OPERATION
PROPER PROCEDURE FOR TREE FELLING
See Figures 30, 31, 32, and 33.
1.Pick your escape route (or routes in case the in- tended route is blocked). Clear the immediate area around the tree and make sure there are no obstruc- tions in your planned path of retreat. Clear the path of safe retreat approximately 135° from the planned line of fall.
2.Consider the force and direction of the wind, the lean and balance of the tree, and the location of large limbs. These things influence the direction in which the tree will fall. Do not try to fell a tree along a line different from its natural line of fall.
3.Cut a notch about 1/3 the diameter of the trunk in the side of the tree. Make the notch cuts so they intersect at a right angle to the line of fall. This notch should be cleaned out to leave a straight line. To keep the weight of the wood off the saw, always make the lower cut of the notch before the upper cut.
4.Make the backcut level and horizontal, and at a mini- mum of 2 inches (5 cm) above the horizontal cut of the notch.
PLANNED LINE OF
FALL
90°
135° FROM
PLANNED LINE
OF FALL
PATH OF SAFE
RETREAT
PLANNED | 135° |
| PATH OF |
| 45° | SAFE | |
LINE OF FALL |
| ||
| RETREAT | ||
|
|
|
90°
45°
135°
Fig. 30
HINGE
2" (5 CM) OR 1/10 DIA
NOTCH -
APPROX. 1/3
DIAMETER OF
TRUNK
BACK CUT
2" (5 CM)
Fig. 31
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