Chainsaw kickback and safety

PhilNH5 · Apr 26, 2005

( I was commenting on the appearance and placement of the body on the ground. )

No reason to apologize. In the article the coroner noted the exact same thing ( Very little blood was present at the scene, except directly under the victim's head )

Phil

escavader · Apr 26, 2005

Been using them all my life never been cut,yes they can kick so fast you dont even feel the chainbrake engage.if you got an old saw without one-you use it...i aint!!!i cut 5-6 cord of firewood each year,been taught a couple rules of thumb:
always kee p your thumb[hanging onto the handlebar]around the underside of the bar-not ontop of it you have a better chance of slowing a kick
your a complete idiot if you run one or carry it with one hand
know where your bar tip is at all times
wear gloves-chains do come off
most chainsaw accidents happen when you are walking with it.it is so easy to pick up your leg to take a step and touch a moving chain on it.
no ive never had an accident with one
yes i have carpitunnel from the death grip i have on it
yes i do rough carpentry with it such as to cut the windows out of a pre sheathed wall[this plunge cut you had better be holding on]
yes im guilty of working my woodlot alone and yes this is STUPID STUPID STUPID.but i continue to do it.
ESCAVADER

goodoleboy · Apr 27, 2005

"If you take to heart all of the warnings of possible harm you can recieve, wiht all the equipment and chemicals you use, then you better get yourself a bubble built cause you wont be able to walk outside."

Varmitmaster,

Can you tell me where I can get one of those bubbles your speaking off? Ive looked at all over the place but no one seems to sell them? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Varmintmist · Apr 27, 2005

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

After you find one, you can use your new chainsaw to plungecut your way out /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

They are dangerous, they cut stuff. I would hazard to guess that more people die in pools than by chainsaws though.

The fact that you read the manuel says a lot. Learn what it can do, good and bad. Then go out and start on some nice downed stuff that is supported. If you have to, use your tractor to get the logs to a nice level area with 1/2 of it off the ground, and start cutting.

You will get the hang of it. Respect what the saw CAN do and you will be fine.
Fear is good and healthy. It is what you do with the fear that makes the difference.

SkyPup · Apr 27, 2005

Actually, allot more people die in their automobiles driving on the road on the way to get their chainsaw, than people that die out in the woods working with their chainsaws.

BTW, does anyone have any stories about any women chainsaw operators???? That does seem to be one purely non-feminist machine tool if their ever was one..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

bczoom · Apr 27, 2005

( Then go out and start on some nice downed stuff that is supported. If you have to, use your tractor to get the logs to a nice level area with 1/2 of it off the ground, and start cutting.)

Varmintmist,

Is this where we start mentioning the other accessories and tools needed?

Plastic wedges, cant hook...

PhilNH5 · Apr 27, 2005

Skypup,

( does anyone have any stories about any women chainsaw operators???? That does seem to be one purely non-feminist machine tool if their ever was one..... )

My wife would take exception to that remark. She is the primary user of our chain saw. Here is a link to a
TBN post on firewood
My wife cuts the wood to firewood lenght while I do the hand splitting. She runs a Stihl 025C that we purchased based on how well it felt in her hands. You can see pics of her running the saw in the posted link.

She is especially good at cutting large logs lying on the ground. Me - I wind up corkscrewing through them without ever getting a clean cut. She goes halfway through rolls the log and cleanly finishes the cut. I can't for the life of me figure this out since she has lousy spatial relations. She never bleieves me when I say "No honey the 8 foot sofa won't fit into that 6 foot space" And I have move the sofa twice just to show her it doesn't fit /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Phil

SkyPup · Apr 27, 2005

That's good for her! My wife is so scared of my six chainsaws that she will not even touch one, and she even has a concealed weapons permit! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

It would be great to have her help out on the 30 ton log splitter too, but she has absolutely no interest in assisting whatsoever. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

LBrown59 · Apr 27, 2005

Another tip
Don't place any part of your body in the kickback area

or the cut through path.

rancar · Apr 27, 2005

The only time I've experienced kick-back with my Stihl 044 is when I hit embedded barb wire or nails in tree trucks. For the past three years I've been removing hedgerows on the property. I'm always careful when I start cutting the log lengths into rounds at what was waist level height. Oftentimes, these trees were used when they were younger and smaller as fence posts. I've hit barb wire a couple times and despite quickly dulling what was a good chain, the kickback experience was quite jarring. I do what other posters have said. Always keep your hand on the handle and your elbow locked to minimize kick-back impacts.

...Bob

Varmintmist · Apr 27, 2005

Already suggested wedges /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I got my wife a chainsaw for her birthday, no kidding, it really is hers.

SkyPup · Apr 28, 2005

3/31/2005:

Jerry Walburn, 35, was cutting logs with a steel-bladed chainsaw in Bailey's Corners, Granville Center, Penn. when he hit a knot that whipped the chainsaw back and into the left side of his neck and ear, leaving a 7-inch gash.

Lyle Mosher, a friend who was with him at the time, was splitting logs when he heard a "ching," and the sound of the chainsaw hitting the ground.

"My God, what's going on here," Mosher thought. He saw Walburn moving toward the road.
Then he saw the wound.

Mosher, a former ambulance driver and emergency medical technician, immediately gave Walburn something to help slow the bleeding.

"It was an old, dirty glove, but it was all I had," Mosher said.
Walburn said he didn't immediately realize the severity of the cut until he reached up and felt the wound and found he could fit his entire hand into its cavity. He didn't know it then, but he had severed his jugular vein.

The two then climbed into Mosher's 1997 Lincoln Continental and started toward Troy Community Hospital, which was about eight miles away.

Mosher tried to call 911, but his cell phone could get no service. Sometimes reaching 90 miles per hour, they sped to the hospital.

"I used to drive an ambulance and I knew how."

Link

MikePA: Cleaned up long URL. Please review your message before posting it. It's simple not to do this. Just insert a descriptive word or two between the {url=http://whatever}Enter words here{/url} instead of the entire URL. Replace parentheses with brackets in previous example.

Green4Me · Apr 29, 2005

I have a Stihl 026 with 16" bar. This is a high revving powerful little saw. For firewood it is one of the best. As such it is a prime candidate for the dreaded kickback. I have owned this guy for over 10 years and cut a lot of wood with it. I would like to share some of the things that have worked for me over the years. Keep a sharp chain. When limbing, always run at low rpm and let the chain do the work. At low rpm you will get an occasional kick back, but it will be in a mild form that you can controll. When starting any cut, use low rpms untlii the chain is buried, then rev it up. Never use the spikes for cutting. A sharp chain needs no help. When cutting or limbing, a lot of the cuts have to be made on the top of the bar. To avoid trouble, always use the flat, straight top of the bar. Never have that chain spinning unless you know where the tip of the bar is. Do not operate when you are tired. Good luck to all.

Jagmandave · May 3, 2005

I just bought a metal cant hook, best thing I ever bought for chainsaw work. You hook it, roll the log up on it and it holds it just high enough that you don't hit

dirt when you cut thru, great tool! Northern tool has them for about $35, but it would be very easy to build yourself........

beenthere · May 3, 2005

Sorry to disagree. No offense meant.
But I couldn't agree with you less, and IMO the greatest risk of 'kickback' is when the chain is running slow (ie low rpm). When running slow, the chain teeth hook into wood, grab it rather than slicing through it, and the result is kickback.
I have a friend who I cut with sometimes, and he is always experiencing kickback, and IMO it is because he is teasing the cut, and not reving up the saw.
Don't want to get into an argument, and each can decide on their own. But I don't get any indication of kickback until I have slowed the rpm and the chain is coasting down. That is when it grabs the wood.
You are very correct in that a sharp chain is important. That we can agree on.
The weight of the saw is another deterrant to kickback, IMO. Small saws don't have the mass (weight) to absorb the sudden movement (caused by the chain hooking into and not cutting wood). Your arms and hands must resist the sudden change in direction.
Lightweight, slow moving electric chain saws have been my worst experience for kickback. They are like holding onto a bucking bronco. Nest worse is the small limbing gas saws.
Nope, high rpm is what I would recommend. A chain tooth cutting through wood rather than hooking into it will not be kicking back.

rancar · May 3, 2005

Interesting tool!!

I use a hookaroon to more or less accomplish the same thing. Only difference is I don't cut the rounds completely through when the log in on the ground. I cut about 80-90% through and turn the log over 180 degrees with the hookaroon to complete the cut. The hookaroon is a bit less expensive, smaller, and may be easier to use in tight spaces. Forestry Suppliers sells theirs for $25.95.

...Bob

woodlot · May 3, 2005

Escavader - you mentioned that accidents can happen when walking with the saw and the saw bumps somthing like your leg. If the chain on your saw is spinning at idle please stop using it and have it adjusted ASAP. It should NOT spin at idle. I'm sure you know this, but I wanted to point that out to you or anyone else who read your post.

Secondly, those pictures and that study need scrutiny. I know they are peer reviewed, but nothing in that study says these deaths were due to kick-back. The study does say that is the "most likely" cause but offers no explination for these specific cases why it is "most likely." Did anyone else think the pictures and discription of the accident scene in the first case strange? Why where there 2 inch cuts in the upright log? I can't imagine any situation when bucking logs into firewood where I would end up with that. There is also a long log that has been rip-cut right next to the body. That is what I deducted from the photos and discription, that this guy was doing some rip cuts. As anyone so foolish to try a rip cut without the proper chain knows its a scary bumpy ride (don't ask me how I know). When ripping the saw can acctually pull you into the saw as well as kick one back at you. Also, where is the last log he was cutting when the accident occured? It must be outside the photo, or he took the time to stack it in the van!

I've never had a real kick-back, yah, I've had the saw pinch in a log and come back at me a little, happens all the time. The real kick-back scares the **** out of me so I watch my tip constantly. One of the contractors in the area has a pretty scared up face from one.

kevinj · May 3, 2005

( best thing I ever bought for chainsaw work )

Have you used it yet ??? I got one of those a while back and it would not grip the log at all. I had to modify the hook. The angle and length were wrong on mine and it would not dig in. Now it works fine and is real handy in the woods.

PineRidge · May 3, 2005

We used a wood handled cant bar when we were clearing our property. It saved a lot of sharpening on the chain which saved us a lot of lost time. It always seemed to work better starting from the top of the tree and working toward the base when we used ours.