Felling trees with hand tools

[davidv]

This should probably go somewhere else but thought I'd get more information here.

I don't have a chainsaw or access to one anymore but I still cut alot of wood on my property for projects. I build bows so I usually get by with <5" diameter saplings. I've thought about investing in axes or one man crosscut saws for the larger trees. There is one tree in my mind especially, it's a +/- 12" diameter Eastern Red cedar that's clean for 7 or eight feet.

Does anyone still cut down trees with hand tools? I know it's back breaking work.

[Tree Feller]

At 60 years of age, I prefer a chainsaw but for a healthy 17 year old, a one-man crosscut saw would work well. You will pay almost as much for a good one as you will for a new homeowner's chain saw, though.

A bow saw also cuts pretty quickly, is relatively cheap and you can get them at the home centers.

[beenthere]

I've done it, but not since owning a chainsaw. Just takes more time as it is one chip at a time.  Make the notch and then the back-cut to create the hinge to get directional falling.  Wedging is difficult unless you use a saw.

As a kid, I was 3/4 the way through a 12" chinese elm with a hatchet, when my mother yelled out of the house asking what in the world I was doing.
I explained that this tree, along with its sister next to it, was dead. 
She then explained that it was not dead at all, but those were just seeds in the tree. 
Whoooops!  Not good!!

Now, how about some pics and comments to show us how you go about making your bows?

[Sprucegum]

A good quality felling axe will take down that 12"DBH cedar in less than an hour. You will want to practice on some smaller trees first though.

[Jeff]

Member Nebruks does

Hello again!

Thanks everyone for kind words.

A little bit about myself.

My name is Jacob. I am 26.

I live in Latvia (Lettland). I am overtaken by traditional log and timber architecture and craftsmanship since I was a child. I have restored a log cabin (that you saw in the video) that has been built in 1910 and also made some simple timber frame buildings for myself so far.

I am willing to practice more and deepen my experience and skills in timber buildings.

I was in Sweden last autumn to log building courses organised by famous axe factory - Gransfors Bruks. I have some of Gransfors axes. Those are very good tools. Tools with a soul.

Now I am working on my next (bigger) project - to build a house for my family using timber frame technique and insulating the walls with hand hewn logs and pine wood shavings. I have prepared all the timber in my own forest - here you can see how my trees fell like in the old days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkvS4k9xfsY

[Magicman]

Jacob and his partner, John Neeman also build some fine axes, and also one particular knife that I am very familiar with.   

[Axe Handle Hound]

For small diameter stuff like that I would go with a bow saw like Tree Feller suggested, but if you do I wouldn't get one more than 21" long.  I've never had any luck at all with the longer bladed versions.  The blade tends to torque and bend when you start your push stroke and ends up cutting across the wood at a crazy angle.  Very frustrating.  The shorter versions work great though.  Another option is a pull saw for pruning.  My brother and I bought one about 18-24" long from the big box store in Alaska this last summer when we needed to remove all the trees that had grown up around our cabin.  It cut down multiple 8" diameter aspens in a matter of 5-8 minutes each with very little effort.  I think it only cost about $25 and worked fantastic.  A 12" cedar might take you a while longer, but for the majority of what you're doing it would be more than adequate. 

[davidv]

I've been doing fine with most of the small stuff with my little hatchet. A 4" persimmon and 5" osage caused me alot of trouble which is why I'm leaning towards a saw.... hitting osage compression wood is like striking iron. Where would be a  place to get a good bow saw? I assume it's not something to pick up at Harbor Freight  :  I'd love to find a good felling ax head too. I can make my own hickory handle.

beenthere- I'll try to find time to post a good buildalong for bowmaking. I'll show the whole process from tree to bow. It's a fun hobby.... if you don't mind cursing  ;)

[beenthere]

One sponsor is Bailey's that likely has a bow saw. .. but I don't see a bow saw. Just the pruning saws.

I like the Fiskars products, and they have a bow saw (made in USA) for about $15 sold through Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-7031-30-Inch-Bow-Saw/dp/B0002YUE50

Forestry Suppliers is another place. Ben Meadows another.

[2bitaxe]

My advice would be to fix up a junker. You can get a vintage axe for under $10. You might have to replace the handle... but hey, if you can make a bow, you can make an axe handle. Or you can buy an axe handle at your hardware store that probably even comes with a wood and metal wedge. There's an excellent video on how to hang an axe in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IHmTLDG5aSg

You can find vintage axes at antique stores, flea markets, antique shows, garage sales (craigslist is my source), auctions (auctionzip.com is my source for auction and estate sales in the area).

Look for an axe head that's in decent shape and hasn't been ground down too much or re-shaped. I prefer a double-bit axe for a number of reasons. First of all you get two blades and you only have to carry one axe! If you get a few nicks on one side, you have another side to use. I also think I'm more accurate with a double bit because the handle is straight and the bit inline with the handle... imho.

If you get a vintage axe, you'll have to sand the rust off, and sharpen it up. No big deal. You just need some sandpaper, a file, and axe stone. I wrote an article on how to sharpen an axe if you're interested in going this route: http://diytimberframe.com/how-tos/15-tools/20-how-to-sharpen-an-axe

Here's a double bit axe I found in an old barn:


Here's what it looked like after I restored it:


You can cut down and buck a tree up without using a crosscut saw... but it makes for a lot more work. If you're by yourself use a 3 or 4' one-man crosscut saw. If you have help the two man crosscut saw saves a lot of time. If you don't have a saw, you can do everything with an axe. You need to cut 2 wedges out of your tree. One for your face cut and one for your backcut. The backcut wedge should be an inch or two higher to form your hinge. The difference between felling with an axe vs. chainsaw is your backcut is a wedge instead of a flat cut. There's no room for wedges so respect the lean of the tree.

A great book on the subject is "The Ax Book" by Dudley Cook. I also recommend "Professional Timber Falling" by Douglas Dent to anyone cutting down trees. This book has taught me a lot.

I used hand tools in the past a lot more than I do now. It gives you a lot of respect for the pre-chainsaw loggers. It also makes me cherish my chainsaw!

Have fun and be safe!

[Jeff]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,29193.0.html

[Glenn]

One man can use a two man saw very easily, just tie a rope from one handle to a sapling.  Works just like two people !!!!   I used to do this all the time until one day the handle on my end broke and the saw slingshotted clean out of site.  Never did find it !!  Good thing it was winter or there could have been a fire.  I constantly had to pour water on the blade to keep it cold cuz i sawed so fast !!!!

[beenthere]

And Babe the Blue Ox just stood by, watched, and chuckled.... ;D ;D

[Dodgy Loner]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,29193.0.html

Also: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,50903.msg734980.html#msg734980

I agree with 2bitaxe on the advice to fix up a vintage axe. They do make 'em like they used to, but they cost an arm and a leg. You can find a great old axe head on eBay for $10-15 and fix it up to work as well as a $200 modern axe.

[fuzzybear]

  I agree, take an old ax head and rebuild it. Learn how to sharpen it to a fine edge and those 5" trees will come down in 2-3 shots.  My father judged how sharp an ax was a simple way, if he could cut a 4" tree with one shot it was sharp enough for him.
  For bucking the logs to length I would use a Sweed Saw. I still use one for firewood when it's too cold to run the chain saw. 8" logs take about 1 minute to saw thru.
FB

[Al_Smith]

Well I suppose whatever lays your ears back .Who am I to dictate how person drops a tree .

On the hand saws I've two or three two man cross cuts and one single man bucker as well as one old curved pull type pruner .The pruner really doesn't do too bad but I'd not care to drop a tree with it over about 3 inchs in diameter .

[Lud]

I refitted a broadax and after buffing it up put gunblueing on it and happened to be using ONEtime finish and rubber that on the blade too.   Got a very nice black rust-free finish!  Just sayin' 8)

[Al_Smith]

Oh can you just imagine those loggers on the west coast about 1875 or so .Two men three days with  axes to put in the face cut and 6 hours on a giant two man cross cut saw to put one of those big redwoods down .Then one poor old guy all by his lonesome bucking that monster into logs .Wow!