Drop A Small Diameter Leaner Safely And Easily

Small diameter leaners are a special problem for everyone who uses a chainsaw.  Firewood cutters cut defective trees like the one in the video to improve their timber while they build their wood pile for winter, and loggers have to deal with trees like this on a daily basis as they clean their workspace around trees they are cutting.  The method I was taught involves repeated shaving cuts on the heavy side of the tree until it folds over.  Trust me; dozens of shaving cuts take a lot of time, and it is fatiguing to raise and lower your saw.  Because there hasn't been an easy, effective method of dropping these little buggers, I see a lot of this when I am on my woods-walks.

Watch the video a few times before you head to the woods with your saw, and give this method a try.  I think you will like it as much as I do.  Make the hinge a bit thicker than you normally would when cutting a leaner, and be very careful to punch through parallel to the front face.  If you blow out your hinge with a poorly aimed cut you may trap your saw.