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Rural Design Solutions: Figuring Out How to Fell a Leaning Tree Without a Chainsaw or Wedges

...and without getting crushed, of course

By Rain Noe - December 17, 2018

in Tools & Craft

Two types of loud, percussive noises I often hear on the farm: Local gunfire, and trees cracking during a storm. After I moved in, a neighbor told me that "this is the shootingest neighborhood you'll ever live in," and he was right; everyone around here owns a rifle and apparently uses it daily. As for the trees, a fair amount tend to collapse during the thunderstorms that roll through.

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I need to process these fallen trees into firewood. If I get started now, they'll be dry enough for use during winter 2019-2020. I figured I'd start with a nearby 40-foot cedar tree.

Target: The leaning tree on the right.

The trunk of a cedar is pretty bare towards the ground, but it develops numerous branches up top. So when this one gave way at the base, its branches became entangled with the branches of neighboring trees, that are now holding it up. I consider this dangerous.

The problem: I don't own, nor have I yet learned how to use, a chainsaw. What I do have is this Silky Katanaboy 650, which is basically a gigantic Japanese pull saw. I wrote about it here and became curious enough to buy one.

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My first attempt to fell the tree was a fail. If you look at this photo, you can probably deduce why.

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I started the cut at point A, and got all the way down to point B before the weight of the tree caused the cut to close up at point A. Not only could I no longer make a cut, but I was only able to extract the saw with great difficulty.

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I then tried cutting a wedge-shape out of the tree, starting at point C, and hoping to connect to point B. But by the time I got to point D, the tree closed up again, this time at point C. I could have avoided this problem by whacking some plastic or metal wedges into the cut, but I don't own any wedges yet.

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I thought about sawing upwards from the bottom, but the Katanaboy blade is so long that it's impossible to get any tension on it without gravity helping you out. More importantly, cutting from beneath the tree struck me as incredibly dangerous; when the trunk finally separated, I would not be able to get out of the way in time.

After thinking about it, I moved further down the trunk and began again. This time I cut a more shallow slice, perhaps 1/3rd of the way through the trunk.

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Then I cut a second slice towards the first.

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By taking such a shallow pass, I was able to create the desired wedge-shaped cavity without any binding.

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I then started sawing down the cleft of this cavity…

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…but I only got to about here before the tree made a creaking noise, and the kerf started to close up again, binding on the saw.

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Here you can hopefully see how the kerf is closing. It started to close up more towards the back of the cut, which gives me some indication of which way the leaning forces are acting upon this tree.

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I wanted to widen this wedge-shaped cavity, so I began a new cut, angling down towards the newly-closed kerf.

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This took quite a lot of time and energy. The Katanaboy is cool because it's unpowered, but if your cardio stinks like mine does, you're going to be breathing hard and thankful to take a break to snap photos for a design blog.

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All of this cutting generates a surprising amount of sawdust. The Katanaboy has got deep gullets that do a good job of clearing it from the trunk.

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Finally I was able to make the cuts meet, and remove a second wedge.

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I then, you guessed it, began sawing down from the cleft again.

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I didn't get very far…

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…before that kerf closed up.

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I then started sawing down the edges of that kerf, i.e. around the trunk, on both sides, in hopes of weakening the bark enough to let the weight of the tree snap itself free.

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This was tricky to do and impossible to photograph in progress, as I had to stand on the stump side. I was certain the tree would give way suddenly, and I wasn't sure exactly how it would fall, and I did not want to be in the danger zone.

The technique worked, and with a crack, the tree split from the stump and thudded authoritatively into the ground. It's at that moment that you realize how freaking heavy these things are.

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Sadly I did not gain the satisfaction of seeing the tree fall over. It's still held in place by the branches above. All I've succeeded in doing is separating it from the stump.

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I will have to do this several more times, until the tree becomes shorter and shorter, eventually reaching a near-vertical position. Then I may be able to push it over. I suspect this will become increasingly more dangerous, so I'll have to take my time with it. And once I get a better grasp of tree-felling physics, I'll probably have to learn to use a chainsaw.

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Joscha Simonsen

5 years ago

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you could possibly use a tool like this to try and roll the tree to the side after you separated it from the stump. in german its called 'fällheber' or 'stammwender'. couldnt really find a good translation right now, but its a nice tool to roll over logs or even fell trees by pushing them over once you sawed out a wedge.

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The Skipper

5 years ago

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I don’t even know where to begin. For this case, make your first cut on top. Just before the kerf begins to close, stop. Then make your “undercut”. This will properly dismember the tree. Remember the key thing here is to take gravity into consideration first, then take into consideration the side forces of trees and other branches in the way. And if you need help next time just call me? I dont want you to hurt yourself.

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Donald Jones

5 years ago

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You rent a saw at the Homedepot, that's what I did and it was a huge really scary Oak.

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Jason Pokines

5 years ago

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If you leave it alone, it'll dry out more. Otherwise, get a ladder and some branch clippers and help the tree fall the rest of the way down before borrowing your neighbor's chainsaw.

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Damon Hearnre

5 years ago

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Nice! I have been wondering about those long saws. A good companion is a Red Devil winch or similar (goes on the list products that haven't changed in a long time - no relation to me). For $14o clams (and maybe some additional strapping or chain) you can drag that tree safely to the ground after the first cut - and get your rig unstuck too. Come-a-long winches sill pose risk, but easier to predict and mitigate than sawing an ever-increasing upright tree/widow maker. We do this a lot with windfall locust. There are some hinge tricks that also allow the tree to break and move under winch pressure so you don't have to do it all with the saw. Be safe out there!

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Bradford Waugh

5 years ago

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Cut your wedge on the bottom side! Saw as needed to separate on the upper.

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