How to Felling Trees with a Chainsaw Correctly

how to cut trees with a chainsaw

Felling trees with an ax and a conventional saw is a thing of the past, most owners of private houses and summer residents today acquire chainsaws. It is necessary to have a chainsaw. if there are no old trees under the felling in the area, you need to cut branches periodically, and in the case of force majeure it often happens that a large tree falls or splits. then you really need to know how to correctly cut a tree with a chainsaw.

A similar situation can occur both in the forest, where you will go on vacation, and in the country. If you notice that the tree is in disrepair and its fall threatens property damage, do not pull with a roll

Many do not think about safety, but several important rules must be learned in order to avoid dangerous situations.

Safety precautions when using a chainsaw

Yes, there are special rules:

  • Use appropriate shoes and clothing: non-slip shoes, safety glasses, gloves, tight clothing. Earplugs will help reduce noise.
  • Check that the chain is well sharpened and tensioned. The tension is good if the guide teeth remain in the groove when you pull the chain from the top of the tire. When filling in oil, it is always advisable to check whether the chain is tight.
  • Do not work in windy weather.

How to cut a tree with a chainsaw without harming the surrounding objects located nearby? Try to plan the trajectory of the fall, having previously studied the territory and the tree itself, which you are going to cut. If it is dry, large dead branches, knots can fall, so they can be cut beforehand, and caution must be exercised here.

You must leave the work area unhindered. If there are other trees nearby, try to work so that the sawn branches do not get stuck in their branches, this can lead to an accident, and then it is not easy to get them. You will then need to process the sawn tree and take it out or remove it from the site. Choose a direction for the felling so that then you can easily cut and remove the tree.

Video: How to Felling Trees with a Chainsaw Correctly


Cleaning is an important step after felling a tree. For a tree to fall, select a place where it will be convenient to cut it into pieces, and then take it out of the area or load it onto a car

The order of work when felling a tree

Undercutting takes place in several stages. The first (upper) undercut is made a quarter of the diameter of the trunk, at an angle of 45 °, you need to approach the tree from the fall side. Then a cut is made from below. It is done horizontally to the level where both undercuts connect. After completing two cuts, you should get a 45 ° angle cut in the trunk. Do not cut the tree completely, otherwise it will not be possible to guess in which direction its trunk will fall.

Now the felling cut is used. Before starting work, make sure that there are no people, pets or objects that could be damaged in the fall zone. The felling cut is done on the side that is opposite to the expected direction of the fall of the trunk, it should be located at a distance of five centimeters from the bottom cut, parallel to it.

When doing a felling cut, leave a half cut. 1/10 of the total diameter of the tree trunk. This is important because it provides the correct trajectory of its fall. If you do not do this cut, or make it smaller than the specified size, the tree’s fall path will become unpredictable.

Dip the saw into the barrel slowly. To prevent the tire from jamming in the trunk, insert the wedge into the main cut before the tree begins to fall. The wedge should be made of plastic or wood, a metal wedge can damage the chain. Engine revolutions during saw operation. maximum.

When working, watch carefully where the trunk is moving. So you can take action in a timely manner if you feel that the fall has gone in the wrong direction.

The arrows indicate the cuts: 1. upper, 2. lower, 3. felling. The unfinished part of the tree is a hinge that prevents falling in an undesirable direction

Two options for sawing: in the first case, sawing was done with a double right angle, making it harder, but the tree is guaranteed to fall in the direction you planned, in the second case, the most common version of sawing is performed, described above

When the barrel begins to fall, quickly remove the saw from the cut, turn off the engine and leave the work area. Perform all actions quickly; delay can be dangerous.

Tip. It is more convenient to cut the tree in the direction of curvature, the greatest development of branches and branches, if the trunk is flattened. in the direction of a smaller diameter.

The video below shows an example of work. a quick felling of a tree, where it takes a minimum of time to complete the necessary cuts:

That’s all, we’ve examined how to cut trees correctly with a chainsaw. subject to the above rules, you can easily knock down the right tree. And the main thing here is to be attentive and focused. Before the first felling, you can practice on a small dry tree, if you have one on the site, or look for one in a nearby landing.