Felling Trees with a Bow Saw

Six years ago I learned how to fell trees with a bow saw and it completely revolutionized my life. I can't tell you how nice it is to be in a quiet wooded area, smelling the freshly cut trees instead of being engulfed in terrible noise and the smell of gasoline. Since then I've been getting all my firewood, about 4 cords a year, by hand, felling and bucking trees with a bow saw. Of course, it takes a lot longer than if I used a chain saw, an estimated 80 hours of work to get my yearly supply. But it's worth it and I hope I can keep on doing it this way for many years to come.

For a while I had tried to use a more "serious" crosscut saw but a good crosscut saw is at least $200. I tried one that was $70 but it was bulky, heavy, and really didn't cut any better than the bow saw I had. So I switched back to the bow saw because it's so light and maneuverable, something I find essential when felling trees in less than ideal conditions. At first I was using the cheap bow saw from the hardware store. At $12 it was a steal and worked great, but it would eventually break after about a year. So for the past few years I've been using a more heavy duty saw and I've been very pleased with it. This is the one I'm using: http://bahcostore.com/item/10-24-23?referer=bow-saws (I don't receive a kickback from this so you can trust me). 

You may want to use the 30-inch blade if you're taller than I am. The tensioning mechanism on these saws is really what makes the difference. The snapping kind of mechanism sucks but that screwing mechanism is awesome. Bahco also makes excellent blades that are very sharp with precisely set teeth, something that was kind of a hit or miss with cheaper blades. So I highly recommend that you get high quality blades; that will save you much disappointment. I get a new blade once a year to replace the used one.

When felling a tree with a bow saw, thinking ahead is key as it takes so much effort that you don't want to have to make more cuts than you need to. Of course, you want to think about safety first, making sure there are no widow-makers up in the canopy, and that you can step out of the way easily as the tree is falling.

You really want to think about where the tree is going to fall and the factors that will influence that, like where the weight of the tree is and how gravity will pull the tree down to the Earth. Get a good idea of how tall the tree is and how far it will reach on the ground so that you don't hit anything that you don't want smashed. Make sure that the branches of the tree you're cutting will not get caught in the branches of the surrounding trees. Depending on the species of tree you're working with you may be surprised how strong even little branches are and how they will support the weight of the falling tree. You really want to think about all that and feel good about it before you start cutting the tree.

In the following video I talk about all that and show you how to make the proper cuts to fell a tree. I encourage you to follow those directions no matter how small the tree you want to cut down is and to actually start practicing with smaller trees before you start felling larger trees. Never attempt to fell a tree that has a wider diameter than half the length of your saw blade.



I also want to encourage you to do whatever you need to do to be at peace in your mind when falling a live tree. Depending on your personality and belief system you may experience emotions ranging from neutral to guilt/fear/anxiety/grief. Trees are majestic living beings that deserve our respect and gratitude for the life they're giving. Though I rarely verbalize them out loud, I always talk to the tree in my mind, telling it why I'm cutting it down, where I would like it to fall, and express gratitude for its gifts and my safety. Even if you don't believe that the tree can "hear" you I encourage you to adopt that practice, or a similar one that fits your own belief system, as I have found that it encourages you to be fully alert and mindful, which is essential when you're engaging in potentially dangerous/lethal activities. Do not ever attempt to fell a tree when you're experiencing negative emotions, as those will take up some valuable mental resources that would otherwise be used to maintain your alertness. Similarly, do not cut down a tree with a mindless attitude as if what you were doing didn't matter, as this would encourage the neglect of important details.

Finally, as I stress at the end of the video, you need to be aware that things may not always happen the way you'd planned and you need to be ready for that. Always have another blade on hand in case the first one gets stuck in the tree and gets bent, and always have an axe with you, as it may become valuable to get another angle on the cut that the saw cannot provide or to give you a better reach if you're in a precarious situation. Always tell other people where you're going and how long you're expecting to be out for in case you get pinned to the ground by a tree or otherwise get hurt.

One of the most common difficult situations you may find yourself in is having the tree you're cutting get caught in the canopy of surrounding trees. Be very mindful that the tree may then "jump off" its stump and "replant" itself in the ground (make sure that's not your foot under there!). Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to fell the trees that are holding up the tree you were cutting. That would most likely be the very last stupid thing you ever did. Instead, reconsider how to cut the first tree to make it fall away from the holding canopies but be extremely cautious that the base of the tree will be far less stable than it was at first and that it may slip at any time or snap back towards you in weird ways (that's when an axe becomes a very valuable tool, as you can chip away at the tree without being too close to it).

For more information and diagrams about proper safety and tree felling, please visit this very good website:
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/felling/cuts/dangers.html

Never give up on a tree you started cutting, no matter what kind of difficult situation you find yourself in. You are the one responsible for seeing that tree hits the ground without anyone getting hurt. Be humble enough to recognize when you're above your head and need to get help. Felling a tree is not a machismo competition. There's never any shame in getting help.

I hope that getting your own firewood or building materials by hand will provide you with as many more-or-less-intangible benefits and life lessons as I have gotten. I have done my best to share my knowledge and experiences with you and I hope you will heed my warnings regarding the potentially lethal nature of that activity. This blog post was written for educational purposes and you take full responsibility for whatever you end up doing that may cause you or others any harm.

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