Do y’all run a top handle one handed?

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SamT1

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Is a top handle made to run one handed? Seems like a safety issue, but it also says to drop start it on the instructions. After 2 tanks through my poulan 180 I’m wondering. Little sucker beat me up. But I did a lot of trimming off a ladder and got good and high. 2 full loads of limbs gone and place looks a lot better.

My first top handle saw. Got it running great. But it was rich so I just tuned the high side by adding oil. Yea I’m lazy. It had 50:1 in it so I probably did it a favor. Love how the thing oils the chain really awesome.
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I do not use it one handed. I am not saying I never have...but that I don't now. I have decided that "there is always another way" and haven't yet found a circumstance where I thought it unreasonable to do that. Often that means making the bulk of the cut with the chainsaw and switching to the handsaw so I can hold the limb with one hand. Sometimes that means re-positioning. Sometimes it means taking a smaller chunk. Perhaps it could mean I tie off a piece I otherwise may have not needed to.

Like @jefflovstrom said, the ANSI Z133 doesn't allow for it.
 
ANSI
They are not designed to use one handed, and if you refer to ANSI, you Shall have two hands on when using. But like anything, to each his own.
Jeff
i don’t give a lick what ANSI thinks. Them boys would have stroked me out yesterday. It’s 106 and bright sunny with high humidity and no wind. They would have me all geared up, and I’d have to wear a harness to go up a ladder.
 
ANSI

i don’t give a lick what ANSI thinks. Them boys would have stroked me out yesterday. It’s 106 and bright sunny with high humidity and no wind. They would have me all geared up, and I’d have to wear a harness to go up a ladder.

I agree with you on ANSI but you did ask a Vague question and you are getting replies that only you can cipher and live with and no one else can be critiqued for.

Now the trimming from a ladder caught my attention... but as other comments say "To each their own"
 
I one hand a fair amount when cutting out of a bucket or lift; usually holding the limb with the other hand. ATH isn’t being unreasonable, he’s being honest. Tree care takes extreme focus and using one hand puts you in an even more pressured situation. I tend to slow down some when using one hand and take smaller pieces. I’ll use my handsaw when one handing a lot too. You gotta take a mental note of every possible factor when making a cut. Sloppy tree work will bite you in the end, no doubt about it!
 
I agree with you on ANSI but you did ask a Vague question and you are getting replies that only you can cipher and live with and no one else can be critiqued for.

Now the trimming from a ladder caught my attention... but as other comments say "To each their own"
no I love the real world replies. That’s what I wanted, a cross section of what folks cutting trees daily do. Quoting the rule book is simply useless jabber. Everyone knows they say both hands. I though using the saw that it was built for 1 hand use, regardless of what they say. But it did feel really heavy after a while and I put a lot of time on a chainsaw. It’s sad today something can be engineered for use a certain way and then blatantly state that’s a prohibited use in the book for legal reasons.
 
Worksafe BC requires 2 hands on the saw. So if you one hand and get cut, your company is liable to be fined for "failure to supervise". Hence, there are companies who are no longer buying top handles to prevent their crews from one handing.

So it's not ANSI who will dictate, it's more likely to be OSHA or you Workers Comp provider.
 
Worksafe BC requires 2 hands on the saw. So if you one hand and get cut, your company is liable to be fined for "failure to supervise". Hence, there are companies who are no longer buying top handles to prevent their crews from one handing.

So it's not ANSI who will dictate, it's more likely to be OSHA or you Workers Comp provider.
Insurance companies Manipulate a lot of things many (including me) people are clueless about
 
I hold it and use it every Which way under the sun. It depends on the scenario of the cut how I hold it. Left hand, right hand, both hands. I'm not a safety instructor so cut like me at your own risk.

Sent from my Z557BL using Tapatalk
 
Yea osha is why I don’t have any employees at what’s currently me side job. I’d like to say F them. All they are is a tax that corporations pass down to their employees. We’ve got fines at my day job for some really dumb stuff. Their solution is IMO more dangerous. They are a serious hinderance on productivity . I think their fines ate my bonus check last year and I really needed it. We even have a person from corporate that’s supposed to come make sure all is good there. You simply can’t trust employees to do their job and simply speak up if they feel something is unsafe. Instead they call osha and sit back and draw a check while osha runs the huge probe up you.
 
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