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Thread: How To Use A Chainsaw - Training. Brilliant day!!!

  1. #1
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    How To Use A Chainsaw - Training. Brilliant day!!!

    In december, I signed up for a How to use a chainsaw training. Covid and cold weather made it difficult to point a date, but today was the day. A brilliant day! I was the only non-professional in the classroom. Other attendees were fire brigade personnel, H&S officers from large roadbuilding companies and a zookeeper working with gorillas. Her stories about these animals are worth a separate thread, I can tell you*).

    Before today, I'd never touched a chainsaw in my life - but I have hundreds of trees on my land. There's the problem. And I'd promised my wife: first the training, then the purchase of a chainsaw. After spending a part of the morning in the classroom we went outside for an hour 'maintenance and safety'. That included sharpening the chainsaw. That's work for an artisan, but with some help... This course was not about felling a tree. That's a next step and it takes more that one day to get that certificate.

    After lunch we went to the forest and we had to handle some (already) cut trees. Fully geared up with the proper protective clothing. "No gear, no chainsaw." It was the first time I fired up a chainsaw. It went brilliant.

    I can safely say that it's well worth every penny (185 euros) and it has learned me a lot about how to operate safely. Recommended to if you ever want to cut a tree into logs for your fire.

    Some highlights: Still MS261 or Husqvarna 550xp MKII are on top of the list. Other good products are Dolmar and Echo. More important than the brand is the dealer. Going electric: Stihl's accupacks aren't as good as Husqvarna's. Battery powered chainsaws cause more injuries that petrol powered: the noise keeps people alert, is the idea. So-called top handle chainsaws are not allowed for use on the ground. Only for certified tree workers in cherry pickers etc. People who use machines on the ground are more prone to accidents. It reminded me of my time in the army: more harm is done with someone with a gun than with a rifle: it's so easy and nimble... you can point it everywhere!

    *) About gorillas and their strength: when a gorilla should have / use the correct technique, he would be able to throw a tennis ball over a distance between 230 - 250 meters. And perhaps even further after practice!

  2. #2
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    I have a Husky, my brother a Dolmer. Mine was double the price and his is better. Seems to do more cutting with less revving and isn’t anywhere near as sore on chains.

    Mines a pain to start when hot too.

    I’d buy a Stihl though, if buying again.

  3. #3
    Master Kirk280's Avatar
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    I bought a cheap electric chainsaw last weekend just to cut a few logs up. I’ve never handled a tool with as much respect in my life!

  4. #4
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirk280 View Post
    I bought a cheap electric chainsaw last weekend just to cut a few logs up. I’ve never handled a tool with as much respect in my life!
    85% of all chainsaw-related accidents are the result of bad maintenance or a blunt chain according to the trainer. In a perfect world, one should sharpen the chain's teeth every time you emptied the fuel tank - rather difficult to establish when using an electric one.

    Did you get proper gear? Chainsaw chaps for your legs are a (bare!) minimum.

  5. #5
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    I've used chainsaws most of my adolescent and adult life.
    They are great tools, to be respected in all situations, and feared in the wrong hands.
    I disagree about the safety of electrics, my little top-handle Makita is the safest thing, because when you are up a tree and it is dangling from your waist, it is totally inactive (petrol top-handles are left dangling on idle, or need to be pull-started, which is a pain). If you need noise to respect a saw, you need your future told you, in no uncertain terms.
    The best tip I have ever got is to deburr the teeth when you sharpen. You file them all to an even top edge, then getting a scrap piece of softwood, gently tap down on the outer edge of all of the teeth. This stops the leading edge being ripped off when you start cutting, and you'll find each sharpen lasts longer.
    Menno, if you are going to fell trees, please do that course too, and start on small stuff. It is a genuine skill that needs mastery.
    Dave

    ps - Our family are and have always been Stihl people.
    Last edited by sweets; 17th February 2021 at 22:23. Reason: add ps

  6. #6
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Husky owner here - done the training a few years ago, well worth doing.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  7. #7
    I have a lot of power tools, saws, machinery etc but the chainsaw is a tool not to be used without training, and even a professional can get complacent and it’s complacency that usually kills/injures when using a tool like this. Be aware of your surroundings and understand a light Stumble/trip/fall could result in you being seriously seriously injured or worse! Scary but true.


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  8. #8
    Grand Master GraniteQuarry's Avatar
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    Think I’ve got a Jonsered, it’s had a hard life and the branding’s worn off.

    Never had any training for it or disc saws, JCBs, cranes or oxy propane torches - how I’ve still got all my bits is a miracle.

  9. #9
    Master Kirk280's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    85% of all chainsaw-related accidents are the result of bad maintenance or a blunt chain according to the trainer. In a perfect world, one should sharpen the chain's teeth every time you emptied the fuel tank - rather difficult to establish when using an electric one.

    Did you get proper gear? Chainsaw chaps for your legs are a (bare!) minimum.
    Proper gear? Erm....no. But I will only use it for the simplest of straight cuts, and I promise not to drink whisky whilst using it!

  10. #10
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Menno, if you are going to fell trees, please do that course too, and start on small stuff. It is a genuine skill that needs mastery.
    Dave
    I fully agree with you! I have that done by professionals before I start with my saw. I'll PM you with a question.

    About the top handle saw. Under Dutch H&S laws, only a certified professional is allowed to use one, when in trees. Not on the ground (as I wrote earlier). In fact, Stihl and other brands won't sell you one when you're unable to show your personal certificate. And -again, under Dutch H&S- that machine isn't sold to large companies because there's no 'eye' on who's going to handle that machine.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Kirk280 View Post
    Proper gear? Erm....no. But I will only use it for the simplest of straight cuts, and I promise not to drink whisky whilst using it!
    Old boss thought exactly the same when he was only doing a few straight cuts and then the chain snapped.

    Luckily he'd put on his chaps. It just ain't worth the risk, you're not using a junior hacksaw.

  12. #12
    This is the sort of chainsaw you need for general garden maintenance. No need to go over the top with anything too powerful.

    https://youtu.be/u17ll043Ld8


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  13. #13
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    Good luck with the chainsaw, but be very careful as they bite. The number of times that my wife has returned home from work after dealing with missing fingers and severe cuts to limbs, is very high.
    The last one had just about severed his arm off.

  14. #14
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    I volunteer as a wood warden in our local woods. I haven't progressed past the brushcutting (glorified strimming) training (1 day) but may do the chainsaw crosscutting course when things return to normal as far as the work is concerned. All our chainsaws are Stihl.

  15. #15
    We have a small Stihl here. Have had it for maybe 15 years. Not used much these days but will occasionally cut a few logs on a sawhorse. Never had any training but it does get respect.
    Something quite satisfying about getting safely through a session with the saw and then using the splitting maul or log splitter and stacking away ( ooh my back)
    All this talk of safety and no mention of ear defenders?? Not the most essential item but boy do these set off the tinnitus

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    Master Maysie's Avatar
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    There is a 'safety' demonstration video on YouTube showing the damage a chainsaw can do to flesh. It uses a large ham to demonstrate the point that chainsaws 'rip' not 'cut' through the material and then shows the difference that proper chainsaw trousers make and how they work.

    Well worth a look as you will immediately buy some proper trousers before you use your chainsaw again if you dont already own them!

    I NEVER use my saw without proper trousers, boots, hat, visor and goggles on and always stop whenever I feel tired - as that is when it will bite you. I have used them for years and still have a healthy respect for them every time it comes out for use.

  17. #17
    Grand Master number2's Avatar
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    Regular chainsaw user just for logging, both petrol and electric, I treat the damn things like I would a great white shark or a salt water crocodile, very very carefully and with a huge amount of respect.
    "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

    'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.

  18. #18
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by number2 View Post
    I treat the damn things like I would a great white shark or a salt water crocodile.
    I do just that, too. Which for me means I give them a wide berth and leave them well alone
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  19. #19
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    I've got a little husky 135 mk2 that I have used without safety clothing then realised how lucky I had been, I've now got all the safety kit but not used the saw since I've bought it

  20. #20
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    I’ve got a few saws that I’ve acquired over the years my current favourite is a dewalt 18v which for the smaller stuff most folks will tackle is brilliant no messing with fuel after winter etc it just works, made short work of some llyandai (sp) when my sthil wouldn’t fire after 2 years layup fixed it now but it’ll take a lot for me not to reach for the battery stuff in future

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    85% of all chainsaw-related accidents are the result of bad maintenance or a blunt chain according to the trainer. In a perfect world, one should sharpen the chain's teeth every time you emptied the fuel tank - rather difficult to establish when using an electric one.

    Did you get proper gear? Chainsaw chaps for your legs are a (bare!) minimum.
    I go with a sharpen with each oil top up with my electric hursqvarna

  22. #22
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Amazing machines however I've been put off for life when the story was recounted by my wife how her next-door-but-one neighbour in Thailand used a chainsaw successfully to remove the arm off a teenage burglar he'd caught in his garden :(

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanb741 View Post
    Amazing machines however I've been put off for life when the story was recounted by my wife how her next-door-but-one neighbour in Thailand used a chainsaw successfully to remove the arm off a teenage burglar he'd caught in his garden :(
    In fairness I bet the wasn’t burgled again

  24. #24
    Grand Master Carlton-Browne's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirk280 View Post
    I bought a cheap electric chainsaw last weekend just to cut a few logs up. I’ve never handled a tool with as much respect in my life!
    I had the use of a mate's summer house in rural Sweden about 10 years ago and we needed to chop up some big logs so that we could heat the place. I suppose I was always used to the army mentality of there's a course for everything and I'd never done it - I used an axe and a saw for everything even though there was a chainsaw that my mate was strongly encouraging me to use. He has as much mechanical sympathy as Reg Prescott so it's a constant source of wonderment that he still has all his limbs (obviously he doesn't possess any safety clothing either).
    In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.

  25. #25
    Master
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    On the back of this just seen this offer
    https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7140...hainsaw:9:12:2

  26. #26
    Be careful mate, accedents happen so fast that you dont have time to think, before you know it your on the floor looking up wondering what the hell happened.

  27. #27
    Grand Master number2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lewie View Post
    On the back of this just seen this offer
    https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7140...hainsaw:9:12:2
    Many thanks - ordered.
    "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

    'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.

  28. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by lewie View Post
    On the back of this just seen this offer
    https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7140...hainsaw:9:12:2
    Thanks for that, literally yesterday I was thinking I should buy something like that. someone asked if they could borrow my chainsaw, its the one tool I would never lend out.

  29. #29
    Master Kirk280's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by number2 View Post
    Many thanks - ordered.
    +1. Many thanks.

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