isn’t square, the log can twist, and potentially move in a way you’d rather it not to go. Square straight logs = good.

If you’ve borrowed the log splitter from your neighbor, return it in better shape then you got it. And fill up the tank with fresh gas that has gas stabilizer added. Your neighbor will be impressed and let you borrow it again.

October 15, 2015
Backyard Stump Removal

The large mulberry tree had to come out. The neighbors complained about the berries that littered their yards each year, and got tracked into their homes by the feet of kids and dogs.

So down came the tree, and what was left for me to deal with was about 5 feet of tree. Time for the 20″ bar chainsaw and a lot of sawdust.

This tree was one tree that had two limbs right at the base, and those limbs kinda fused at the bottom of the tree, and it was my job to cut this as flat as I could. I’m not good at level cuts – it always seems to look good while you are cutting, but by the time you get to the other side of the cut, its not.

Why is that?

To keep the bar of the chainsaw from getting pinched by the cut portion of the tree, I drove a wedge in to keep the cut open. I had forgotten my plastic wedges, so a metal wedge had to do. One usually uses plastic wedges so if the chain touches the wedge, the chain is not damaged. Metal wedges are bad for chainsaws. But I paid close attention to keeping the saw away from the wedge.

I did do the smart thing and bought two new chains for the saw before starting this project. It is amazing how quickly a chainsaw will cut through a tree with a new chain. wow.

Plus look the wood shavings it left behind, a clear sign of a sharp chain. If your saw is putting out dust rather than flakes, its time for a new or sharpened chain.

We have several chainsaw videos here for your to check out:

August 15, 2014
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.

Click Here To Watch All Our Chainsaw Videos

An all in one helmet is the #1 piece of gear you need:

Click Here to Shop For Chain Saw Gear

March 10, 2014
A Logging Tool For Part Time Loggers

After the hurricane, there were several trees down on the road to the camp, so I rounded up a few friends and drove up to the first downed tree, a large white pine.

One friend brought along what he called a Peavey, which looks like a large tool from the 19th century, which it probably is. But its an amazing tool to have when cutting down trees.

You don’t need to be a logger to own a peavey, its super handy to have when cutting trees or clearing an area. What the peavey does is make moving logs and downed trees very easy.

The Peavey has a large hook and a pointed end, and using simple leverage, allows you to move logs or turn a tree that is lying on its side. You engage the hook on the side of the log and push up on the handle. The engaged hook allows you to turn the log, thus moving it. With practice you can turn the log with the peavey too.

Engage the hook of the peavey, then turn the log

With the peavey, you can cut a downed tree into lengths. First cut 2/3 of the way through the tree at firewood sized intervals, then using the peavey, you can rotate the tree and finish the cuts without getting the chainsaw chain in the dirt. Keeping your chainsaw chain out of the dirt is very important, it dulls and damages the chain.

I have a variant of the peavey called a timberjack, its a peavey with a T bar attached that allows you to raise a log or tree up off the ground to cut it up without getting the chainsaw chain near the ground. Neat tools. To order a peavey, click here

Do you use logging tools when cutting up wood? Let us know below:

November 6, 2012