How old to use a chain saw?

[Stihl 041S]

Did I miss something???????

Let Them Experience A Kickback???????

 

[Tzed250]

Chainsaws and ATV's are both dangerous.

Okay, then look at something meaningful like injuries per 1,000 hours use
for the demographic of interest. And start filtering out things like
lack of protective gear and lack of proper training. Quads are not that
dangerous when used correctly.

Both are dangerous, but I'll put my kid on a quad (not 600cc) before
I let him/her use a chainsaw.

Actually, I diverted my kids' interest to dirt bikes when they
started talking about quads because I consider them much safer.

.......perfectly safe if used properly......

Then so are avalanches, flamethrowers, gran prix bulldozers, and ex wives.

.......give them a bowsaw..........

but you have to understand that alot of kids have access to ATV's. Not alot of kids use chainsaws younger than 16, some do but i would be willing to bet that there are more kids with ATVs than there are kids with chainsaws and thats what makes the numbers higher, if you scaled them down i would have to say the numbers might not be similar but they might be close.

What it boils down to is the fact that chainsaws are viewed as dangerous, and four-wheelers not so much. My GF is an ER nurse and has many stories about women and children, as well as men, injured, paralyzed, or killed from ATV missuse. Just this week a child came in with massive head injuries from an ATV turnover. The child will never recover. Don't think I am preaching, as I have ridden motorcycles for almost thirty years. No 600cc ATV is approved for use by anyone under 16.

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cach....pdf+atv+deaths+2007&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/FORENSIC/PAGES/JFS2003276.htm

Of course more kids are injured and killed in ATV accidents than chainsaw accidents because more kids are allowed to operate ATVs.

My point is I see no difference in allowing a 13 year old to use a Honda Rubicon vs. using a MS180.

I bought my first chainsaw when I was 14 years old and used it with no supervision. That was thirty years ago last month. To this date the only injury I have received from chainsaw use is a 3/4" scratch on the back of my leg that was put there when I allowed the chain of a non-running saw to touch my calf.

Anyone who thinks a 600lb 50HP ATV is safe needs to take a closer look at the situation.

 

[John D]

Thank you everyone for the replys, I appreciate the advice you have shared. I want to clarify a few things,first off the 600CC is the sleds, i have a 600 and 700 twin Polaris Libertys.The Atvs are 80cc,350CC and 200cc. My kids have been riding a long time,and i consider them safer than 99% of the adults I have seen riding.
Both the kids are familiar with 2 cycle operation and what happens when you dont mix properly or at all. They help me clean/rebuild the carbs and motors.I have them do all the cleaning of small parts,etc when doing work,I always tell them that 90% of doing a job right is the preparation,and they do that part well now.Both kids refuel my saws,as well as fill the oil tanks,I have them do that for me ,they hand me another saw when i run out of fuel,and they prep it for it.they havent adjusted/swapped chains yet,but they will be before they run one.
I honestly think they are very close to ready,but i will get the safety gear first,I figure next spring when we are cutting may be the time to let them have at it.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

I am wanting to teach my kids how to use a chain saw soon.I cut am cutting my own wood now,for my own use.I have a few small saws,very lightweight and easy to handle.A husky 345,MC eager beaver 3216,and a small homelite XL.They all have the safety chains on them so they dont kick back.My girlfriend and kids help me all the time with the firewood gathering,splitting and clean up. My daughter is almost 14,my son almost 12. They are very good with equipment,and grew up on our golf course,well over 100 acres,so they have been running golf carts since they were 5 ,they both drive manual shift tractor/loaders,and standard site trucks on the golf course.They both run my Cat 246 easily,as well as both have been mowing my lawn with zero turn mowers for yrs. They easily start and run string trimmers,and backpack blowers all summer at the house.Both can back a short 8ft wide trailer thru a 10 ft wide barn door in one shot.They both ride 600cc + snowmobiles,and ATV's. There isnt much they cant do,I started them young so they would be able to do just about anything.
I am not sure at what age is ok to let them start using a saw.For now they have been using hand clippers to cut off the small branches,and my 18 volt Dewalt sawzall with a few branches to help me out when i get behind.Personally i have never worn a pair of chaps when i cut wood,I would obviously get them chaps,and go thru the saftey drills with them. If they could help me wih the little branches and limbs it would tremendously speed up the operation.I am the only one who cuts,and they can process much faster than i can log it out and limb it.My girlfriend thinks they are both 2 young yet to handle any saw.I agree for now,but when should i consider it? I started using one at 18,but the reason i didnt start earlier was because we werent cutting wood from when i was 11-18.

Man, with all they can already do you should have it pretty easy. Once u teach them all u have to do is enjoy the heat from the wood. They are plenty old enough it's not the age it is the maturity. JMO CUT THEM LOOSE.

 

[Burvol]

Five or six, maybe seven.

 

[slowp]

Humor and Sarcasm....

Skiing is best started at age 4, saws ought to be the same. Just gotta find a small one..

Let me see, I was handed a bow bar yellow saw at age 23, given a quick demonstration of how to start it, told. "Don't hurt or kill yourself! Good Luck!"and left to try to get an acre a day of thinning and junk on the ground.
Yes, I think that is the way to go! Worked for me.

Now we have to go through saw certification.

 

[southsoundtree]

Let Them Experience A Kickback???????

On a low power saw with the hands, Dad's and kid's behind the chainbrake lever, this seems reasonable to me. This is presuming a safety chain/ low-kickback chain.

Everyone is told to be scared to death of a kickback. I'm surely not saying give the kid a 660 and go stick the tip into a log.

I've demonstrated a kickback many, many times, while training many, many people.

It is just one of three reactive forces: 1)kickback (cutting on the end of the bar) , 2)pull-in (equal and opposite reaction when cutting on the top of the bar, 3) push-back (cutting on the top).

A way that I'll demonstrate it (and I would suggest demo'ing it first, then holding the saw with them while they experience it) is with a clear space to the right side, tip the bar while holding the pistolgrip and the wrap handle on the side. On something like a stihl 360, the kick is pretty minimal.

My friend cut the s@#$ out of his shin muscles and broke his shinbone/ tibia when he was stumping with a 660 and no wedges. He'd used a saw for a long while, but not very well versed in the safety of it. The stump sat down on the top side of the chain, pinching it. The reactive force of push-back rockets the pistolgrip into his shin breaking it (minorly) and the chain cut him as the saw followed through.




As I suggested that the instructor know his techniques, this goes back to my dad, who spent hours trying to put a chain on this 36" bar (smaller than what the saw could take) because it had an over-sized sprocket, or something, and needed an extra link in it, or just didn't know about the chain tensioner, yet insisted that I could/ should use it to get his job done (he's disabled so couldn't do it himself) without hiring someone. He even was using a screwdriver and hammer to try to get the chain on the bar. Generally, a mechanically smart man.

All I hope for is good instruction, good technique, safe learning, and a good experience for all involved. Cutting wood together can be a great bonding experience. The original poster may be a very experienced, skilled operator, who can pass on lots of skill, technique, and work ethic to the kids.



All

 

[Burvol]

I took a pistol grip in the shin once, bucking a really big log, sawing and pulling out, working the log not to break it, and I made a mistake. That freakin' hurts like hell. I had a hard time walking for two days. I can't imagine what your friend did. OUCH!

 

[southsoundtree]

I took a pistol grip in the shin once, bucking a really big log, sawing and pulling out, working the log not to break it, and I made a mistake. That freakin' hurts like hell. I had a hard time walking for two days. I can't imagine what your friend did. OUCH!

He pretty much looked like a joke having to have an ambulance come get him, yelling and carrying on (not that I blame him for yelling and carrying on).

All for not using wedges for that big stump cut.

Better or worse that the 28" Dbh tree on the high power line, crackling, and bursting into flames. Was it 30 people, or was it more, showing up from the fire dept, power company, police department, etc. A sloppy face cut and over dependence on pulling with a truck and rope.

He been learning and doing better.
Oh yeah, and he can almost run now, a year later.

 

[cmetalbend]

Age old question. I was 8 carrying an 038/24 inch bar. I could only pull it once or twice. I would spray the air cleaner with ether, to give me alittle more eumph. My oldest kids are turning 8 & 6. we're gonna start with an echo 280e and latter a Stihl 015. When they can start them on their own it's time. Dangerous, you want dangerous. I built my oldest a go-cart. Low to the ground, cage and All. He rolled it twice and later hit a tree with the left front wheel. the cage held and his helmet broke the steering wheel. Not to mention driving it through a barbed wire fence multiple times.