MTD PS manual General Guidelines for Felling Trees, Felling CUT

GENERAL CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR FELLING TREES:

Normally felling consists of 2 main cutting operations, notching (C) and making the felling cut (D).

Start making the upper notch cut (C) on the side of the tree facing the felling direction (E). Be sure you don’t make the lower cut too deep into the trunk.

The notch (C) should be deep enough to create a hinge (F) of sufficient width and strength. The notch should be wide enough to direct the fall of the tree for as long as possible.

3/4 1/4 E

C

F

D

3-5cm

G

H

Fig.19

Fig.18

Never walk in front of a WARNING: tree that has been

notched.

Make the felling cut (D) from the other side of the tree and 1.5” - 2.0” (3-5cm) above the edge of the notch (C) (Figure 18).

Never saw completely through the trunk. Always leave a hinge. The hinge guides the tree. If the trunk is completely cut through, control over the felling direction is lost.

Insert a wedge or felling lever in the cut well before the tree becomes unstable and starts to move. This will prevent the guide bar from binding in the felling cut if you have mis- judged the falling direction. Make sure no bystanders have entered the range of the falling tree before you push it over.

Before making the WARNING: final cut, always recheck the area for

bystanders, animals or obstacles.

Fig.20

FELLING CUT:

1.Use wooden or plastic wedges (G) to prevent binding the bar or chain (H) in the cut. Wedges also control felling (Figure 19).

2.When diameter of wood being cut is greater than the bar length, make 2 cuts as shown (Figure 20).

As the felling cut gets WARNING: close to the hinge, the tree should begin to fall.

When tree begins to fall, remove saw from cut, stop engine, put chain saw down, and leave area along retreat path (Figure17).

16