Occupational Employment Statistics
45-4021 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.
Minnesota
| 130 | 47 | $28.17/hr | $27.35/hr | $27.84/hr | $28.12/hr | $28.12/hr | $29.67/hr |
Natural Resources and Mining | 130 | $28.12/hr |
- Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
- 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.
- Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- 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.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.