Chainsaw question

[PitbullMidwest]

Has anyone ever watched the Stihl Chainsaw Challenge on ESPN?

I saw a show last Saturday, individual and team competition where they cut 18" white pine logs with chainsaws, single and double buck saws and axes. The last event was the "power saw", custom chainsaws run by snowmobile engines. They had to make three cuts through the 18" log and they did it in under 10 seconds! My 7 year old thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen (dad thought it was pretty cool too.)

Anyone else seen this show?

 

[MikePA]

Just curious...Do all of you have and wear the helmet and chaps? Except for tree trimmers (and not many of them), I don't think I've ever seen people wearing them.

Also, the sprocket (wrong term? the one connected to the engine) on my saw has a groove the whole way around it where the chain runs. When should the sprocket be replaced?

 

[RobS]

Stihl had a challenge demo set up at the Farm Progress Show. It was very cool. Big crowd, but I was still able to stand fairly close. Those saws must be razor sharp /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Youare]

I have two sets of chainsaw chaps, both given to me for Christmas presents the same year. They are a good measure of protection for a small investment when you consider the alternetives.

The hard hat with ear protection is NOT an option as far as I am concerned. I used to cut without one until the day I was cutting down a large maple tree with a few dead branches 20 feet or so up. Just the vibration from cutting the base of the tree caused one of the branches directly above me to fall. The branch, about an inch in diameter came straight down with the big end hitting me on the shoulder missing my head or neck by only inches.

Right then I decided the $50.00 for the helmet was a better deal than a dent in the head, or worse. I know what it felt like to have the branch hit my shoulder. Since then the helmet has taken a few bumps I have not had to experience.

A good pair of leather boots will go a long way at protecting your feet. Gloves I think are more of a personal preference, I feel I get a better grip on the saw without them. There is one thing related to grip that will help protect you in a kick-back situation. If you keep your thumb wrapped around the top handle of the saw there is a greater chance you will be able to control the saw if it kicks back.

Randy

 

[TerryinMD]

Youare,

Some good advice.

Long pants, leather shoes, and gloves. A must!!

Looks like I should invest in the chaps and headgear.

Oh, honey, I need to buy...../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
Before we got saterlight tv i saw the adds and thought i'll watch it but it has not been on in nz for a while,, i have seen the mother of chain saws built just for show speed cutting it was powered by a alloy 350 chev 2 guys had to hold it but good cutting saw ..ok tighting chains frist work out why ya chain is loose blunt,lack of oil,wrong oil,etc etc if ya don't fix that ya will shorten the life of ya chain..ok now let it cool undo the nuts and tighting chain ,now snaping of chain helps to pull kinks out and seats chain in bar (pulling out and letting go a few times)some say 1/8 between bar and chain other say pull's out till 1/3-1/4 of drive link still in bar .the trick is a cold chain should have no sag and freely move with low restance ie thumb and 1 finger will pull the chain around the bar if needing both hands too tight ,pull up bar while tighting nuts ,note chain should be tested for slack in same place ...ok someone asked about sprockets a rought rule of thumb is 1 bar =2-3 sprockets and a sprocket = 3-4 chains,another thing with chains is files are better than grinders for sharping but if not very good with files then the small 12V grinders are good to use and ya always have a sharp chain instead of haveing to take them to town ..
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
yep eyes ears head legs and feet all get knocked around with chain saws, good helmet is a start ,chaps have to be kevlar(?)shoeing chaps will last 0.00000000000001 of a second at full speed same with boots forstry boots are non cut ,as for steel caped i would not wear them ,why i hear ya ask .think on this caps cover ya toes but not upper foot where does the saw go when it slides off the cap??????a mate of mine did just that off work for months doc thought he would have been back at work in a few days if he only lost a toe .
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[beenthere]

For me, I wear the helmet if falling trees. More than once, a limb from another tree will fall nearby where I am standing. Only once did I have one push my helmet down over my ears and made me see stars. But they were lucky stars, as without the helmet I would be seeing them from a different perspective.

The sprocket is what drives the chain. What has worked well for me for 30+ years, (and was recommended when I bought my first Stihl saw) was to buy two chains with a new sprocket, switch them at major sharpenings (also flip the bar over at the same time), and when the chains wore out (no more to sharpen) buy two new chains and a new sprocket. That way the sprocket will wear evenly, I guess, and keep pace with the wear on the two chains. I understand it is best not to put a new chain on a worn sprocket, as one will tear up the other quickly.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Do all of you have and wear the helmet and chaps</font color=blue>

Mike, I think they sound like a good idea, but the fact is that I've never even seen any of the chaps and have never seen anyone wearing the helmets, except professional tree trimmers and they usually only have a hard hat and safety glasses. I suspect it's at least partly because the heat would kill you in all that gear around here in the summer./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[RobertN]

I our local Fire Dept, if someone is using a chainsaw for clearing during a wildfire they MUST wear chaps.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[cowboydoc]

I agree with you Bird. I admit it's a great idea but I had never even seen anyone except the pro's using that kind of equipment before.

 

[Bird]

RobertN, I would assume firefighters are in a hurry, so all the safety equipment they can get is a good idea. When I use a chainsaw, I'm never in a hurry, try to work slowly and carefully. And while I certainly would never discourage anyone from using any kind of safety equipment, I would hope those who use it don't let it give them a false sense of security and get careless as a result.

 

[mikim]

after 20 years of running chainsaws without any protective gear --- I had some greenbriar grab my saw and jerk it into my knee --- broke the skin and required a few stitches -- but no major damage --- I'm buying chaps -- and maybe boots too--like was said earlier - the safety equipment is cheaper than the medical bills -- and less painful
mike

 

[GlennT]

I have had a Stihl 16-inch saw for a number of years and it is great. However, I must confess that my chains never have a chance to wear down from multiple sharpenings. I seem to mess them up royally before they get that far. I am gradually eliminating a bunch of "cedars"--actually junipers that have been trying to take over our place. I cut the stumps down low so I can run the shredder over them and that's the problem. I can't tell you how many times I have been cutting a stump and have run into a stone imbedded in the wood. And then there's barbed wire. Apparently, the ranchers who had our property did not want to spend money on fence posts; they attached barbwire to convenient trees. Now I come along a few decades later to clear some of these trees off and I find wire imbedded in the trunks. You should see the sparks fly!! Finally, when cutting stumps I find that I have to remove the blade frequently and run it a few seconds to allow it to cool off. I have ruined several blades and chains by allowing them to overheat. The edge of an overheated blade turns blue and the edge flattens out. An overheated chain stretches and can no longer be tightened sufficiently. Ignorance and impatience have cost me a bunch of money. However, things I feel that I have done right include: (1) I use a good grade of chain oil, and (2) I purchased an extra air filter and I put in a clean filter after each use of the saw and immediately clean the dirty one (geezers forget to do that, otherwise). I'm going to have to look into chaps; I've never heard of them before.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Safety gear is always slow on the acceptance curve. Think of ROPs, car seat belts, shoulder harnesses, etc. Even after introduction, we were all pretty slow to start using them. Chain saw only has to bite your leg once to make you wish you had the chaps. Same for falling limb - although I have a brother who got a broken back from a tree coming down - hat wouldn't have helped.



Charlie Iliff

 

[PitbullMidwest]

<font color=blue>
Safety gear is always slow on the acceptance curve</font color=blue>

Ever see the movie "Tucker"? This guy built cars in the 40's with all the modern safety features we enjoy today but was blackballed by the Big 3.The reason the Big 3 auto makers resisted offering safety devices is they believed that it would imply their product was unsafe.

I remember when OSHA mandated Lockout/Tagout, our top management resisted because they thought the employees would file claims for past injuries because they had been allowed to work in an unsafe condition. The truth is they HAD been allowed to work in an unsafe condition. Our maintenance men welcomed LO/TO and now refuse to work with any contractor or employee who doesn't want to do it.

Properly educated, I think most people readily accept safety gear. But I think the manufacturer has a responsibility to educate the end user in ALL advertising, brochures, videos and owners manuals about the need to wear it when using their product.

 

[ejb]

>>The reason the Big 3 auto makers resisted offering safety devices is they believed that it would imply their product was unsafe.

I think that is part of the problem, but the other part of the problem is lawyers. If a manufacturer of *any* product, makes improvements to it to improve safety, then lawyers jump on that as an admission that the previous version was unsafe, and thus they file a lawsuit (after finding a victim of course) and go to court and say basically: look, my client got hurt, the company has admitted that the old version of product xxx is unsafe because they added these safety enhancements...blah blah blah.

It has been a succesfully strategy. So unfortunately, companies are forced to decide if it will cost more to make the enhancements or not make the enhancements based on the lawsuits that will happen either way. Kind of an unfortunate situation for every but the lawyers...