# How to Cut Down Trees without a Chainsaw?



## owsnap (8 May 2016)

I have about 20 realllly old termite ridden apple trees that have stopped producing anything but a few leaves that I want to cut down and plant new ones.
I suppose I could rent a chainsaw but it's not like I want to cut off my leg without having operated one before, thinking at the moment to just have a go at them with a sharp handsaw but I suppose it will take me ages and will feel exhausted after the first couple ones already. Anyone have any ideas?

They are this big, around 30-50cm in diameter for each one.


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## sunnybob (8 May 2016)

Pay someone.
you cant rent a chainsaw without a training certificate and dressing up in chain mail, which is stupid when you consider you can buy one and maim yourself instantly.

using a hand saw on living trees is more work than any one in their right mind would take on.


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## acewoodturner (8 May 2016)

If you have a few decent big trees that are sound you could winch them over. A decent handwinch doesnt cost too much and would mean you are doing it from a distance. A Trewhella Monkey winch has been used around the world to winch over massive trees safely and sell quite cheaply on ebay mainly due to their massive weight. I have one in my workshop that has never moved from there as I am scared that if I get it out to use it I will never get it back in the van! Its at least 50 years old and was last used by the previous owner to pull a large JCB digger out of a ditch, which I believe it did no problem.


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## Rorschach (8 May 2016)

A reciprocating saw is a great alternative to a chainsaw, not only is it much safer but it's also a lot more versatile later on as you can use a huge range of blades. I have cut down several trees and large bushes with mine.


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## DrPhill (8 May 2016)

30" bow saw would be my choice. Since you do not want to keep the trees neatness is not an issue. Sling a rope over a high branch, cut the underside until you get bored with that. Cut the top side until it starts to go. Yank on the rope. Rinse and repeat. I have done several like that.

Alternately hire a man with a chainsaw. It can be cheaper than hiring a chainsaw, and is certainly less effort.

If you are going to dispose of the timber you could try to find someone with a chainsaw and wood burner......

Good luck


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## Racers (8 May 2016)

What ever you do don't burn it, apple is a very nice wood for mallets, turning, spoon making etc.

Pete


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## owsnap (8 May 2016)

as far as I'm aware I don't need any certificate for a chainsaw, but I know I won't do it myself because have watched too many YT videos about chainsaw kickbacks and have heard lots of horror stories in past 
Also I do not want to buy a recip saw as they are certainly not cheap for good makita cordless one, and I haven't really had a need for one before. I certainly have wanted to get a recip saw but haven't really had an actual need for it where I can't do the task with something else I already have.

Anyway I think I will just have a go tomorrow with my newly bought irwin handsaw which is sharp as f ,and will buy a bowsaw and some rope as well just in case.
If I won't succeed will hire someone with a chainsaw to come and cut them up.

I do plan to burn them all up however right in the field or keep some as firewood as they are mostly rotten/termite infested


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## Bm101 (8 May 2016)

You'll haveno joy with a handsaw fella. The teeth and kerf on a bowsaw are designed to cut green wood. I think you'll get very hot very frustrated and very tired very fast with a handsaw. As Dr Phil says, cut under the branch till it starts to trap the blade then cut the top about an inch along . For the time and effort expended unless you have no option get a fella in with a chainsaw. He'll do in 10 minutes what you'll_ struggle_ to do in a day. Looking at cutting those trunks even with a bowsaw is making me tired just thinking about doing it in the past. If you got no other option it's possible but maybe plan it over a few days so you get a rest in. Get too tired and you expose yourself to injury as well in lots of ways. At least give a local fella a phone and see if you can come to some arrangement first.

Good luck.

Cheers
Chris


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## owsnap (8 May 2016)

Bm101":298717j1 said:


> You'll haveno joy with a handsaw fella. The teeth and kerf on a bowsaw are designed to cut green wood. I think you'll get very hot very frustrated and very tired very fast with a handsaw. As Dr Phil says, cut under the branch till it starts to trap the blade then cut the top about an inch along . For the time and effort expended unless you have no option get a fella in with a chainsaw. He'll do in 10 minutes what you'll_ struggle_ to do in a day. Looking at cutting those trunks even with a bowsaw is making me tired just thinking about doing it in the past. If you got no other option it's possible but maybe plan it over a few days so you get a rest in. Get too tired and you expose yourself to injury as well in lots of ways. At least give a local fella a phone and see if you can come to some arrangement first.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> ...


Thanks Chris,
the thing is I acquired that piece of land a few years ago and it's in middle of nowhere, closest city with about 150people is 20km away 
So it's probably faster/easier to just do it myself than try to find someone local,infact I found one local last summer who said he will do it, but I guess he just got Drunk and forgot that he must come and do it  so was just a waste of time waiting for a couple of weeks.


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## BearTricks (8 May 2016)

Nice big axe?


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## sunnybob (9 May 2016)

Maybe Finland hasnt caught up with health and safety. I tried to rent a chainsaw in the UK at least 10 years ago and the paperwork, training certificate and chain mail rental as well stopped that plan in its tracks.

I think an axe in the hands of a newbie might be almost as dangerous as the chainsaw. Hire someone local to where you live, drive them out there and buy him an evening meal as well. Or just set fire to them where they are.


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## DiscoStu (9 May 2016)

I'd say a bow saw is your best option. 

I'd agree with you about not using a chainsaw without training. A chainsaw is a ridiculously dangerous bit of kit and in my opinion should only be used by professionals with all the kit and training. I'm amazed that they are allowed to be sold without a licence. I am sure that this will change at some point. Someone will look at the A&E stats and realise they could be lowered if chainsaws couldn't be sold to the public. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## paulm (9 May 2016)

You need a Silky Katanaboy 650 folding japanese handsaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KryxktLOqE

Hugely more effecient than a traditional bow saw, but more expensive too 

Cheers, Paul


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## Random Orbital Bob (9 May 2016)

I'm going to stick my neck out and ask why you wouldn't want to own a chainsaw given the huge amount of land you clearly own? Chainsaw's can of course be dangerous, so can cars, a half inch bath of water, gob stoppers, a gas cooker, etc etc ad nauseum. I guess you see where I'm going with this?

Learning how to use a chainsaw safely isn't rocket science and they are staggeringly useful tools. In the end it entirely depends on the operators attitude to personal risk. I'm happy to assume that risk given the appropriate safety measures and have been handling chainsaws as a non professional for 30 years. I've had plenty of kick backs in that time and as long as you're vigilant, they're manageable.

If it truly is a one off event then paying a 3rd party is perhaps the right choice but it sounds like you will have future wood management chores given the land you're managing. I wouldn't be without one in your situation.

Lastly, if you burn the Apple, I'm afraid we will be required to send round the "Turner Death squad" and have you executed! Apologies, but that's just the way it has to be


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## Sheffield Tony (9 May 2016)

Though you could get it down with an axe, as well as being hard work you waste a lot of the best bit of the wood.

The idea of cutting through 30-50cm with a bow saw soulds like very hard work (and needs an unusually long bowsaw - you want a saw at least twice as long as what you're cutting for it to clear properly). It would not be that hard with a good two man saw and an accomplice. But that's two tricky things to find. Are / were two man saws commonly used in Finland as they were in USA ?


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## Zeddedhed (9 May 2016)

Like Random said a chainsaw is no more dangerous than a Gobstopper (you can't hire them in the UK either)

There are some excellent videos produced by Stihl on youtube that would get you going.

I've been using chainsaws for most of my life after having 5 minutes of instruction in a wet field by a psychopathic farmer when I was 16.

That might sound like a recipe for disaster, but he showed me a 9" scar on his leg that looked truly horrific. "Don't f?*k about with it lad, or it'll do this to you. Get a good grip on it and don't let the nose touch owt. Now get on with it."

That was pretty much it. Obviously I treated it with extreme caution and the utmost respect, and I still do.

After felling 100's of trees of all sizes, cutting 100's of tons of firewood etc I've only ever had one contact with a spinning chain. Chainsaw trousers saved my leg - they really do work and I would't do any chainsaw without them. Add in a decent Face guard/helmet and ear protection and some steel capped boots and you're fine as long as you remember to stop when you're tired, and never do anything that feels risky. Find another way.


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## dickm (9 May 2016)

+1 for two man saw. Properly sharpened, with a helpful person on the other end, they are (almost) a joy to use. "When I were a lad", father, grandfather and I felled a good many trees using one without too much effort. It's still in my shed - SWMBO doesn't have the hand-eye coordination for it and there are several chainsaws in the same shed.............


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## Bm101 (9 May 2016)

Same school of 3 minute training with a chainsaw. Never had an accident. Would I recommend it to someone I didnt know on the internet. No. If i had that land and that many trees I know what I'd do.What works for you as someone who has the confidence to use a chainsaw without (unnecessary) fear and incompetence doesn't always hold true. I wouldn't recommend one because lets face it things can go from casual to very serious to dead from blood loss pretty sharpish. If it was my land yeh, fine. Just do me a favour and buy the trousers and the mask at the very least.


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## owsnap (9 May 2016)

well Decided to not waste time and money buying gear I will probably never need in future, and just went for it, 
sawed down 8 apple trees this size with just a handsaw, took probably around 15-20minutes for each to saw all around the trunk and pull them down with a rope. ( thanks Drphill for remainding to use rope, almost forgot about it..)

Also sawed down around 250-300 smaller 5-10cm diameter trees all around the property with the same handsaw, 3-5 swipes per small tree and it was done,I doubt I would have done it much faster with a chainsaw, feeling exhausted as f now however.


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## Wuffles (9 May 2016)

owsnap":17kugbw9 said:


> well Decided to not waste time and money buying gear I will probably never need in future, and just went for it,
> sawed down 8 apple trees this size with just a handsaw, took probably around 15-20minutes for each to saw all around the trunk and pull them down with a rope. ( thanks Drphill for remainding to use rope, almost forgot about it..)
> 
> Also sawed down around 250-300 smaller 5-10cm diameter trees all around the property with the same handsaw, 3-5 swipes per small tree and it was done,I doubt I would have done it much faster with a chainsaw, feeling exhausted as f now however.



Would have been quicker with a first fix saw? Look like a Universal or second fix to me from the photo


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## owsnap (9 May 2016)

Wuffles":o783hac1 said:


> owsnap":o783hac1 said:
> 
> 
> > well Decided to not waste time and money buying gear I will probably never need in future, and just went for it,
> ...



Universal, probably would have been faster but that's what I had.
but honestly these disposable saws nowadays are so sharp and good even universal cuts through wood like butter


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## lurker (9 May 2016)

owsnap":1wqnx8vl said:


> feeling exhausted as f now however]




I am exhausted just thinking about it 

But well done


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## cutting42 (12 May 2016)

owsnap":2vxq46v8 said:


> well Decided to not waste time and money buying gear I will probably never need in future, and just went for it,
> sawed down 8 apple trees this size with just a handsaw, took probably around 15-20minutes for each to saw all around the trunk and pull them down with a rope. ( thanks Drphill for remainding to use rope, almost forgot about it..)
> 
> Also sawed down around 250-300 smaller 5-10cm diameter trees all around the property with the same handsaw, 3-5 swipes per small tree and it was done,I doubt I would have done it much faster with a chainsaw, feeling exhausted as f now however.



You must be the only Finn in Finland without a chainsaw. I work in Sweden a lot and as soon as you go north of Stockholm its like a pocket knife there, they all have them.

Still you did very well with that saw. I often have the handtool revelation when a powered tool won't do what I want or the battery is drained. I get out the hand saw and they are surprisingly fast.


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## finneyb (15 May 2016)

If you want to replant - better to pull them out rather than cut down otherwise you are left with the roots to lift. If you pull them out the roots should come with the trunk

Or am I too late?

Brian


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## Racers (15 May 2016)

You need one of these to get rid of the stumps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVAJT2ThP-4


Pete


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## Ian down london way (17 May 2016)

Whilst I have my own electric chain saw, I also find it rather scary. I did also get an alligator chain saw, which although it can only do branches, is hugely easier and safer to use. I expect you will want to chop the trees up some after you've cut them down, so this kind of device may be useful.


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## Rhyolith (18 May 2016)

I am with a volunteer group who have to cut down trees like this without powertools on a regular basis. I have spent some time with a tree surgeon working out the best way to go about this and then put it into practice.

A felling axe is great if you know how to use one, but not many people do. Also need a good axe to use in the first place, which does not come cheap or easily second hand (seriosuly don't use an old one before checking the handle and if its fitting well to the head!). 

Bow saws are the best way, a good 30" bow saw (Bahco are the best nowadays) will be easier than that panel saw. £20 is all you need for that.

Sorry if this is repeating anything, there were too many posts for me to read through now.


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