Thread: Any Tips?

Keep engine at full throttle during cut.

Try to first work with someone who knows how to properly operate a chainsaw. This was already mentioned, but it's worth repeating.

DITO to all that has been said. USE YOUR HEAD! Think about what you're doing! Common sense is scarse these days, but necessary for operating chainsaws.

Wow, thanks for all the tips, they are greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by HorseChestnut

Hi, this is an amazing site. I am going to operate a chainsaw for the first time in a couple days, any neat tricks or warnings for a newbie?

Something few do but more should do. As you read the manual, take the side covers off and look at what the saw looks like new/clean. The real thing is so much better than the pictures in the manual. Learn how to adjust the chain before you take the saw out to cut. The chain will loosen up as you run the saw and you'll have to know how to tighten it. When you take the chainside cover off it will not go back on if the chainbrake is locked. DO NOT get a bigger hammer to put it back on. Unlock the brake and it'll slide back on. Check the oiler setting and set it a bit higher before you put oil in the saw. Pull the top cover and look at what a clean airfilter looks like. Remove the airfilter and then work the choke to see how it moves as you move the switch. Do this before you gas it up. This way you can look over a new saw and learn without all the dirt, oil and sawdust you'll incounter into after you have run the saw a while. This will also allow you to read the manual without smearing oil/dirt all over the pages/leaving fingerprints as happens after you run the saw and are looking for a solution to your problem. Get to know your saw before you fire it up and run it. It will pay dividens later out in the woodpile. I can not tell you how many guys buy a saw and never take the covers off. They put gas and oil in and head for the woodpile then show up at my door when it quits running, cutting or throws a loose chain. All simple things to fix but they have never had the covers off and don't know what it looks like under the hood. By the time they need the manual it's been misplaced or lost and they can't fix anything because they can't find the manual or it has oily finger prints over the part numbers. Take the time to look the saw over BEFORE you run it! Check all the bolts to see they are tight before you run the saw. You don't want lose cover bolts falling off in the woods never to be found again. If you take the time to look under the hood now, before you fuel up and go, you'll be ahead of the game when something goes wrong out in the woodpile. You'll also know what the saw should look like when you clean it after a hard days work. How long your saw lasts is going to depend on how well you maintain it. You can't maintain it if you don't know what it should look like when clean and new. Now get your PPE and fuel up for the woodpile.

Never use the chainsaw alone when felling or limbing a tree; for about a 100 reasons. This is true, even when you become good at it; its best to have help nearby. A simple thing of a limb pinching the bar and being unable to remove it without help; to the extreme of needing emergency help. If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise? Well if you are using that saw alone in the woods and ever need help, who will hear your cry? Play it safe. Never miss a chance to play it safe.

As you have probably already read do not use the tip to cut. Try to cut your work piece as close to the engine as possible and use your dawgs for leverage. Always use a sharp chain and a sharp brain. You will use a lot less energy! Think safety always!