Things You'll Need:
- Chain saw
- Gas
- Bar oil
- Warm clothes
- Sledgehammer or ax
- Splitting wedge
- Emergency preparedness kit
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Step 1
Find a suitable tree to cut for firewood. Ideally, you will be looking for a dead hardwood tree that is still upright and can be felled without having to remove any other trees. A tree that is larger than nine inches in diameter may be too heavy to easily haul away.
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Step 2
Make sure you have a safe working area prior to cutting down the tree. Remove any obstructions that may cause you to stumble, and trim back any sharp branches that may present a hazard. Also, keep an eye out for any loose branches that may fall once you start cutting.
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Step 3
Use your chain saw to cut down the tree by making a 30-degree cut near its base. The angled cut will dictate the direction in which the tree will fall. Your saw should be going full speed before you initiate the cut and you need to make sure you stay out of the saw's cutting plane. Release the throttle on the chain saw when the tree starts to fall, and move quickly and carefully away from the tree.
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Step 4
Use the chain saw to carefully cut the branches off the tree and to cut the tree trunk into manageable sections that you can haul out of the woods.
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Step 5
Haul the tree-trunk sections out of the woods as soon as possible. Hauling the wood out can be accomplished using any number of effective methods, but it is always hard work.
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Step 1
Place a log on its end in the middle of a flat portion of ground where the surrounding area is free from tree branches or other obstructions.
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Step 2
Position the splitting wedge near the middle of the exposed face of the log. Use a sledgehammer or the back of an ax to tap the wide end of the splitting wedge until the point of the wedge is securely embedded in the wood.
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Step 3
Use heavy strokes of the sledge hammer or ax to drive the wedge deeply into the wood. At some point, the embedded wedge will cause the log to split into sections
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Step 4
Stack the sections of wood in a sheltered area where it will remain dry and ready for use.
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Step 5
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until you have cut and stored all the wood.
