Poulan 2300 AV - Manual (Page 13)

2. FELLING SMALL TREES — LESS THAN
6 "IN DIAMETER
a. If you know the direction of fall:
1 . ) Make a single felling cut on the side away
from the direction of fall.
2 . ) Cut all the way through.
3. ) Stop the saw. put it down, and get away
quickly on your planned retreat path.
b. If you are not sure which way the tree will fall,
use the notch method described for felling
large trees.
A warning
DO NOT CUT:
— near electrical wires or buildings.
— if you do not know the direction of tree fall,
—at night since you will not be able to see well.
— during bad weather — strong wind, snow, rain,
etc.
3. FELLING LARGE TREES —6 "DIAMETER
OR MORE
The notch method is used to cut large trees. A
notch is cut on the side of the tree in the desired
direction of fall. After a felling cut is made on the
opposite side of the tree, the tree will tend to fall
into the notch.
NOTE: If the tree has large buttress roots, re­
move before making the notch. Cut into the but­
tresses vertically, then horizontally. Figure 20.
a. Make the notch cut. Figure 21.
1 . ) Cut the bottom of the notch first, through
1 3 of the diameter of the tree.
2 . ) Complete the notch by making the slant
cut.
3. ) Remove the notch of wood.
b. Make the felling cut on the opposite side of the
notch about 2 " higher than the bottom of the
notch.
c. Leave enough uncut wood between the felling
cut and the notch to form a hinge. Figure 22.
NOTE: The hinge helps to keep the tree from
twisting and falling in the wrong direction.
d. Use a wedge if there is any chance that the tree
will not fall in the desired direction.
CHfiECTION ^'Nm OPENING OF
FELLING CUT
CLOSING i p
OF NOTCH fjj K ^
HINGE HOLDS THE THEE ON STUMP
AND CONTROLS THE FALL.
Figure 22
A WARNING
Stay on the uphill side of the terrain to avoid the tree roll­
ing or sliding downhill after it has fallen.
NOTE: Before the felling cut is complete, drive
wedges to open up the cut when necessary to
control the direction of fall. Use wood or plastic
wedges but
never steel or i ron, to avoid kickback
and chain damage.
e. Be alert for signs that the tree is ready to fall:
1 . ) cracking sounds.
2 . ) widening of the felling cut.
3. ) movement in the upper branches.
f. As the tree starts to fal|. stop the saw; put it
down, and get away quickly on your planned
retreat path.
g. Be extremely cautious with partially f^len trees that
may be poorly supported. When a tree doesn’t fall
completely, set the saw aside and puli down the tree
with a cable winch, block and tackle or tractor. To
avoid injury, do not cut down a partially fallen tree
with your saw.
DON’T PUT YOURSELF IN THESE POSITIONS