Everyone wants to borrow a chain saw.

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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.


View attachment 1000363
Hey that is closer to an OSHA saw than I ever had. It has a guard on the blade! Ours was on 4 iron wheels with a steel frame. (no guard on the blade) It originally had a one lung hit and miss, but my dad sold that to somebody about 1960. So it was belted up to the Farmall H. Scared me a lot when I was a Little kid, but by HS I was setting it up and running it alone. The H i have how spent almost all its life with a mounted woodsaw on the front. Only one I ever saw that had the bearings shot on the belt drive. The saw had been taken off before I got the tractor. Otherwise, I'd use it.
 
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. ??
Tell them, every time, your chain is bent or broken and they can use it if they go get a new one you can put on for them. And, oh, they will need to get some bar oil too.. make it worth your effort EVERYTIME. Don't be the chump
 
I don't loan out pro saws; if they need something done that requires a larger pro saw, I'll usually offer to do it for them.

Otherwise, they get a plastic Poulan that I keep around only to loan out. Capable little saws and I won't lose any sleep if something happens to one.
 
I have an old stihl farmboss that is my beater saw. I have lent it out a time or two with bar oil and my own pre mix .If its a very large job i will give them a price for doing the job.You also have to know who your lending the saw to so you know they are of sound mind and body and will not get hurt!
 
I will never loan a saw. It's to easy to get hurt and you never know what might happen. I have gone over to help people with small jobs, no dropping a tree near a house or power lines.
 
I will never loan a saw. It's to easy to get hurt and you never know what might happen. I have gone over to help people with small jobs, no dropping a tree near a house or power lines.
Good practice is not to loan anything unless you know they wiil pay for it when they break it
 
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. ??
I often loan out saws but only to trusted neighbors or family
I have so many saws that sit
They need run
I built several of those chusky 372s
And that's what everyone wants to borrow
Because I run 24" on all my 70cc saws
They normally just need a larger saw to block with
Sometimes I get a free new chain or at least they'll clean and sharpen them before they return them.
One neighbor got me a nos total 24" bar and chain for letting him use it.
 
Trucks, trailers, chainsaws, splitters, welders..... are all “friend” generators. I‘ve done lots of favours for “friends” over the years. I’ve been the recipient of very few in return. After a while you start to realize which friends appreciate the help, and which ones just stand around and watch you do something for them for free.

I figure if people are skilled enough to use a chainsaw safely, they own one. If they don’t own one, then I’m not loaning them one to get hurt with. If they are on my appreciative friend list, I’ll be happy to show up and cut while they pile brush or split. If not, I politely decline the request and no longer give it a second thought.
 
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...
Well he could buy buy a good stihl 20 inch saw with larger engine and just used that. If he wants a stihl 500 he should buy one and still save 6000 dollars over the tree service. Or just hire someone to chunk down the tree in ten foot chunks till he can do it himself
 
I used to loan a craftsman saw to a buddy once a year because his saw didn’t “run/cut well” anymore.

I’d always sharpen the chain and prep it before he used it with fresh gas. Always came back with a loose dull chain. But he did me favors too so I tolerated it.

UNTIL: Once when I was in the middle of a double shift he texted asking if he could use the saw tomorrow. I said sure but it would be a day or 2. He got testy and said *just* leave it on the porch in the morning. U know, after I get home at midnight and sharpen, fuel up, and tighten the chain. I told him to find another as mine was broken. I gave the saw to my nephew after that and no longer have a loner. Much easier.
 
I’m a Stihl tech (for Ace Hardware). Any piece that comes in for repair that was lent to a neighbor is usually trashed!
Brand new its a 35 dollar saw. I have spare chains. Its a 14 inch bar so not that heavy. No gas to mix.
Not sure how much you can trash a used 35 dollar saw ?
The kickback bar seems to work fine. I tested it a couple times just to see.
 
I will NOT loan saws. I did it one time and I regretted it. I enjoy helping folks, so if they need some tree work done, I bring my saws and run 'em. Period.

JQ
No one can loan a saw, because "loan" is a noun, not a verb. But you can lend a saw. I will not lend my MS500i, however. I will refer such requests to the local tool rental store.
 
All I can see is onehanded overhead cutting off branches with a small saw. You never know what real experience someone has unless you have worked with them.
 
I only lend out my tools and equipment to Only One Person on this planet, my Dad.

Mad3400
Your Dad was different than mine. He never loaned you something unless it was broke or ready to break, and always with stingy strings attached. If you loaned him something it always seamed to come back rougher than it left. I was helping him chunk some bigger hackberry for firewood and he wanted to try My saw (056 Magnum) He always ran 051 Stihls and I started the cut, set the brake, Let him take over. Had to release the brake 'cuz he had never had one on his and in his later 70s he was starting to show some feeble in his age. Long story made short He Hit the dirt (Hard). He said he didn't so I showed him. That was one of the very few times he Humbly said "SORRY" AND one of the very few times in 40 plus years I ever saw him hit dirt with a saw. This story is full of messed up memories but the gist is even someone one with years of saw experience can bugger up a chain, Few people think it necessary to make it right. But That "SORRY" Meant more than a new chain to me and the value of that word from him was/is priceless. Probably the last time he ran a bigger saw.
 
No one can loan a saw, because "loan" is a noun, not a verb. But you can lend a saw. I will not lend my MS500i, however. I will refer such requests to the local tool rental store.
Not one ta argue High School English, But I do Know to many that want to borrow a saw. What they really mean is BURROW it (DEEP in THE DIRT) Then be a BURRO (Jack Azz) about "It's just a saw".
 

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