Thread: Chainsaws!!!

I have a Jonsered, great saw almost identical to the Huskys.

Eyes and Ears, gloves help.

Used them, scare me, found that even though they're not as "manly" as the big gas ones the Electric powered chain saws cut almost everything that I needed cut. And if they couldn't I should be doing it myself anyway.
The last 2 gas one that I had my wife asked me to loan to her brother who had some trees to cut down. Yes, a year later, I asked if he was done; only to have him tell me that they didn't work and he couldn't put them back together!
Go Electric.

got 3 myself and theold man has a 066 stihl with a 36in bar got 1 echo 1 poulan and one old ( manual oiler old)homolite . learn how to use a hand round file and good luck just one tip always make sure you have oil in the damn thing fill that fist so you dont get dstracted or anything else like that and fill the gass but no t the oil and burn your bar.

Some basic safety procedures ..... always start the chain going before you begin the cut. IOW don't lay it on the wood and hit the throttle. If you ever bind the saw in the work stop and see-saw it out to where it is loose. Don't ever raise the saw overhead to cut something higher than your head. Make sure your chain is adjusted properly and replace it if it is worn. Just like you don't use a pocket knife cutting towards your body ... don't do it with a chainsaw either. Make sure you are in the clear of the bar/chain and whatever is going to fall once it is cut. Knew of a guy who cut his opposite hand off when he made a miscue cutting tree limbs.

+1 to what JimmyHAD says above. Also, when you finish a cut, don't take either hand off the saw until the chain has STOPPED.

Trust me on this one.

It doesn't take much to make a chainsaw kick back. Even a small bit of brush or a little twig can do it if you catch it at the right angle. My mistake was to take my right (trigger) hand off the saw before the blade stopped completely. The chain then caught a small branch and kicked back into my leg. In the end I removed a chunk of leg about the size of a middle finger, but lived to tell the tale. I was very lucky.

If you're planning on cutting much, particularly if you're getting into roots or anything else near the ground, do yourself a favour and buy a second chain. It's a whole lot easier and quicker to swap out a chain than it is to sharpen or to take it in for sharpening. Mud, dirt, etc., can be murder on a blade and will dull them quickly. And chains aren't that expensive.

Anyone reading this looking for a tough-as-nails saw, Stihl is what the pros tend to use in most places.

I've done a bit of chainsaw work as a State Emergancy Service volunteer. Completed a rigorous chainsaw and safety course before I was let loose. We used to practice on fallen timber before felling live trees. Turned a few big stumps into nice straight backed chairs and left them attached to the ground for the next course to admire.

If you can't get a course under your belt, which I would recommend, since they teach you everything from sharpening in the field to proper angles of attack and of course correct safety. Then at the very least, get the right PPE, head, eyes, ears, hands and something not mentiond by anyone else here yet, a set of chaps. Not the leather cowboy kind, but the padded ones used by people who use chainsaws alot. They are designed to bind the chainsaw to a stop in the event you get a kick back into your leg. The chaps are filled with a heap of compressed cotton wool or similar.

A hard hat with face shield, as well as safety glasses worn underneath would also be advisable. Chainsaws when mis-used can kick back into your head as well as your legs. When they do kick, there just ain't no stopping them. It happens hard and fast!


Mick

BigSpendur,

Found you some of those chaps Mick was talking about. Don't forget to wear pants under them. :

Well not quite, but whatever tickles ya fantasies...


Mick

P.S On the serious side again. Steel cap boots!

Many good advice here. Try and read some manuals (on who to use, keep it close to your body + tired arms and backs are your worst enemy). Husky (and Jonsered, it's the same company now = same saws) and Sthil makes good saws, I think. Often you don't need a very large one (the long swords are for experienced users, buy one with a 15 inch sword) and often you can get by with a good electric one (like Makita), it'll take down smaller to medium trees, but if you need something to take down many trees in the same day a gas one prob. is better... Take it easy and many breaks + never cut anything over your shoulders. Good luck!

Here is my usual chainsawing get up, I took these for my younger brother who operates his in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. My base layer is one of my old uniforms relegated to farm usage.



I don't have a protective saw fouling shirt but I figure as long as a keep both hands on the saw I should be fine. Along with the helmet/face shield/earmuffs, I will wear safety glasses and sometimes earplugs if I don't have ear buds in.

I want a bigger Stihl the thing with that is I only need it for 4 trees once I cut them my little saw pictured will be fine. The chaps do work I nicked the top cover one day while the saw was coasting down, and it pulled some of the fouling innards out. Just like you all say with SR shaving go slow take your time and learn how to do it. There are many good instructional videos on line done by universities, forestry orgs., and cooperative extensions.

Oh it is also good to buy a second chain and rotate them out to reduce and change the wear patterns on the drive sprocket, bar and the chain it self. Plus it is always good to have second one handy when you saw through a nail or piece of fence that has grown into the wood.