What's the skinny on chain saws?

[amirm]

As some of you know, I have a wood fired oven. Being the frugal type, I like to use dead wood from our own property to burn in it. When doing some remodeling, we would up a number of large trees that are laying on the ground now (Alder).

Over the years, I have bought many garden tools but one that I have not is a chainsaw. Had a family member suffer a kickback and the saw hit his shoulder. He lived far away then so I don't know the extent of injury but was enough to get him into a hospital.

On the other side, I see people using them to carve ice and such as if it is a chisel.

Folks want a lot of money to cut down the tree into logs for me (I have a log splitter so that is all I need). So much so that it is cheaper to buy the wood than to have my trees cut down!

So question is, how safe are chainsaws? Should I continue to have the fear that I have now and have someone else cut them down? Or should I go ahead and get one? Anyone with chainsaws and want to share their view and experience?

 

[mep]

Amir-I lived in Maine for 12 years and I’m very familiar with chainsaws. The first thing you do when you move to Maine is figure out who will plow your driveway and who you will buy your wood from. Unless you are very wealthy, you have to burn wood in Maine to heat your house because everything else is too expensive.

I used to by my wood by the flatbed truckload. The truck could carry 5 cords of tree-length wood. It had a grappling hook to unload it. I would spend the summer cutting, splitting, and stacking my wood in order to get me through the winter. The chainsaw of choice in Maine was the Jonsered. They are made in Sweden and they are the Mercedes-Benz of chainsaws.

Chainsaws are very dangerous and they can change your life in a second if you are careless or clumsy. Don’t even think about drinking any alcohol before you pick one up. You need all your senses at the highest state of alert. Chainsaws are very unforgiving.

Since you are a man of means, I wouldn’t risk using one if I was you. You need to have a pair of steel-toes shoes, eye protection, and ear protection. You also need to have a chain sharpener and the proper size file to keep the chain sharp. There is also 2 cycle gas to mix and the lube for the chain that constantly has to be filled. They are a pain in the ass.

When I moved to Indiana from Maine, the first thing I did was get rid of my Jonsered chainsaw and smile every time I adjusted my thermostat. The joke with heating with wood is that it heats you 6 times. It heats you when you cut it, it heats you when you split it, it heats you when you stack it, it heats you when you carry it into the house, it heats you when you burn it, and it heats you when you carry out the ashes.

Owning a chainsaw to cut up wood for your grill seems like vast overkill to me. Plus the danger factor involved. I would steer clear of it.

 

[amirm]

Thanks Mark. That fits my current understanding. FYI, chip my own wood and so have quite a bit of safety gear to go with that including ANSI rated face mask and Helmet, respirator, ear plugs and such. As you say with chopping wood, it is also a lot of work and I don't have the stamina for it that I once had.

FYI, I have found a mostly safe chainsaw which I used for smaller branches. It is made by Black & Decker: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000BANMUY/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=286168&s=garden

Alas, it only goes through 4 inches or so and hence my question above.

I have found a nice way to split logs. I will post in another thread.

 

[DonH50]

I've been using one off and on since I was a kid (well, physically; mentally, still there!) There's a reason loggers have the highest accident rate of all professions, but a lot of it has to do with losing focus and getting too comfortable (invincible) around one. Yes, they are dangerous, but so is driving a car. That said, having had a few near misses not always my fault, I am pretty wary when I pull mine out. And, it does take some practie to become comfortable with one, and build enough skill to use one safely. well, as safely as you can. Some of the things that go wrong despite all precautions are hitting a green patch, or a knot, or a nail or spike in the tree. A friend got ripped up pretty badly when his chainsaw hit an old nail and the chain broke, flipping up and around to lay him open virtually head to toe. It was not a pretty sight... Anyway, though I still pull mine out as needed, I pay a local guy (actually, a father/son team) to take down big trees and sometimes for trimming because it is so much faster, cheaper, and safer.

OTOH, dry deadwood is pretty easy to rip through. As is flesh, and one little accident would likely cost as much as a lot of loggers' hours. Tough call. If you have the funds, that is one job that I would hire out.

 

[JackD201]

Wow. I had no idea. Now I know why you need a special license to buy one over here. I thought it was just to curb illegal logging.

 

[DonH50]

True story: I worked as a TV/stereo repair tech for many years, doing everything from replacing tubes/transistors/modules to installing antennas. On a job with a friend, he drew short straw and was doing the high (antenna mounting) work whilst I was doing the inside job (drilling through walls etc.) As luck would have it, there were overhanging limbs from a tree near the house we needed to trim with our little 12" chain saw. While he was up the tree, with a couple of big toolboxes and stuff spread on the lawn and sidewalk, an enterprising thief starting picking stuff up and cramming it in the toolboxes. I yelled at my friend, who shimmied down the tree while yelling at the thief. Thief speeds up until friend gets to the bottom (I was running out from inside the house). As I round the corner, thief stops, drops one toolbox, and pulls out a knife. My friend, another good ol' boy, looks at him for a second, then reaches around his belt to unhook and fire up the little chain saw. Thief's eyes reach approximately 12.63" in diameter as he drops everything (including the knife) and takes off running. We call police and have a good laugh. Homeowner (nice elderly lady) saw it all and wanted to know where she could buy a little chainsaw of her own.

 

[amirm]

That's a great story!!!

 

[RBFC]

In bad, poorly-lip-synched, English: "So, you know chain-saw-fu!"

Lee

 

[Steve Williams]

Great story Don

For me the answer is simple. Even if I needed to fell some trees on my property , prune out trees or whatever, I call my arborist. It's worth the money for me to have the peace of mind that I am not going to get injured. I usually have this done every 2-3 years with an average cost per tree of $75

If I need firewood, I buy it

Just my $0.02 of course.

 

[amirm]

If I need firewood, I buy it

I use a dozen logs to heat our oven for an average cook. That is a fair bit to keep buying. And besides, I like recycling what is on our property. Somehow, it makes the food taste better that part of it came from your land .

Appreciate the rest of the points. It is hard though to need tool and not be able to buy it.

 

[DonH50]

You can get nice little 18" Poulan Pro or Stihl and go for it -- carefully! (Actually, I have no doubt you will find something way fancier/nicer than anythng I have used.) Read the manual, and start with small stuff (but not too small, 2" - 4") well-braced to get a feel for the beast. Leather chaps and duster, steel-toed boots, eye and ear protection, heavy gloves...

Leave dropping the big trees to the experts for a bit. Trust me on this...

 

[mep]

Sawing wood in the hot sun
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won

I needed wood 'cause I had none
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won

I cut off my leg and it feels so bad
Guess my race is run
She's the best leg that I ever had
I fought the saw and the saw won
I fought the saw and the saw won

 

[amirm]

Don't let anyone tell you that you are not funny Mark.

 

[rsbeck]

"I fought the saw and the saw won."

Nice.

 

[DonH50]

Mental note: Do not ask Mark to help with the tree trimming, at least without double-checking liability limits...

 

[rsbeck]

Never use a chain saw to trim your nose hair.

 

[amirm]

What if you had eyebrows like Andy Rooney?

I assume it is OK to use Chainsaw on that. No?

 

[rsbeck]

I'd suggest a riding lawn mower.

 

[rsbeck]

If you do use a chain saw on your eyebrows, make sure to direct the blade away from you.

 

[rsbeck]

Make a mistake and you could dull your blade!