CS31: Check the tree out...

In the last post we took a quick dive into choosing the direction of fell for your tree; but before we get too far ahead of ourselves, in this post we'll chat about inspecting the tree.

Click here to find out more...

Before you take chainsaw to tree, you really need to know what you're dealing with; we've already looked at how the tree canopy (or the tree's form) can affect the weighting and therefore the felling cut used, but there's a bit more to check out first.

Completing a quick visual tree assessment is a great idea; you're looking for potential hazards (dead wood in the tree or hanging branches that might come down), anything that might cause loss of control of the tree (rot caused by fungal growth - see the image at the top) and whether there are signs of birds nesting, hornet / wasp / bee nests, bat roosts and so on. Look for signs of old remedial work on the tree... are there wire braces in it? Indeed, are there any other wires running to it, or through it (power lines, telephone lines, aerials, etc.). Once you have this information you can take the appropriate action, which may mean talking to the local council, government agency, landowner or other relevant authority before commencing work.

CS31: Before you start the saw...

There's always a great clamour to get out into the woods and fell the biggest tree! But just stop and think for a moment... is that really the best thing to do if you've only just started your CS31. Cutting down a big tree requires a lot of clearing up! If something goes wrong during the fell, how are you going to deal with it? You can also get away with being slightly less accurate in your cuts with bigger trees, masking potential problems that you might have with your cuts. So, before we even start the saw, let's work through the next few posts discussing how to make it safer, as well as ensuring that you get the most out of the training that you're doing.

Click to find out more...

The first thing to do before you take a saw to the tree, is just to look at it, and the surrounding environment. Ask yourself questions such as... "Are there powerlines or other cables within two tree lengths?", "Are there public footpaths or bridleways that might require the use of a banksman, as well as signs?", "Are the weather conditions conducive to maintaining control of the tree during the felling operation?".

Of course, this is just the start of the process, as you need to be thinking about the direction of fell, the state of the tree, the weighting of the tree and so on.

In this post, we'll take a quick look at deciding on the felling direction. There are always instances where it doesn't really matter which way you fell the tree, but certainly on your assessment, the assessor will want to know which way you want to fell it. If you lose control of the tree and it falls down in a completely different direction, then that's not going to look good!

Of course, in many circumstances you are limited in your choice, be that due to other trees, buildings, fence lines, public areas or just the form of the tree. All these things, and more, need to be taken into account when you decide which way to fell the tree. Here's a quick tip to help you decide if you need to consider whether the weighting of the tree is definitely going to be a factor when choosing the direction of fell and the type of felling cut...

If you've got an idea of the direction you wish to take the tree down, then it's not a bad idea to walk in that direction and look back at the tree, checking for anything that might get in the way of it coming straight down... branches from another tree, a powerline, etc. But here's the real tip... now walk over to a point at 90 degrees from the tree (i.e. to the left or right of the tree) as this will allow you to properly assess the weighting of the tree canopy. Remember, if you only look at it from one direction you might not notice that the weight of the tree's canopy means that it actually wants to fall in completely the opposite direction!

With the direction sorted, and the weighting of the tree assessed, you can choose which type of felling cut to use. In the next post, we'll take a look at visually assessing the state of the tree.

Back To The Future: Bore Cuts (3)

Continuing on with these bore cuts... one problem that I come across time and again is poor hand position when gripping the saw. It's not only bore cuts that can go awry with poor hand position, but sink cuts too. So how can we improve our chances of getting accurate cuts? Find out more after the jump...

Looking at the picture at the top of this page, you can see how the hand at the rear of the saw is not twisted, and the throttle is being operated by the inside of the thumb. The hand on the front handle has been moved right around the handle, which you can probably see better on the image below (yes, I know I'm not wearing gloves, but the saw is not running and I wanted to make the hand positions clearer...).

Try to get in the habit of holding the saw in these positions when you're either doing the horizontal bore cut, the bottom cut of a sink, or the back felling cut. It will help you keep the saw level.

Back To The Future: Bore Cuts (2)

Now that I've started on this route, I guess I'd better finish it! So here is the second 'bonus' posting - but only because I didn't get to finish it all of in the first posting about bore cuts! In this article we'll have a look at the second of the bore cuts that you'll need to be able to demonstrate and use for the CS31, and quite likely for the CS30 too. That's CS30 as well, as opposed to CS32... just sayin'. That second bore cut is the vertical bore cut, and I feel that it's appropriate to let you know hat this one has the potential to be very dangerous, as you'll be cutting very close to the kickback zone and even with it. Be careful with this one. Find out more after the jump...

Why would we use a vertical bore cut? Easier to watch a demonstration than listen to an explanation, but I'll give it a go... Look at the image at the top of this page, you can see that the underside of this piece of timber is not touching the ground and yet there was not enough room to get the bar and chain under the timber, without the chain running into the ground. In this case, with the compression cut already made on the top of the timber, we needed to cut from under the timber, back up to meet the compression cut.

To get over this problem of a lack of space, we can bore into the timber and then cut downwards and out of the bottom, as there is enough space for the chain to pop out from under the timber without striking the ground.

The other thing that you can see from this image is just where the bar and chain are positioned - note that the cut will be started slightly behind the kickback zone, and not on it.

Ensure that the saw is running at full speed whilst you do this cut, it's actually safer, and also make sure the saw is sharp. But perhaps the best advice for this cut is keep your head out of the line of the bar. Start the cut and allow the saw to cut a little way in, before levelling the saw out and pushing through the timber completely. Now you can come out of the bottom of the timber, before cutting up to the compression cut (in this case).

Try to do this in one fluid movement, saw at full speed and head out of the way - it doesn't bear thinking about what would happen if you had kickback... Also, be confident with this cut and hold the saw securely and comfortably.

I will be revisiting bore cuts, especially as now that I've started to write about them, the more I can think of to tell you!

Keep safe.

Back To The Future: Bore Cuts (1)

This is a bit of a bonus posting, as I've got 10 minutes free to quickly add an article! And so, in this post we're going to go back to the future and look at bore cuts. Why 'back to the future'? Well, bore cuts currently form part of the CS30 chainsaw maintenance course, but are heavily used during the CS31 (and CS32) felling courses; because of this, it'll be useful to both groups of people - those undertaking CS30 and those doing CS31. I'll try to put together a short video of completing a bore cut as it's much easier to see it, rather than describe it, but for now you'll have to make do with text! Find out more after the jump...

There are two types of bore cut: horizontal and vertical. The image at the top of the screen shows the horizontal bore cut, and is used a lot in conjunction with felling techniques (rear-weighted, forward weighted, medium and large fell). The vertical bore cut is used to cross-cut timber, especially where there is not enough room under the timber to physically fit the bar and chain, and you want to cut upwards; although there is enough room to bring the chain out of the bottom of the timber without it hitting the ground.

The Horizontal Bore Cut

The horizontal bore cut is slightly safer than the vertical bore cut, but is perhaps more difficult to get all the levels correct. You will need to keep the saw level from the tip of the bar back to the rear handle, as well as keeping it flat from side-to-side.

This is easily achieved by positioning your hands correctly on the handle; remembering that your thumb on the left hand must remain around the handle (see the Bad Habits: Thumbs Up! post). First off, getting it level from side-to-side is just a matter of moving your left hand right around the handle as far as practicable, this will automatically put the saw in the correct position. Easy!

Now for getting the saw level front-to-back. Many operators continue to hold their right hand in the same position (finger on the throttle) and twist their wrists to account for using the saw on its side. However, this often results in the rear handle being held higher than the tip of the bar and so the saw is not level. Instead, as you twist the saw on to its side, getting it ready for the horizontal cut, allow the rear handle to move around in your right hand; you should find that you can operate the throttle with your thumb.

Stand so that the underside of the nose of the bar will be introduced into the timber, then cut down to about where the nose sprocket rivets are. At this point, keep the nose of the bar in the same place and swing the rear handle around so that the saw is now directly pointing into the timber. Now push. Not too hard, and keep the saw running at full power until you have bored through to the required depth.

Allow the chain to stop in the bore cut before pulling it out of the wood (it might be wise to flick the chain brake on too at this point). Now, we are going to need to refine this a little bit but that'll be what the video is for... I just need to shoot it first ;0)

I reckon my 10 minutes is definitely up, and I'll leave vertical bore cuts for another post...

CS31: Hints and tips...

Throughout 2012 I'll being going through the whole range of 'stuff' that is included in the CS31 assessment, and we've already made a start by looking at the legal constraints surrounding felling; but before I sign off for 2011, I thought I'd finish off by providing you with some hints and tips to help you through an assessment. There's nothing earth shattering here, and it's what I tell all those participating in my courses, so I hope you'll find it useful.

Find out more after the jump...

When people fail the CS31 assessment, invariably it is not on the questions (although many people do find it hard to remember everything), it's usually because they made a fundamental safety mistake, or messed up on the felling cut.

So here's the first piece of advice... take your time. The assessor will not expect you to be working at commercial forestry speeds, and every assessor that I know would rather you took your time to think through what it is you are about to do, before you do it. Of all the advice given, this is the main one! Don't rush it.

The second piece of advice... think about your danger zones and be aware that when you are dealing with a hung-up tree, the danger zones may change as the tree moves and rolls. All too often, during training, I see operators walk right past the back of the tree and right next to it. One 'trick' is to lay the felling bar down at the rear of the tree and in-line with it... then make sure you walk around the end of the bar. This will force you to leave a short distance between the rear of the tree if you have to walk around it.

The third piece of advice... think about your body position. It's very common, especially during training to mess up your hinge by cutting through it at some point, or to have a wedge-shaped hinge, but there's no need for this to happen if you just pay attention to your body / foot position. Getting your feet in the right place will normally solve most issues to do with the hinge.

Fourth bit of advice? Sink cuts can be difficult to get spot-on, so hold the saw correctly. The top cut of the sink is at 45 degrees, so hold the saw on the corner of the handle - the saw will automatically be held at the correct angle. The bottom cut of the sink needs to be level, and you can achieve this by moving your right hand around the handle so that you operate the throttle with your thumb rather than your finger - this may need a picture, so we'll talk more about holding the saw next year.

And finally, whilst there is loads more hints and tips (which we will go through later) the last piece of advice is to... relax! The assessors need to feel comfortable that you can safely fell a tree and then process it.

Good luck if you're undertaking your CS31 (or CS32) and let me know how it goes through the comments.

CS31: Legal Constraints (WaCA)

The Wildlife and Countryside Act (WaCA) 1981 is, quite frankly a total minefield of various bits of legislation, but it exists to protect the habitats of various bugs and beasties.

Just to give you a taste of this minefield, since WaCA 1981 there have been various amendments to the Act, most significantly through the Countryside Rights of Way (CRoW) Act of 2000... and the Nature Conservation Act (2004)(Scotland)... and the Local Government Act 1985, the Water Act 1989, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and so it goes on! The CRoW Act also significantly changed SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) legislation in England and Wales.

But we don't particularly need to know all that for our purposes...

Find out more here...

OK, so you've probably got the idea that it's a potentially complex issue - that's why we have ecologists who love this sort of thing(?) - but we're just interested in how it applies to us cutting down a tree or two.

Possibly the most important, and most likely things we are likely to do is destroy either a bat roost, or a bird's nest. Red squirrels are also protected and you'll need to check for your area within the UK (and there are some pockets of red squirrels in the South of England too).

The Act protects wild birds, and it is an offence to:

• kill, injure or take any wild bird.


• take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use, or being built.


• disturb any wild bird that has been listed in Schedule 1 while it is nest building, or at a nest containing eggs or young, or disturb the dependent young of such a bird.

Clearly, felling a tree that contains such a bird (nest), or felling a tree into another tree / shrub / hedgerow that contains the nest of one these birds could leave you open to prosecution under the Act. Bats are another highly protected species and were protected under Schedule 5 of WaCA, however since 2007 the effective protection of bat species has been accomplished through Schedule 2 of the Conservation Regulations 1994. Either way it is an offence to:

• damage or destroy a bat roost (whether or not the bat is there)


• intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat at roost


• obstrust access to a bat roost

A bat roost is any structure or place which any wild bat uses for shelter or protection, and as bats can and will reuse the same roost it is protected whether the bat, or bats, is / are present.

CS31: Legal Constraints (Felling Licence)

The requirement for a felling licence is stated as part of the Forestry Act 1967 (Amended), and whilst there are some exceptions to felling under this Act, if you get it wrong then you are liable to prosecution. So it kinda makes sense to have some basic notion about when you need a felling licence.

Find out more after the jump...

You can apply for a felling licence via the Forestry Commission website, or direct from an FC office. You will need to apply for a felling licence if you intent to fell (in one calendar quarter) a tree, or trees, which total more than 5 cubic metres, and then sell more than 2 cubic metres. The calendar quarters run from:

• 01 January - 31 March


• 01 April - 30 June


• 01 July - 30 September


• 01 October - 31 December

There's plenty of infomation available on the 'net about felling licences within the UK, but here's a couple of good links to provide you with more backgrounds information should you need it:

Forestry Commission: Tree Felling, Getting Permission

Forestry Commission: FAQs

In the final part of the CS31 Legal Constraint series, we'll take a look at the Wildlife and Countryside Act, an enormously important, and indeed an enormous Act! I'll try to distill the essence of the Act to a few paragraphs...

CS31: Legal Constraints (Conservation)

In the next part of this mini-series about legal constraints when felling trees, we're going to sneak a peek at conservation areas.

The importance of trees within a conservation area is recognised by the Town and Planning Act, which makes a special provision for trees in a conservation area, and not already protected by a Tree Preservation Order (see previous post).

Find out more after the jump...

A Section 211 Notice lists the work that is proposed for trees within a conservation area, and require a six-week notice period from application to the decision. There are exceptions from a Section 211 notice, and these are:

1. If a tree to be cut down is being felled in accordance with a Forestry Commission Felling Licence (see next post).


2. if the tree work is exempt from a TPO.


3. if the work is being carried out by, or on behalf of, a National Park Authority, District or Borough Council.


4. if the work is to be carried out on a tree with a stem diameter not exceeding 75mm (3") measured at a point 1.5 metres up the main stem.


5. dead, dying or dangerous.

To be honest, you'd need to be pretty sure that tree needed to be worked on, as if you felled it only to find out that the tree was actually alright and didn't constitute a denger... well, let's just say that's probably not a good place to be ;0)

In the next post, we'll take a quick gander at Forestry Commission felling licences.

CS31: Legal Constraints (TPOs)

In the previous post I briefly mentioned the four legal constraints as written in the CS31 NPTC assessment schedule; and in this post I want to introduce more fully the Tree Preservation Order. There's plenty of information about this on the 'net including the updates and amendments, so all I want to do is to try and give you a flavour of what it's about.

Find out more after the jump...

The Tree Preservation Order (hereafter just called TPO so that I don't have to keep typing it out in full!) is designed to provide a level of protection for trees and woodland that have amenity value. The TPO is part of the Town and Country Planning Act, and it should be noted that it's used by local authorities in England.

The TPO prohibits the...

• cutting down


• uprooting


• topping


• lopping


• wilful damage, or...


• wilful destruction

...of any tree that has had a preservation order placed upon it by the local authority (note that this also includes tree roots). Interestingly, the Act does not define what a 'tree' is; or indeed a 'woodland' for that matter! In essence, if it would be normal to call it a tree, then it's a tree for the purposes of this, however shrubs, bushes and hedgerows are not covered. There is no minimum size for a tree, and it can include fruit trees, but this is dependent upon the amenity value.

A TPO can be placed upon a tree after it has been assessed for it's value, the individual impact and the wider impact on it's surroundings. A TPO can apply to an individual tree, a group of trees, or an entire woodland.

In order to work on a tree that is protected, one has to apply to the local planning authorities tree officer; there is [now] a standard application form and this must be completed showing the work to be carried out and a plan of exactly which tree, or trees, are to be worked on. The authorities can then assess the impact of the proposed work and allow, amend or deny the request.

And that's about it really - if you want to know more about TPOs, check out this PDF document Tree Preservation Orders: A Guide To The Law And Good Practice.

- DriveLink -

CS31: Legal Constraints Intro

Although the CS31 small fell assessment barely mentions the legal and environmental constraints, it is included in the assessment; just at a very superficial level. I wanted to talk a little bit more about the legal constraints that surround felling, just so that you have a little background knowledge on the answers that the assessor will be looking for!

Find out more after the jump...

Firstly, let's just take a quick peek at what the assessment schedule says; which at the time of writing was written in June 2010. You can download the PDF version of this assessment schedule freely from the NPTC website: NPTC CS31 Assessment Schedule. In fact, as we work our way through it over the coming months it might be handy to have a copy of this handy.

The assessment schedule says that you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the following four legal constraints with regard to felling:

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPO's)


• Conservation Areas


• Felling Licences


• Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981

Whilst those are the answers, over the next four articles we'll take a quick peek at each of them. I'm not going to go into huge depth with any of these, but I'll hopefully provide you with a basic understanding of what they contain and how it relates to felling.

- DriveLink -

CS31 - Felling small trees...

Whilst my work here is almost done with CS30 (chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting), the next big thing to tackle is going to be felling. Undertaking the NPTC CS31 Fell & Process Small Trees is not to be under-estimated, and there's really only one way to ensure that you pass... practice.

Find out more after the jump...

But there's so much more than just practicing your felling cuts, there's legal and environmental issues, how to deal with trapped saws, setting up escape routes, brashing and removing buttresses, snedding and delimbing, perhaps a bit of winch work thrown in for good measure too; and the list goes on to include a heap of safety bits and bobs...

In this next series of articles, we'll be taking a look at the whole range of issues concerned with passing your small fell (CS31) assessment. I'll try to include video, podcasts, images and text articles in order to help you through. Remember, you can contact me through the comments page if there's something that you'd really like to discuss.

Cheers. DriveLink.

How Time Flies...

I can't believe it's been so long since my last update - so much has been going on! Find out more after the jump...

The new NPTC assessment schedules are in full force now, and I've personally been busy delivering the new CS30 (chainsaw maintenance and crosscutting), CS31 (small fell) and CS38 (climbing and aerial rescue) courses.

There's not too much difference with the CS30, or the CS31 for that matter, but the CS30 does now include a bit more information on problems with chain components (look out for an post on that soon), and bore cuts (I'm thinking that a video would be good for that?).

The CS31 now includes a little bit more on winching, but the big change is with the CS38 as that now includes spiking up a pole and carrying out pole rescues (and that means both 2-man and 3-man (belay) rescues).

So, I haven't forgotten about you - I've just been really busy, but I still have some plans to write a few more articles and might just also include some small fell material too...

Latest Update On Assessments

As I mentioned way back in my last blog article, the chainsaw certification process is to be changed at some point in the future, and I had some doubt as to what the changes would be. However, NPTC had made the proposed schedules available and after reading through them and forwarding on my comments before the consultation period ended, I think (on the whole) the changes would be good. Find out more after the jump...

So what are the changes? Firstly they are proposing to amend the actual structure of the certification, as well as changing the schedules. Here, in brief, is a summary of those changes...

• The risk assessment, emergency planning and various other knowledge elements are to be brought together and made in to a 'knowledge unit' that is to form part of the foundation certificates. The CS30 is the other foundation course and, by and large, remains similar to the existing one.


• The CS31 small fell is to include rope / winch work (winching is currently part of CS32).


• The CS32 (medium fell) is to now include the felling of weighted trees. This is a major change and one which makes some sense as although the same cuts are used as small fell, the method of achieving them is different.


• The climbing and aerial rescue course is to be called CS38 (as it used to be!) and some major changes are being proposed for this; including... a tree identification element where the student will have to recognise 10 different tree species. The aerial rescue will also have to include a pole rescue as well as a 'tree' rescue. I think this is to be applauded and definitely a move in the right direction.


• The CS39, using a chainsaw from a rope and harness, is to have additional cuts added to the schedule. This will result in the student having to complete both horizontal and vertical cuts, which is basically simulating the cuts required for dismantling.


The above summary of changes is only a proposal at the moment, and I'm not sure that anything will happen until LANTRA get the National Occupational Standards approved - which could take some time.

For now, the courses and assessment schedules remain as they are - so I can get back to creating some new videos and writing some more about chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting.