********WHAT AGE DID YOU FIRST START USING A CHAINSAW????

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I was about 35 when I started using a chainsaw. It was a Homelite super XL and it didn't have a chain break. Don't have it any more.
 
I was about 11 or 12 with grandpas Stihl 032av. Hurricane Bob dropped a huge willow in my backyard took about the whole extended family and two weeks to clean up. I still have the 032.
 
knee cap in the way?? stopped the full cutoff of your leg???

I just bumped it down on the knee I didn't bury the bar into my body , in fact it happened so quick and clean the only thing that made me realize it ,was my ankle felt wet and warm ..I then looked down and was like oh crap I sliced myself !
 
Prolly 12 or 13 I was addicted even at that age, all I wanted to do was run a saw, and dad finally let me run the little homelite. when I was 4 or 5 they got me a toy chain saw that made noise. first thing they said I did was go out and try and cut with it, they said I was pretty mad when I figured out it wouldn;t cut anything lol got a pic of me and dad together, with his 038 av super and my toy saw. I will try and post sometime
 
15-16 is what I can remember. Never needed to up until then. It was after we moved to a new house and had around 10 acres of woods. Dad put in an OWB. Ran a Stihl MS 290 mostly when he got tired. Then he picked up a John Deere Pro and I mostly cut up the smaller stuff with that. Actually I am going to pick up that saw this weekend and see if I can get it running again. That Stihl is still going strong, but that Deere Pro something happened to it.
 
Started using a chainsaw around age 9 or 10...
I grew up on a farm in North Missouri, and we burned wood nearly every day the weather was below freezing in winter... so we would cut pickup loads of wood in the fall, enough for a few tons in the basement, and more stacked outside. I started using a yellow Mac-10 (probably a 18-20 inch bar) around age 9 or 10, to cut up trees on the ground, after Dad had dropped trees in a clearing. Before that, I had a "kid sized" single-bit axe (not a hatchet) with a bit of curve near the handle end, to remove branches and pull them over to a brush pile. After we got a load of wood home we would remove a basement window from the frame, and toss wood in the basement till we got about 4-cords stacked to the ceiling, and put the rest outside. We did have a propane furnace too; but burning wood could reduce the amount of propane we used by 75%... even though winter temps could be -25F to -30F in colder parts of winter. (lowest I recall was -38F without wind-chill, when I was a kid) As some of you probably know, one advantage of having a wood stove in the basement, is that the floors upstairs stay warmer all winter.
Some parents now wouldn't dream of letting their kids use a chainsaw at age 9... but living on a farm, we helped with any work we could as a kid, and were taught at a very young age (1) Pay Attention to what's going on, and be safe. You don't need to be the one *running* the chainsaw or tractor to get hurt. (2) Respect the equipment. Use it right. It's not a toy. (3) Remember to watch other people while you are working, not just your own little space. (4) THINK before you do something. What's going to happen next? Don't take risks. Where is the tree's weight going to drop ? .. whether it's just a branch on the ground that shifts two inches and pinches your blade, or a whole tree that may fall too close for comfort.
That sort of awareness and attitude is useful -whether you are 10yrs old or 60.​
 
First used one under close supervision at 9. Didn't really start using it until probably 13-15. Loved the feeling of responsibility it gave me as a kid. Lots of things to complain about fathers, but one thing I am super thankful for is that my dad taught me and trusted me to use serious tools at a fairly young age.
 
My son is 27 and he will walk in a 27 foot circle around a chain saw. When he was young he would help me on side jobs. He hated manual labor and I told him if he didn't want to wind up digging ditches, he better get smart. Even though he didn't like tree work, he has a very strong work ethic, and he would work his butt off helping me. He took my advice and got smart, he has a bachelors degree in physics, and bachelors and masters degrees in computer science. He works for Raytheon on anti missile radar systems. The last time I asked him to help me on a side job he said, No Dad, I don't like seeing you get beat up doing that work, so if you can't do it without me, I'm not helping. He is a very wise young man. I spent my whole life being the one that did more than any one else, and made a lot of money doing it. I have enough money I can do almost anything I like, but, I'm so beat up, I can't do the things I can afford.

To answer the question, he has never run a saw. I have to run one at least once a day.
 
I was 12, my boy wanted one when he was 5 or 6 got one of the toy ones also. Told him he couldn't have a real one until he could tear one all the way down and put it back together again so to understand what he was working with. When he was 10 I gave him a Homelite XL2 to start up and run without a bar and chain so he could run one. After he ran one and learn how to work on one then he graduated to running a complete saw, he was around 13 or 14. Told him he needed to have total respect to this machinery and the trees that we work with. If not you will be bitten big time.
 
I don't know if this is 'responsible' or not but when my nephew was 6 he was obsessed with my saws & anything with a 2T motor. I wrap my arms/body around him and let him cut cookies, he's now 9 has a HB axe & a MS150c rear handle I gave him but I still don't let him cut completely by himself. He's pretty good and asked his mum for earmuffs for Xmas.
 
Oops, I miss read the question. I thought it said "When did Your first start using a saw. I don't remember when I first used a saw, but, at 16 I was driving a chipper truck, and using all of the equipment. I think I started climbing around 18.
 
Probably 19. I started dating a young girl (15) who's now my wife. Her dad heated with wood and I just sort of started helping him one day. Now I do all the firewood work for the family and would probably still cut if we didn't heat with wood.
 
About 32-33, so not long ago. In previous years I've helped split wood for the fireplace, camping or fire pits, helping friends and what not, but never had the need for a saw until we bought the house we currently live in. Now I have more saws and axes than I'll ever need.

Like many of my interests, when I'm just getting into it I will consume as much information as possible, often to the point of obsession for weeks, months even, until I'm satisfied with my knowledge, then it's just maintenance and gaining experience. I still consider myself an intermediate level user, and try not to let my ego get in the way. But sometimes I look back at just 2-3 years ago and can't believe how much I've learned and have done. It just goes to show that when one puts their mind to it and believes they can do something, then learn as much as possible with an open mind — you can do virtually anything you desire.
 
Probably around 12-13, bout the same time I started driving my own truck. And that was the start of the addiction...

Keep on ... Runnin’ Loads !!
 
! was raised on a tobacco farm, we cut wood on light nights for the tobacco barns the next year. It took a lot of wood for the flue barns not so much for the dark barns.
We would shock up the flue wood so it would season. We also used wood to heat the house. Dad had a Poland 47 must have weighted 30 lbs or more, grandad had an axe that you could shave with. Never new Grandad to use a saw or drive a car or truck. I helped but I must have been 13 or so before I could handle that Poland. We also cut billets [ pulp wood ] during the winter to make some extra cash. We bought a Stihl and Homelite xl 12 bow blade when we started cutting billets.
 
I was twelve years old, my dad had shoulder surgery and couldn't work, we had electric heat and a family of 8 and lots of woods behind the house. Me being the oldest son I took the little mini mac and had at it. We lived next door to my grandfather and he was always dubbing with wood so saws were no strangers to me although I had never used one.
 
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