How to cut down a tree - Stihl

Anytime you want to cut a tree down, the first and foremost thing you've got to think about is doing a proper assessment. In that assessment, it's going to tell you what you need to know to get out of there safely and get the job done right.

The first part of a good assessment starts with looking at the hazards. If there are any hazards present, you want to identify them before they come back to haunt you. I look for electrical hazards first and foremost. The next thing I'm looking for are things that could affect my personal safety or anyone on my crew.

On that list, first and foremost would be looking for branches that are just lodged in the tree, hanging there waiting to fall out, otherwise known as widow makers. Another hazard would be large dead sections. Large dead sections can come loose during the felling operation, and when they fall, they usually fall right where the person is making that cut.

Lastly, in our scenario, we have what I call the hidden hazard, and that's vines. They're very hard to see, and what makes them such a hazard is they can do a few things to you if you don't pick them up. One is they can keep the tree from falling on course, hold it suspended in midair, which creates another hazard. They could swing the tree off course if it breaks free from the hinge, or it could break something out behind you as you're making the cut, which is just a really bad scenario.

Assess the Tree

All right, once we identify all the hazards, next on our list is to assess the tree. First and foremost is: will the tree fit? If the tree will fit, the next thing I'm looking for is assessing the tree for a few things. One is I want to know if there's any kind of lean. We usually look to see if the tree has forward lean, back lean, or side lean. That'll tell me what I need to do or compensate for to get the tree where we intend it to go.

Now, when I'm talking about assessing the tree, I'm not just looking at the trunk. That's part of it. The other part is looking at the branch structure because if you have so many branches leaning out one way or the other, it's going to help determine which way the tree wants to go when it's released.

The next step is working on our work zone to make sure it's free of debris and clear of any kind of tripping hazards.

I just finished cutting down all the underbrush. Now we're going to go in and start moving it out of our way.

All right, now that the work zone is—

Remove the Debris

Almost clear, the last thing we've got to deal with is this tree we found in our assessment. The tree uprooted and is putting pressure on the trunk. We need to get rid of that and get all debris out of the way. So I'm going to get out of Justin's way, and we're going to take care of that.

Make the Face Cut

All right, now we've got our work zone clear and the trees are moved off the trunk, so we should be just about ready to go.

What I'm trying to do with my face cut is make a notch in the front of the tree, basically about 70 degrees or wider, to allow the tree to come all the way over before it breaks the hinge. I'm going to a depth of approximately a third of the way in or less, which is really about 80% of the overall width. That's what I really need to try to do to make the perfect cut.

All right, let's make our first cut.

One thing I like to do is, halfway through my top cut, stop, shut the saw off, and then take a look at your sight and make sure you're on the path you intend to be. If not, it gives you time to make adjustments before anything happens.

All right, we made our face cut. The next step is going to be setting up our hinge. We're going to use something called a bore cut here because we want to use wedges, because the tree has very little lean and we want to make sure it goes where we intend it to go and doesn't sit back on our saw.

So I'm going to come just behind the face cut, about an inch back, bore into the tree, cut all the interior out, leaving the back, called the strap, on there, and then we're going to hammer our wedges in.

All right, the tree is going to be going in this direction. I've got an escape route planned out the back at about a 45-degree angle. It'll get me to a safe zone 15 feet away from the tree.

We're ready to go.

Stand clear.