Felling for Firewood

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With a two-cycle engine and no crankcase oil to spill about, as well as an all-position carburetor, a chain saw operates equally well in all positions, including completely upside down. It is lightweight, simply moved about and it can cut wood (or flesh) quickly and easily. Plus, if used the right way, a chain saw can help you guide your tree in the direction you want it to go with the least amount of danger.

On most every chain saw, there is a line of some sort on the back portion of the cover that runs perpendicular to the bar. Some professional saws have this line either painted on or molded into the cover, while on others, the back of the cover itself acts as a line. Check it out on your saw. If you can't find anything, take a piece of tape and mark a line on your cover perpendicular to your bar. This is to be your aiming line.

Now instead of acting as if you are using a two-man saw, come around to the opposite side of the trunk, face the direction you wish the tree to fall, take a position on the right side of the tree and rest your left shoulder against the trunk. Hold your saw directly in front of you, tipped slightly forward with the bar against the trunk. You should now be able to sight along your aiming line. if you cut directly down into the trunk at about a 15° or 20° angle, you will be making the first cut of a notch that will line up with your sight line and, if you finish the notch correctly, will determine the path the tree will take as it falls. This path will be just alongside the line you sighted and will be perpendicular to your bar.

To complete the notch, saw a horizontal cut until it meets the bottom of the first cut, thus removing the wedge of wood and leaving a clear notch. Be careful not to cut into the notch face. You can usually see when you are at the intersection with the first cut by looking down into that cut where the saw will be entering. That's where you stop. Depending on the size of the tree, the wedge you remove will be about two to three inches wide at the bottom and about four to six inches tall. What you have now is a shallow notch whose face will determine the felling path. The modern method of open face felling differs from the traditional method in several critical ways. First, the notch is made by aiming along a line with the cutter behind the tree rather than in front. Second, the top cut of the notch is made before the horizontal cut. Finally, the notch cut goes into the tree only about 15% of the trunk diameter, rather than a third of the way. This last difference allows the angle of the notch to be increased beyond the 45° or so restriction on a deep notch. If the notch is 90°, which it easily can be, it will not close until the tree is safely on the ground, hopefully, just where you aimed it.

Keep in mind that none of this will do you any good if you cut right through to the notch with your felling, or back, cut. Start your felling cut on the back of the tree, on an even plane with the horizontal notch cut. Be careful not to cut into the notch face or below the horizontal cut. Vital to the whole operation is leaving a one-or two-inch line of uncut wood-the "hinge wood" or "holding wood"-between the notch and the felling cut. To produce the hinge wood, simply stop your felling cut before it reaches the notch. The hinge should be of uniform width throughout its length and extend all the way through the trunk. The hinge and notch work together to guide the tree to the ground, thus maintaining control throughout the fall.

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