Chain Saws
Greenlee / A Textron Company
4455 Boeing Dr. • Rockford, IL 61109-2988 USA • 815-397-7070
10
Chain Saw Basics
(cont’d)
CUTTING TECHNIQUES
Pruning
Pruning is the process of cutting limbs or small
branches off of a tree. Whenever possible, prune lower
branches first so that higher branches have a clear fall
path.
When pruning, the compression is along the bottom of
the limb or branch. Make the first cut at the bottom, and
final cut at the top of the branch.
Felling
Felling refers to cutting a tree down. Felling a tree
consists of two cuts — a notch cut and a felling cut.
Begin by planning the direction of fall. Make the first
cut — the notch cut — from the direction in which you
want the tree to fall. After making the notch cut, remove
the wedge-shaped piece of wood from the notch.
On the other side of the trunk, begin the felling cut
approximately two inches above the bottom of the
notch. Keeping two escape routes in mind, proceed with
the felling cut. Do not cut completely through — leave
approximately 1/10 of the diameter of the trunk to act as
a hinge. This hinge will help to control the direction of fall.
Figure 10 – Felling
Felling Cut
Notch Cut
45°
1/10
1/4
Limbing
Limbing is cutting limbs and branches from a fallen
tree. Keep in mind that the trunk might shift as limbs are
removed from it.
Remove limbs from the upper side of the trunk only.
Then proceed to Bucking.
Bucking
Bucking refers to cutting the fallen tree into short
sections. Make the first bucking cut on the compression
side, and make the second cut on the tension side.
Be aware that the section may fall in an unexpected
direction when the cut is complete.
Sectioning
Sectioning is a method of bucking a fallen tree that is too
large for a single pass of the saw. See the illustrations
below.
As always, make the first cuts on the compression side.
Make the final cut on the tension side.
Figure 11 – Sectioning
1
2
3
4
Make last
cut from
tension side.
