How to Use a Chainsaw Safely To Prevent Accidents

The Impatient Farmer ^ | 02/08/2022 | Joe Franklin

[fireman15]

Chainsaws are an important tool in any homeowner’s tool shed. From trimming trees to clearing fallen branches, there is no quicker way to cut through thick branches or take down a tree.

In fact, you won’t get a tool with more power per inch than a chainsaw. But all that power comes responsibility.

The chain of the chainsaw moves anywhere from fifty to even eighty miles per hour at full throttle, cutting through the thickest branches with ease. Just imagine what this tool can do to your fingers or toes after a small moment of distraction.

[fireman15]

I woke up to the sound of a chainsaw nearby this morning. I looked out my front window across the runway we live on and saw several pickups and around ten guys wearing workman type helmets. Someone had put a rope about 30 feet up a 120-foot-tall fir tree and all the guys were lined up and putting tension on the rope pulling it directly at themselves. From my vantage point I could see that nearly all of them were not as far away as they should have been.

A couple minutes later the guys all started pulling on the rope and the tree came down. Fortunately, the tree came down a little to one side of the line of guys as they all scrambled to get away from it. It missed the neighbor's house by a good 30 feet so that was a relief because in my judgment it was a keystone cop type of operation.

A couple of them appeared to have been slightly injured but all were still able to continue, and they descended on the fallen behemoth with a chorus of chainsaws. First they removed most of the branches and then they cut it into firewood sized pieces. With the price of lumber and the number of people with portable sawmills around here this seems like a huge waste, but it is not my tree, so it is none of my business. I am just glad that their operation apparently resulted in no serious injuries or damage to a house.

I have cut down dozens of large trees in the last few years, most very close to structures. Some had to be sectioned down from the top. I climbed to a much higher spot to place lines on all that did not need to be topped and sectioned down. I used pulleys for a change of direction and mechanical advantage, on those lines. I have a little electric powered winch on my garden tractor with a wireless remote, but I didn't want it damaged thus the change of direction on the lines.

[Magnum44]

[Magnum44]

[fireman15]

Now that is a good one!

[Rio]

I’ve learned a lot from watching this guy’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLIEYvHMS8U&t=1926s

[blueunicorn6]

8. There is nothing unmanly about dropping the chainsaw and running away.

[Magnum44]

[katana]

From trimming trees to clearing fallen branches

Or extracting information from a flunky working for a competing organization.

[Magnum44]

[V_TWIN]

Rule #1 when hiring a tree surgeon.....verify they are bonded and insured.

[Track9]

Number 7 is a lucky number. /

[crz]

Oh this ought to be good.

Waiting for all the experts commenting.

[Ellendra]

Someone had put a rope about 30 feet up a 120-foot-tall fir tree and all the guys were lined up and putting tension on the rope pulling it directly at themselves. From my vantage point I could see that nearly all of them were not as far away as they should have been.

The one time I participated in such an activity, everyone was lucky the guy in charge knew what he was doing. I and the rest of the crew were all high school students, mostly from the city, and none of us had a clue. But he had two teams on separate ropes, forming an equilateral triangle, with the tree being the peak. He even measured to make sure nobody would get swiped by any of the side branches. He was good, the trees always landed exactly where he wanted them. I wish more crews had someone like that, because I've seen a lot that were more like what you described!

[V_TWIN]

Still hard to watch the unedited version

[V_TWIN]

Just like gun threads

[moehoward]

Oh dear God..... THAT is hilarious.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Good thing for Tony that the girls in the street turned down his distracted partner.

[rey]

Just finished a USFS Sawyer class. My sense of humor is really waning on this stuff. It’s amazing what a knowledgeable person who thinks things through and takes their time can safely do.

[The Antiyuppie]

My number one rule on chainsaw safety is not to put gas in it. I’ve used and misued tools that would seem much more dangerous but I won’t touch one.

[eldoradude]