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| Underbucking |
While a two-man crosscut saw could not be used for felling a tree by one man alone -- the blade would sag of its own weight and bind -- it could and was used by one man to buck logs. There were situations where it had to be done, such as bucking a log on a hillside where the log, once cut, would roll onto a man on the downhill side, and also where the log was supported on both ends and the kerf would close and bind if cut from the top. On a small log, it might even bind before there was room to put a wedge in. Hence, it would be cut from the bottom by one man (there was seldom room for a second man). There was a device with a roller that could be driven into the log to support the saw, but it was also common to use the handle of an ax driven into the tree, as shown here.