If you have limbs to cut that are above your shoulder height use a specially designed saw with extended reach to perform those operations.

No matter what the job, whether it's a tree limb on the ground, partially suspended above the ground or a standing tree, you must always evaluate the job and the dynamics of the situation before you begin cutting.

As you are in the process of cutting wood, the dynamics of the tree, meaning weight and balance can change. With the larger and heavier limbs, there could be a chance that the tree will shift its position as the weight of those limbs are taken away. Make sure that you evaluate this weight prior to begin the cutting and that you position yourself and plan your work accordingly.

There are some basic rules to follow when limbing a tree on the ground.

First always begin limbing, the base of the tree, moving your way upward. Whenever possible, keep the log between you and the limb you are cutting. Make sure that you have good solid footing at all times. Never stand on the log and never hold the saw with one hand when cutting. Always hold the saw with both hands with a firm grip, fingers and thumb fully engaged around the handles. If the log is located on a slope, always stand on the up hill side of the log so if it rolls, it rolls away from you. If the log is supported by limbs on the other side of the tree, leave these limbs for last as they will help support three during your work.

Be cautious when cutting a limb from the bottom or under bucking. The limb may tend to close in on the cut, resulting in a pinched chain and guide bar. If this happens, turn off the saw and remove the saw from the cut.

This is a limb under pressure refer to as a spring pole. These can be very dangerous as they can spring back toward you with great amount of force when cut. This can cause you to lose control of the chainsaw or result in severe or fatal injury. Be very cautious when cutting spring poles. Release the tension by making multiple shallow cuts on the outside of the arc with you standing at the center of the arc.

Now that you have cleaned your saw, reinstalled the bar and chain and made the proper adjustments, it’s time to sharpen your chain. A handy tool for sharpening a chain in the field is the stump vice that will hold the saw firmly while sharpening. If you are sharpening your chain in a workshop or garage, a botch vice will work just as handily.

Often items you will need to properly sharpen your chain are a file and guide with the proper size rounded file, a flat file and a depth gauge tool. Check your owner’s manual or ask your authorized dealer for proper file size and depth gauge tool required for your saw’s chain. This information can also be found in the chain leaflet packet with new loops of steel chain.

Before we sharpen the chain, it will help you understand the process better if you know the different components that make up your chain. These are the cutters – your chain has separate left and right cutters. They are the parts that you will be sharpening. Located on the front of each of the cutters is prostrution called the depth gauge or as some people refer to as raker or drag. The depth gauge acts much like the adjustment on a hand plain chisel and determines the depth of the cut or chip the tooth will take. The wider the gap between the tooth’s cutting edge and the type of depth gauge, the larger chip the chain will take.

If there were no gap between the cutting edge and the depth gauge, the chain virtually wouldn’t cut at all. Your chain has been designed to cut optimally with a specific depth gauge clearance. Check your owner’s manual or with your authorized dealer to see what gaps is specified for your chain.

You can see that the cutter’s top plate has a declining slope as the tooth’s cutting edge is sharpened back, the depth gauge will also need to be filed to maintain the recommended chip clearance between the tops of the depth gauges and the tooth’s cutting edge. The chain consists of a series of tie straps and ribbets, which hold the components together, separating the right and left hand cutter alternately.

This is the drive link. It has several functions. It’s the portion of the chain that engages the sprocket, compelling the chain around the guide bar. It acts as a scooping device, dispursing the lubricant that comes from the oiler to components of the bar and chain and it guides the chain in the bar groove.

For your chain to be sharpened properly, you must make sure that each tooth has been filed at the same specific angle with the proper file, that the top plate of each cutter tooth is the same length and that the depth gauges are set at the proper height. Begin the process by looking for the cutter with the most damage or wear. This will become your master cutter. Once sharpened properly, this cutter slope and length will be what all the cutters should look like. Not doing so will result in a poor cutting performance; your chain will run roughly and could even break.

As you file the first cutter, count the number of filing strokes you take and be conscious at the amount of pressure you’re applying to the file. Using the same number of strokes with the same amount of pressure on the rest of your cutters should result in a consistent length on each. If you are uncertain, check the individual cutter’s length with a measuring device. If you find that some teeth are larger than others, make the necessary sharpening adjustments. Always file the cutter from the inner portion of the cutter outward. Never file from the outside in. This will dull the chain and damage the file and when you’re filing, never allow the file to drag back across the cutting edge when pulling the file back. Doing so will quickly dull your cutter and damage your file as well.

Your filing guide has a plate positioned on both sides of the file. Placing the filing guide on this chain, the plate on one side of the file will rest on the leading edge of the cutter while the other plate will rest upon the top portion of the depth gauge equipped with the proper sized round filed and assuming that your depth gauges have been maintained in the past. This will give your round file the proper filing depth when sharpening, resulting in the proper edge of the cutter.

When cutting wood, always make sure you have a firm, solid footing and keep your back straight, using your legs and knees to adjust your height. Always operate the chainsaw with the bar and chain positioned to the right of your body, never in line with your body. This will greatly decrease the chances of serious or fatal injury in the event your chainsaw experiences a reactive force event of kickback.

If you're moving between cuts, always engage the chain brake prior to movement and don't release the chain brake until you're ready to begin your next cut. This will also decrease the chances of serious injury if the saw were to become entangled in the limbs or shrubbery or if you were to accidentally drop or lose control of the saw.

If you need to clear away brush or limbs as you're working always engage the chain brake first. If you have a significant amount of brush or limbs to move or heavy objects, it is recommended that you engage the chain brake and shut the saw off before clearing these objects.

If you're starting the chainsaw in the immediate work area, regardless of the method you use… ground start or standing start, make sure you have a clear, unobstructed area to do so. Never try and start the saw in a confined area or in an area with projecting limbs or brush that could come into contact with the bar and chain.

If you become fatigued or out of breath, engage the chain brake, turn off the chainsaw and take a break. Always drink lots of fluid.

Do not operate your chainsaw without proper protection apparel and clothing. If you have a partner with you, always make sure they keep a safe distance from the area that you are working in and never allow them to hold or brace any wood you are cutting.

Never allow two ore more chainsaws to be used at the same time in the same work area. Two people cutting on or near the same piece of wood can change the balance of the wood or release limbs that could cause 1 or both operators to become injured without warning.

Never operate your chainsaw above shoulder height and never use a ladder or any other object to stand on to increase your reach. Doing so will increase your susceptibility to dangerous reactive forces and situations as well as the chances that you could lose your footing and fall, possibly landing on a running chainsaw with the chain turning, a very serious or fatal situation.