This alder tree had been dropping a lot of limbs over the years so we
finally decided to cut it down. Nearly three feet wide at the base, it
was a big job for my little 16 inch chainsaw.
How NOT to Cut Down a Tree
I have cut down several trees over the
years, but this one didn't quite go according to plan. The tree was
bigger than my saw so I had to cut my felling notch from both sides. I
couldn't see the other side very well and ended up cutting my notch
deeper than I would have liked. That probably wouldn't have been a big
problem except I tried to trim the sides a little bit before making my
final back cut. Unfortunately, the tree already had quite a lean and it
started leaning more once I had my notch cut. It ended up pinching just
the very tip of the chain on the saw which jammed the saw in the tree. I
tried to free it up with wedges, and cut it out with a reciprocating saw,
but neither option worked very well. I almost had it freed up when the
tree couldn't hold itself up any longer and it finally fell down on it's
own. No harm done, but it wasn't a very elegant way to cut down a tree.
