Limbing above shoulder height?

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happysaws

happysaws

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It's industry best practice not to cut above shoulder height and if working off a ladder the ladder must be tied to the tree and you need to be tied to the tree as well.

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So, if I fell a tree, and there are limbs above my shoulders, am I not supposed to cut them?

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thetoolnut

thetoolnut

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So, if I fell a tree, and there are limbs above my shoulders, am I not supposed to cut them?

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Just to clarify, when dealing with a standing tree with low hanging branches that you are preparing to fell. You are not supposed to cut limbs that are above shoulder height.


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thetoolnut

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I don’t think it is dangerous to run a saw above shoulder height, but if you cut things above your head they can then fall on you.


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It's dangerous for two reasons, one is **** can fall on you and two if you get a kickback you run the risk of a running chain getting you in the neck.

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thetoolnut

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When dealing with felled trees, not hung up on anything, I would rather hold a saw above my head and limb in the air, as opposed to dulling my chain in the dirt.
Just sayin'.

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Limbing felled trees with large limbs that emerge from the main stem and loop over your head for example. Go to where the limb is level with your waist, use a step cut or sink and back cut thereby getting what was above your head safety on the ground where it can be processed further. I treat large limbs like small trees. The other option is a polesaw. Nothing says amateur to me more than some clown swinging a saw around above his head!

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happysaws

happysaws

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Limbing felled trees with large limbs that emerge from the main stem and loop over your head for example. Go to where the limb is level with your waist, use a step cut or sink and back cut thereby getting what was above your head safety on the ground where it can be processed further. I treat large limbs like small trees. The other option is a polesaw. Nothing says amateur to me more than some clown swinging a saw around above his head!

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I think the problem here is each person's idea, or definition of "limbs". A tree limb to me is less than 2" diameter. Anything bigger than that gets saved for firewood. Any branches over approx. 2" in diameter get severed from the tree around waist height, as you mentioned, before cutting smaller limbs or sticks off.

There's no way I'd cut anything bigger that that while it's hanging above my head... Common sense and basic physics laws come into play here.

Clowns are creepy... Especially if they're swinging chainsaws above their head. In fact, I'd probably run away screaming in terror if I saw something like that.

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