Everyone wants to borrow a chain saw.

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quantico

ArboristSite Operative
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glendale wisconsin
I live in a suburban but tons of trees and bushes area.. i am pretty beat up so I run a stihl saw every few days for cleanup but cant run it for long. I get too tired out. So I am happy with my situation. However my neighbors can hear my saw running and come over and want to borrow one for ten minutes to do a few branches.
I dont trust that people are safe with a stihl pro saw. I run fast non safety chain.
Saws are so cheap they should get one if they really need one. Not a pro stihl. But hell i have loaned out the harbor freight plug in electric saw. They seem much safer for folks without skills.. and total cost is 45 bucks for a saw inc bar and chain..

Why do people think its ok to ask for expensive gear ? Or stuff they cant run properly ?
They dont know how to mix gas and oil. Cant tighten a chain. And run the chain into the dirt if I am dumb enough to give them a chance.
So often if its someone I like.. god forbid. I will do the work for them. But not loan out the gear.

Other people do similar stuff ?? Or am I missing something I should know better. ??
 
That’s about right. If you don’t KNOW the person and their capability, the answer is a neighborly No.

You’re a better man than I am if you’re keeping an extra “safety saw” ready for loaner purposes.

I have a core group of family members who can all run saws safely and not run the chains into the ground. But I still end up doing all the maintaining because they’ll just put them away wet and dull.
 
Believe it or not, there are people in this World that do not consider a chainsaw an essential must have.... I know, but the World is full of weirdos.
Having said that, needing one for a few minutes and knowing someone in the neighbourhood has one is priceless- you might get to borrow it and not have to buy one so it acts like a boat or a caravan- handy for the day you want to use it, something to trip over and store for the other 364 days of the year.
Which is safer for a novice user does not really come into it- bit like you can kill stuff just as dead with a .22lr as you can with a .45/70- the holes just get bigger.
 
Believe it or not, there are people in this World that do not consider a chainsaw an essential must have.... I know, but the World is full of weirdos.
Having said that, needing one for a few minutes and knowing someone in the neighbourhood has one is priceless- you might get to borrow it and not have to buy one so it acts like a boat or a caravan- handy for the day you want to use it, something to trip over and store for the other 364 days of the year.
Which is safer for a novice user does not really come into it- bit like you can kill stuff just as dead with a .22lr as you can with a .45/70- the holes just get bigger.
But Bob, do You have a loaner Wild Thingy?

Maybe you don't remember way back on AS.................

Wild Thingys were official loaners.

And they had Wild Thingy builds/races for AS GTGs.

I guess I'm just getting old.........
 
But Bob, do You have a loaner Wild Thingy?

Maybe you don't remember way back on AS.................

Wild Thingys were official loaners.

And they had Wild Thingy builds/races for AS GTGs.

I guess I'm just getting old.........

Nope I dont.
If I loan a saw- I come with it as the operator- if they dont like that- go find someone else to ask.
Its way different over here- lot more rural living and everyone has at least one chainsaw per household.
I did however just a couple of days ago, see a really nice wolf in sheep's clothing (lambs?) where a Jonsered 2083 had been painted in Wild Thing livery- quite a convincing example of a Wild Thing on steroids.
 
Nope I dont.
If I loan a saw- I come with it as the operator- if they dont like that- go find someone else to ask.
Its way different over here- lot more rural living and everyone has at least one chainsaw per household.
I did however just a couple of days ago, see a really nice wolf in sheep's clothing (lambs?) where a Jonsered 2083 had been painted in Wild Thing livery- quite a convincing example of a Wild Thing on steroids.
You missed all the "Wild Thingy" stuff years ago too bad.

Little box store Poulans that were decent cutters for the cost. Keep one to loan, bring one to a GTG for races.....

I don't have one now. I am like you not being giving with easily ruined tools.....
 
You missed all the "Wild Thingy" stuff years ago too bad.

Little box store Poulans that were decent cutters for the cost. Keep one to loan, bring one to a GTG for races.....

I don't have one now. I am like you not being giving with easily ruined tools.....

Oh I didn't miss it- just they were never really a "thing" here, plenty of other horrible little cheap and nasty plastic saws from dubious manufacture were available at most any hardware store here- Poulan never really got a good hold here.
Plus, we don't hold GTG's or races here just for the heck of it- closest you get to a GTG here is a bunch of Dad's cutting firewood for their son's rugby team firewood fund raiser.
 
"Show me what you're trying to do...I have a few saws and tools to choose from....then I'll show you how to use them"

That's my pitch when "friends" need tree work done....
Although recently I've discovered that our town requires a "zoning permit" to remove any tree or bush greater then 6" in diam...$25 and application and approval prior to removal....so I use that now too.
My zoning officer sent me a violations warning after I removed 3 dead ash trees. Warning said I had 4 days to apply for said permission or face violations...
 
I have a coworker that wants to barrow my MS500i or 592xp for a 60ft cottonwood that split from a storm. It's also hung up on another tree next to his house. Of course a local company quoted him $3500 just to drop it and another $3500 to haul it away. I think the saw he has is a home owner stihl with a 16 or 18" bar...
 
I have a coworker that wants to barrow my MS500i or 592xp for a 60ft cottonwood that split from a storm. It's also hung up on another tree next to his house. Of course a local company quoted him $3500 just to drop it and another $3500 to haul it away. I think the saw he has is a home owner stihl with a 16 or 18" bar...
Let him borrow the 592....it's just a Husky ...nobody really likes them anyway..
 
I have a coworker that wants to barrow my MS500i or 592xp for a 60ft cottonwood that split from a storm. It's also hung up on another tree next to his house. Of course a local company quoted him $3500 just to drop it and another $3500 to haul it away. I think the saw he has is a home owner stihl with a 16 or 18" bar...
Take out a hefty life insurance policy on him, then loan him the saw. If you like him, you can tell him you're taking out the life insurance policy first.
 
Take out a hefty life insurance policy on him, then loan him the saw. If you like him, you can tell him you're taking out the life insurance policy first.

Thats funny.. I told him straight out ill come over and cut it up on the ground but I'm not dropping it lol.
 
Oh I didn't miss it- just they were never really a "thing" here, plenty of other horrible little cheap and nasty plastic saws from dubious manufacture were available at most any hardware store here- Poulan never really got a good hold here.
Plus, we don't hold GTG's or races here just for the heck of it- closest you get to a GTG here is a bunch of Dad's cutting firewood for their son's rugby team firewood fund raiser.
My uncles took one weekend, each spring/summer, to put put up wood for grandparents farm. Old saws, cordwood saws run on tractors w/belts, axes wedges mauls sledges.......then the GTG/hootenanny.

All the food from the farm fresh/grilled/baked....., music, shooting contests air rifle- mag CFs 20-300yds (kids did ARifles...).

Grandma had 11 children....


This one still works. Needs wood replaced on feeder. Bearings/arbor fine, blade in the shed. Have belt and tractor PTO hookup. Not OSHA approved. Fits on Ferguson 3pt hitch.


1 22-44 saw pic.png
 
I live in a suburban but tons of trees and bushes area.. i am pretty beat up so I run a stihl saw every few days for cleanup but cant run it for long. I get too tired out. So I am happy with my situation. However my neighbors can hear my saw running and come over and want to borrow one for ten minutes to do a few branches.
I dont trust that people are safe with a stihl pro saw. I run fast non safety chain.
Saws are so cheap they should get one if they really need one. Not a pro stihl. But hell i have loaned out the harbor freight plug in electric saw. They seem much safer for folks without skills.. and total cost is 45 bucks for a saw inc bar and chain..

Why do people think its ok to ask for expensive gear ? Or stuff they cant run properly ?
They dont know how to mix gas and oil. Cant tighten a chain. And run the chain into the dirt if I am dumb enough to give them a chance.
So often if its someone I like.. god forbid. I will do the work for them. But not loan out the gear.

Other people do similar stuff ?? Or am I missing something I should know better. ??
YUP!! same here! no way I loan ANYTHING out anymore! AC D grader came back with the motor stuck and now it's total rebuild on it! They were s'posed to keep it under a roof in exchange for using it but it never saw a roof and water filled up the oil pan and the pistons are totaly stuck in the sleeves!
Anyway from now on NONE of my stuff gets loaned out!!!
 
I have a three Stihl MS180c saws that I consider loaners, as I picked them up used for $50 each.
Living in a rural area, my neighbors know how to operate a chainsaw, even if they don't own one.
My wife at a towering 59" of height knows how to operate a saw if the situation demands it, it's a survival skill.
 
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