How Tree Felling Is Done Safely

Tree felling is the forestry practice of cutting down trees in a controlled manner. It requires a significant amount of experience and skill, as well as specialized equipment like axes and felling wedges. When done incorrectly, tree felling can cause serious injuries and damage to property. It is therefore crucial to take the necessary precautions to ensure that a tree felled is completed safely.

Before beginning a felling job, an arborist will carefully survey the site to determine if there are any major obstacles such as roads and buildings within close proximity to the trees. If the area is home to power lines, it’s also important to be sure that felling a tree won’t interfere with them. In these cases, it’s best to call the local power company and have them remove the tree instead.

Next, an arborist will survey the tree to see if it has any structural issues that could pose a safety risk. It’s vital to note whether a tree is leaning or if it has any pockets of rotten wood that could compromise the direction in which it falls. It’s also important to determine the directional force of the wind and the slope of the ground, which will affect how the tree falls and land.

Once a safe and appropriate working position has been established, an arborist will begin the felling process by making a notch cut in the tree’s side, near the base. This creates a hinge that allows the sawyer to control the direction in which the tree will fall. A back cut is then made on the opposite side of the notch cut, a few inches above it. The resulting back lean, along with the remaining hinge created by the undercut, will ultimately bring the tree down in a controlled manner.

While felling a tree, it is also important to be attentive to any dead or decayed limbs that could potentially fall from the tree and strike saw operators. These are referred to as ‘widowmakers’ and have been known to injure and even kill saw operators. In order to prevent these, it is essential to keep the distance between yourself and a potential widowmaker at least 2.0 times the height of the subject tree’s base.

Once the requisite number of cuts have been made, it is then time to buck the logs out. This is done by inserting a wedge into the angled part of the undercut and knocking it in with an axe or an impact bar. Felling wedges are usually made out of plastic or aluminum to avoid damaging the chainsaw chains, which can occur if they are struck by metal objects during the felling process. After the logs are bucked out of the butt end, they can be cut into firewood lengths or even dimensional lumber. It’s essential to note that a good proportion of the log will be unusable due to rot. It’s important to keep this in mind when estimating how long to cut each log.

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