SECOND CLASS SCOUT

Safe Working Area

YOU must have plenty of room in which to swing an ax. Check your clearance by holding your ax by the head and slowly swinging the handle at arm's length all around you. Select an area that is free of brush and branches. Be certain other people stay at least ten feet away while you are cutting.

In a long-term camp using lots of firewood, rope off an ax yard large enough to provide the space you need to work, and enter the yard only to chop and saw wood. Clean up chips, bark, and other debris of cutting when you are finished.