Best way(s) to safely fell trees

[Pilot]

Falling with a chain saw is done as follows:

1. Clear an area around the tree to give you an escape route. If you can, prune some branches so that you can be certain the heavy side of the tree is on the side you want it to fall on.

2. Make your undercut (wedge) about 1/3 of the way through. Much more & you risk it breaking off and going in an unpredictable direction. Some species are more likely to do this than others.

3. Make your backcut most of the way through, leaving an inch or so of hinge wood. The hinge wood controlls the fall. Make both sides of the hinge wood parallel, or as parallel as you can. The backcut should be a couple inches higher than the undercut. This leaves a little vertical wall between the two cuts, so that when the tree goes, the butt can't kick out over the backcut.

3. Keep looking up. Watch the breeze & the rocking of the tree. It will usually go on it's own if you are patient. You can hammer in some plastic wedges to insure it won't go over backward. Depending on the size of the tree, you can push on it by hand to make it go. If it doesn't go, cut some more on the hinge, working from the backcut side. Sooner or later it will go. When it does, go away from the tree perpendicular to the line of fall; you don't want to be on the opposite side from the direction of fall in case it kicks back.

If you rig a line to pull it in one direction, don't put a lot of tension on it--you could make it break before you are ready.

Richard Scott
Retired forester

 

[demote]

I've had to fall a lot of trees to clear for my shop. I try to put a heavy rope as high as possible (sometimes using a ladder) and put a come-a-long on it. I then cut my wedge and pull more tension with the come-a-long. I then start with the back cut but just to be sure, retension the come-a-long after cutting away a bit on the back cut.

 

[JimR]

The safest way to cut trees is to have someone else do the work for you. If you are going to do it yourself, be smart. As stated above, Dead branches will kill you if you try to push a tree over with your tractor. My idea of cutting trees is to drop the tree. Worry about the stump later. Trees fall on the heavy side unless helped to fall where you want them to go. This can be accomplished by dropping the branches on the heavy side first. Or you can attach a cable, not a rope, high up in the tree and use a come-along to help intice the tree to where you want it to fall. Ropes strech and are not preferred for pulling trees down with a come-along. They do work well when used with a tractor for pulling. But if the rope breaks you will wish you are not in direct line of it. Notching the tree is very important as mentioned. The Arborist Site mentioned is very good for information. I found that there are a few guys there that have swelled heads and think that if you are not one of them that you shouldn't be climbing or cutting trees. There are also a few guys there that are pretty good and will help you out with questions on climbing and such. Be safe, don't drop trees into other standing trees. This leads to more work and a potentially dangerous situation should one of them break and land on your head while you are trying to clean them up. Should you drop a tree into another one and it gets hung up. Use your tractor to pull the base of the cut tree till the tree falls to the ground. I've also used my tractor and bucket as a lever to help push trees over that I am cutting. I use my rear blade reversed and dug into the ground for a backstop. Then lift the bucket up and put pressure on the tree once I have my notch cut in place. I then start to cut the backside of the tree. Once the tree starts to move the slightest bit, I try to use the tractor to finish it off. This gets me out of harm's way. I've been cutting trees on our 45 acres for general maintance and firewood since 1974 without any mishaps. Think ahead, think smart and you will do all right. Here's a small one for you.

 

[Varmintmist]

This is to no one in particular because I have seen it reccomended in a few replies.

What on earth are you thinking by putting pressure on a tree with a FEL , then walking UNDER the FEL and making a back cut?

First, you have no real idea of what direction, other than away from the tractor (maybe), that the tree "should" fall. Look at the angle and where all of the tree weight is. Your FEL is the fulcrum if one breeze blows back. Your machine will be wearing a wooden hood ornament. If you are alive to see it, get a pic please.

Second, why are you standing under a FEL that is in a raised position? Even worse, no one mentioned anyone on the controls.

Third, the FEL makes a really nice slide for the tree to go off to the side. I got talked into doing this, once. The tractor was applying pressure and the operator was moving it towards the wedge. The tree decided it didnt want to go that way. It didnt. The stump almost got me. I had some words with the operator, then I started bucking up the tree that was now across the road blocking traffic.

Forth, that tree has more force than your FEL when the FEL is not under hydraulic pressure. A tree has more potential force than your FEL under hydraulic pressure.

Fifth, you are parking a big lump is your escape zone.
............................

If it is some little 6-7 inch tree then I can see it, less the idea of standing under the unsupported, uncontroled FEL. Since you could push that size over by hand, maybe not.

To each his own, but I wouldnt reccomend doing that to anyone.

 

[JimR]

Good points well taken. I should have mentioned that I only use my loader on smaller trees of 12" or less diameter. The picture that I posted was of a tree I cut down in sections. The last section was pushed over using my tractor once I cut the butt of it off. I do and have worked under my bucket with pressure on a tree. The bucket is up pretty high, I don't think the bucket could fall on me with the tree in the way. One other thing that I didn't mention about falling trees using the bucket. I drop them in the direction that it looks like the tree will fall in. I use the tractor and bucket to make sure it falls that way. I wouldn't even consider tyring to push it over from the heavy side. Here's another that we pulled down with a winch. This one was heavy on the building side.

 

[Slamfire]

Putting a lot of tension on trees to make them fall a way they don't want to is dangerous and can lead to what is called a barber chair. One look at a photo can illustrate the point. I like to cut the wedge at a 70 degree angle at the bottom and a 20 degree angle at the tip, the hinge hangs on a lot longer that way, reducing the chance of kick back. When the tree is large enough a plunge cut to set the hinge thickness, then wedging then making a felling cut will eliminate the chance of a barber chair. Avoid dutchmen, where one cut of the wedge goes past the other. A lot of expertese at The Forestry Forum Arborists tend to take trees down in pieces and that takes a lot of equipment. Dead limbs kill tree cutters. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Taking out stumps is relatively easy if you cut the roots all around the tree then twisting them out like horse loggers. They use a pole with a chain on one end with a log dog hammered into the stump and a short chain wrapped part way around the tree. The pole hooks to the tractor at one end and is parallel to the ground. Rotting can be speeded up by drrlling holes then filling them with salt peter. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Harlie]

Dropping trees is tricky and dangerous. I’m no expert but have become better in the last couple of years.

We bought about 20 acres 5 years ago, with plans to put in the driveway and a house down the road. (all woods) I had to drop 50+ trees that ranged from 4 inch up 24 inch. Best money I spent was on a Norwood Timber Tool, tree falling jack. The tool took a lot of the guess work out of which way the tree was going to fall. You still have to think about what could go wrong and be VERY CAREFUL, but I really think it’s worth the money.

I have a JD4410 but only use it for the clean up (see photo!) not to help fall the tree. My recommendation is to work with someone who has much experience first and ease into this kind of work. Good luck! (I’ll take a look and see if I have a photo of the timber tool in action but the web site gives you the idea?

http://www.norwoodindustries.com/timbertool.htm

 

[hayden]

I couldn't agree more. Don't use a BH or FEL on anything more than a few inches in diameter. Fell it with a saw, using a notch and back cut to get a hinge.

Keep in mind that a tree will always fall in the general direction of its lean. The hinge ONLY controls the side to side direction of the fall, and you can't really steer it more than 30 deg or so from the natural fall line. Whether a tree falls forward or backwards (relative to the cut) is up to good old mother nature and the lean of the tree. A notch WILL NOT make a tree fall oposite its lean. If you need to fell a tree in a direction against gravity, it's MUCH more dangerous and difficult, and something like a winch should be used to overcome gravity. Never place yourself or any equipment (including your BH, tractor, FEL, etc) on the downhill side or the tree.

 

[Egon]

Should also take into consideration how hard and from which direction the wind is blowing.

Egon

 

[hayden]

Yes, very good point.