Limbing and Bucking

WARNING! Do not walk on the trunk or in a log pile, or cut while standing on it.

WARNING! Take extra care when walking around a log pile, especially if logs are debarked or wet and slippery.

Determine how the log or limb is tensioned. Apply the methods discussed to avoid entrapment of the saw. If the chain becomes pinched in a bind, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. Free the bind by lifting the limb. Use levers, poles, etc. for lifting. Avoid back injuries.

Do all the limbing with the Kick Guard ® device properly assembled on the guide bar nose. The only time bucking should be done without the Kick Guard ® device is when the tree trunk diameter exceeds the cutting capacity of the saw. When the trunk is held off the ground by its limbs, determine which of these are needed for support. Leave these while you cut off all the other limbs and branches. You will lose support of the limbs as sections of the trunk are bucked into logs. Roll some short logs under the trunk so you can continue off-the-ground bucking, which is easier than when the trunk is flat on the ground. Go to the high groundside of the trunk to buck off logs.

It may be necessary to bore into the middle of a log before the top or bottom is cut. Boring is a dangerous procedure where the bar tip guard cannot be used for protection. Be sure you have read about kickback in this manual and know how to avoid it before attempting to bore.

DON’T CUT WHAT YOU

ARE STANDING ON

KNOW HOW BRANCHES ARE STRESSED

LEAVE SUPPORT

LIMBS UNTIL LAST

USE SUPPORT LOG UNDER

TRUNK

WARNING! Boring should only be performed by trained professionals. There is danger of kickback during boring. Be sure to maintain proper control of the saw and keep your body away from the kickback path.

Before starting the bore, use the bottom edge of the saw blade to cut into the side of the log at slow chain speed. When the bar has buried itself quite deeply into the log, gradually increase chain speed and shift cutting pressure to bore straight into the log. Once the bar is inside the log, you can cut downward to the bottom, and then finish by cutting upward through the holding wood at the top.

Avoid sawing inside windfalls. Windfalls are tangled branches, roots and trees. Clean these out only by cutting from the perimeter, or by dragging logs and limbs into the clear before bucking.