It may look funny, but it works. Safety is the the most important thing. It only takes a split second to cost you bigtime.

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eriklane said:
After hearing from a friend of a friend, and seeing the bar to the face article a week or so ago, I went out and bought a baseball umpire facemask. Yep, I'm not taking the risk anymore. I've never had even a close call with kickback, but I've had a couple of kickers, nothing ever significant. It's not worth the risk. And for those of us saving a few bucks on our heating bills, what does a hospital bill cost? Think of what a few hundred in safety gear means if it saves you that $5,000 or $10,000 or more in hospital bills. Put it another way, if you get just one big injury, all of your savings is toast. I just bought a mask off Ebay for $30. Those steel bars will do the job. Chaps, safety glasses, ear protection, chaps, boots, gloves. I cut in the cool temps only, so wearing gear is no problem.

Be safe guys, it's just not worth taking any risks. And your ears are just too precious-I see guys on car shows using angle grinders without ear protection. You'll end up deaf or with tinnitus if you keep that up. I wear plugs AND muffs.
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You are so right buddy! Back in the 1960’s I neglected to wear ear protection on two Airport tarmacs and now I have tinnitus. How stupid of me to ignore the safety offered. It’s not heroics or rocket science…it’s just common sense. I wear chainsaw chaps even in summer, steel toe boots, good work gloves, hard hat and safety goggles.
 
cookies said:
Simply stand offset to the left of the saw so kickback will harmlessly pass to your right. People looking down the bar during cutting is a unsafe practice not only from kickback but also often they lean over to do so.
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This is good advice but I wouldn't count on it 100%. You still have both hands on the saw and you don't know how that will affect the kickback. It happens so quick and violent that it is unpredictable. The best advice I can offer is to always make a mental note to check each time where the tip of the bar will be and never cut near wire or fence. Use a saw with an inertia activated brake and wear as much PPE as you can tolerate.
 
eriklane said:
After hearing from a friend of a friend, and seeing the bar to the face article a week or so ago, I went out and bought a baseball umpire facemask. Yep, I'm not taking the risk anymore. I've never had even a close call with kickback, but I've had a couple of kickers, nothing ever significant. It's not worth the risk. And for those of us saving a few bucks on our heating bills, what does a hospital bill cost? Think of what a few hundred in safety gear means if it saves you that $5,000 or $10,000 or more in hospital bills. Put it another way, if you get just one big injury, all of your savings is toast. I just bought a mask off Ebay for $30. Those steel bars will do the job. Chaps, safety glasses, ear protection, chaps, boots, gloves. I cut in the cool temps only, so wearing gear is no problem.

Be safe guys, it's just not worth taking any risks. And your ears are just too precious-I see guys on car shows using angle grinders without ear protection. You'll end up deaf or with tinnitus if you keep that up. I wear plugs AND muffs.
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I like to wear the arborists helmet for all it offers, but I like your idea. I'm surprised there isn't a combination of both. Obviously they are not tested for saw kickback, so who knows how they would hold up. After all these years of PPE and lawsuits, there must be a reason.

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dsell said:
I like to wear the arborists helmet for all it offers, but I like your idea. I'm surprised there isn't a combination of both. Obviously they are not tested for saw kickback, so who knows how they would hold up. After all these years of PPE and lawsuits, there must be a reason.
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There isn't much other than steel or ballistic nylon that will stop a running chain. That being said saws with a chain brake should activate the brake either by inertia or your wrist before the bar gets to your helmet / face shield. So, yes, a standard helmet face shield should stop a non-running chain from doing damage to your face.
 
AND I've also seen WEAK people (fishermen) who would not spend $100 for a good life jacket.
(WEAK=weak upstairs)

I've had them ask me how much my automatic life jacket cost and when I say $100 on sale they say, wow that's too much.
I usually say, they make a nice gift to someone you like, for example YOURSELF, husband/wife/son/daughter or good friend, but if you don't like them including yourself, enough to spend $100 for a safety item to save their life, let them fend for themselves.
 
Okie said:
AND I've also seen WEAK people (fishermen) who would not spend $100 for a good life jacket.
(WEAK=weak upstairs)

I've had them ask me how much my automatic life jacket cost and when I say $100 on sale they say, wow that's too much.
I usually say, they make a nice gift to someone you like, for example YOURSELF, husband/wife/son/daughter or good friend, but if you don't like them including yourself, enough to spend $100 for a safety item to save their life, let them fend for themselves.
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Once an idea takes root there is nothing that can move it. To scary to post, but in YouTube search on Bad Teeth. I don't know if it is, "I can't afford a toothbrush", or "Brush my teeth? I'd rather die then have the Government tell me to brush".
 
SteveSr said:
That being said saws with a chain brake should activate the brake either by inertia or your wrist before the bar gets to your helmet / face shield.
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I was thinking about this thread today while looking down at the saw and this was the conclusion I reached. A strong kickback aimed straight up at you should be stopped by the chain brake. You shouldn’t be running a saw without an operable brake. If mine shows any trouble at all (and the bands do wear out over time), I put the saw down and switch to the back-up saw.

I wear a Husqy “Technical” hardhat which happens to be the one pictured above in this thread. I would rather have the strong helmet protection on top and the most full-wrap possible screen (Stihl Pro-Mark also quite good) to keep saw dust etc. away from my eyes. I wish I could wear saw goggles over my glasses but can’t find a good combo there. Even those largest possible screens still let in the occasional bit of material, particularly when cutting dead wood or when windy.

I just can’t see how trying to add an Umpire’s mask could improve on the pro-grade helmet&visor screen&earmuffs system. Maybe Umpire mask + saw goggles + Arborist style helmet (no visor) would work.
 
newforest said:
I was thinking about this thread today while looking down at the saw and this was the conclusion I reached. A strong kickback aimed straight up at you should be stopped by the chain brake. You shouldn’t be running a saw without an operable brake. If mine shows any trouble at all (and the bands do wear out over time), I put the saw down and switch to the back-up saw.

I wear a Husqy “Technical” hardhat which happens to be the one pictured above in this thread. I would rather have the strong helmet protection on top and the most full-wrap possible screen (Stihl Pro-Mark also quite good) to keep saw dust etc. away from my eyes. I wish I could wear saw goggles over my glasses but can’t find a good combo there. Even those largest possible screens still let in the occasional bit of material, particularly when cutting dead wood or when windy.

I just can’t see how trying to add an Umpire’s mask could improve on the pro-grade helmet&visor screen&earmuffs system. Maybe Umpire mask + saw goggles + Arborist style helmet (no visor) would work.
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Not all chain brakes are inertia activated and the bar/chain is still flying towards you regardless if the chain stopped.
 
MontanaResident said:
Once an idea takes root there is nothing that can move it. To scary to post, but in YouTube search on Bad Teeth. I don't know if it is, "I can't afford a toothbrush", or "Brush my teeth? I'd rather die then have the Government tell me to brush".
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Yeah... and I know a woman who was on the heart transplant list for a year or so (she finally improved just enough to come off it - but walking across the yard sometimes exhausts her). All because of a bad tooth. One nobody knew she had, because it had had a root canal, and she didn't feel it until they either caught it on an X-ray, or some other thing not connected with anything she felt. Rotten tooth - bad heart. I had one that got into my hip - another case of "didn't feel it because of a root canal".

I am constantly amazed at people who don't understand that connection.
 
newforest said:
I was thinking about this thread today while looking down at the saw and this was the conclusion I reached. A strong kickback aimed straight up at you should be stopped by the chain brake. You shouldn’t be running a saw without an operable brake. If mine shows any trouble at all (and the bands do wear out over time), I put the saw down and switch to the back-up saw.

I wear a Husqy “Technical” hardhat which happens to be the one pictured above in this thread. I would rather have the strong helmet protection on top and the most full-wrap possible screen (Stihl Pro-Mark also quite good) to keep saw dust etc. away from my eyes. I wish I could wear saw goggles over my glasses but can’t find a good combo there. Even those largest possible screens still let in the occasional bit of material, particularly when cutting dead wood or when windy.

I just can’t see how trying to add an Umpire’s mask could improve on the pro-grade helmet&visor screen&earmuffs system. Maybe Umpire mask + saw goggles + Arborist style helmet (no visor) would work.
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Some of my saws and brake bands are from the mid 90s when will they wear out and need replaced?
 
Iffykid said:
Some of my saws and brake bands are from the mid 90s when will they wear out and need replaced?
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Look in your users manual on how to check it. If you don't have one, there is a beg for manuals thread on this site. Visual inspection is a good start, look for wear/thin spots on the band. If it's an inertia brake, the saw is off, hold it by the rear handle and drop the tip of the bar on a log and it should trip.

1640355532193.png1640355573845.png1640355596996.png
 
dsell said:
Look in your users manual on how to check it. If you don't have one, there is a beg for manuals thread on this site. Visual inspection is a good start, look for wear/thin spots on the band. If it's an inertia brake, the saw is off, hold it by the rear handle and drop the tip of the bar on a log and it should trip.

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Thank You!
My saws have 1000s of cords of usage and the bands have never been a issue.
 
Several of my old saws do not have the chain brake or hand guard.
I have to be extra careful when cutting near the bar tip.
AND I just got through informing my neighbor that I'm not going to charge him anything for getting his saw's engine running good, because some Bubba has been into his chain brake and thrown away several expensive parts.( I did not know that the brake was dis-abled until I got the engine running good) I do not want to be responsible for anyone possibly spilling a hot cup of coffee in their crotch due to a non-operating chain brake kickback..
(and attempting repairs on chain brakes that have been purposely dis-abled is not something that I prefer to do especially when the owner says they knew the chain brake was not working)
 
Chainsaws are not safe.
People are not safe. More broadly stated, cutting wood is not safe.
Of coarse, getting out of bed isn't safe either.
Everything has it's risk factor. No such thing as fool proof.
We have all had out little "wake up calls" running a saw. Yes things can happen quite quickly.
I do wear my chaps, I should get some more steel toe boots.
No head gear beyond the requisite muffs.
Chainbrakes are maintained in operable condition. I feel that a longer bar is somewhat safer...

Be careful out there, but chop chop.
 

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