Any tips or tricks to working with a chainsaw?

reply to post by redoubt

Of course, trying to tell her this led to the 'Why don't you do it then?'

Why do they always say that?

They have figured it out...the easiest way to get you to do something is to start it themselves, especially if some danger is involved.

Here you go Gaz

This is the official Stihl video on how to safely use a chainsaw

I'd recommend watching all.

It's a bit long winded the actual instruction starts at about 36 minutes


Be careful my friend

Cody

Look man, I read your post before going to bed, and actually got back on here, because it had occurred to me that you probably weren't wearing gloves! Then I saw this:

I wonder if thick gloves would help absorb some of it....

It is absolutely crucial to use work gloves when operating a chain saw. Otherwise you will vibrate your arms off. Get thick leather ones.

reply to post by pronto


Given that

ONE CAN OF BEER already begins to degrade

FINE MOTOR COORDINATION

I think ANY alcohol and a chain saw is a horrific combo.

(Yes, I worked at an alcohol treatment center in one of my internships during my PhD program).

If anyone doubts the above, take a Mavis Beacon typing test without any alcohol in the system.

Drink one can of beer.

Take the SAME test again.

Drink 2 cans of beer, take the SAME test again . . . etc. as many as you ever drink in a 3-4 hour period.

Then realize that the same effects operate in motor vehicles.

Eye protection. Wood chips can fly out at all angles at relatively high velocities. Sunglasses, plastic chemistry goggles, etc, are all fine. Just make sure that if you are using something that has uncovered areas (sunglasses) that they are facing the blade.

I wear safety goggles (pretty much whenever working with wood chips, sparks, etc. flying anywhere near me). I did do the whole oil and greasing bit, etc. I had quite a bit of small pieces of wood flying at me.

Funny some mention the motions to make...I kind of found myself subconsciously doing that. I was wondering if that was right or not. Gel gloves...sound like a great idea. I typically hold the saw out in such a way that if there was kickback, it should hit dead air, not me.

Yeah, it's definitely gas. Out here I'd be shot for getting an electric chainsaw, I'm pretty sure.... I got a pretty decent one, but yeah, the safety factors scared the crap out of me at first, so I made sure to try and do what I could to be safe.

I'd never let anyone else do it, not on my property, I'd be liable. I don't want the kids (even though technically adults) even touching the thing....(which is no problem, as they are too scared to touch it, hehe).

Here you go Gaz

This is the official Stihl video on how to safely use a chainsaw

I'd recommend watching all.

It's a bit long winded the actual instruction starts at about 36 minutes

Thanks, it's worth the time to be a bit more safe when doing this.

reply to post by Gazrok


Learn to sharpen your chain,either by hand or electric sharpener and always carry two or three sharpened chains with you so you can swap out your chain in the woods if need be. I prefer to have a couple chains with me so i don't waste time sharpening them when i am working. Learn safety.. i have had a couple close calls ,and think physics when cutting a downed tree to prevent your chain and blade form getting pinched. Know the tension needed for your chain...don't over tighten and ALWAYS keep the bar lube filled.

Getting the damn things to start was a real problem for me...

Prime it at the button, excessively. Pump accelerator trigger twice. Pull choke all the way closed. Hit the trigger once, this will cause the open choke to close half-way. "With the switch in the on position" pull the starter one good pull.

After it starts, the blade is going to roll due to the speed of the engine. Let it cruise at that speed until it smooths-out, actuating the trigger will cause the choke to open and the engine will idle once letting the trigger lose.

This is only applicable to saws that are well maintained.

reply to post by BO XIAN


You are right....

Drinking and chainsaws don't go together. People at camp should make their wood before starting to drink. A small miscalculation can cost dearly. I don't think I have ever used a chainsaw while drinking, and I have been working with a saw for many years. I have seen people get hurt with saws and miscalculating the result of cuts. You can't be doped up with a saw.

reply to post by BO XIAN


G,day mate. negative bloke negative. the beer is for after. only a drongo would do or allow othewise.

Been running saws all my life and carve with them too. One of my small carving saws vibrated enough I bought some pipe insulation and taped it on the handle bar. I have big hands so this helped with both vibration and made the handle bigger and easier for me to hold, a good pair of gloves helps too. The saw does not need a death grip on it just enough grip to have control.

What ever you do keep you chain away from the ground or any dirt as it will dull it fast. If you can get a jack under the top end of the log and get it up off the ground and block it, it will save you learning about the log pinching your bar and keep the log off the ground for easy bucking off blocks.

If the saw wants to cut crooked, cuts really slow and is putting out fine dust the chain has become dull. Buy a new chain and or have your old one sharpened by a saw shop. Learning to sharpen chains can take awhile and can be frustrating.

A chainsaw is a great tool that can be a lot of fun, just always keep your mind concentrated on where the tip of your bar is for safety.

reply to post by Kreyvic


And........ the most annoying thing about sharpened blades is make sure when you sharpen it, take some swipes at the depth guage! they are in between the teeth and set the dept of the cut. As you sharpen the blade it will cut, but smaller and smaller bites, unless you lower the gauge each time. they have to be ground down.

Depth gauge
The height difference between the position of the depth gauge and the tip of the tooth (depth gauge clearance) determines how much the cutting tooth will cut. It works much like a plane. When the plane is set up with minimal cutting blades, the plane takes a very little amount of wood. The same thing happens with the saw chain if the distance between the depth gauge clearance lip and the tip of the tooth is too small. It is also not good if the depth gauge clearance lip has been filed down too much. The cutting tooth will then cut too deeply into the wood. The cut is more aggressive with high vibrations as a result. The risk of kickback increases and the chainsaw is exposed to unnecessary stress.

www.husqvarna.com...

The sharper the blade, the lower the gauge, the more you cut, the faster your done. Less vibration

Yep, it's tricky, because to start it, you have to put it on the ground and use a foot to hold secure. I've been starting it up either in the garage or by the horse walker, where I have some concrete to securely hold it with my foot, while the blade is over the edge and touching only air. I then just carry it, while idling, to where I need to use it. A pain if it stops though...more walking, but I've heard too much about the dirt.

reply to post by Gazrok

I like to mix b12 chemtool in with my fuel mixture, it keeps the fuel system cleaner...about a cap-full per gallon.

The same in a spray can works wonders on the air cleaning element, my jeep loves me for it.

reply to post by Gazrok


What sort of saw did you purchase?

Originally posted by All Seeing Eye
reply to post by Kreyvic

 

And........ the most annoying thing about sharpened blades is make sure when you sharpen it, take some swipes at the depth guage! they are in between the teeth and set the dept of the cut. As you sharpen the blade it will cut, but smaller and smaller bites, unless you lower the gauge each time. they have to be ground down.

Depth gauge
It is also not good if the depth gauge clearance lip has been filed down too much. The cutting tooth will then cut too deeply into the wood. The cut is more aggressive with high vibrations as a result. The risk of kickback increases and the chainsaw is exposed to unnecessary stress.

www.husqvarna.com...

Yea the risk of kickback is increased. The cut is aggressive but vibration is not much of a problem if you let the teeth do the work, don't push to hard in big wood, let the bar and chain sort of float but keeping an eye out for kickback. Its something that takes many hours of cutting to master. I run my chain much of the time with low rakes, rapid super on a high power saw and have very little problems with kickback and vibration. In fact if you have these you are just not running operating the saw properly for the chain condition. But I know guys that have cut for years that don't like grabby chain, high profile teeth. My thing is that I cut in a wood yard as a sawyer for a good spell and learned that chain, or anything can be modified for performance levels not offered by factory spec for any number of reasons.

www.superiorglove.com...

As others have said, let it work for you, don't apply pressure. With a good, well lubed chain you shouldn't have to. Cut down a few tree's and pay attention to everything you're doing as you do it, and you'll be an expert at it in no time.

And Diamond blades are the best IMO.

Originally posted by 12m8keall2c
reply to post by Gazrok

 

I find that with larger diameter branches and such it's best to "rock" the saw like a teeter totter.

THAT and a GOOD Sharp blade is A MUST.

Oregon brand blades are among the best , imho.

Give the limb a slight undercut and then come down on the cut. It allows the top cut to open as you cut down into the wood and avoid pinching.

Hitting the dirt with the chain while trying to cut something laying on the ground will guarantee you a dull chain.

Pladuim

reply to post by Logarock


Poulan® 18 in. 40 cc Wild Thing Chainsaw . It seemed pretty decent for the money, got good reviews. When I got it, I was just looking for something to do some light work really....not the kind of project I'm currently doing (I didn't envision lightning taking half of a huge oak down)... But, to my surprise, it's actually cutting through these large branches like butter. I actually wanted the PRO version of the 20", but my wife talked me out of it at the time...and that was the one I was thinking of when I mentioned getting a good one, hehe.

reply to post by Gazrok


Poulan has a place in the saw world. In fact many saws over the years, many name brands are actually Poulan. Sears Craftsman is an example. Several of the big pro brands started making a good consumer, homeowner saw just to hedge in on that area of the market that Poulan took over years ago. My first modern saw was a big Poulan.