OPERATION
PRUNING
See Figure 23.
Pruning is trimming limbs from a live tree.
LOAD
SECOND CUT
■Work slowly, keeping both hands on the chain saw with a firm grip. Always make sure your footing is secure and your weight is distributed evenly on both feet.
■Do not cut from a ladder, this is extremely danger- ous. Leave this operation for professionals.
■Do not cut above chest height as a saw held higher is difficult to control against kickback.
■When pruning trees it is important not to make the finishing cut next to the main limb or trunk until you have cut off the limb further out to reduce the weight. This prevents stripping the bark from the main member.
1.Underbuck the branch 1/3 through for your first cut.
2.Your second cut should overbuck to drop the branch off.
3.Now make your finishing cut smoothly and neatly against the main member so the bark will grow back to seal the wound.
WARNING:
If the limbs to be pruned are above chest height, hire a professional to perform the pruning.
FIRST CUT 
1/3 DIAMETER
FINISHING CUT
Fig. 23
SPRINGPOLE
Fig. 24
SPRINGPOLES
See Figure 24.
A springpole is any log, branch, rooted stump, or sapling which is bent under tension by other wood so that it springs back if the wood holding it is cut or removed. On a fallen tree, a rooted stump has a high potential of springing back to the upright position during the bucking cut to separate the log from the stump. Watch out for springpoles, they are dangerous.
22
WARNING:
Springpoles are dangerous and could strike the operator, causing the operator to lose control of the chain saw. This could result in severe or fatal injury to the operator.