Owner's manual

10
S After removing the wood from the notch,
make the felling cut on the opposite side
of the notch. This is done by making a
cut about two inches higher than the
center of the not ch. This wil l leave
enough uncut wood between the felling
cut and the not ch to form a hinge. This
hinge will help prevent the tree from fal-
ling in the wrong direction.
Opening
of felling
cut
Closing of
notch
Hing e holds tr ee on stump and
helps control fall.
NOTE: Before felling cut is complete,
use wedges to open the cut when
necessary to co ntrol the direction of fall.
To avoid kickback and chain damage,
use wood or plastic wedges, but never
steel or iron wedges.
S Be alert to signs that the tr ee is ready to
fall: cracking sounds, wi dening of the
felling cut, or movement in the upper
branches.
S As tree starts to fall, stop saw , put it
down, and get away quickly on your
planned retr eat path.
S
DO NOT use your saw to cut down a par-
ti all y fallen tree. Be extr emel y cautious
with partially fallen trees that may be
poorly support ed. When a tree doesn’t
fall completely, set saw aside and pull
down tree with a cable winch, block and
tackle, or tractor .
CUTTING A FALLEN TREE
(BUCKING)
Buckin g is t he te r m used for cutti ng a fal l-
en tree to the desired log size.
WARNING: Do not stand on the
log being cut. Any portion can roll c aus-
ing loss of footing an d control. Do not
stand downhill of the log being cut.
IMPORTANT POINTS
S Cut only one log at a time.
S Cut shattered wood very careful l y;
sharp pieces of wood could be flung to-
ward operator.
S Use a sawhorse to cut small logs. Never
allow another person to hold the log
while cutting and never hold the log with
your leg or foot.
S Do not cut in an area where logs, li m bs,
and roots are tangled. Drag logs into a
clear area before cutting them by pulling
out exposed and cleared logs first .
BUCKING TECH NIQUES
WARNING: If saw becomes
pinched or hung in a log, don’t try to force it
out . You can lose control of the saw resul t-
ing in injur y and/or damage to the saw .
St op the saw , drive a wedge of plastic or
wood into the cut until the saw can be re-
movedeasily.Restartthesawandcare-
full y reenter the cut. Do not use a metal
wedge. Do not attempt to restar t your saw
when it is pinched or hung in a log.
Use a wedge to remove pinched saw
Turn saw OFF and use a plastic or
wooden wedge to force cut open.
Overcutting begins on the top side of the
log with the bottom of the saw against the
log. When overcutti ng use light downward
pressure.
Overcutting Undercutting
Undercutting involves cutting on the un-
derside of the log with top of saw against
the log. When undercutting use li gh t up-
ward pressure. Hold saw fir ml y and main-
tain contr ol. The saw will tend to push
back toward you.
WARNING: Never turn saw upside
down to undercut. The saw c annot be
controlled in this position.
Alwa ys make your fi rst cut on the com-
pressions side of the log. The compres-
sion side of the log is where the pressure
of the log’s weight is concentrated.
First cut on compression side of log
Second cut
First cut on compression side of log
Second cut
BUCKING WITHOUT A SUPPORT
S Overcu t thr ou gh
1/3 of the diameter of
the log.
S Roll the log over and finish with a sec-
ond overcu t.