Kubota Dealer is really good sport!

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

Thanks Mark. When using the Poulan, I just put on a new chain after every two to three tankfuls. I could get them locally for about $10.

When I bought the Stihl, I did buy a file for it, because the extra chain he sold me cost $18. So, I will take your advice and file it after every tankful. My dealer demonstrated what I need to do, so hopefully I'll do it correctly. The manual also gives a good step-by-step pictoral.

As to the chaps, how much do they cost? And are they heavy? I think they are a good idea. I tend to be pretty careful (I think I am appropriately aware of the danger factor of my saw), but like you said, accidents happen. Also, where I live, when cutting out Buckthorn, they grow real close to each other, and invite lots of vines. So, I need to take things slowly to avoid tripping over a vine or small stump (so far so good).

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

Thanks Mark. When using the Poulan, I just put on a new chain after every two to three tankfuls. I could get them locally for about $10.

When I bought the Stihl, I did buy a file for it, because the extra chain he sold me cost $18. So, I will take your advice and file it after every tankful. My dealer demonstrated what I need to do, so hopefully I'll do it correctly. The manual also gives a good step-by-step pictoral.

As to the chaps, how much do they cost? And are they heavy? I think they are a good idea. I tend to be pretty careful (I think I am appropriately aware of the danger factor of my saw), but like you said, accidents happen. Also, where I live, when cutting out Buckthorn, they grow real close to each other, and invite lots of vines. So, I need to take things slowly to avoid tripping over a vine or small stump (so far so good).

MarkV · May 31, 2006

PM, check out www.baileys-online.com and look at the section on first aid and safety equipment. They are a good company to deal with and have a lot of cool stuff to look at. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

The chaps can get a bit warm in the summer but the alterative if something happens is much worst. Personally I find that the small stuff like what you are cutting causes me more safety issues than the larger stuff. The small stuff has enough flex to pinch the blade which can cause kick back easier.

When you have some extra time do a search on TBN’s safey section for chain saw accidents. There are some stories from the past that made a believer out of me. Chaps go on every time the chainsaw is started.

MarkV

MarkV · May 31, 2006

PM, check out www.baileys-online.com and look at the section on first aid and safety equipment. They are a good company to deal with and have a lot of cool stuff to look at. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

The chaps can get a bit warm in the summer but the alterative if something happens is much worst. Personally I find that the small stuff like what you are cutting causes me more safety issues than the larger stuff. The small stuff has enough flex to pinch the blade which can cause kick back easier.

When you have some extra time do a search on TBN’s safey section for chain saw accidents. There are some stories from the past that made a believer out of me. Chaps go on every time the chainsaw is started.

MarkV

N80 · May 31, 2006

As a physician I see minor chain saw accidents (usually upper leg) in my office from time to time (the serious ones go the the ER but even the minor ones are messy and hard to close). Two common denominators always emerge: working around a lot of small stuff as mentioned above and the fact that it happens fast and completely unexpected.

I think it is ironic whenever you look at the manuals and saftey videos the chainsaw is always being used to cut down a single isolated tree in a clearing or cutting up logs in a cradle of some sort. It seems like every time I use mine it is in close quarters on sloping uneven ground with saplings and vines all around and that's probably true for most of us. But that's where the accidents happen.

I don't have chaps but I intend to get some before my next chainsaw outing.

N80 · May 31, 2006

As a physician I see minor chain saw accidents (usually upper leg) in my office from time to time (the serious ones go the the ER but even the minor ones are messy and hard to close). Two common denominators always emerge: working around a lot of small stuff as mentioned above and the fact that it happens fast and completely unexpected.

I think it is ironic whenever you look at the manuals and saftey videos the chainsaw is always being used to cut down a single isolated tree in a clearing or cutting up logs in a cradle of some sort. It seems like every time I use mine it is in close quarters on sloping uneven ground with saplings and vines all around and that's probably true for most of us. But that's where the accidents happen.

I don't have chaps but I intend to get some before my next chainsaw outing.

RobJ · May 31, 2006

( Bird, that's a great saying.

I'd have to say the customer is often not right. However, those of us in business usually need the customer more than the customer needs them.

On the other hand, I have been in the service industry for a long time, and there have been more than a few times that the "customer" was so wrong, I had to turn his business aside, and tell him to look elsewhere for what he needed. )

I'm lost, first you say the customer is ALWAYS right, disagree with me with I say that's not always the case, then give me the "whatever" quote above. Then say the customer is NOT always right and you've even passed up on customers? Even go as far as saying "often". Doesn't often mean more times than not?

I'm trying to connect your points as dots and all I'm getting is a circle??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RobJ · May 31, 2006

( Bird, that's a great saying.

I'd have to say the customer is often not right. However, those of us in business usually need the customer more than the customer needs them.

On the other hand, I have been in the service industry for a long time, and there have been more than a few times that the "customer" was so wrong, I had to turn his business aside, and tell him to look elsewhere for what he needed. )

I'm lost, first you say the customer is ALWAYS right, disagree with me with I say that's not always the case, then give me the "whatever" quote above. Then say the customer is NOT always right and you've even passed up on customers? Even go as far as saying "often". Doesn't often mean more times than not?

I'm trying to connect your points as dots and all I'm getting is a circle??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

Mark, you and N80 convinced me. Just ordered the chaps from Baileys. I already use leather covered Kevlar gloves for grabbing the buckthorn and burning it. Nothing else seems to really stop the thorns very well (even heavy duty work gloves).

When I was a teenager, the next door neighbor of my best friend accidentally killed himself using a chainsaw in his backyard. He was on standing on a ladder propped up against a tree using his chainsaw to cut off a limb. He lost his balance, and to catch himself, put his arm down, the one with the running chain saw in it. He carried it across his abdomen. He died 4 very painful hours later. In the 25 years since that happened, I haven't ever been able to get the visual out of my head (even though I didn't see it or him afterward).

When we moved out to the country last spring, I resisted getting a chain saw until I realized that a pruning saw just wasn't going to "cut it" and I'd either need to find the funds to hire out all the trimming on this 5 acres or get familiar with a chain saw.

Like I did with my Tractor, I read through the chain saw's entire manual (okay, I only read the English part) before using it. I wanted to be as familiar as I could be with these expensive, potentially life-threatening, and very foreign (to me) objects before doing work which could get me hurt or cost me serious dollars in repair and damage.

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

Mark, you and N80 convinced me. Just ordered the chaps from Baileys. I already use leather covered Kevlar gloves for grabbing the buckthorn and burning it. Nothing else seems to really stop the thorns very well (even heavy duty work gloves).

When I was a teenager, the next door neighbor of my best friend accidentally killed himself using a chainsaw in his backyard. He was on standing on a ladder propped up against a tree using his chainsaw to cut off a limb. He lost his balance, and to catch himself, put his arm down, the one with the running chain saw in it. He carried it across his abdomen. He died 4 very painful hours later. In the 25 years since that happened, I haven't ever been able to get the visual out of my head (even though I didn't see it or him afterward).

When we moved out to the country last spring, I resisted getting a chain saw until I realized that a pruning saw just wasn't going to "cut it" and I'd either need to find the funds to hire out all the trimming on this 5 acres or get familiar with a chain saw.

Like I did with my Tractor, I read through the chain saw's entire manual (okay, I only read the English part) before using it. I wanted to be as familiar as I could be with these expensive, potentially life-threatening, and very foreign (to me) objects before doing work which could get me hurt or cost me serious dollars in repair and damage.

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

I can see why you'd be a little lost, Rob. Can you indicate where I ever said the customer is always right?

Edit: In my book "often" certainly does NOT mean more often than not. If that's what I meant, I would have said that. Depending on the circumstances, "often" can mean more than once. In my 13 years as an attorney providing legal services to sometimes very demanding customers, disagreements alone never made me "fire" a client. However, if a client lied to me, that was it. Or if a client put me in a situation in which I had inadvertently lied for him, goodbye. My integrity was never for sale. Nonpayment of my bills was also a reason to stop providiing services to a client. So, did I fire most of my clients, or do it more often than not? No. Did I do it when I felt it necessary? Yes. My point is, I know full well that I did not and do not think my customers (clients) were always right. Sometimes, they did stuff that made me say, in so many words, take a hike. But just because they didn't like what I said, or they made decisions I disagreed with, which was quite often, that alone never made me say goodbye. Does that make sense? I mean, I was "serving" them. They weren't there for me.

proudestmonkey · May 31, 2006

I can see why you'd be a little lost, Rob. Can you indicate where I ever said the customer is always right?

Edit: In my book "often" certainly does NOT mean more often than not. If that's what I meant, I would have said that. Depending on the circumstances, "often" can mean more than once. In my 13 years as an attorney providing legal services to sometimes very demanding customers, disagreements alone never made me "fire" a client. However, if a client lied to me, that was it. Or if a client put me in a situation in which I had inadvertently lied for him, goodbye. My integrity was never for sale. Nonpayment of my bills was also a reason to stop providiing services to a client. So, did I fire most of my clients, or do it more often than not? No. Did I do it when I felt it necessary? Yes. My point is, I know full well that I did not and do not think my customers (clients) were always right. Sometimes, they did stuff that made me say, in so many words, take a hike. But just because they didn't like what I said, or they made decisions I disagreed with, which was quite often, that alone never made me say goodbye. Does that make sense? I mean, I was "serving" them. They weren't there for me.

MarkV · Jun 1, 2006

PM, good for you on ordering the chaps. Now I hope you never have a need to test what they are designed to do. Like you I was not raised around chain saws and never seriously used them until we bought our first rural property. Didn’t take long to realize what a great tool they were nor long to realize how much damage they could do to me if something went wrong.

Stories from the Doc’s like N80, accident stories some of the TBN members have had and advice from some of the more experienced members here lead me to getting all the safety equipment. Now that it is habit even a single cut gets eye protection and chaps on before the saw is started. For any major cutting a logging helmet, gloves and boots are added to the wardrobe.

I must admit there were times I thought it was a pain to put all that stuff on and I had a few friends that would giggle when I came out looking like some old north woods logger. Then one day I was out in the woods cleaning up a downed tree and all of a sudden a branch came down from another tree and whacked me on the helmet. It wasn’t enough to knock me off my feet but I sure did see stars for awhile. Made me think that here I am out in the woods where no one ever goes and the wife is in Europe for the next three days. Now I can’t say whether that branch would have put me down for any length of time or not without that helmet. I can say I’m glad I didn’t have to find out so for me it is safety gear whether there are giggles or not.

MarkV

MarkV · Jun 1, 2006

PM, good for you on ordering the chaps. Now I hope you never have a need to test what they are designed to do. Like you I was not raised around chain saws and never seriously used them until we bought our first rural property. Didn’t take long to realize what a great tool they were nor long to realize how much damage they could do to me if something went wrong.

Stories from the Doc’s like N80, accident stories some of the TBN members have had and advice from some of the more experienced members here lead me to getting all the safety equipment. Now that it is habit even a single cut gets eye protection and chaps on before the saw is started. For any major cutting a logging helmet, gloves and boots are added to the wardrobe.

I must admit there were times I thought it was a pain to put all that stuff on and I had a few friends that would giggle when I came out looking like some old north woods logger. Then one day I was out in the woods cleaning up a downed tree and all of a sudden a branch came down from another tree and whacked me on the helmet. It wasn’t enough to knock me off my feet but I sure did see stars for awhile. Made me think that here I am out in the woods where no one ever goes and the wife is in Europe for the next three days. Now I can’t say whether that branch would have put me down for any length of time or not without that helmet. I can say I’m glad I didn’t have to find out so for me it is safety gear whether there are giggles or not.

MarkV

midlf · Jun 2, 2006

I never use the chain saw alone. Someone must be within sight, and with a cell phone. That someone must also remain far enough away that they will not be injured by my activities. That person is usually the spouse and her biggest problem is staying out of the active zone. She keeps wanting to step into the zone to help. If this happens, all activity gets shut down until she backs up. My definition of "the zone", not hers, is the one we use.

midlf · Jun 2, 2006

I never use the chain saw alone. Someone must be within sight, and with a cell phone. That someone must also remain far enough away that they will not be injured by my activities. That person is usually the spouse and her biggest problem is staying out of the active zone. She keeps wanting to step into the zone to help. If this happens, all activity gets shut down until she backs up. My definition of "the zone", not hers, is the one we use.

proudestmonkey · Jun 3, 2006

Those are good rules to follow. I can't say I always have someone with me, but I do always have my cell phone. In addition to the dangers of a chain saw, I also have Type 1 diabetes. If I am feeling like my blood sugar is low, I grab some sugar (always with me) from a pouch I have strapped around the base of the Joystick for my FEL. That's where I keep my cell phone too.

proudestmonkey · Jun 3, 2006

Those are good rules to follow. I can't say I always have someone with me, but I do always have my cell phone. In addition to the dangers of a chain saw, I also have Type 1 diabetes. If I am feeling like my blood sugar is low, I grab some sugar (always with me) from a pouch I have strapped around the base of the Joystick for my FEL. That's where I keep my cell phone too.

proudestmonkey · Jun 3, 2006

I'll be glad to get the chaps. I can easily see the possibility of tripping over a stump while trying to gain my footing and there goes the chain toward me leg. I got the extra large so the length will come up to my abdomen.

I also wear sturdy gloves, not just for the saw, but also because my primary use is cutting down buckthorn. Fortunately, that also means the height of the trees I am cutting rarely exceeded 30 feet, and even the ones that are 40 feet are not very thick. For larger trees, when the need arises, I will probably hire a professional to take it down.

proudestmonkey · Jun 3, 2006

I'll be glad to get the chaps. I can easily see the possibility of tripping over a stump while trying to gain my footing and there goes the chain toward me leg. I got the extra large so the length will come up to my abdomen.

I also wear sturdy gloves, not just for the saw, but also because my primary use is cutting down buckthorn. Fortunately, that also means the height of the trees I am cutting rarely exceeded 30 feet, and even the ones that are 40 feet are not very thick. For larger trees, when the need arises, I will probably hire a professional to take it down.