Chainsaw kickback and safety

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.