StateLibQld 1 89188 Two timber workers felling a tree on the Atherton Tableland, 1890-1900

Madera Sugar Pine Company fellers undercut 1911

Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009 an element of the task of

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

. The person cutting the trees is a ''feller''. A

feller buncher A feller buncher is a type of harvester used in logging. It is a motorized vehicle with an attachment that can rapidly gather and cut a tree before felling it. ''Feller'' is a traditional name for someone who cuts down trees, and ''bunching'' i ...

is a machine capable of felling a single large tree or grouping and felling several small ones simultaneously.

Methods

Hand felling

In hand felling, an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

, or

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, ...

is used to fell a tree, followed up by

limbing Limbing or delimbing is the process of removing branches from a standing or fallen tree trunk. In logging, limbing follows felling. Limbing plays a role in fire prevention by removing branches from live trees that can otherwise serve as part o ...

and

bucking Bucking is a movement performed by an animal in which it lowers its head and raises its hindquarters into the air while kicking out with the hind legs. It is most commonly seen in herbivores such as equines, cattle, deer, goats, and sheep. Most r ...

in traditional applications. In the modern commercial logging industry, felling is typically followed by limbing and skidding.

Feller buncher

A feller-buncher is a motorized vehicle with an attachment which rapidly cuts and gathers several trees in the process of felling them. In

cut-to-length logging Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and ''cut to length'' directly at the stump. CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a ...

a harvester performs the tasks of a feller-buncher, additionally doing the delimbing and bucking. When harvesting wood from a felled tree, the recommended methods should be followed in order to maximize wood recovery. The suggested trend is to make deeper cuts and smaller openness when performing undercuts.

Types of cut

The ''undercut'' or ''notch cut'' is the guiding or aiming slot for the tree and is a V-shaped notch placed on the side of the tree in the direction of intended fall. The ''back cut'' or ''felling cut'' is made on the opposite side of the tree of the undercut and is cut through the base of the tree severing the “hinge” holding the tree up.

Boom-corridor experiment

This was an experiment conducted regarding felling trees and the continuous felling of trees in boom-corridors which might lead to an increase in harvester productivity. An efficient way to do this would be to use felling heads which would increase efficiency and fall time.

Gallery

File:Felled logs.jpg, Timber logs that have been cut and stockpiled for logging. File:Éclape de chêne.jpg, A piece of trunk. File:Tree felling in urban setting, Russia 3.jpg, Felling in urban setting in Russia.

Telescopic handler A telescopic handler, also called a lull, telehandler, teleporter, reach forklift, or zoom boom, is a machine widely used in agriculture and industry. It is somewhat like a forklift but has a boom (telescopic cylinder), making it more a cra ...

and

are used. File:DSC_7121-Edit-Edit-Edit-Facebook-2048px.jpg, Urban felling in Australia. This is done to secure areas from accidental tree falls. File:Video of tree felling, limbing, bucking, moving.webm, Video of tree felling, limbing, bucking, moving

References

Logging Lumberjack sports {{forestry-stub