Saws that Sing: A Guide to Using Crosscut Saws

Preparation for Bucking and Felling, Continued

Determining Bucking Locations

It is best to start bucking at the top of the log and work toward the butt end, removing the binds in smaller material first. Bucking is generally a single-person operation. Two sawyers may be used when it is safe to do so.

Determine the offside (figure 49). The offside is the side the log will probably move to when it is cut, normally the downhill side. Watch out for possible pivots. Clear the work area and escape route. The work area should be at least 8 feet wide in the vicinity of the log to allow plenty of room for escape when the final cut is made. Establish solid footing and remove any debris that may hinder your escape.

Figure 49--Determine the offside (usually the downhill side),
and stay clear of that side when you are single bucking.

Cut the offside first. If possible, make a cut about one-third the diameter of the log. This allows the sawyer to step back from the log on the final cut.

Points to Remember When Planning the Cut

• Do a complete sizeup. Identify the hazards and establish your escape routes and safety zones.

• Use objects such as rocks, stumps (if they are tall enough), and sound standing trees (with no overhead hazards) to protect you from the log if it springs sideways toward you when you finish the cut.

• Removing a single section of log may require that other binds be eliminated first.

• Angled bucking cuts, wide on top and made on the offside, allow a single section of log to be rolled away from the rest of the log.

• Buck small sections of the log that will be easy to control when they begin moving.

• Binds and potential log movement will change as you cut. Reevaluate them as necessary.

• Warn workers who are working in and below an active cutting area. Give them time to move to a safe location. Verify their safety, visually and verbally.

• Announce when a bucking operation has been completed.

• All logs must be completely severed when they are bucked.

• Use flagging to mark an incompletely bucked log as a hazard.

• Never approach a cutting operation from below.

Single-Bucking Techniques

New sawyers should master the skill of single bucking before learning double bucking. If new sawyers can handle a long two-person saw alone, they have mastered the principles of keeping the saw running smoothly without buckling. Thinner, lighter felling saws are harder to use for single bucking than the stiffer, heavier bucking saws. The reasons to single buck include:

• The sawyer starts out double bucking and needs to finish the cut from one side because of safety considerations or log movement.

• The log is too large for the length of the saw, so one handle has to be removed to increase the effective length of the saw. The end of the saw can be drawn into the log once the handle has been taken off, allowing shavings in the gullets to be removed when the end of the saw leaves the log.

• The sawing sequence starts or ends with underbucking, which can be done only by a single sawyer.

When making compound cuts, the length of the cut determines the length of saw that is required. The saw does not work as efficiently in a sloping or compound cut as it does in a straight cut. The more angle that is placed on a compound cut, the less effectively the saw will work. Compound cuts can make sawing difficult.

Single Bucking With No Bind: Top Cutting

• Remove the bark where the cut will be made.

• Lay the unsheathed saw on its side over the log. Sprinkle lubricant on both sides of the saw.

• Hold the saw with your dominant hand and guide the back of the saw with the other hand for a few strokes until the saw is securely in the kerf.

• Insert wedges as soon as they will clear the saw, driving them snug. Do not hit the back of the saw with the wedge.

• Lubricate the blade as needed just before the push stroke. On a smaller log, the sawyer may be able to lubricate the far side of the saw just before the pull stroke. Lubricate both sides of the saw blade equally.

• As you finish the cut, use only the teeth at the end of the saw blade. This technique prevents the log from damaging the "production" cutters near the center of the saw if the log rolls or pinches the saw.

Single Bucking With Top Bind: Underbucking Required

Underbucking is used when the log has a top bind and you can get under the log. Sometimes, a V-notch can be chopped out of the top of the log, then finished with underbucking. More frequently, the first cut must be started from the top because the top of the log is under compression. If the compression is not corrected, the kerf may close and pinch the saw.

After you have inserted the wedges and driven them snug, continue cutting down from the top, leaving enough uncut wood to support the log's weight. Because the top of the log is under compression, the bottom is under tension. The more compression you relieve, the greater the tension on the bottom of the log. The log will start to equalize this pressure by exerting pressure on the wedges. If you use two or more wedges spaced at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions, you can spread the force over a larger area. If only one wedge is used at the 12 o'clock position, all the energy is directed to that relatively small area.

Listen for the sounds of wood fibers popping as they are severed as an indication of the intensity of compression and tension. The louder the sound, the stronger the forces at work.

Watch the kerf to detect log movement. Position yourself so you can detect a slight opening or closing of the kerf. This is the best indicator of the log's reaction on the release cut. If the bind cannot be evaluated, proceed with caution. It may be necessary to move the saw back and forth slowly to prevent the saw from getting bound as compression pressure closes the kerf. Cut just far enough to place a wedge. Continue cutting. Watch the kerf. If the kerf starts to open, the log has a bottom bind. If the kerf starts to close, the log has a top bind.

Remove the saw from the top cut and prepare to finish the cut from the bottom by underbucking. A log or rock can be placed under one side of the cut, supporting the log so it will be less likely to drop as far as the ground when the cut is completed.

Underbucking--During sizeup, you determined which side of the severed log probably would remain the most stationary, providing the anchor point for the underbuck. A common mistake is to place the underbuck on the side that is easiest to reach. If this side of the log moves, the saw or ax handle could be damaged.

To underbuck, use a mechanical underbuck or plant an ax in the log (after removing the bark) so the handle can be used as a support for the back of the saw (figure 50). Line up the underbuck grooves in the ax handle with the top saw kerf and forcefully swing the ax into the log.

Figure 50--An ax planted in the lower part
of the log can work as an underbuck.

Place the back of the inverted saw in the underbuck groove. The saw typically starts at an angle of about 45 degrees from horizontal. Your guiding hand holds the back of the saw. With a light downward pressure on the underbuck, push the saw forward. Pressure on the underbuck needs to be consistent on the push and pull strokes.

Oil in the underbuck groove will help the saw run easily and will reduce wear on the ax handle. Adjust the handle angle to allow room for the saw to be inserted and for the underbuck to be parallel to the saw kerf, but offset slightly closer to the ax head unless you are underbucking a compound cut.

If you are underbucking a compound cut, the cuts must match exactly. Any offset could prevent the log from being freed. If the cuts do not match, several more wedges may have to be placed in the top cut to provide additional bearing pressure on the kerf faces, holding the log in place. If there is a chance that the wedges will not hold, remove the saw and start another cut, rather than risk damaging the saw.

After several strokes, you can remove your hand and continue normal cutting. With continued downward pressure, the end of the saw will be doing more of the cutting and the saw blade will level out. As the cut nears completion, be prepared in case the severed log drops.

Often the wedges hold the log stationary after the cut is completed. To remove the hanging wedges, stand on the near side and reach across the top of the log to remove the offside hanging wedge. Then remove the near-side wedge.

Single Bucking With Top Bind: Top Cutting

Several methods can be used to buck a log with top bind that does not have enough room underneath for underbucking.

All sawing will be from the top. After removing the bark and beginning the cut, wedge the log well to keep the kerf open. Follow the instructions for wedging given earlier. Periodically, drive all the wedges until they are snug. Do not allow the wedges to contact the saw.

The cut will want to open up at the bottom. Place a log or other material under the log segment that will drop when the cut has been completed, reducing the distance the severed section of log will fall and helping to direct it to the place you want it to go.

The severed log may roll. A log that drops and rolls may damage the saw. Inserting metal hanging wedges at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions across the kerf will reduce the likelihood that the log will roll.

For very heavy logs with serious binds, a steel plate can be driven into the saw kerf as added insurance that the kerf will not close. Because steel plates are thin, they can be driven deeply without spreading the log apart. Steel plates are easier to drive than wedges and provide a large surface area to hold back the top bind. I rig these plates with a lanyard that can be secured to an ax placed on top of the log. This technique prevents the plate from dropping onto the saw when the log is released. Often there is enough bind on the steel plate to keep it in place. I also use lanyards on my pair of hanging wedges to prevent them from dropping onto the saw.