Occupation: Fallers

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.

45-4021.00 | 18 tasks | 8 job titles

Reported Job Titles

(8)
  • Cutter Operator
  • Logger
  • Sawyer
  • Timber Cutter
  • Timber Faller
  • Tree Faller
  • Tree Feller
  • Tree Topper

Core Tasks

(13)
  • Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
  • 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.
  • Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
  • Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
  • Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
  • Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
  • Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
  • 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.
  • Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
  • Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
  • Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
  • Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
  • Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.

Supplemental Tasks

(5)
  • Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.
  • Load logs or wood onto trucks, trailers, or railroad cars, by hand or using loaders or winches.
  • Mark logs for identification.
  • Work as a member of a team, rotating between chain saw operation and skidder operation.
  • Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.