Youngens Question

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RON58

ArboristSite Operative
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Tyrone, PA.
My 16 year old step son has been bugging me to run the saw.I know it depends on the actual kid (young man),responsible,mature and physically able and all that. I have a smaller johnney red he could learn on instead of my big saw.The thing is almost everyone that runs or has run a saw around here at one time or another have had accidents or very close calls me included.I guess theres a risk involved in everything we do but I would feel real bad if I let him do this and he gets hurt.I keep turning him down and he says I'm treating him like a baby. I feel bad but have mixed up feelings about this. I know some of you have been through this. What to do?
 
get him some chanp. gloves and a helmit with a face shield. i woiuldnt let him rip on a 395xp or anything though. with the proper safety equpiment id let him run a small saw to start. i cuit into my chaps about a month or so ago. boy lemme tell you im glad i had em on. now i never cut without a set on.
 
My dad started me on the saw probably when I was 14-15.

Nothing trick... started off cuting meterholz in the saw buck and then progressed to to bucking felled timber and brush. I think I felled my first tree around 18 y/o in the yard (away from the house and other trees) and then I started cutting a some in the woods. I'm 26 now and I like to think I operate my 372 and 290 competently.

The saw I learned on as a teen was an 024 WB, if you're wondering. Great little saw.
 
get him some chanp. gloves and a helmit with a face shield. i woiuldnt let him rip on a 395xp or anything though. with the proper safety equpiment id let him run a small saw to start. i cuit into my chaps about a month or so ago. boy lemme tell you im glad i had em on. now i never cut without a set on.

+10 on getting him the proper PPE!

Kevin
 
My 5 year old son bugged me about the same thing. Fixed that when I got him the toy stihl chainsaw. Of course that wont work for you. Proper training and supervision and he should be fine. Helmet, gloves, safety glasses and chaps are a must. If he balks on wearing those, then I would say he is not ready....
 
All I will say is that young man will be out in the real world by himself in a couple of years.
 
I agree on the ppe and training .Is he responsible do you let him drive alone? He is more likely to get hurt in a car crash than sawing.
 
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i learned on a 359 husky at 13. get him one of those helmets with the face sheild and ear muffs and a set of chapps. He'll spend all of his time sharping chains for the first 3 or 4 times out till he learns how long the bar is. but thats just part of it
 
I guess it all depends on the Kid as well as parents 16 does seem to be old enough heck he can get a drivers license.I remember being 16 and driving out to the woods to go deer hunting alone.
 
16 is fine. Get him the right protective gear and a good, solid sense of what saws can do and why they do it. Supervise him, critique his work (in a positive way), and make sure he remains aware of the need to be aware of what is going on at all times.

I was doing small removals, storm clean-up, and pruning at that age, and was largely self-taught (bad idea). Start him with a lower-powered saw that he can easily manhandle, stall, and control in kickback; my first saw, which I still have (and which is currently for sale) was a Homelite 200 Classic with a 10" bar, and I learned a lot with that saw and cut a lot of wood, too. I never felt "intimidated" by the saw, and its size/power required thoughtful use because it couldn't necessarily power itself out of binds and such. Good learning tool.
 
Like everyone else mentioned, I cant see the harm in letting a 16yr old run a small saw. I think with the proper protection and supervision the boy can stay out of harms way. I have let my 11 year old daughter use my little Echo, and she is far more careful than I am with the thing. I explained that in no circumstances is she to use the tip of the saw for any cutting, only the bar where the paint is wore off. I put a bunch of logs stacked up on the ground on top of some pieces of plywood and let her go at it. Now she is our "limber". She actually does pretty good, and I have yet to catch her dropping the tip into the ground or anything else. I mentioned that if the tip should get into anything that would grab, it would be the end of her pretty face and the end of any chance of any boys coming knocking on her door later in life. She has been remarkably careful.
Think of it this way, if you let him run the saw once in awhile, it will make the wood cutting a whole lot more fun,and he will take more of an interest in helping you.
I know I got my first saw, a little Remington, when I was ten. My uncle would sharpen the chain for me from time to time and I enjoyed being the "limber" myself at the time with my older cousins and my uncles cutting wood. At the age of 13 I was the sole woodcutter in the family, my father left to chase some other skirts so I was the one that kept the family warm in the winter. After the first winter, I became the proud owner of a Stihl woodboss.
Good Luck! Put that youngen to work!
 
I started running Dad's Homelite XL when I was about 11. First cut with his XL-12 when I was 12. Of course, I also learned to shoot when I was about 8 and had a fulltime summer job when I was 12 (as a hired hand on a farm), so perhaps I didn't have the average upbringing.
 
Let him at it, I was running Dozers and backhoes at age 16, give him the low down and let him learn.
 
Now is your opportunity to teach. If you don't take advantage of the moment, he will eventually teach himself. Which way do you think is more controlled?
Enjoy giving him lessons.

As a sidenote, If there are so many close calls with your cutting situation, you should maybe look at your own methods a bit.
 
Now is your opportunity to teach. If you don't take advantage of the moment, he will eventually teach himself. Which way do you think is more controlled?
Enjoy giving him lessons.

As a sidenote, If there are so many close calls with your cutting situation, you should maybe look at your own methods a bit.

I think you need to re-read the OP post. He said, "The thing is almost everyone that runs or has run a saw around here at one time or another have had accidents or very close calls me included"
Havent we all had some close calls? I know I have, and have the bruises and scars to prove it.
 
right safety equipment, supervision, and responisiblity. sort of self fulfilling: giving him responsibility tends to cause him to buck up and take pride and responsibility hopefully.

middle son learned about age 11-put the 12 inch bar on the little echo, with the tin tip guard also. training and being close by me. He did the limbing, only after I cleaned out the brush. everything at right height, not close to ground, and not high. He just cut off 16 inch chunks of branches hanging out in space. Stop, hand off throttle, move feet, plant stance, start again, etc.
He was way safer than most of teh adults cutting that day and after a full gallon of mix through the little saw, got lots of positive comments, which tended to make him proud also. That people noticed safety not just production or macho big trees.

he has a lawn care business now while working through hs and college.

k
 
Avalancher-Guess I got the wrong impression the first time I read the original post. I have also had to stitch clothes and tape fingers. Just always try to keep it at a minimum.
 
I agree with everyone else. With proper PPE and you around, I think it is a perfect time to start cutting. I look forward to having my daughters help me out when they are older. Right now they pick up dead sticks and put them in my "kindling" pile.
 

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