The chainsaw is intended for carrying out various works with wood. With its help, you can fell trees of various diameters and cut them into boards or bars. In addition, this tool is used for figured wood carving - carving. In order to properly use a chainsaw, you need to familiarize yourself with the technology of various works and safety rules, the neglect of which leads to very disastrous consequences.

Felling trees is enough traumatic process, because at the slightest mistake, the trunk of a sawn tree, which has a huge mass, can fall on a person working with a chainsaw. Therefore, it is not enough just to have this unit and the desire to cut down a tree. Before you start working with a chainsaw, you should know the basic rules for working with this tool. So, the safety precautions for felling the forest contain the following points, which must not be ignored.

How to cut down a tree with a chainsaw

When felling trees with a chainsaw, it is necessary to choose the right blade: it must match the thickness and type of wood. For example, if you need to fell thin trees, then it makes no sense to use heavy and powerful units. After all, they have a large consumption of the fuel mixture and lubricant, and it is much harder to work with them. It is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

• for trunks with a diameter of 600 mm or more, a heavy canvas (650 mm) should be used;
• for trunks with an average diameter of 300-600 mm - a medium-sized canvas 350-650 mm;
• felling of thin trunks (up to 300 mm) can be carried out with a blade up to 350 mm.

If you have work to do with hardwood(oak, beech, cherry, apple, pear, etc.), it is better to use medium blades for thin trunks, and heavy blades for trunks with a diameter of 300-600 mm or more.

Preparation stage

Felling trees with a chainsaw will be difficult and sometimes dangerous without a preparation step.

1. Make sure that there are no people, animals, buildings or other trees in the area where the tree is expected to fall.
2. Requires very careful preparation for felling trees near water bodies. If the sawn object falls into the water, then it will take a lot of effort, including the use of technology, to get it and cut it.
3. If you want to lay the cut tree in a certain place, then you can tie a cable to the top of the trunk or to its middle, and use a winch or other mechanism to force it to tilt in the right direction.
4. Before cutting down a tree, take care of escape routes, if an unforeseen situation arises (if possible, remove all obstacles that may prevent you from leaving the danger zone).
5. Provide the possibility of access to the sawn and chopped tree for transport for loading and removal.
6. If to be big tree felling, then at first it is necessary to exclude the possibility of large branches falling in the process of work. It is recommended to rent a lift or use the services of industrial climbers to cut problematic branches.

In amateur practice, it is allowed to fell trees using a single-pass cut, only when low plants with a trunk diameter of no more than 150 mm are to be felled. But sawing thick trees is required, observing standard technology.

1. The very first, upper cut should be done from the side of the plant into which it should fall in the end. It is done at an angle of 45 °, with a recess of ¼ of the diameter of the trunk. Second, bottom notch is carried out horizontally, until the joining of the undercuts.
2. The third notch is called felling and is the most responsible. It is performed on the opposite side of the previously made wedge-shaped cut, parallel to the second file (see the figure below), but 5 cm higher than it. Also, according to the technology, the felling file should not be finished to the end, that is, to the wedge-shaped cut. It is necessary to stop without finishing about 1/10 of the thickness of the trunk, so that the remaining whole part acts as a kind of hinge.
3. To prevent the saw from jamming in the cut, it is necessary to use wooden wedges. Metal wedges should not be used as the chain could be damaged if the saw kicks back.
4. When making a felling cut, carefully monitor the vertical of the trunk. A sudden gust of wind can make its own adjustments, and it will not work to cut down the tree as you planned.
5. After the felling cut, even before the plant begins to fall, it follows quickly, without fuss, remove chainsaw bar and move to a safe distance. It is extremely unsafe to be near a tree at this moment, since the lower part of the trunk, when falling, can jump to a height of about 1.5 meters.

If you ignore the rule of underdrinking, and also incorrectly position the guide and felling cut, then it will be impossible to predict the direction the tree will fall.

After the plant turned out to be dumped in the right direction, it should cut all branches on his trunk. For convenience, a flat piece of wood 100-150 mm high should be placed under the barrel. If this is not done, then there is a high probability that you will hook the ground with the saw. When the equipment hits the ground, where there is always sand, the latter falls on the tire, namely in the groove along which the chain slides. As a result of exposure to abrasive particles, not only the chain shanks, but the entire tire begin to wear out quickly. Therefore, the question that builders often ask - is it possible to cut foam blocks with a chainsaw - is inappropriate.

How to cut a log correctly

The next step after felling a tree is sawing it. It is required to conduct it, following certain rules and according to the scheme.

Longitudinal sawing on boards

As you might guess, the boards are obtained by longitudinal dissolution of the log. Since ripping is required, the saw chain must also be of the correct type. To ensure that the cutting of the trunk into boards is accurate, a special Big Mill log sawing device is used, shown in the following figure.

Can be used to cut logs diameter up to 500 mm. The thickness of the resulting board is set according to a special ruler applied on the racks of the device. You can buy it ready-made or do it yourself by watching this video.

To dissolve the log into boards of equal thickness, do the following.

To cut logs across the grain, a crosscut saw chain must be fitted to the machine. Basically, a cross cut is used for sawing firewood. Small cylinders are obtained, which are further split into firewood. To make it convenient to cut firewood, the log is laid on goats with a height of 600-800 mm.

In the same way, it is carried out beam trimming.

Log sawing scheme

Below is a diagram that shows how the logs are properly cut into boards and beams.

This operation can be performed in several ways.

1. Sawing a square beam occurs from the sound part of the log.
2. To get 2 rectangular beams, a square beam is sawn into 2 parts.
3. Sawing a log crosswise, you can get 4 beams.
4. This type of sawing is called "tossed" and is used on sawmill frames. All boards are unedged.
5. With this type of log sawing, you can get a two-edged beam, as well as several unedged boards and a pair of slabs.
6. Difficult in its execution radial sawing. A characteristic feature of boards with such sawing is vertical growth rings.
7. The double-edged timber is disbanded into edged boards and 2 wane.
8. For boards with a horizontal arrangement of annual rings, the front side is called the one that is turned to the center of the log (core), and the back side is turned to the sapwood (the so-called periphery of the trunk).

What is carving

The word “carving” came into our language from English and means “cutting”. This is the name of figured woodcarving with a chainsaw. This art of skillful use of the instrument is beginning to gain popularity in our country. For carving, ordinary light chainsaws, for example, such as Husqvarna 135.

Chainsaw Husqvarna 135

The chainsaw has small dimensions, develops the necessary power, has a weight of 4.4 kg and is easy to start the engine. The tire needs to be installed in a medium size, about 14 inches. The chain is selected in 3/8 inch increments. It is recommended to immediately purchase special chains. For example, the STIHL Carving Rapid Micro Spezial (RMS) chain has a ¼ inch pitch, shortened teeth, and is specifically designed for shaping wood. The Husqvarna 135 saw is well suited for beginner carvers.

Chainsaw Husqvarna 450e II

As you gain experience, you can use more powerful units.

Sculptures created from wood using a chainsaw are very widely used in amusement parks, on city streets, near cafes, restaurants and other public places, and always attract the genuine attention of passers-by.

For example, having seen such a product in the park, few people walk past it indifferently.

The fantasy and skill of professional carving artists sometimes cause surprise and admiration.

To achieve such results, you need to make great efforts, it will take years of practice to hone your skills. After all, even if you try to make some simple product with your own hands, you will immediately understand that wood carving with a chainsaw is not an easy process. But if you are overwhelmed with the desire to learn this art, then, undoubtedly, you will be able to realize all your plans and decorate your site with unparalleled products.

What can beginner carving masters do

If you want to try your hand at wood carving with a chainsaw, then first you should choose some simple shape, for example, you can cut outmushroom or cube

Take your choice of wood seriously. If it is wet, then the finished product will crack after drying, and the result of your work will be spoiled.

So, at the beginning it is necessary to make a blank from a wood chainsaw, that is, to give the product a general outline. At this stage, special accuracy is not needed. It is only important not to remove too much. Hold a drawing of the object or a reference in front of you to more accurately represent the proportions of the finished sculpture.

Finished wooden sculptures are polished with sandpaper and covered with a protective layer, paint or varnish. As you acquire skills, you can already take on the manufacture of more complex figures. Log crafts, namely poles depicting people or animals, are very popular among chainsaw carvers. They are installed vertically (buried in the ground). The photo below shows the manufacturing process of a simple log bear figures which is suitable for beginner carvers.

To create birds more experience and skill is required, since very small details of the sculpture (head, feathers, etc.) will be processed.