Saws that Sing: A Guide to Using Crosscut Saws

Felling

Except for firefighting, it is not common to fell trees with a crosscut saw. Much of my experience in felling with a crosscut saw was to obtain native building material for bridges, cribbing, puncheon, shake bolts, replacement logs for historical structures, or green logs for construction.

Safety Considerations

Safety considerations for felling apply whether you are using chain saws or crosscut saws. The forces acting on a tree are the same, whether hand or power tools are used. But different tools require different techniques. This guide discusses the correct procedures for felling with a crosscut saw.

Larger trees often require a two-person saw, so two fallers may be in the danger zone. There are some advantages to having two fallers. An additional set of eyes and ears will be alert to danger. Crosscut saw operations are relatively quiet, so a faller often can hear the stresses of wood as pressure is being released and the noises of branches breaking above the fallers.

The most important advantage of having a second faller is a change in mental and behavioral attitude evident in good teamwork. The saying, "Two heads are better than one," applies here.

Each faller requires an escape route and an alternate route. The two fallers should not use the same escape route. If fallers need to rest during the cut, they should move to the safety zone. The rest should be as brief as possible. Sawing the back cut should progress deliberately and continuously until the tree begins to fall. Avoid rest breaks during back cutting. Additional safety considerations include:

• The loop- or pin-style handles on a two-person saw must detach quickly. Remove the handles to make sure they don't stick before performing felling cuts.

• Be sure all ax and saw handles are tight and in good repair.

• If metal wedges will be used, they should have all "mushrooming" (deformed metal on the edges of the head) filed off to prevent the wedge from splitting when struck.

• When sizing up the tree, determine the side of the tree where the head faller will stand. This is usually the side that best enables the faller to remove the saw from the cut and place it on the ground just before the tree falls.

• If one handle of a two-person saw is hard to remove, that handle should be in the hands of the head faller who will not have to remove it.

• Wedges need to be driven into the woody part of the tree, not the bark. Remove bark as necessary with an ax before sawing.

• Shout a warning before starting the back cut and again before finishing it.

• If several trees are being felled on steep ground, work from the bottom of the slope toward the top to avoid working around trees that have been felled.

• No felling should be undertaken without all the required personal protective equipment, an ax, a set of wedges, and lubricant.

Direction of Fall

In trail work, the purpose of felling is often to obtain construction material. You need to visualize the tree on the ground to make sure you can remove the logs you need for the project. Can a team of horses get to the site? Can the logs be winched out? Also, consider the visual effect of tree removal. Will the stump or slash be visible from the trail or structure? Is this acceptable?

Trees felled across the slope will be less likely to break, all other factors being equal. Trees felled downhill are in the air longer and pick up more speed. Uphill felling should be avoided, especially on steep slopes. The tree strikes the ground quickly, often bounces and kicks back over the stump. This is dangerous.

If a tree is not leaning more than 5 degrees from vertical and other factors are favorable (limb weight and distribution are even, winds are light, and so forth) a faller can generally drop the tree in any desired direction with proper placement of undercuts and wedges. Big trees with uneven limb distribution or noticeable lean can seldom be felled against the natural lean, even with wedges.

Situational Awareness

Analyze the tree you plan to fell:

• Health of tree (live or dead)
• Footing
• Species
• Heavy snow loading
• Size and length
• Bark soundness
• Soundness or defects
• Direction of lean
• Twin tops
• Degree of lean (slight or great)
• Widow makers or hangups
• Type of lean (both the predominant, or head, and side lean)
• Heavy branches or uneven weight distribution
• Nesting or feeding holes
• Punky wood (swollen or sunken areas)
• Spike tops
• Knots
• Splits and frost cracks
• Rusty (discolored) knots
• Deformities, such as mistletoe damage
• Frozen wood
• Damage by lightning or fire Analyze the base of the tree for:
  • Thudding (hollow) sound when struck
  • Insect activity
  • Conks and mushrooms
  • Feeding holes
  • Rot and cankers
  • Bark soundness
  • Shelf or bracket fungi
  • Resin flow
  • Wounds or scars
  • Unstable root system or root protrusions
  • Split trunk

Examine surrounding terrain for:

• Steepness
• Stumps
• Depressions or humps in the ground
• Loose logs
• Debris that can fly back or kick up at the sawyers
• Rocks

Examine the immediate work area for:

• Snags
• People, roads, or vehicles
• Reserve (leave) trees that should not be damaged
• Powerlines
• Structures
• Widow makers
• Openings to fall trees
• Hangups
• Other trees that may be affected
• Fire-weakened trees
• Other trees that may have to be felled first
• Hazards such as trees, rocks, brush, or low-hanging limbs

Felling Sizeup

Most accidents are caused by falling debris. When you approach the tree to be felled, observe the top. Check for all overhead hazards that may come down during felling. Throughout the cut, glance regularly at the saw, the kerf, and the top of the tree.

Look at the limbs. Are they heavy enough on one side to affect the desired felling direction? Do the limbs have heavy accumulations of ice and snow?

Are the limbs entangled with the limbs of other trees? If so, they can snap off or prevent the tree from falling after it has been cut.

Is the wind strong enough to affect the tree's fall? Wind speeds higher than 15 miles per hour may be strong enough to affect the tree's fall. If so, stop felling. Strong winds may blow over other trees and snags in the area. Erratic winds require special safety considerations.

Check all snags in the immediate area for soundness. A snag may fall at any time with a gust of wind, the vibration of a tree fall, or as the snag's roots succumb to rot. If it is safe to do so, fell any snag that is a hazard in the cutting area before cutting the tree you intend to fell.

Clear small trees, brush, and debris from the base of the tree. Remove all material that could cause you to trip or lose balance. Also remove material that will interfere with your use of the saw, wedges, and ax. Don't fatigue yourself with unnecessary swamping. Remove only as much material as needed to work safely around the base of the tree and to provide escape routes.

The importance of sound holding (hinge) wood cannot be overemphasized. Determine the condition of the holding wood by sounding it with an ax. Look up while doing so, in case debris is dislodged. Check for frost cracks or other weak areas in the holding wood. The desired felling direction can be adjusted to compensate for weak areas in the holding wood. The depth of the undercut also can be adjusted to best take advantage of sound wood that can serve as holding wood.

Most trees have two natural leans: the predominant head lean and the secondary side lean. The leaning weight of the tree will be a combination of these two leans. Both leans must be considered when determining the desired felling direction. The desired felling direction can usually be chosen within 45 degrees of the combined lean, provided there is enough sound holding wood to work with, especially in the corners of the undercut.

Use a plumb bob or ax to evaluate the tree's lean. Project a vertical line up from the center of the tree's butt and determine if the tree's top lies to the right or left of the projected line.

A pistol-grip tree (one with a trunk that may be nearly horizontal near the ground before turning straight up) may appear to be leaning in one direction while most of the weight is actually leaning in another direction.

Look at the treetop from at least two different spots at right angles to each other. Do so again later during the sizeup, taking every opportunity to determine the correct lean.

In summary, during felling sizeup:

• Check for snags.
• Observe the top.
• Assess the soundness of the holding wood.
• Swamp out the base.
• Assess the lean.

Establishing Escape Routes

Look for a large, solid tree or rock for protection. The tree or rock must be at least 20 feet away from the stump and not directly behind it. Clear any debris that could trip you from the escape route. Practice your escape (figure 52).

Figure 52--Keep the felling direction in
mind when planning escape routes.

Walk out the intended lay of the tree. Look for any obstacles that could cause the tree to kick back over the stump or cause the butt to jump or pivot as the tree hits the ground. Look for any small trees or snags that could be thrown into your escape route. Ensure that the cutting area is clear of people.

Using the observations you made when walking out the intended lay of the tree, reexamine the escape route. Be sure that your chosen route (figure 53) will be the safest escape by walking out the entire length of the route--before you begin to cut.

Figure 53--Check the intended lay of
the tree for unwanted obstacles.

Placing the Undercut

We are going to discuss just the conventional undercut because of its broad application for all timber types and because it provides a solid foundation from which to learn additional cutting techniques.

Before beginning the undercut, prepare the tree for cutting (figure 54). Thick bark should be removed to:

• Prevent the bark from dulling the saw
• Prevent bark chunks from choking up the saw
• Make wedges more effective
• Better view the cuts to make sure they line up

Figure 54--An ax can be used to
remove bark from a log.

I like removing the bark at the corners of the undercut because I can see the amount of holding wood that remains. Trees that have burned or that have large plates of bark or stringy bark often collect blowing dirt and sand that could dull the saw. In addition, removing bark may allow the saw to start into the cut more easily.

Not all trees need to have the bark removed. If the tree is small or if it has smooth, clean bark, usually there is no need to remove the bark.

It takes three cuts to fell a tree. Two cuts form the undercut (or face cut) and the third forms the back cut. The correct relationship of these cuts results in safe and effective tree felling. Before discussing the felling procedure, we will analyze the mechanics of the felling cuts. The undercut and back cut form the hinge that controls the direction and fall of the tree.

The undercut serves three purposes.

• It allows the tree to fall in a given direction by removing the tree's support in the direction of the face.
• It enables control because the tree slips off, rather than jumps off, the stump.
• It prevents the log from kicking back as it begins to fall.

The undercut can be made by:

• Chopping out the entire undercut with an ax.
• Making the undercut with a crosscut saw.
• Making a horizontal cut with a crosscut saw and chopping the face out with an ax.