When I first came around permies in 2015, I'd probably only cut down 4-5
trees in my life. Now, 8 years later, I find myself managing a 100-acre woodlot. I have learned a lot, dropped a lot of trees, and had very few close calls, thankfully.
But there is still wisdom on Permies that I had yet to discover until writing this post!
Cutting down trees can be a path to an early grave - but with proper care and preparation, it needn't be so harrowing. This is an important thing! So I'm dedicating this
thread to the topic of safely cutting down trees. Let's start at the beginning. To cut or not to cut, that is the question:
https://permies.com/t/3066/cutting-trees
If you haven't
experience a pinched chainsaw yet, it's only a matter of time. Here's a cool method to avoid such an occurrence:
https://permies.com/t/54691/Headache-free-precision-tree-falling
Leaning tree? There are ways to take care of that safely.
https://permies.com/t/135869/Cutting-leaning-trees
You usually don't need special tools to safely drop a tree, but sometimes they can help. I've used ropes, pulleys, straps, winches, and tractors - but never the
timbertool. Lots of opinions out there, but it seems like if you know the basics of tree-cutting, it can be helpful.
https://permies.com/t/24998/timbertool-tree-jack
If you need some safe tree drops under your belt, maybe work on the follow
PEP badge bits to build confidence while you get a feel for it:
https://permies.com/wiki/99631/dead-tree-chainsaw
https://permies.com/wiki/99537/dead-tree-bow
https://permies.com/wiki/30/99576/live-tree-chainsaw
https://permies.com/wiki/99571/live-tree-bow
https://permies.com/wiki/100730/limb-trees
There is certainly a lot more to say about safety when working with trees. What other safety guidance
should be covered here?
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