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Fallers

Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.

What you’d do

  • Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
  • Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
  • Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
  • Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
  • Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
  • Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
  • Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
  • Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.

Skills that matter

  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Monitoring
  • Time Management

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Logger
  • Timber Cutter
  • Timber Faller
  • Tree Faller
  • Bucker
  • Cutter Operator

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