Felling A Tree - Remington EL-7 16" Owner's Manual

ELECTRIC CHAIN SAW
OPERATING CHAIN
SAW
Continued
FELLING A TREE (Cutting
Down a Tree)
WARNING:
• Avoid kickback. Kickback can
result in severe injury or death.
See Kickback , pages 3 and 4 to
avoid risk of kickback.
• Do not fell a tree without ample
skill or expert help.
• Keep children, animals, and
bystanders away from area
when felling a tree.
• If two or more persons per-
form bucking and felling op-
erations at the same time, pro-
vide ample distance between
operations. Provide distance
of at least twice the height of
tree being felled.
WARNING: When felling a tree,
be aware of your surroundings. Do
not endanger any person, strike
utility lines, or cause property dam-
age. If tree strikes utility lines, con-
tact utility company at once.
CAUTION: Seek professional
help if facing conditions beyond
your ability.
Felling is the process of cutting down a tree.
Make sure your footing is firm. Keep feet
apart. Divide your weight evenly on both
feet. Follow directions below to fell a tree.
For more information, visit www.desatech.com
®
Before Felling a Tree
1. Before felling, inspect tree. Make sure
there are no dead limbs or branches that
may fall on you. Study natural lean of
tree, location of larger branches, and
wind direction. This will help you judge
which way tree will fall.
2. Clear work area around tree.
3. Plan and clear a retreat path before fell-
ing. Make retreat path opposite to
planned direction of fall of tree and at
45 angle (see Figure 11).
4. Remove dirt, stones, loose bark, nails,
staples, and wire from tree where you
will make felling cuts.
5. Stay on uphill side when felling tree. Tree
could roll or slide downhill after falling.
Retreat
Path
Direction of Fall
45
Retreat
Path
Figure 11 - Retreat Path From Tree
Felling Procedure
Felling Notch
A properly placed felling notch will deter-
mine direction tree will fall. Place felling
notch on side of tree in direction you want
tree to fall (see Figure 12). Follow direc-
tions below to create a felling notch.
1. Make lower notch cut as close to ground
as possible. Hold saw so guide bar is
horizontal. Cut 1/3 the diameter of tree
trunk (see Figure 12). Note: Always
make this horizontal lower notch cut
first. If you make this cut second, tree
can pinch chain or guide bar.
2. Start upper notch cut the same distance
above first cut as first cut is deep.
Example: If lower notch cut is 20 cen-
timeters deep (eight inches), start upper
notch cut 20 centimeters (eight inches)
above it. Cut downward at 45 angle.
The upper notch cut should meet end of
lower notch cut (see Figure 12).
3. Remove tree trunk wedge created by
notching cuts.
10
Felling Cut
1. Make felling cut five centimeters (two
inches) higher than lower notch cut
and on opposite side of tree (see Fig-
ure 12). Keep felling cut parallel to
lower notch cut.
2. Cut towards notch.
WARNING: Do not cut all the
way through tree. Leave about five
centimeters (two inches) of tree
diameter uncut directly behind fell-
ing notch (see Figure 12). This
uncut portion acts as a hinge. The
hinge helps keep tree from twist-
ing and falling in wrong direction.
3. As felling cut nears hinge, tree should
begin to fall. Note: If needed, drive
wedges into felling cut to control direc-
tion of fall. If tree settles back and pinches
chain, drive wedges into felling cut to
remove saw. Only use wedges made of
wood, plastic, or aluminum. Never use
wedge made of steel. This could cause
kickback and damage to chain.
4. When tree begins to fall, quickly
Tree
• remove saw from felling cut
• release trigger to turn saw off
• put saw down
• exit area using retreat path
WARNING: Be alert for falling
overhead limbs. Watch your foot-
ing while exiting area.
3rd Cut -
Felling Cut
5 cm
(2 inches)
Figure 12 - Felling A Tree
Direction of
Fall
Hinge
2nd Cut -
Upper
5 cm
Notch
(2 in.) Cut
1st Cut -
Lower
Notch
Cut
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