What can you teach me about chopping wood and felling "trees"?
Asked by
longgone (
19539
)
February 20th, 2016
Today, I used an ax to fell a couple of “trees”. They are tiny, I can easily wrap my hands around their trunks – but still, it was hard work. I felt like a hero. Still do.
There are about ten trees left. What can you teach me to make the process easier? I already discovered that a ninety degrees angle does not work out well, and using the ax to chop off layers of wood is a better method. Anything else?
P.S.: I would also appreciate any advice on how not to kill myself during this!
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14 Answers
Why an axe?
When I have had to do this, I have used either this link or one of these link
I personally find saws – in particular the first one – easier to control.
^ Mostly because I got it for free, and had it handy.
What I was taught in Scout camp was to make your cuts diagonally,alternating down and up so you’re basically taking out a triangle shaped section of the tree.
This also enables you to control in which direction the tree will fall. But that’s more important for larger trees than what you’re dealing with.
Obviously use a wide stance while swinging the axe to give you better balance.
And since a picture is worth a thousand words, here :
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https://youtu.be/nK8h2DmM0Ww
An aphorism attributed to Abraham Lincoln is: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Glad you discovered how satisfying it is to cut down trees!
Using a bow saw like @elbanditoroso‘s first link, I have cut down hundreds of pines. A friend has a cabin in the woods and we have to continually cut back the trees along the entrance road and around the cabin.
I found that small trees like that don’t give a solid resistance to an axe, they bend and take power away from your swing.
One safety lesson we learned early was don’t stand where a flying axe head might hit you. We had one fly off the handle and zoom past a buddy’s head. We were very lucky nobody was hurt.
I would tell you logging is one of the most dangerous vocations. Be careful.
Read up on how to make cuts so the tree falls in the direction you want. Stand clear. If the tree is tall considering hiring a professional.
I have cut down a lot of trees. But on!y a few with an axe. It is hard work.
I always notch in the direction I want it to fall. I then make a diagonal cut from the opposite side so it forms a tab that holds the tree in place as it falls reducing the chance of it kicking back at you. A little oil on the axe makes a big difference. Or spray it with wd-40.
A saw is so much easier.
All right, all right. Getting a saw tomorrow.
Thanks, all!
You mentioned 10 trees. “I can easily wrap my hands around their trunks.” Can you estimate the diameter? 10 cm”? I’m not sure where you live or the setting but for something that small I wrap a chain around them and hook it to my Tahoe bumper and just yank. Boom. Down in 15 seconds and the stump is out of the ground. I let the root balls sit outside for a season so they get washed by rain and dried by the sun. Then they are burned in one of the many campfires I host.
^ Yeah, 10 cm or less. Thanks – the place is not accessible by car, though.
@Jak Wow that is really interesting!
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