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S Release t he throttle trigger as soon as
the cut is completed, allowing the en-
gine to idle. If you run the saw at full
throttlewithoutacuttingload,unneces-
sary wear can occur to the chain, bar ,
and engine.
S Toavoidlosingcontrolwhencutiscom-
plete,donotputpressureonsawatend
of cut.
S Stop the engine before setting the saw
down after cutting.
TREE FELLING TECHNIQUES
WARNING: Check for broken or
dead branches which can fall while cutting
causingserious injury. Donotcutnearbuild-
ingsor electricalwires ifyoudonotknowthe
directionoftreefall,norcutatnightsinceyou
will not be ale to see well, nor during bad
weathersuchasrain,snow,or strongwinds,
etc. Ifthe treemakes contactwith anyutility
line, the u tility company should be not ified
immediately .
S Carefullyplanyoursawingoperationinad-
vance.
S Cleartheworkarea. Youneedacleararea
allaroundthetreesoyoucanhavesecure
footing.
S Stu dy t he natural co nditio ns th at can ca use
the tree t o fall in a particular direction.
Natural conditions that can cause a tree to
fall in aparticular direction include:
S The wind direction and speed.
S The lean of the tree. The lean of a tree
might not be apparent due to uneven or
slopingterrain. Useaplumborlevel tode-
termine the direction of tree lean.
S Weight and branches o n one side.
S Surrounding trees and obstacles.
Look for decay and rot. If the trunk is rotted, it
can snap and fall toward the operator. Check
for b roken or dea d branches which can fall on
you while cutting.
Make sure there is enough room for the tree to
fall. Maintain a distance o f
2-1/2 tree lengths
from the nearest person o r other objects. En-
gine noise can drown out a warning call.
Removedirt,stones, loose bark, nails,staples,
and wire from the tree where cuts a re to be
made.
Planaclearretreat pathto therear anddiag-
onal to the line of fall.
Direction of Fall
45_
Plan a clear retreat path
FELLING LARGE TREES
(6 inches (15 cm) in diameter or larger)
The notch method is used to felllarge trees.
Anotchis cutonthesideofthetreeinthede-
sired direction of fall. After a felling cut is
made on the opposite side of tree, the tree
will tend to fall into the notch.
NOTE: If the tree has large buttress roots,
removethembeforemakingthenotch. Ifus-
ing saw to remove buttress roots, keep saw
chainfromcontactinggroundtopreventdull-
ing of the chain.
NOTCH CUT AN D FELLING THE
TREE
S Make notch cut by cutting the top of the
notch first. Cut through
1/3 ofthe diameter
ofthetree.Nextcompletethenotchbycut-
ting the bottom of the notch. See illustra-
tion. Once the notch is cut remove the
notch of wood from the tree.
Notch
First cut
Second cut
Final (felling) cuthere, 2 inches
(5 cm) above center of notch.
Hinge
S After removing the cutout of wood, make
the felling cut on the opposite side of the
notch. This is doneby making a cut about
twoinches (5cm)higherthanthe centerof
the notch. This will leave enough uncut
woodbetweenthefellingcutandthenotch
to form a hinge. This hinge will help pre-
ventthetreefromfallinginthewrongdirec-
tion.
Closing of
notch
Hinge holds tree on stump and helps
control fall
Opening
of felling
cut
NOTE: Before felling cut is complete, use
wedges to open the cut when necessary to
controlthedirectionoffall. Toavoidkickback
and chain damage, use wood or plastic
wedges, but never steel or iron wedges.
S Bealerttosignsthatthetreeisreadytofall:
cracking sounds, widening of the felling cut,
or movement in the upper branches.
S Astree starts to fall,stop saw,put it down,
and get away quickly on your planned re-
treat path.