Cutting Wood (Safely!) With a Chain Saw

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When your plunge cut is about halfway into the tree, proceed to complete the felling cut by sawing around the tree, toward your planned escape route. In other words, make a pivot with the tip of the bar up against the hinge (Fig. 12). Insert a plastic or wooden wedge behind your bar as soon as you pass the halfway point—but not before, as that would tend to spin the tree away from your desired angle of fall.

To fell a tree having a diameter more than twice as great as the length of your guide bar, only one additional cut is necessary. This time, the extra cut is in the notching operation and, in effect, cuts the hinge in half. Make a notch, as before. Then make a plunge cut in the back center of the notch, right in the center of the tree (Fig. 13). The plunge cut should be approximately twice the width of your guide bar.

Now from the felling side of the tree, make another plunge cut that meets the first, then pivot around the tree to make the felling cut. Place your wedge as early as possible, and be careful not to cut through the hinge.

Note that if you fell a large tree on a slope, you should make the bottom notch cut at an upward angle to provide more control during a long fall (Fig. 14).

And, through all your woodcutting, remember to take it easy. Take frequent breaks to keep both you and your saw sharp. That way you won't have to learn how to split wood with one hand in a cast.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Barnacle Parp's New Chain Saw Guide is available for $12.95 plus $1.98 shipping and handling from Mother's Bookshelf, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, NC 28793.

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