Felling a tree safely
Step-by-step plan to safely fell a tree with felling cut and felling cut
Safe one tree felling is no easy feat. Safety for yourself, your fellow human beings and the environment is indispensable.
Below we list the most important steps safe a tree to fell.
This is done according to the normal method, where the tree can fall freely. By making a fall notch and felling cut.
Please note: this is not a manual or procedure for creating a tree to fell, as in practice more and more factors can play a role in safely removing a tree cut.
That is why it is best to leave this specialist work to someone professional arborist such as b‑Tree about.
Feel free to fill it Contact Form for information without obligation.
Preparations before working with a chainsaw
Safe one tree felling starts with a well-thought-out approach and very good preparation.
Admission
Before the tree to fell you should check whether there is an authorization and permit is to fell the tree.
Make sure you have the right one permit has. Often one permit legally required.
Felling a tree safely means never working alone
If an accident should occur, it is best to have a second man nearby to help you immediately. Or to call for help from the emergency services.
Every year, to our great regret, very serious and sometimes fatal accidents occur cutting down a tree.
To safely fell a tree, you work with good tools: inspecting the chainsaw
Safe one tree felling also means working with good tools.
A properly functioning and safe chainsaw is a "must" to perform safe work.
Check whether your chainsaw has any defects. And that it has all safety equipment and that it functions properly.
The following safety features must be present:
- chain protection (plastic cover) to prevent you from cutting yourself on the razor-sharp chain,
- a safety chain to prevent as much bounce (shock) and kickback as possible during sawing,
- The machine's exhaust is away from the person. This is not the case with old chainsaws, so do not use them anymore.
- chain brake is present and works. Test this after a safe start of the machine,
- there is a left hand protection,
- right hand protection available with a widened protection,
- vibration dampers are present and in good condition,
- start-stop switch available, whether or not integrated with throttle lever and gas safety device,
- chain catcher is present and not worn,
- saw blade without burrs on the sides,
- chain is matched to the saw blade and drive,
- safety labels according to CE standard available,
- no damage of any kind.
If some things are not in order, do not use the chainsaw or put them in order first.
More about using one safely chainsaw you find out Ecopedia.
Felling a tree safely: checking PPE
For sawing wood or making a... to cut down a tree you should be protected.
The standard PPE (or personal protective equipment) are:
- a helmet with adapted standards and a valid expiry date,
- a face shield and hearing protection,
- saw trousers with adapted standards regarding saw protection depending on the power of the chainsaw used and saw shoes with adapted saw protection,
- gloves and a fluorescent vest.
Consider one as well saw vest to protect body and arms from the chainsaw.
All this if something goes wrong while using your chainsaw. A slip should not lead to serious injuries.
Manager Bert Janssens has a FULL VCA certificate and monitors this closely.
Felling a tree safely: drawing up a risk analysis and completing a checklist
To secure one tree to fell, you need a risk analysis.
By drawing up a risk analysis and completing a checklist, you think about all the dangers and protection against them.
If things should go wrong, you have already thought about the safety net to prevent injury. This can be of vital importance.
Thinking carefully about all risks and completing a risk analysis increases the risk safety enormously.
Without mentioning all the details, you should always check where your correct work location is.
And whether you can explain this in understandable language to the emergency services if something goes wrong.
An ordinary address consisting of street name and house number is almost clear. However, if you have to explain a way through fire roads in a forest to the emergency services, this is a different story.
It's best that you think about this in advance. And, for example, place marks along forest roads so that emergency services can easily find you.
Also ask whether your cell phone is within range of a cell tower. And that your battery is fully charged. Or know the location where you can definitely reach your mobile phone.
There are many things you need to think about in advance.
Tensioning and signaling
Safe one tree felling in a busy area, along a footpath or road, or where someone can pass by, requires signaling and/or tightening the area.
Always prevent unwanted visitors in the area where the tree will fall.
Our experience shows that a ribbon as a tensioner does not always prevent people from continuing.
Also place a sign stating “Felling trees – Danger”.
From this moment on, the first, but only minor sawing work can start. You start by clearing the environment.
Free up the environment
Make sure that while you are felling (this is when making the felling cut, felling cut, sapwood cuts and possibly sawing away root shoots or plank roots) you have sufficient free space around the trunk.
This way you prevent falls while using a chainsaw and you can always easily go backwards if necessary.
Also clear away dead wood and branches around the trunk and already saw away small shrubs and trees so that the area is completely clear.
By clearing the area we mainly mean the zone around the tree at ground level. So you can move freely without obstacles.
But also consider branches at height from other trees. Where the tree to be felled could possibly get caught or snagged. Or which could damage other trees.
Then you can use the necessary branches pruning, so that you can be sure that the tree to be felled can fall freely. Without causing damage to the other trees.
Determine natural direction of fall
This is often a difficult exercise.
You now need to determine where the tree would naturally fall, under its own weight, if it were felled without direction.
By standing under the crown, with your back against the trunk and looking up and going around the entire trunk, you can see where most of the weight of the crown is and in which direction the tree leans.
Now determine this direction.
If you doubt the natural direction of fall of the tree and feel that this is too difficult an exercise, leave it alone felling the tree Best to leave it to us and stop the felling.
Feel free to fill in the non-binding form Contact Form .
Determine desired falling direction
It is not always the case that it is best to fell the tree in the direction of its natural fall direction.
Often the tree falls a little more to the left or right, because there is just a little more room there.
Now determine the desired fall direction and set it out by, for example, placing a piece of branch or your felling lever in this direction, from the trunk.
If the tree cannot be felled in the desired direction of fall under the tree's own weight or by using a felling lever and wedges, you will need to use additional tools.
However, we will not discuss this further on this page.
Determine escape routes when cutting down a tree
If you go wrong with a felling, you may have to get away quickly to avoid being crushed.
Even after making the felling cut, you must remove yourself from the tree's falling area.
There are escape routes for this. Create one escape route at +135° to the desired fall direction and the other at -135° to the desired fall direction. Or in other words, at the back of the tree and diagonally to the notch you are going to saw, both left and right.
Clear escape route
Just as you cleared the area around the tribe to safely... tree to fell, you clear a track over the entire distance of the escape route. This can be several meters and depends on the height of the tree.
Step-by-step plan for felling a tree yourself
Cut off root suckers or plank roots
If a tree has plank roots or has root suckers that make it difficult to saw into the trunk later, and can be removed without endangering the stability of the tree, it is best to saw them away. This will make it easier to make the fall kerf and the felling cut afterwards.
Sawing notch
You cut the fall notch perpendicular to the trunk and with the opening in the direction of the desired fall direction.
Cut the sole horizontally and the roof diagonally at an angle of 45°.
The roof and sole of the fall notch should come together nicely in one line. This line is therefore perpendicular to the desired direction of fall.
The depth of the fall notch is best ¼ of the trunk diameter and certainly not too much.
Correct sawing of the fall notch is very important for the safe felling of a tree. It largely determines where the tree will land.
Saw sapwood cuts and indicate break list
A few centimeters above the sole of the notch, you can make a small saw cut in the sides of the roof of the notch, both left and right.
Especially with long-fiber wood types such as American oak. To prevent the tree from breaking off completely when the tree falls and no wood is left connected between the trunk and the root base after felling.
This will not immediately be a problem with short-fiber wood.
The breakage must be 10% of the trunk diameter to be safe.
Indicate the width of the break strip on the sides of the trunk at the level of the ends of the notch (left and right).
Now you know that you cannot overlook this, otherwise your break list will become too small and it will become dangerous.
Notify the area and keep it clear of people
Before you make the felling cut and the tree is about to fall, you must be sure that there are no persons in the fall area and surroundings of the tree to be felled. Warn those around you by blowing a whistle and shouting loudly “velling”, check that everyone is gone, including your second man and that you have eye contact.
Saw the felling cut and remove yourself from the danger zone of the tree
Only now make the felling cut.
Always cut with motivation and do not go beyond the indicated break list. That is very important. Because if you saw over the hinge, the tree would become loose. And it can fall in any direction. What shouldn't happen.
The tree will now start to fall in the fall direction you determined.
Now move away from the tree immediately.
But keep an eye on it during its fall.
So that you can possibly adjust your escape route slightly while leaving the tree.
If the tree does not fall due to its own weight, you can use wedges and a sledgehammer or a felling lever.
Branching and sawing the trunk is also part of safely felling a tree!
After it's safe felling of a tree don't just leave it behind.
A tree resting on its branches can roll away or topple. And that is very dangerous. Because you could fall under it and hurt yourself.
Start branching the trunk from the cut end of the trunk.
And continue working towards the top.
Always keep in mind that the felled tree is now supported on its branches and that you will systematically saw them off.
The sawn-off tree can always start rolling.
If you find yourself among the branches, this can be fatal. Therefore, proceed very carefully. Work systematically from the outside of the crown inwards, gradually and in a controlled manner. Always from a safe location, if the tree were to tip over.
Now saw the trunk into the desired pieces.
Is it for wood sales? Ask the buyer what lengths he wants.
If necessary, you can also use the chopping branches.
Or you can just stack them in one branch wall or branch rill. A branch rill is very ecological. Both in the forest and in a garden. It provides shelter to many animals and insects.
Much more than this
Felling trees is dangerous. We have not been able to show everything here, there is much more to it than just this.
Have your tree felled safely by us; you can count on our extensive knowledge, safety and skill.