How to Safely Cut Down Trees

How to Cut Down Big Trees!

Tree cutting is a dangerous and complex task that should only be performed by professionals with the proper training, equipment and experience. But let’s face it, we need to cut quite a few trees down in an area that machines can’t get to. So, we were left with 2 options. Pay an arborist up to 2k per tree, or do it ourselves. So, we decided to learn how to do this ourselves, Safely. 

Before you start, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the proper techniques and safety procedures to ensure that the job is done safely and efficiently. I’m going to share with you what we’ve learned in hopes that when you’re ready to cut down your trees, you’ll know what to do and how to do it safely.

Once you’ve found the tree or trees you intend on removing, observe the surroundings. Use common sense. If it is close to your home or a building, consider hiring an arborist or tree company to safely remove the tree. It’s always a good idea to have a professional come and inspect your chosen trees. They’ll provide you with a quote and then you can decide whether to hire out or do it yourself.

We’re going to start at

Ground Zero | Do your Research!

As with any project you’re considering, you should do research, make sure that you’re familiar with your equipment, safety protocols and gear and know your exit route in case things go sideways [S.H.T.F. ]

Step 1: Inspect before you cut

Start by inspecting the tree from all angles to identify any dead branches, weak spots, or other hazards that could make the tree more difficult or dangerous to cut. Take note of the tree’s lean, the direction it’s facing, and any nearby obstacles that could get in the way as the tree falls. Then it’s time to plan rope placement, your cut and your exit routes.

Step 2: Clear the Area

Before you cut down your trees, it’s important to clear the area around the tree of any people, pets, or objects that could be in harm’s way. Make sure you have plenty of room to move around the tree and that the tree has a clear path to fall. If another tree is in the way, ensure your felling tree will miss it or change your drop spot.

Step 3: Rope Anchor 

Unless your tree is slanted downhill with a clear landing path. Odds are, you’ll want to make sure it falls where you want and not the opposite direction. The goal is to get a rope high enough that pulling on the rope with a winch, come along, or pulley system will not put too much strain around your cutting area. Usually as close to half way up the tree that you can get it works best. 

The best tool to do this with would be an arborist weight bag. They usually have lead or beads inside that help to pull the rope down over the tree.  It’s like a bean bag, toss it over and let gravity pull it down. Paracord works best because it doesn’t get caught on bark as easily as other ropes, and usually comes with the weight bag kit. 50-100 feet is usually enough to go up and over the tree. 

You can also use a water bottle with rocks, (you’ll get 3-5 throws before it bursts) and Washcloth with rocks tied into a little sack. Tie your paracord to the ring on your weight bag, or onto whatever device you’re throwing. Once you have your supplies, it’s almost as easy as just throwing up and over, depending on the tree. 

Grab your rope and throwing device. 

Stand a distance that once you release your weight it will have space and time to go up and over. Pinch the rope between your thumb and pointer finger. Leave enough distance on the rope to your weight bag to allow it to clear the ground while swinging. 

Start rocking your hand back and forth and allowing the weight to pick up momentum.

When the swing of the rope is about 180° (half moon) forward to backward. Let go of your rope on the forward throw, this will send the weight vertically and horizontally in the air.

Once the weight is over the tree, tie your thicker ½ or ¾ rope to the paracord and pull it up over the top, then bring both ends of the thicker rope together and tie your favorite slip knot, usually 3 – 4 wraps is plenty and leaves space to slide. With your slip knot tied, slide the knot all the way to the top of your line and pull to tighten it around the top of the tree. 

Next you’re going to guide the rope to where you want the tree to fall and find a tree to tie it off to for now. 

Step 4: Pulleys, Come along and Winch. 

Now that we have our tree tied up, we need to figure out how to put tension on it. 

Pulleys: Using pulleys and another tree to anchor with, you can create a major mechanical advantage. There are plenty of guides on explaining Pulleys but quickly a pulley is a device which one end anchors and the other has a wheel which the rope you need to pull goes through and out the other side. 

By adding a or a series of pulleys, you can double, triple, even 10x+ your pulling power but decreasing the amount of force, increases the amount of rope you need to pull.  If you’re using a pulley system or a redirect you need to find a good thick tree in the direction we want our tree to fall. 

Once a tree is picked, untie and run the felling tree rope we tied earlier through the pulley and attach this to the lead of your pulling device which should be out of the way of the tree you’re cutting. Slightly tension the tree using a come along or winch. 

Use the same pulley anchoring above to anchor your come along to a tree. 

Rope or chain around our anchor tree tie, hook the other end to the rope coming off the felling tree through the pulley. Tension just enough so the tree takes slight pressure off the trunk where we need to cut. 

Winch is the same process as above except you’ll have a vehicle, or other vehicle usually where the Winch is mounted. Use the thickest gauge wire your Winch can run, a winch dampener should be used to lessen the recoil and stored energy if the line or hook snaps. We’re using rope for most of our pulls, while it wouldn’t be pleasant getting smacked with either if something broke. I’d rather synthetic rope hitting me vs metal wire. 

Make sure there is nothing in the path that your rope travels through. Make a good 360° safe area around that tree, and as wide as it is high. Basically, no people, animals or buildings should be in the way. So if the tree says, “nope I’m not falling that way” and comes back the other way, no one will get hurt. Be sure to get your saws, wedges, sledgehammer, safety gear etc. ready and close by. Once you start cutting you can grab and move without taking attention off the big ass tree you don’t want to crush you. 

Quick Summary:

Get the Rope around the middle or above the tree.

Run Pulley systems

Collect your tools and know how to use them. 

Put your Safety gear on and stay alert to what you’re doing.

Get everyone and all animals away from the cutting zone.

Let’s Cut Down a Big Tree!

Step 3: Make the Notch Cut

The notch cut is what allows the tree to fall in the direction we want to fall. The notch cut should be made on the side of the tree that is facing the direction you want it to fall. The cut should be made about one-third of the way through the tree and should be angled toward the center of the trunk. The notch cut most used is a 45° angle. The bottom is a horizontal cut, and the vertical cut comes in at 40-45° above your first cut. This is just the usual reference point for tree felling. Your notch needs to be ⅓ of the tree. Don’t go halfway through, don’t cut ¾ of the way through. Your notch should be no more than ⅓ of the tree. 

Using your chainsaw line up your cut to ensure your lower cut will guide the tree in the direction you cut. Cut the bottom ⅓ slice horizontal of our notch. Then cut the 40-45° from the vertical tree. Alight ensure your 45 cut is going to run into your horizontal cut. 

Now your little ⅓ tree slice is out, we can move to the back of the tree. Before you start cutting the back strap, have your helper tension on the winch or a few clicks of the button if it has a remote.. (If the tree has a hard opposite lean please hire a professional, or continue at your own risk.)

Step 4: Make the Back Cut

Once the notch cut is complete, it’s time to make the back cut. This cut will be made on the opposite side of the tree than the notch cut and about 1 – 2 inches higher than, or above, your notch base horizontal cut. This will create a hinge.

The hinge should be about .5 ½ ” thick, so from the front notch center inward .5-1.5″ is how much you need to be away from to leave a functioning hinge. 

To start cutting the back strips easiest, after the notch cut, measure 1 inch from the corner on the notch toward the rear of the tree. Hold with finger there. Now, Raise your finger you just were holding up 2″ vertically. This is the height you need to cut your Backstrap, horizontal to leave enough room for placing wedges, and cutting. Mark that spot and repeat for the other side, mark that spot.

Now, gear up, chainsaw on. It’s time to cut down that big tree!

The spot you marked is the hinge running inside the tree from side to side. Cut behind these markers. NOT THROUGH OR BEFORE THE MARKERS,.  Plunge cutting is easy and safe if done diligently. Find the best foot or standing position. Start your chainsaw with blade guards engaged. 

Get into position to plunge cut the tree on both right and left side. Stay behind your hinge maker. You’re wanting to make a horizontal cut from one side through the other side. Once the plunge is complete, move to the back center and do another plunge cut dead center and at the same level as the other plunge cut. With this back plunge you only need to go deep enough to leave Maybe 1″ BEFORE the hinge. 

Pull the saw at the rear. And insert a metal wedge or felling wedge and hit it pretty good. The tree still has 2 back straps holding it. Left back strap and right back strap. If you had all your drop planning correct depends on how you proceed.

I cut the right and put a short Wedge in and knocked it in to add a slight raise on the right corner back support. Once that’s cut, Our last cut is the left back strap. 

Take a break and grab some water. Before walking back to the tree. Check winch, cables, paths and people once again. If all’s good, tension the tree a couple times before walking back to the tree. 

Grab your sledge, and give all wedges a few smacks. Grab your chainsaw and start cutting the left backstrap. As you are cutting the las5 back strap, listen to the tree if it creaks, back away. Give it a minute and cut again. 

Before walking back, tension your Winch or Pulleys more than last time. Go back smack wedges, finish cutting back left once it’s all.the way through have your helper put tension on it and it should start to move in the direction you’re pulling. The back cut should meet the notch cut at the center of the trunk, causing the tree to fall in the desired direction. 

Step 5: Watch for Movement

As you make the back cut, keep an eye on the tree and be prepared to move quickly if it starts to fall. If the tree starts to lean in an unexpected direction, stop cutting immediately and get out of the way. 

Step 6: Clean Up

Once the tree has fallen, it’s time to clean up. Start by removing any branches and clearing away any debris that fell during the cutting process. There are a variety of way to move the trees after you’ve cut them down. Because of where we cut our trees, we decided to invest in a four wheeler to help us move them out of the garden. You can burn off the debris, chip it, or fill deep garden beds to save on soil.

CONCLUSION:

Cutting down a big tree is a dangerous task that should be taken very seriously. Use your common sense and safety equipment. By following these steps and taking the necessary safety precautions, you can ensure that the job is done safely and efficiently.

To see what tools we use to cut down and move these trees, click the link below.

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How to Cut Down Big Trees!