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Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
Many specialized trail tools can make your trail experience either enjoyable or miserable, depending on whether you have the right tool at the right time and know how to use it. Here are some basics; check the references for more detailed information.
Right up front, here are some key rules:
Your most important tool is your brain—use it.
Always use proper personal protective equipment like hardhats, gloves, and safety glasses. Make sure a job hazard analysis has been approved and a safety plan is being followed. Select the right tools for the job. Carefully inspect them before you use them. Make sure handles are sound, smooth, and straight, and heads are tight.
Pace yourself. Take rest breaks, and keep your mind on your work. Trade off on tools occasionally for relief from repetitive stresses.
Keep cutting tools sharp. A dull tool makes your work harder and more dangerous.
Before you start, clear away any brush or limbs that might catch a swinging tool unexpectedly.
Posture is important. Stand comfortably in balance. Adjust your stance and tool grip continually to prevent slipping and to avoid glancing blows. Be especially careful when working in wet, slippery conditions.
Be thinking about the consequences of every move. If you are working with a rock or log, think ahead so you are not standing in the wrong place when it moves. Be ready to toss your tool aside and jump free. Avoid cutting toward any part of your body, and watch out for your coworkers. Use skill, not brute force.
When carrying, loading, or storing a cutting tool, cover the blade with a sheath to protect both the sharp edge and yourself. In vehicles, make sure tools are fastened down.
Maintain at least 3 m (10 ft) between workers as a safe operating distance when using individual chopping and cutting tools.
Carry sharp tools at your downhill side. Grasp the handle at about the balance point with the sharpened blade forward and down. If you fall, throw the tool clear.
At the job site, lay tools temporarily against a stump or downed log with blades directed away from passing workers. Never sink double bit axes, Pulaskis, mattocks, or similar double-edged tools into the ground or in stumps where they become dangerous obstacles.
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