Everyone who lived in the countryside or has a dacha outside the city perfectly imagines all the laboriousness of the work that has to be done daily. Each felled tree is many thousands of calories spent, and often nerves - how do you know where it will fall? Fortunately, there are many effective recommendations that make this process easier and safer.
First, let's uncover our chainsaw (and it's the smartest way to work with it). Check the fuel level, make sure the tool is fully functional, tighten or re-sharpen the chain if necessary. Prepare all the additional tools that you may need in the course of work. But… "How much does it cost" to cut down a tree if you decide to do it without permission from the regulatory authorities?
Things to remember
If you are tired of a tree on the street behind the fence, and you want to get rid of it, first talk to the local authorities. It's a matter of legal conflicts. It happens that the territory, which begins literally behind the fence of the dacha, belongslocal forestry, and a fine for a felled tree felled without a permit is up to five thousand rubles. The liability of legal entities may exceed 200 thousand rubles.
Safety Rules for Working with Electric Saw
Is it possible to cut down trees using an electric tool? Not everyone likes to work with gasoline saws, which make a lot of noise and smoke. Power saws when felling trees are no worse than their “liquid fuel” counterparts, but when working with them at this moment it is extremely important to follow at least basic safety rules!
Please note that this tool is very fond of oil. Frequently knock out sawdust from under the protective cover during work. This will ensure an uninterrupted supply of lubrication to the chain. If there is a need to cut a large number of thick and knotty trees, do not rely on the oil pump in the saw itself: place a bucket of oil near the workplace and just dip the tire into it from time to time. Naturally, with this method, do not forget to sometimes remove the sawdust.
Please note that only oil with a sufficient degree of thickness can be used for electric saws. Spindle and transformer oils are not suitable for these purposes at all! Think it's little things? Unfortunately no. Suppose you decide to cut down a tree: where to go if a broken chain “grabs” a decent piece from your leg? So spare no lube!
Other rules
Second. Working with a bad chain is fraught withonly by injuries, but also by the fact that the saw quickly “squanders” the already poor motor resource of the engine. Use only (!) normal chains, do not buy “branded” products in the markets, being fooled by their low cost. Do not forget to sharpen the chain: a normal file is cheaper than an asterisk that has “flyed” from work “to the tightness”. In addition, a blunt chain is the right and sure way to engine wear, which is virtually impossible to get separately.
Do not work with low voltage in the network! Under conditions of increased voltage, protection will work, but when its value is lowered, the saw will work, catastrophically overheating. By the way, power saws are devices that are not designed for long-term use. After a few minutes of operation, be sure to pause to allow the saw to cool down.
What do you need to do before starting work?
So that the cut tree does not fall with a bang right on the head of the unlucky lumberjack, before starting work, you need to do / check the following:
- Does your future "victim" stand straight, or is the tree bent into a donut.
- Immediately decide in which direction you are going to bring him down.
- All workspace in this direction should be carefully cleared, removing knots, branches, stones and other debris.
- The tree itself will also need to be prepared, completely removing all knots and massive bark below your shoulder level.
Where will the top fall?
If you have already decided on a side,where you will dump the tree, but you are not sure of your eye and do not want it to fall directly on the house of your beloved neighbor, it is advisable to check the place where the top will collapse. It's easy to do.
First, take the ax in your outstretched hand and stand next to the tree. Go in the direction where you are going to bring down the “baobab” until its silhouette is visually equal in size to the ax. Fix this moment and look at your feet - you are just standing in the very place where the sawn tree will fall (more precisely, its top). If you didn’t come across a neighbor’s fence or house along the way, then everything is in order, and you can get to work. In the event that something like a power line inevitably meets on the path of a falling tree, you'd better immediately change the direction of felling the tree.
How to use a saw correctly?
Let's immediately note that the technique of felling large and small trees is different, and it's hard not to notice. The easiest way, as you might guess, is the case with the "small". And so let's start with it. So, what do you need to do to see a tree cut down at your feet?
First, you need to make a neat cut with a saw in the direction where the trunk is tilted (at least there is almost always a slight slope). If the tree is perfectly straight, then the cut is made in the direction you plan to fell it. Do not be zealous! The cut should be made at 50% of the trunk diameter, and not strive to immediately brush off the tree with one “light movement”. If you are using a power saw, be sure to let the tool cool down from time to time.
Completion of works
Carefullyfile the trunk on the other side, "grabbing" the moment until it starts to fall. After that, quickly move away from the place where the top of the tree you cut should fall. If the tree is very small, then it will be easiest to first saw it off at the level of your shoulder, and only then carefully cut the wood into pieces. Everything, in general.
Here's how to cut down a tree with a chainsaw or power tool. But that's half the battle, because you still have to prepare a large pile of firewood and cut branches! How is it done?
How to butcher an already felled tree trunk?
Sawing should start from the most distant branches. Small branches can be chopped with an ax, or simply cut with a saw. But large pieces are first filed from above, and then cut from below. You need to do this so that the sawn wood does not tightly clamp the tire of your saw. The same goes for the biggest knots.
We think it would be useful to remind you - when working, try to put blocks of wood under the sawn tree trunk so that the tool chain does not touch the ground when working. Otherwise, it will become dull very quickly, and in especially severe cases it can even break, hitting and crippling an unlucky lumberjack. So we figured out the "trifle".
And now let's talk about "mastodons": how to cut down a tree? The technology of felling large trunks is distinguished by some nuances that are of great importance. Carefully follow the sequence of work described by us, asthe consequences of not doing so can be severe.
Cut down big trees
Remember what we said about the importance of stall direction? If you need to cut down a tree of "monumental" size, then these rules become even more relevant. In the case when a small branch falls on your head, or on the roof of your house, there is nothing to worry about. But in the case when a huge and old poplar collapses on the same surfaces, then nothing good will definitely happen.
First you need to make the top cut, guiding the saw bar at an angle of 60 degrees to the surface of the trunk. Naturally, you need to do this from the side on which you want to drop the tree. Unlike the previous case, you need to saw the trunk no more than 25-30% of its diameter. Once you've made the top cut, start cutting below it. In doing so, you must cut a triangular piece of wood. By the way, this is how beavers work when building their dams.
After that, move to the opposite side of the tree and make another horizontal cut exactly opposite the first one. At the same time, it is extremely important to make sure that it does not reach the first one by about 10% of the total thickness of the trunk. Finished?
And now insert a wedge (or a special felling expander) into the resulting saw cut. By pounding on it with a sledgehammer or the butt of an ax, we “finish off” the tree, initiating the beginning of its fall. There is also an easier way of felling, which is used by experienced lumberjacks: the tree is sawn through (this requiresa long tire and a powerful saw), and then the tool begins to advance in the direction on which it is necessary to dump the trunk. It will turn out not drunk. A wedge is inserted into it in the same way, and the operation that we have already described above is repeated.
Features of sawing the trunk and branches
In large trees, it is advisable to start cutting branches from the bottom. As in the previous case, first a notch is made from above, and then everything else is “cut off” from below. If the branch is very large, then you need to saw it not right at the base, but a little further away. The knot is then removed individually. The correct sawing of the trunk is as follows:
- A cut is made on top of 50% of the diameter of the tree.
- Important! Without removing the saw bar from it, insert the wedge there, and only then pull out the saw! Otherwise, the wood will tightly clamp everything.
- After that, you can finish sawing to the end, trying not to touch the ground.
If you decide to cut down a tree in your area, but the saw bar is firmly stuck in it, do not pull it out! It is necessary to turn off the engine and, gently shaking the trunk in different directions, gradually pull the tire out of the trap in which it ended up. So let's sum it up.
Rules for safe felling of trees
- If you work with a chainsaw, smoking while sawing is strictly unacceptable. Wood and gasoline - a great combination! With a particularly “successful” scenario of the development of events, you will definitely have nothing to cut, since everything will simply burn out …
- Pregnant women, children and pets in the area where you are goingfelling trees should never happen.
- Wear gloves when working and hold the tool firmly. Drop it - and you can be left not only without a saw, but also without a leg.
- Do not cut wood vertically with the edge of the saw, the “kickback effect” may work and the tool will be thrown right at you.
- Put on work gloves and clothes, protect your face from chips and dust. To make it easier to work, put on special soundproof headphones, otherwise the buzzing of a chainsaw will be remembered for a long time.
- When felling, use the tree trunk as a shield, do not walk unnecessarily in the place where the trunk will fall if you have already cut it.
- If you work with an electric saw, then please select extension cords of "acidic" bright colors. Such wires are very clearly visible, and therefore the risk of accidentally cutting them is minimal.
Here's how to cut down a tree the right way: it's hard work, but with basic safety precautions, it's not dangerous. Injuries and mutilations happen, but are usually the fault of inexperienced loggers.
