What do I need to know about buying (and then using) a chainsaw?

Shop smart, shop S-Mart.

As others said, getting help from an experienced neighbor or friend is the first and best step.

Trees can and will fall in dangerous ways, you can be severely injured or killed by the trunk or limbs. I’ve been around experienced woodsman who’ve still had close calls.

Needed accessories…at least one wedge, or two, and a splitting mull…this is when you are cutting a tree and it shifts to pinch the bar. Pound in your wedge to get your saw free!

The two competing brands in the woods around here are Stihl and Husquvarna. Can’t go wrong with either.

Wear a hard hat. My uncle, the logger, showed up once at a family gathering with a pretty darn impressive open wound on his forehead (:eek:); the saw had kicked back on him. “Were you wearing a hard hat?” Embarrassed grin and much shuffling of feet.

Another half an inch, and he’d have had a self-inflicted lobotomy. After seeing that, my dad always, always, wore a hard hat while clearing brush.

Thank you all for your concern for my femoral artery. I’m hiring a tree service.

No, really. While one tree is a current priority, there are four trees will eventually need to come down. Then … then what? Wait how many years until it’s needed again?

And then there’s the tree that needs to come down. It’s supporting our deer fence (it encloses about a ½ acre of perennial gardens), so it needs to be cut about ten feet above the ground (i.e. on a ladder). On one side is the driveway, on the other the gardens. Enough comments upthread suggested that this isn’t the best place to start cutting. I considered having our gardener’s assistant do it, but nice as he is I’ve no conception of his chainsaw skills. This is probably not the best tree to learn with.

So, okay … I’m giving up a bit of manliness and owning a house in the middle of the woods without a chainsaw. Worst case scenario is a power outage and a tree in the driveway, but even then our cell phones should still work (if the towers are operating) and I can call a friend to help us get out. If all else fails I have a couple bow saws and an axe (the Dudeling will be 2 1/2 this Winter, so should be big enough to help).

I’m good with power tools in the confines of our basement, but this sound like a slightly different animal. My femoral artery thanks you.

(Oh,** G0sp3l**—our cat’s ‘official’ name is* Ash …cha-chuck…Housewheres* Evil Ash: Good Ash)

I can understand the marketing advantages to naming a company Femoral Artery Tree Service.

Your choice is probably the most prudent one. We hadn’t even got to the point yet of discussing how sore one is following extended exertion with a chain saw, what with using muscles you never employ for much anything else. Plus, if they cut it, they stack it.

Another option is to offer the wood to a fireplace burning neighbor in exchange for cutting the tree down.

I’ve never used any additives or emptied the tank either. It’s a Stihl. Probably one of the best tools I have ever purchased.

Pay close attention to the cut. For example, if a log is supported at both ends, and you are cutting down through the middle, the cut will tend to close, trapping the saw. If you cut from below, you won’t pinch the bar, but, when you cut through to the top, the log will drop, driving the chain into the dirt.

If the bar only reaches partway through a log, you probably need a bigger saw. The motion of the chain around the tip of the bar will tend to throw the bar up towards your face. The same thing can happen If a stray branch catches the end of the bar.

When you are cutting a tree down, be careful to notch it properly. If you just cut horizontally, the tree can and will lean into the cut, and again bind the blade. Also, note that, just because you have notched the tree, it won’t automatically fall in that direction if the weight of the tree is balanced on the wrong side.

When felling a tree, make sure the place where it will come down is free of trees and other obstructions that can hold the tree up. Freeing a hung tree is difficult and dangerous.

If you are using a ladder, make sure it isn’t leaning against something that will move when the cut is completed.

The stump end of a cut tree has a tendancy to kick out in the opposite direction of the fall, which is where you may well be standing. Move to one side, out of the line of the fall.

Hold on tight. When the saw is running, there is a gyroscopic effect that you can feel when moving the saw. It makes it turn in funny ways.

The saw itself is a dangerous piece of machinery, and you are often dropping objects that can weigh tons and can fall in unexpected directions. Be aware of your limits. Doing stupid things can give you valuable experience, but better to avoid doing them in the first place.

I’ve long held the belief that all cats are evil, disguised to differing degrees… I guaran-damn-tee there’s an image of that cat in the necromicon :smiley:

Neighborhood Quality Gasoline*

*now with 10% less gasoline.

Look for a saw that has safty features, vs an older one that has none. I have seen experienced people cut there legs and arms cutting simple one inch branches bounce back. As the saw tooth catches good to have a sturdy v horse for resting the long on, prevents rolling.
never be in a hurry over looking safty.

What about bear, and beer, and a chainsaw, and two or more bored guys? Is that a really really bad idea?

Notice the approach of the flesh eating zombie bears. If you can run from one after a few beers, God bless you. If you don’t pick up the maimed wife and make her safety a priority, not even God can help you.