Felling a Tree

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Make sure the horizontal cut is perpendicular to the direction of the fall. You can check this with a handmade sighting stick or with a straight-handled double-bit axe. Facing the cut, insert the axe head into the wedge, resting it on the flat, first cut. The handle then should point in the direction you want the tree to fall.

Once you are certain that the undercut is correct, you can begin the final cut, also known as the back or felling cut. Go around to the other side of the tree, opposite the undercut side, and saw into the tree about 2 inches above the base of the undercut. Keep the cut horizontal; don’t angle it down. Keep sawing, while paying careful attention to the hinge-the piece of uncut wood between the back cut and the undercut. The tree will topple before the saw cuts all the way through, and how it falls will depend largely on the hinge. As you saw, try to keep the hinge uniformly thick. If it is uneven, the tree may tear from the thin end of the hinge while hanging back on the thick end, causing the tree to twist and fall in a different direction than you planned.

In addition to the hinge, keep a close watch on the kerf-the space that the saw leaves behind as you cut through the trunk. This space will give you your only advance warning of how the tree is going to fall. When you get about one-third of the way toward the undercut, you should notice the kerf getting slightly bigger. Good! This means the tree is beginning to lean toward the undercut, which is where you want it to go. Keep sawing-but never cut all the way through the hinge-until you hear the crack as the tree leans enough to break the hinge. Remove the saw and back off quickly.

If you notice that the kerf is closing up instead of getting bigger, you have misjudged the lean or the balance of the tree and the tree will fall nowhere near the direction of the undercut. Don’t just keep sawing in the hope that the tree will change its mind; trees don’t change their minds. If you keep sawing, the kerf will eventually close up, trapping your saw. Before this happens, remove the saw and have your helper put tension on the rope attached to the tree to pull it over in the right direction. Or put some wedges into the final cut to open the space; saw a bit more and then knock in the wedges a bit further until, as the tree is weakened, its top is shifted in the right direction. If you opt for this method and you are using a chain saw, be sure to use wooden or plastic wedges and not metal ones that could damage the chain’s teeth.

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