How to properly cut wood?

Residents of private houses, as well as some apartments, sometimes have to cut down old, sick or damaged trees.

In the article about Industrial felling, we already talked about how arborists, that is, those who do this professionally, remove trees.

However, removing a tree yourself at home has many features.

Next you will learn:

• what tools and equipment are needed for self-cutting, and is it possible to cut trees with a hacksaw;
• how to properly cut down a large tree with your own hands, and which method to choose in different situations;
• what safety measures need to be followed;
• how to properly use prepared tools and equipment;
• what not to do.

Radial

The cut passes through the core of the workpiece. An angle from 76 to 90 degrees is formed in the section. Finished lumber is characterized by the same texture. Even after drying, they do not deform, and do not swell at high humidity. And all because the tree changes its dimensions across the grain, that is, along the line of the rings. With radial processing, all annual rings run parallel to each other, that is, along the thickness. Wooden blanks have the highest performance characteristics.

Sawing at home

When you need to prepare a relatively small volume, there is no point in buying a sawmill or transporting the workpiece to the sawmill. With a minimum amount of knowledge, you can cut logs into boards using improvised means. The process is quite labor-intensive, but justified. You will need a gasoline or electric chain saw.

Most experts believe that the first option is preferable. A gasoline saw is more powerful and can work for hours without interruption. It does not depend on power sources, so sawing round timber is possible even in a forest belt. Before sawing a log, it is advisable to stock up on devices that simplify the work. This is a fastening, a nozzle, a guide along which the cut is made. To ensure that the longitudinal cut of the log is perfectly even, use a rigid board as a guide. However, a long iron profile will also work. By the way, sawing logs into boards is almost always carried out with a chain that has a different sharpening angle.

Safety regulations

All work operations should be carried out wearing a helmet that covers the head, comfortable shoes and gloves. It is advisable that the clothing does not have elements that could be chewed by the saw. How to cut wood for decoration with minimal threat of grass? Firstly, you should only work with working equipment. The hacksaw is securely clamped in the miter box, and the quality of the connection of the body parts is first checked on the chain saw. Secondly, the work process itself must be organized in calm and dry weather conditions without random third-party interference. The most dangerous part of the cutting process is felling the tree. Before this, it is necessary to take care of clearing the area in the area where the trunk fell.

Execution order

Sawing logs begins with the fact that you free the logs from bark and branches that might remain. Then you inspect the lumber for various defects and decide on a suitable cutting pattern. The possible amount of waste will depend on this.

Of course, sawing on a band sawmill is much easier, but with a gasoline saw everything will work out if you adapt well. When radial cutting of wood is performed, they try to obtain boards that have the same density across the width. A common pattern for sawing logs is from east to west. On the north side the density is greater. Cutting in the opposite direction is allowed.

The first operation is to remove the slab (top part), as if on a board. You will receive timber cut into boards of equal thickness. The result of sawing will be an unedged board. Subsequently, the edge is removed from it.

Sometimes sawing round timber ends with a false core or other defects being discovered in the log. The problem is solved by rotating the workpiece 90 or 180 degrees, as with a circular cut.

Choosing a tree for cutting

There are no specific types of wood that are ideal for cutting. In each case, an individual set of properties is provided, so one should proceed from the specifics of the future use of the workpiece. In Russian latitudes, craftsmen prefer to use the following breeds:

• Linden. Soft, clean and light wood that is easily tinted and accepts paint organically. Its texture is also expressive, so you can get by with a varnish coating.
• Aspen. Products made from this wood are valued for their unusual texture, but from a practical point of view this is not the best solution. As application experience shows, aspen saw cuts dry out and warp faster.
• Birch. A common breed, also characterized by aesthetic advantages, but when processed in small format it can cause a number of problems. How to make wood cuts for a birch interior? To do this, at a minimum, you will need a powerful saw and a set of professional carpentry tools, since it is more likely that “moles” will have to be removed from the array.
• Oak. It has a lot of advantages, both decorative and technical. Grayish-yellowish saw cuts from this breed serve for a long time and delight the eye with their noble texture.
• Beech. This wood has a pinkish-white hue and is especially suitable for those planning to paint without a primer. But even in this case, there must be a readiness for heavy processing of solid mass due to the high density of the structure.
• Needles. Pine and spruce are suitable for creating large pieces, which show the advantages of a heterogeneous fibrous structure.

Why do you need a decanter?

There are many different attachments designed for high-quality wood processing. One of them is a drum debarker. Using a simple tool operating on a V-belt drive, it is easy to remove the top layer. Fastening is carried out using pulleys. Depending on their size, the speed of rotation of the shaft is adjusted. The technology is not easy and very responsible. Therefore, when processing logs using a drum debarker, many specialists perform the work together. And they follow increased security measures.

Video on the topic

We have prepared several videos that teach you how to properly remove trees by hand. The first video will help you figure out how to cut down a tree with a chainsaw, knocking it down in the right direction:

The following video will also tell you how to cut wood correctly and safely using a chainsaw and a felling blade:

The third shows how to remove a tree with a guy wire:

The author of the following video explains how to cut down trees growing along wires, fences and other hard-to-reach areas:

We have also prepared videos that show what not to do and what can happen if trees are cut down incorrectly .

The first of them is a selection from all over the world of unsuccessful attempts to cut and fell trees, which led to various kinds of troubles:

The second video in this series is also examples of accidents. They remind us once again that cutting down trees is a serious job that requires the strictest adherence to safety precautions and attention to even the smallest details.

Violations, carelessness and inaccurate assessment of the situation can lead to serious consequences:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z78oRFoFNeI

Device for sawing boards with a chainsaw

A homemade device for sawing logs into boards with a chainsaw, a detailed description of the manufacture of the device with dimensions and photos.

Hi all! I would like to show you a homemade device for sawing boards, which is installed on a chainsaw or electric saw. I made this homemade product for my electric saw, and used it to saw boards. I was satisfied, the method really works, but of course you will need to customize everything for yourself.

I will describe how I made it, and anyone interested can familiarize themselves with and improve this design.

Dropping windrow

If you are the owner of a private area with a house, you can legally cut down a tree next to your house. If it is high, the drop felling method will help. It begins with cutting down the interfering lower branches. After this, you need to take a ladder and cut down the next, more voluminous branches, gradually moving on to cutting the thicker branches located above.

Hanging is the hanging of a tree to be cut Source udalenie-derevev.ru

Important! When felling with dumping, thick branches need to be cut so that, if necessary, you can stand (lean) on their branches.

Materials used:

• Profile pipes - 20 x 40 mm and 20 x 20 mm.
• Tubes with a diameter of 32 mm and 25 mm.
• Strip 40 x 20 x 4 mm, for clamping the busbar, 2 pieces.
• Rods and handle with rubber.
• Bolts with nuts, washers and locknuts.

The following photo shows the dimensions of the parts.

I leveled all the elements and welded them by welding; I took the dimensions arbitrarily at my discretion and adjusted them to fit my saw. Be sure to make a handle to guide sawing and pushing.

All saws are different in size and bar length, and therefore modifications can be made to the design for your specific saw, which will need to be taken into account.

I was forced to cut the boards myself, why? When you live in a rural area, you need boards for your needs; the thing is in great demand. There will always be something to nail, make, replace, put together. Where can I get boards for my needs? Tell me you can just buy it. Yes, you can, but it’s not always profitable, and you’ll also have to pay for delivery. And if you need a little, let’s say just a few boards, 2-3 pieces in total, nail down some small things. After all, no one will sell you a few pieces of boards if you don’t live in the city.

Now, I’ll tell you how I sawed. To begin with, I secured the log on a simple workbench using clamps.

The upper part of the log was leveled with an ax, then additionally processed with an electric planer so that the surface was even. I did this by eye, but used a ruler for a more or less even surface.

And then, I simply placed a saw with an attachment from the end of the log, with a pre-set size for the thickness of the board, and sawed. That's all!

Some people make special guides for straight cutting, along which the saw with the attachment moves, but I sawed straight along the log and it seemed to work. Although special guides simplify the sawing process, you will also have to do a lot of them.

And in this simple way, I sawed myself about 50 boards, ranging from 1.4 to 1.8 meters in length. I chose logs of this length for reasons of making it easier to carry and carry alone, by hand.

Small clarification! Chainsaw chain, sharpened for longitudinal sawing at an angle of approximately 10 degrees. Of course it doesn’t cut quickly, but it can be cut. The speed of sawing depends on the power of the saw and the sharpness of the sharpened chain. The more powerful the saw, the faster the sawing process. If the chain becomes dull, it will cut slowly and fine dust will fly out. I also removed the chain’s tooth stopper a little so that it would bite into the wood better. I did it by eye and removed about a millimeter.

Homemade author: Vadim Vasiliev.

Difficulties in laying out a modular floor

This type is quite complex, so it is better to be patient and get to work. Choose thick trunks to avoid the formation of large voids when laying out circles. Hardwood logs are selected to make the floor, because the floor is exposed to impact every day.

There are two reasons that will make you sweat:

• Solution. If you put all the parts on glue, then the floor will not last long, even if you cover it all with varnish. Modules will begin to fall off due to constant pressure. You will have to use a solution, possibly cement-based.
• Leveling the surface. If the thickness of each element does not play a big role in the design of the vertical plane, then for the floor this is the main condition. It is necessary to adjust all the modules to the overall thickness, and start grinding after installation. The procedure will take quite a long time, because achieving a smooth surface is not easy.

70 New Year's decor ideas: decorating your apartment and house

Next, start covering the finished surface with varnish. It will protect it from pests and external influences. The floor is easier to clean, and it will last longer in a “protected” state. An unprotected surface can be attacked by pests or it will simply begin to rot due to excessive moisture.

Cutting logs into boards at home. Main types and methods of cutting wood

The construction market is replete with a huge number of modern materials, which, unfortunately, are not natural. That is why wood is still the most popular - due to its versatility and availability, it is used in various construction industries. Any lumber, be it timber or boards, is made from logs, so our task today is to understand how to make the necessary building material from it.

How to cut logs into boards at home

Instead of a preface

1. Logs can be sawed using hand tools or using various professional equipment used on an industrial scale.
2. The cost of finished lumber is directly influenced by its characteristics, namely the thickness of the materials and the amount of waste remaining as a result of the production process.

Industrial machine for sawing logs into boards

1. To reduce the amount of waste, sawing logs on an industrial scale is carried out according to special schemes. In domestic conditions, sometimes there is a need to cut logs yourself, so you should first become familiar with them.

What equipment is used

In production conditions, various professional tools and special equipment are used for sawing logs, selected depending on:

• length of material;
• its thickness;
• quality required for products.

In domestic conditions it is usually not available, but can be successfully replaced with a regular chainsaw, a woodworking machine with a circular saw, or a hand hacksaw.

At enterprises engaged in the production of lumber, wood sawing lines are used. This equipment is highly productive and allows you to obtain a high-quality product.

Sawmill - a machine for cutting logs into boards

One type of sawmill equipment includes a sawmill - a woodworking machine on which frame saws are installed. After processing, the final product is timber and edged boards.

Only logs of a certain size can be used as raw materials:

• length should not exceed 7 m;
• The diameter size range is much wider and ranges from 150 to 800 mm.

A board made from the side of a log is called a slab

Round timber is also cut using circular saws called circular saws or circular saws. Such machines are divided into:

Most often, logs are processed on band sawmills, which allow sawing round timber both horizontally and vertically. Thanks to the high quality of sawing logs, very little waste remains after obtaining the final material.

But this is not the entire list of equipment used for large-scale production of lumber. There are also highly specialized machines that are used only in certain branches of woodworking.

Block house lining - log board

Main types and methods of cutting wood

The method of sawing logs is chosen depending on the type of wood and what kind of workpiece should be obtained in the end.

• parameters that determine the size;
• shape;
• surface quality;
• requirements.

Logs can be sawn relative to the location of the growth rings.

There are three types of sawing in total:

1. Radial - along the radius of the growth rings, and the work is carried out with particular precision.
2. Tangential - the log is sawn tangentially to the growth rings, parallel to one of the radii.
3. Parallel-forming - cutting occurs parallel to the direction of the fibers.

How to cut a log into boards with a chainsaw yourself

Depending on the direction in which the logs are sawn, the methods of sawing them are also divided:

1. In the collapse - involves sawing the log in several places along its entire plane. They must be located parallel to each other. This is the simplest processing method, allowing you to ultimately get a pair of slabs and an unedged board.
2. With lumber, you can first obtain side boards and beams, which, if necessary, are sawn into identical edged boards. This method allows you to cut a little more than half of all raw materials. Disadvantage: processing round timber requires the use of two sawmills.
3. Segmental - a beam will be cut from the center of the log. This name is due to the fact that two segments remain on the sides of the log, which are subsequently cut into tangential boards.
4. Sector - in this case, the round timber is cut into sectors. Moreover, their number depends on the diameter of the log and varies from 4 to 8. Next, the resulting fragments are sawn into radial or tangential boards.
5. Circular - designed for individual cutting of logs. This involves separating healthy wood from damaged wood.

Tip: when sawing off another board, the barrel must be rotated 90˚ around the longitudinal axis.

It should be noted that the last three methods, in contrast to the previous two main ones, are used quite rarely.

Shutdown

The second part of the main work process will consist of directly felling the barrel. At a minimum, this will require the already mentioned strong rope, and its length should be twice as large as the radius in the fall zone. One end of the rope is tied to the top of the trunk, and the other is pulled from below in the direction the tree falls. If it is not possible to make the knot at a sufficient height or the effort is not enough, then you will have to make deeper cuts. After felling, you will need to move on to cutting off the workpiece. How to cut down a tree on the ground with your own hands? At this stage, the task is simpler, since preparatory activities for felling are eliminated. But a different kind of problem also arises - the area on the line of the future cut must be raised, which, in principle, will make it possible to make a neat cut. To do this, you can use additional equipment with a truck crane or perform additional cutting. Additional division will lighten the weight of the part of the barrel from which the workpiece will need to be cut off.

Sawing at home

Purchasing sawmills for use at home is unprofitable both from an economic point of view, the price is quite high, and from a practical point of view. For these purposes, a regular chainsaw is quite suitable.

However, you can also use an electric one, but a gasoline one is much more powerful and does not require electricity, which is very useful when carrying out work far from civilization. Despite the labor-intensive nature of this process, if you have certain skills, the labor costs can be justified.

Do-it-yourself frame-nozzle for cutting logs

All work related to cutting requires special equipment:

• a device that secures the log in a stationary state;
• a frame-attachment designed for a chainsaw - if it is necessary to obtain boards of different thicknesses, they are fixed to the tool bar, but in such a way as to be able to adjust the distance remaining between the attachment and the chain;
• ruler-guide. It can be successfully replaced with a metal profile or a regular board of the required length, the main thing is that it is smooth and rigid.

Tip: for a chainsaw you need to purchase a special chain that allows you to make longitudinal cuts. Its distinctive feature is the special sharpening angle of the teeth.

Process

The operating instructions will be as follows:

1. Free the logs from bark and branches. The less waste there is, the more finished material there will be.
2. Determine the cutting pattern that will be most optimal. Why inspect the log for possible defects.

In the photo - cutting logs

1. Carry out cutting in the direction from east to west or vice versa. This is due to the fact that obtaining high-quality material is only possible if the density of the boards is the same across the entire width. Please note that the density of a tree trunk on the north side is much higher than on the south.
2. Remove the slabs located opposite each other.
3. Saw the double-edged timber formed as a result of this operation into lumber.
4. Remove the edges from the resulting unedged wood board.

Advice: if any defects are detected in the log, for example, a false core, it can be rotated by 90 and 180˚ as with circular sawing.

Preparation of auxiliary equipment

In addition to the sawing tool, you will need a rope, stepladder, ax and winch. The specific set of additional funds will depend on the conditions of the work performed and the capabilities of the contractor. By the way, if we are talking about a cut resulting from felling a tree, then you cannot do without an assistant. For example, how to cut down a tree with your own hands using a felling so that the trunk falls in a certain direction? In this case, you will also need a sledgehammer with wedges, which your partner will hammer into the cut area. The wedges are installed on the side of the fall and are knocked out at the right moment. A hand winch performs a similar task when the tree needs to not only be cut down, but placed in the direction opposite to its inclination.