Tricks of the Trade - Archive
Chain Sharpening Tips
March 01, 2006
Cutting with a dull chain will increase wear on both you and your saw and increase the risk of kickback. How do you know when a chain is dull? A saw with a dull chain doesn’t pull itself into the wood, and it produces sawdust rather than chips.
If you are just learning to sharpen, it is best to …
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Hinge Hints
December 01, 2005
Just as a door needs hinges to allow it to function properly, a good hinge is needed to safely bring a tree to the ground. In tree felling, the hinge is the uncut wood left between the notch, known as the undercut, and the back cut. A good hinge will guide the falling tree in the desired direction while holding …
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Felling Trees Against the Lean
September 01, 2005
It is usually easiest to fell a tree in the direction that it’s leaning, but sometimes it’s necessary to fell it in the opposite direction. A tree leaning away from the intended direction of fall has “back lean.” By using wedges and shims to lift the trunk off the stump, you can compensate for the back lean and bring the …
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Protecting Forest Roads
June 01, 2005
The woods road’s worst enemy is water. It makes travel difficult, and if it’s not diverted, rainwater can wash away a road surface in a single summer storm.
You can avoid problems like this through the installation of simple water-diversion structures. If your road has stretches of continuous slope where water can pick up energy and do damage, you can …
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Reading Your Boundaries
March 01, 2005
Before the trees leaf out is a great time to walk your property lines, a practice that should be an annual event for all landowners. Locating property boundaries often requires the ability to read and interpret signs left in the woods. Semi-permanent marks on tree and rock, piles of stones, and old gun barrels driven into the ground are some …
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Working in Blowdowns
December 01, 2004
Violent windstorms are common in the Northeast, and they often leave behind blown-down trees that need to be removed. But before you charge in with your chainsaw revving, a careful assessment of the situation is warranted. Removing blowdowns can be very dangerous. A tangle of blown-down trees contains wood that is under stress and that will react violently when the …
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