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and chain damage, use wood or plastic
wedges, but never steel or iron.
S
Be alert to signs that the tree is ready to
fall: cracking sounds, widening of the fell-
ing cut, or movement in the upper
branches.
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As tree starts to fall, stop saw, put it down,
and get away quickly on your planned re-
treat path.
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Be extremely cautious with partially fallen
trees that may be poorly supported. When
a tree doesn’t fall completely, set the saw
aside and pull down the tree with a cable
winch, block and tackle, or tractor. To
avoid injury,do not cutdown apartially fall-
en tree with your s aw.
CUTTING A FALLEN TREE
(BUCKING)
Bucking is the term used for cutting a fallen
tree to the desired log length.
WARNING:
Do not stand on the log
being cut. Anyportion can roll causing loss o f
footing and control. Do not stand downhill of
the log being cut.
IMPORTANT POINTS
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Cut only one log a t a time.
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Cut shattered wood very carefully; sharp
pieces ofwoodcould beflung towardoper-
ator.
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Use a sawhorse to cut small logs. Never
allow another person to hold the log while
cutting and never hold the logwith your leg
or foot.
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Do not cut in a n area where logs, limbs,
and roots are tangled. Drag the logs into a
clear area before cutting by pulling out ex-
posed and cleared logs first.
TYPES OF CUTTING USED FOR
BUCKING
WARNING:
If sawbecomes pinched
or hung in a log, don’t try to force it out. You
can lose control of the saw resulting in injury
and/or damage to the saw. Stop the saw,
drive a wedge of plastic or wood into the cut
until the saw can be removed easily. Restart
the saw and carefully reenter the cut. Donot
attempt torestart yoursaw w henit ispinched
or hung in a log.
Turn saw
OFF
and use a plastic o r
wooden wedge to force cut open.
Use a wedge to remove pinched saw
Overcutting begi nson thetop sideof thelog
with the saw against the log. When overcut-
ting use light downward pressure.
Overcutting Undercutting
Undercutting involves cutting on the under-
side of thelog with topof sawagainst thelog.
When undercutting use light upward pres-
sure. Hold saw firmly and maintain control.
The saw will tend to push back toward you.
WARNING:
Never turn saw upside
down to undercut. The saw cannot be con-
trolled in this position.
Always make your first cut on the compres-
sion side of thelog. Thecompression side of
the log is where the pressure of the log’s
weight is concentrated.
Second cut
First cut on compression side of log
First cut on compression side of log
Second cut
BUCKING WITHOUT A
SUPPORT
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Overcut through 1/3 of the diameter oflog.
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Roll log over; finish with a second overcut.
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Watch for sawswith acompression sideto
prevent the saw from pinching. See il-
lustration for cutting logs with a compres-
sion side.
BUCKING USING A LOG OR SUP-
PORT STAND
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Remember your first cut is always on the
compression side of the log.
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Your first cut should extend
1/3
of the
diameter of the log.
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Finish with your second cut.
1
st
Cut
2
nd
Cut
Usingalogforsupport