Three days out in the woods of Oakville, learning about tree felling, bucking, and yarding with a great teacher and a fun group… Northwest Natural Resource Group organized the onsite, hands-on course for folks in the Northwest who wanted to learn how to properly wield a chainsaw to cut and remove large trees. The Game of Logging delivered! Taught by chainsaw logger maestro Ken Lallemont, it was a 2 solid days of learning chainsaw safety and tree felling (cutting) techniques, followed by 1 day of bucking (cutting to size) and yarding (removing and transporting).
Each day started with an outdoor classroom talk and hands-on discussion about chainsaw safety, technique, and maintenance. Then we suited up with helmets, face/eye protection, ear protection, gloves, and chainsaw safety chaps, and we walked into the woods of adjoining Wild Thyme Farm. Wild Thyme’s owner wanted to harvest some older red alder that was peaking in its productivity and life expectancy. He provided the trees and we provided the very willing student labor. Fortunately, we completely honed in on red alder, which is actually the most dangerous tree to fell due to its tendency to “barber chair” or splinter forcefully in dangerous directions if not properly handled throughout. Good to learn on the hard stuff, since most other trees are more straight forward to cut.
After class there was a camp fire, hanging out, going into town for dinner, exploring Wild Thyme, or just reading in the tent. Good stuff, and lots learned for safely felling trees.
Starting the day in our outdoor classroom by Kirk’s yurt
Starting the top of an open face cut, directly perpendicular to the intended line of fall
Completing the underside slice of an open face cut
Bore cut – or punch cut – through the middle of the tree directly behind the corner of the open face cut (this example should have been cut a bit lower)
Side cut to the right of the open face cut, used to reduce the tree diameter for bore cutting through while not reducing the hinge left behind the inside corner of the open face cut. The bore cut should start from near the back of the tree and move forward so as to not inadvertently cut into the hinge initially. The hinge should be at least 80% as wide as the DBH (diameter at breast height) along the open face cut and about 10% of the DBH deep/back from the corner of the open face cut.
A release cut is then made below the bore cut, from the back side and moving in toward the center. The lower the release cut is from the higher bore cut, the longer the delay to the release of the tree and the more time to high tail it out of there after the first cracks start popping.
Before felling any tree, you should: 1) survey the area above and around for hazards, 2) determine the intended target line of fall for the tree, 3) determine overall forward and back lean, 4) determine overall side lean, 5) create a wedging and adjustment strategy if needed, 6) clear out underbrush for a work zone on all sides, and 7) create an escape path at a 45 degree angle back from the direction of fall. Here is a student logger moving on his escape path away from the falling tree.
Side view of my first felled tree! From right to left: lower half of diagonal open face cut > splinters at hinge > horizontal bore cut > lower release cut from rear.
Future lumberjacks of America, in our forest classroom
Red alder falling
Evaluating a tree on the ground, marking the best cut points to maximize market lengths while accounting for tree abnormalities and any sweep of the trunk
Cutting log lengths
Cutting a log on the ground, accounting for the tension and compression sides and then doing a circular cut around the perimeter and coming down through the tension side
This log was under high tension forces while on the ground, resulting in the two sections whipping apart as the cut was completed
We had two ATVs and a tractor on hand to move log sections up out of the forest. This is a log arch that ratchets one end of the log into the air under the arch, drags the other end on the ground behind, and allows for logs to be easily removed with smaller low impact equipment such as ATVs.
Now that’s a happy lumberjack