I was always taught that the best safety device was what you had between your ears.
Pioneerguy600
Pioneerguy600
Do you remove chainbrakes from your saws?
- Thread starter spacemule
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mechanickeven
ArboristSite Member
i run em if the saw has em.
i have two saws without em i run, both homelites. my husky 45 has a great functioning one, use that saw most of the time. my father pulls em out. id rather have one than not but am not afraid to run a saw without one.
i have two saws without em i run, both homelites. my husky 45 has a great functioning one, use that saw most of the time. my father pulls em out. id rather have one than not but am not afraid to run a saw without one.
So, if you wrap a anti-kickback chain around the bar, you should last forever?
TreeClimber57
Addicted to ArboristSite
And that is pretty accurate, I agree.
Providing of course that what you have between your two ears understands the device(s) being used, the risks involved, how to minimize the risks, and how to react should issues occur. Providing of course that your body is not too tired to react should any issues occur. Providing of course that what you have between your two ears is not tired at end of a long day and is working a little more slowly. That, in my opinion is where the safety devices come in, to protect you when you make mistakes and are a little slow in counter acting these mistakes.. then they can safe your life. Even the best of us can make mistakes at times. Only the foolish among us fail to ignore that mistakes can happen to the most skilled and knowledgeable.. now skill, knowledge and lots of practice can reduce the number of errors or virtually eliminate them.. but not prevent them from occurring 100% of the time.
I agree with you 100 % on what you say, my post was short on explanations. When I started out in the woods around 1959-60 working with my dad and uncles who had worked their lives in the woods the chainsaws had no brakes, some had open clutch sides, 404 and 1/2 " pitch chains, they revved slower but had enormous torque and were dangerous tools so I was taught to respect them and how to use them. I had to learn by experience how they would react under all conditions and as the years passed the saws changed for the good for the most operators. There was always a lot of #####in about every change and if it was good or bad or helpful or got in the way, held up production etc. The saws kept on getting lighter and turning up faster, kickback became more severe with the lighter faster turning saws and some operators liked chainbrakes and others didn`t but we all learned from gradual day to day experiences with the saws how to handle them without injury. My dad was 80 years old before he cut himself for the first time with his chainsaw, hit himself in the nose and forehead with the chain when the saw jumped, the chainbreak saved him from serious injury. He was not as strong as he once was and his reaction time was slower to the bounce ,also he was bent over and too close to the wood he was cutting so that was also part of the problem. That said in that case the chainbreak did its job, I would not remove one from a saw that comes with one and keep them in good working condition at all times. I also own and run many vintage saws starting back from 1948 and up that never had a chainbrake and feel just as comfortable running them without a brake as when I run a saw with a brake. I just don`t depend on any safety gear to keep me safe on its own, one has to treat the machine with respect and the operator has to be thinking about safety in all situations so that we all see the end of each days work without injury. Working when over tired and not having your mind on what you are doing including drinking alcohol or using drugs has caused a great many injuries around me in my working years that even the safety gear on machines cannot prevent accidents from occurring. Hence I say its up to the operator and whats between his ears that will for the most part keep him safe and that includes awareness of all factors that come into play while carrying out our tasks on any given day.
Pioneerguy600
