Choosing and Using a Saw

Felling saws have been used by trail crews instead of bucking saws for several reasons. They are light and flex easily to conform to a backpack or horse pack. Although a felling saw is generally used by two persons, when it is filed properly and the cut is close to vertical, it can be used easily by one. However, with cuts much off the vertical, the free end will droop on the push stroke and oscillate violently on the return stroke.

Saws made today have solid ends (the teeth don't run to the ends of the saw). These saws are adequate for bucking and felling. But for finishing some cuts, for example, a log lying in the dirt, you need a saw with teeth right to the ends. When acquiring a crosscut saw, choose the tooth-ended saw.

An effective saw guard can be made of a section of old firehose, preferably rubber-lined, that has been slit along its length. A guard that is removed often can be fastened with Velcro to speed removal and replacement.

An old firehose used as a saw guard

To carry a saw, lay it flat across your shoulder with the teeth guarded and facing away from your neck. Remove the rear handle so it won't catch on brush or limbs. In a group, you should walk last in line.

A saw should have better protection than firehose when being transported. An accidental blow with a tool or hitting the saw against the side of a vehicle will cause the teeth to cut through the hose and be dulled. One effective way to transport a saw is between two pieces of plywood that are bolted together.

The first step in cutting a log is swamping. Remove any brush, plants, and so forth, that may interfere with the saw. Something as seemingly insignificant as a blade of grass between the teeth and kerf can jam a saw.

Check the lay of the log and decide what will happen when the log is cut. Will it roll, jump, or drop? Plan your cuts accordingly. Sometimes it will be safe only to have one person sawing, such as when the log is on a slope. Saw from the uphill side.

Before making the cut, remove the bark where the saw will pass. Bark often has dirt in it, and some say bark can dull a saw rapidly.

When cutting green wood, sap may stick to the saw blade and gradually build up to where the saw blade will bind in the kerf. To prevent this, the saw blade should be lubricated occasionally or when the blade gets sticky. Traditionally, kerosene was the solvent of choice to loosen resin stuck on the saw. Today, citrus-based solvents are recommended because they do a good job and present less risk of causing health problems or environmental contamination.

Solvents, for this purpose, traditionally were kept in a small, flat hip flask that was carried comfortably in a back pocket. If the cork in the flask had two to three small grooves cut down its length, the blade could be covered evenly with a thin film of kerosene by whisking the corked bottle along the saw blade.

Today, plastic squeeze bottles, spray bottles, and pressurized aerosol cans offer different—although not necessarily better— alternatives to corked flasks.

Make sure the saw doesn't get in dirt or rocks while finishing a cut. Make the last few strokes with the end of the saw so that if the saw gets in the dirt, only the end teeth are dulled. Put a piece of bark under the log, if possible, when there is a chance of running the saw into the dirt. If necessary, dig the log free where the saw will pass. The object is to keep the saw sharp as long as possible.

Though not recommended, a saw can be touched up in the field. An improvised vise can be made by cutting a slot in a stump or log and wedging the saw into the slot with some wood slivers. Usually only a file is available in the field, so only the cutter teeth can be touched up. Remember, don't overfile. It is better to leave the saw just a little dull than to shorten the tooth by overfiling.

If a saw has a raker that is catching badly, it can be shortened a slight amount until the saw cuts smoothly again. Be sure to shorten only the offending raker. It is sometimes difficult to determine which one is catching.

A leaning tree might have grown so the fibers are quite compressed on one side. It may be possible to only sink the saw teeth in only a couple of inches before the teeth bind. When this happens, chop out the severed wood with an ax, saw a few more inches and repeat the process.

Often, a log will be lying so that the kerf begins to close on the saw before a cut is completed. This occurs when the wood is under compression as when a log is supported at the ends and the cut is made in the middle. In some cases, the cut can be continued by driving a wedge into the kerf behind the saw. This won't work when there is not enough room to drive a wedge to open the kerf, so the log must be cut from the bottom, or "underbucked."

Generally, this should be done by one person with one handle removed from the saw. This reduces the chance of the saw being kinked or broken if the log carries it to the ground. To underbuck, plant an ax in the log so the handle can be used as a support for the back of the saw. Cut a small notch in the handle for a guide. Some lubricant in the notch will let the saw cut easily and reduce ax handle wear. The spring of the ax handle will hold the saw in the cut with uniform pressure. A log or rock can be placed under one side of the cut to hold up the log so it will be less likely to carry the saw to the ground as the cut is completed. A mechanical underbucker also can be used in place of an ax.

Use an ax for support to underbuck a log.