is there a way to "practice" kickback??

[bitzer]

I deal with almost several a week. Part of the job. Been sewn together in surgery from kick back. Read the manual, and be scared, lol.

Grab ahold of that saw and own the SOB.


Hey skip chain crowd: you are way more prone to them vs. us full comp guys. It's the truth. Comp is a hell of a lot less prone to kickbacks.

Very true man. You gotta own it or it will own you. Spring poles and weird pressures kickin the tip around. Its unavoidable for anyone with anytime on a saw. Thats why I don't get practicing it. It will find you. Skip likes to walk.

 

[mdavlee]

Yeah I'd much rather have a 32" bar try to kickback than a 20" any day.

 

[logbutcher]

it's not a dumb question and it is a good thing to do. just do it at very low rpm until you get the feel and hold the saw so that when it comes flying back it won't go straight through you face or rip you shoulder into pieces. play with letting it hit the different areas of your bar so that you get the feeling of where the real danger zone lies.

NO Murph, NO. Pi$$ poor advice for anyone.

"Practicing" low RPM kickbacks is kinda like having a crack dealer pack your chute. :monkey:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot boy, why do you think we ALWAYS cut, bore, carve, limb at WOT ......always ?
Sorry Murph, but sometimes "advice" is dangerous.

Best advice? Learn from a pro. Watch. Learn. use full PPE. Take one of the CPL or GOL programs to learn safe and efficient techniques.

JMNSHO

BUTT: never stick your bar at low RPM ANYWHERE.

 

[teatersroad]

Practice boring, that'll teach you some finesse. And practice avoiding kickback, go limb some tangled mofo brier patch tree like Juniper. Might help if you do it tired and in 100 degree heat too.

 

[slowp]

I deal with almost several a week. Part of the job. Been sewn together in surgery from kick back. Read the manual, and be scared, lol.

Grab ahold of that saw and own the SOB.


Hey skip chain crowd: you are way more prone to them vs. us full comp guys. It's the truth. Comp is a hell of a lot less prone to kickbacks.

Twinkle is offended by such language. Twinkle likes skipping and hopping.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

I suppose giving someone who has never used a saw a high revving, lightweight, high horsepower saw and telling him to go trim the limbs off of a downed bushy oak tree is a little like giving a non shooter a 300 WBY Mag with the scope a little too far back and telling him to go shoot.

Pretty much!

But a knot on the head won't be as bad as a missing arm or leg.

Thats why any beginner should start with a smaller saw. I say 50cc or less. Learn to control that beast before you lay down the money for a Husky 390 or a Stihl 460. You go whippin a big boy like that around for awhile, you'll get some kickback for sure if you have no experience. Start small. Everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[BobL]

The most important thing an operator cannot practice about kickback is the fact that it happens when the operator least expects it. Everything else is a pale simulation of kick back which can even be counter productive. This is because trainees may develop a false sense of security and some then think "Oh yeah - KB - I know what that is - I have practiced it" and whamee, when it really hits, they are off guard and it's WAAAY faster than they thought it would be - toooooo late.

Stay cautious but not paranoid.

 

[stevohut]

I deal with almost several a week. Part of the job. Been sewn together in surgery from kick back. Read the manual, and be scared, lol.

Grab ahold of that saw and own the SOB.


Hey skip chain crowd: you are way more prone to them vs. us full comp guys. It's the truth. Comp is a hell of a lot less prone to kickbacks.

I agree I use full comp with no issue just watch where that nose goes. I grip my saw with locked out arms and I hold it tight expecting it to kick even when it won't. It's when you hold it like a wimp that you'll get hurt. Holding tight redirects the force of the kick so you don't get it in the head. Keep a wide stance which will keep you from flying backwards if she kicks.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

I agree I use full comp with no issue just watch where that nose goes. I grip my saw with locked out arms and I hold it tight expecting it to kick even when it won't. It's when you hold it like a wimp that you'll get hurt. Holding tight redirects the force of the kick so you don't get it in the head. Keep a wide stance which will keep you from flying backwards if she kicks.

:agree2:

Thats why you should'nt run a saw when you're getting very fatigued. Grips start loosening, people start getting careless, and limbs get to flying. And I'm not talking about tree limbs.

 

[dingeryote]

I have been mulling this one over for a couple days now.

Without fabricating some sort of pneumatic gizmo or the use of small explosive charges, there really is no way of reproducing kick back in a controlled manner.

The gang makes excellent points all around, especially about fatigue.
The only time I seem to get a kick back is when I start slipping mentally, and that's just about always when I'm starting to fight the saw, snow, or tangles 'cuz I'm beat.

I reckon if a guy accepts that sooner or later it IS gonna happen, and keeps that in mind constantly, he wont likely be surprised when it does happen, and because of habits formed around the expectation, wont have leaky parts lined up to get hit.

Usually folks that are new to saws, will have several small kickbacks and not realize it when they are slopping around on springy little stuff.
It's sort of a warning that you are screwing the pooch, and a guy would be smart to pay attention.

Sharp chain dosn't kick back near as much.
Keep it sharp, and keep the throttle WFO or off.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[logbutcher]

I have been mulling this one over for a couple days now.

Without fabricating some sort of pneumatic gizmo or the use of small explosive charges, there really is no way of reproducing kick back in a controlled manner.

The gang makes excellent points all around, especially about fatigue.
The only time I seem to get a kick back is when I start slipping mentally, and that's just about always when I'm starting to fight the saw, snow, or tangles 'cuz I'm beat.

I reckon if a guy accepts that sooner or later it IS gonna happen, and keeps that in mind constantly, he wont likely be surprised when it does happen, and because of habits formed around the expectation, wont have leaky parts lined up to get hit.

Usually folks that are new to saws, will have several small kickbacks and not realize it when they are slopping around on springy little stuff.
It's sort of a warning that you are screwing the pooch, and a guy would be smart to pay attention.

Sharp chain dosn't kick back near as much.
Keep it sharp, and keep the throttle WFO or off.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote

:agree2:

Forget all the #@%&$# about "owning" a saw. This macho stuff is blowhard.

No one can control the torque of a kickback of any size saw. Think about where your arms are, the moment arm (physics here) of the motion of the kickback, the speed of saw force rotation and pushback.

Learn HOW to use the tool.

Don't cut when tired, cold, thinking about sex, etc.....

Keep the chain sharp.

Understand how to use a saw break and how it operates.

Cut WOT, "or off".

Just say NO to practicing kickback.

JMNSHO

 

[bitzer]

There are guys that work with saws and guys that play with saws. When you work with one regularly it becomes a tool and you learn to manipulate it like it is a part of you. At that point you do "own" it. Guys that play with saws will never really get that feeling. Even "bigtime" firewood cutters that cut 10 - 15 cords a year won't get that. Its thousands of hours of expericence.

Standing there stiff arm and wide stance sounds like letting the saw own you.

Posture and body control along with lots of expericence will teach you a thing or two about absorbing shock.

WOT all the time huh? Gotta be rough on the saws and fuel. Gooseing the trigger will save your ass many more times than WOT. You just gotta learn.

 

[bitzer]

Don't cut when tired, cold, thinking about sex, etc.....

I guess I better retire my saws.

 

[RandyMac]

:agree2:

Forget all the #@%&$# about "owning" a saw. This macho stuff is blowhard.

No one can control the torque of a kickback of any size saw. Think about where your arms are, the moment arm (physics here) of the motion of the kickback, the speed of saw force rotation and pushback. Learn HOW to use the tool.


JMNSHO

I will disagree with this, 90% of the kickbacks and "pushbacks" I have expirienced, were completely controlled. Use a chainsaw enough and you can learn to avoid losing control. The other 10%, well, I feel some of them dacades later, they were geardrive related. A fast reving geardrive is the most dangerous chainsaw, if you think taking a little saw's bar to the head is bad, try hit from a flying 40 pound unit. Sure, stitches, eye, teeth nose damage are bad, with the geardrives rib cages can be stove in by the pistolgrip, a direct hit on your thigh, knee, shoulder can result in broken bones.
With the current trend toward restoring and using the vintage, big inch geardrives and direct drives, please be aware, the old monsters do not react the same as the modern chainsaws. Where a newer saw may bog and lose power, a big inch vintage saw will try to unload the stress, often by moving out of the cut. You young-guns playing with those old things be extra carefull, if the thing pops you a good one, you will probably bypass the ER.

 

[Zombiechopper]

:agree2:

Don't cut when tired, cold, thinking about sex, etc.....


JMNSHO

My days of sawin are done. They're all for sale.

 

[sawbid]

My days of sawin are done. They're all for sale.

Dibs 0n the 361!!!

 

[Burvol]

:agree2:

Forget all the #@%&$# about "owning" a saw. This macho stuff is blowhard.

No one can control the torque of a kickback of any size saw. Think about where your arms are, the moment arm (physics here) of the motion of the kickback, the speed of saw force rotation and pushback.

Learn HOW to use the tool.

Don't cut when tired, cold, thinking about sex, etc.....

Keep the chain sharp.

Understand how to use a saw break and how it operates.

Cut WOT, "or off".

Just say NO to practicing kickback.

JMNSHO

Blow hard? Blow me.

Learn how to use a chain break? What, activate it? Your an idiot thinking what I said was macho. Sorry you run your little saws in your "wood lot" and read the manual waiting for the right circumstance to arrive There, that was Macho.


What I said and share here is proffesional advice. I live on a saw. You don't have to chime in with stupid #### like WOT or nothing. That tells us pro guys your an idiot, pure and simple
Oh wait, that's how you run skip chain through everything. Brush, limbs, whips, ect. The stuff that most often does and will cause kick backs.

 

[bitzer]

Awesome posts Burv and Randy!

My rep-gun just gave me a little kickback. Gotta spread more apparently.

 

[slowp]

Awesome posts Burv and Randy!

My rep-gun just gave me a little kickback. Gotta spread more apparently.

I got one of them, (even though I run the locally recommended skip chain) but the brake went on for the other one.

 

[Burvol]

I got one of them, (even though I run the locally recommended skip chain) but the brake went on for the other one.

It's OK for the sweet cream you guys have