Safety first

[Ballroomblitz]

Gentleman i have a question and would love some insight, i have never owned a chainsaw prior and being very respectful of power tools / equipment i find it best to learn my lessons from experienced people first, rather than losing a finger and calling that a better path! So for safety sake i am reading up on everything chainsaw, but let start with the very first basic question safety wise.

So first question is do any of you pull the spark plug wire prior to changing / sharpening your chain?

- When i work on my car engine i will generally disconnect the battery, when i work on my snowblower augers i will pull the spark plug wire. I have seen too many pictures in the snowblower forums where an accident occurred which was preventable, chainsaws like snowblowers have to be respected as it can happen too often where inattention can have lifelong consequences.

- I see the practise of safety hat, shield, goat / rawhide gloves, chaps, steel toe boots....read up on the cut resistant gloves that are designed to shred and immobilize the chain (sprocket) however mixed results as far as durability. Thoughts on the mandatory list, everyone is different however want some thoughts? I have everything minis the visor, so thoughts on that and gloves specifically.

Thank you for adding your thoughts, too many people do not respect the power and dangers involved in using a tool and if we can help save one person from injury that is worth the price of asking a question that seems we should all know.

Ballroomblitz

 

[Backstage]

What?! No.

Chainsaws don’t just start up (they have the opposite problem if anything…).
Blowers might have a power starter, which isn’t a thing on a chainsaw. And people like to try to unjam them while they’re running. If you see a guy sharpening a running saw, you’re looking at an idiot.


You’re not going to turn the motor over and start the engine when rotating the chain by hand either. First you don’t have the mechanical advantage to move it quickly enough. Second, you’re physically disconnected by the centrifugal clutch system.

 

[Del_]

Subscribed.

 

[Ballroomblitz]

Small snow blowers like the 10HP 30" dual stage i use have an electric start starter, however it has to be plugged into an 120v outlet for that starter to work. In the (snowblower) forums at least the first thing they tell everyone is to ensure you remove the plug wire, as a precaution. Same with my lawnmower, i always unplug the spark plug wire lead when i get under to remove and sharpen the blade, they is absolutely no way for anything to happen even though it might be a million to one possibility.

I've removed the chain and bar on my chainsaw to go through the process, everything i have seen by way of forums or video is no one removes the plug wire. I have done the same but wanted to ask specifically from people who know the equipment like the back of their hands.

 

[Woodslasher]

You're lucky if a saw starts easily when you're actually trying to start it, so the odds of it firing it up without you spinning over the engine is nil.

 

[sean donato]

Welcome to the beginning of chainsaw acquisition disorder.

First, go buy chaps.

Don't worry about the fancy gloves. Leather gloves will work just fine.

There's no reason at all to take the plug wire off. You can't accidentally start a chainsaw. No bump starting via the chain is even remotely possible if everything is working right, and even then if the clutch some how stayed engaged you would have to have the arms of Hercules to pull the chain fast enough for the saw to start.

Assuming by first saw, you've never felled a tree? If so find someone to give you some lessons/training.

So I have the fancy hard hat/visor/ear muff combo. Not gonna lie, I basically never wear it. I hate hard hard with a passion. The visor sucks imo. The ear muffs are great. I'm a "ball cap" guy. Wear safty glasses or sunglasses everywhere, and ear muffs/plugs are pretty much mandatory. Really like my 3m peltors, but have a few other decent pairs of muffs as well.

I'd you don't have any wedges, I consider them nessisary as well. I have a decent mix of them, all plastic. I actually just killed my little pocket wedge with the saw. So that will be getting replaced. Kinda happens from time to time. Why I like the plastic ones.

Learn how to freehand a chain. It takes practice. All those gizmos do is waste yoir money, if I can sharpen a chain then anyone can sharpen a chain. Again another thing to learn from someone with experience, but it's not hard to figure out on your own.

 

[Backstage]

Chaps = YES.

The 2-1s are great training wheels at the minimum. And yeah, wedges good. Lots of guys getting hurt and damaging property from trees going down in a direction they weren’t expecting. Or sooner than they wanted. Or widowmakers.

Not saying that the 2 mins it takes to take down the saw and remove the spark is the end of the world, just that one should focus on the big things first. Understanding kickback, barber chair, tension/compression limbs, and how to keep your stupid feet away from the bar when bucking are where guys actually get hurt.

 

[Ballroomblitz]

Some very good comments, thank you so much as one can learn so much as there is no substitute from those with experience.

Chaps are the next thing on the list for me, watched some nasty pictures of people who got nic'd with the chain and makes you realize chaps can save you a world of grief and more! Something protective enough without being too heavy and hot. All the other gear i have on hand.

Wedges check, all loaded and ready for when i need.

A friend of mine has a farm lot with a lot of trees that need tending to so going to get some work done up there next season. He finished a course where he went through all the basics, might even take it myself once i familiarize myself for the next while using online resources that are available.

Thanks so much for all the contributors, very appreciated.

 

[sean donato]

I'm actually trying to convince myself I need a set of pants instead of chaps... they are a decent bit more expensive, but claimed to be very comfortable vs the chaps.n

 

[tfp]

I'm actually trying to convince myself I need a set of pants instead of chaps... they are a decent bit more expensive, but claimed to be very comfortable vs the chaps.n

Mate buy yourself dinner and dessert to help with the convincing. I switched from chaps to clogger pants - the difference is night and day.

 

[PV Hiker]

Gentleman i have a question and would love some insight, i have never owned a chainsaw prior and being very respectful of power tools / equipment i find it best to learn my lessons from experienced people first, rather than losing a finger and calling that a better path! So for safety sake i am reading up on everything chainsaw, but let start with the very first basic question safety wise.

........

Thank you for adding your thoughts, too many people do not respect the power and dangers involved in using a tool and if we can help save one person from injury that is worth the price of asking a question that seems we should all know.

Ballroomblitz

You can go through the BC Faller Training Standard series to gain knowledge. There are 17 videos in the series.

 

[Sierra_rider]

Chaps are good...although I admit to not using them except when mandated by OSHA compliance and/or work policy. I'd say they're probably a mandatory safety item for a newer person...I see it at work with people newer to saws. Although it's exceedingly rare that we get a full on leg strike or something, I do occasionally see minor damage to chaps that wasn't enough to clog up the saw or for the operator to even notice. If it weren't for the chaps, at least a minor injury would've been likely, if not worse.

This usually occurs when they're cutting brush, even though I fall trees and climb them, brush cutting is the most dangerous activity I do with a chainsaw IMO. Potential for hazards in the brush, often less-than-ideal body mechanics, often tired, etc. Which leads me to say, check your own fatigue level when cutting...I don't know the statistics, but I'm betting most accidents happen when the sawyer is tired.

Lastly about the leg strike thing, I don't see it at work only because we hammer proper saw handling into the guys that are learning. If I see unsafe saw handling/technique, I'll yell at the guy to stop and we'll correct what he's doing wrong. If you don't have an experienced sawyer to learn from, I'd strongly suggest trying to get some professional training in. I wouldn't even begin to convey the stuff online that I can in person.

Other PPE: Helmets...it's a mandatory safety item if there are any possible aerial hazards, I wear mine when falling trees, climbing, or when mandated to do so at my career job. For cutting firewood at home...I'm wearing a hat.

Ear and eye pro is a must. I do bend the rules at times with eye pro...I have my reason, but I'd say don't follow my lead on that.

Gloves...I've never used cut resistant gloves. I think most of the cut-resistant gloves are meant to ward off a handsaw, but I could be wrong on that. I think I have a higher likelihood of cutting my fingers/hands with my handsaw than I do with my chainsaw.

Get/have good footwear. I don't own any steel-toe boots, all mine are leather logger/wildland fire boots(Nicks.) They are minimal, as far as cut protection goes, but they are comfortable and offer good footing. I'm of the opinion that being comfortable in your work environment is going to save energy and help prevent the events that lead up to an accident.

Wedges are good to have, but I'd learn the purpose behind them/what they can be used for. There are even different sizes and tapers. For now, just get yourself a couple of small 5.5" bucking wedges and understand the concepts of tension and compression. Also different binds.

 

[Backstage]

Lots of hand strikes. Here’s a graphic of injuries mapped out on a paperdoll:


I’m willing to bet that since this was a 1994 graphic and many saws still in service without chain brakes, the head/upper body strikes are lower today.

HAND injuries are really hard to get when you’ve got one on the trigger and the other on the wrap handle. Don’t go one handing it, or carrying it through brush with the brake off, or anything stupid like that. Gloves aren’t the solution, but they make padded ones that can be nice if you have tennis elbow or something.

1 - Keep your hands on the controls.
2 - Keep your feet away from the bar/chain
3 - Wear your chaps
4 - Watch the kickback

…and that’s about 99% of injuries directly from the saw right there. Still gotta watch the deadfalls, the springs, rolls, barberchairs…. but do that and the worst the saw’s going to do is make your finger a bit leaky when you mishandle while sharpening.

 

[sean donato]

Lots of hand strikes. Here’s a graphic of injuries mapped out on a paperdoll:
View attachment 1023609

I’m willing to bet that since this was a 1994 graphic and many saws still in service without chain brakes, the head/upper body strikes are lower today.

HAND injuries are really hard to get when you’ve got one on the trigger and the other on the wrap handle. Don’t go one handing it, or carrying it through brush with the brake off, or anything stupid like that. Gloves aren’t the solution, but they make padded ones that can be nice if you have tennis elbow or something.

1 - Keep your hands on the controls.
2 - Keep your feet away from the bar/chain
3 - Wear your chaps
4 - Watch the kickback

…and that’s about 99% of injuries directly from the saw right there. Still gotta watch the deadfalls, the springs, rolls, barberchairs…. but do that and the worst the saw’s going to do is make your finger a bit leaky when you mishandle while sharpening.

Wonder what the stats are 2021/2022?

 

[Ballroomblitz]

You can go through the BC Faller Training Standard series to gain knowledge. There are 17 videos in the series.

Thank you for the link, watched all the video's it was a good starting point.

 

[Ballroomblitz]

Interesting, never understood asking a honest question would warrant hostility. Most boards i follow people are very welcoming of new posters and only too helpful to answer questions as best they can.

PV Hiker i appreciate your help in posting the link, i have already watched all the context and yes it was useful. I also found the answer for which i posted, a small engine forum i visited knew the answer right away, and was generous in sharing the information.

Seeing i am not welcome here i will be turning to other sites where i can ask questions and learn from those who have already been through the process.

Thanks to all that contributed,
Cheers.

 

[New_Guy]

I’ve never heard of a saw starting while the chain is being sharpened… nothing is impossible but in 15 years of running chainsaws I’ve never heard of it. Don’t worry about that and if you’re stressed pop the chain break on while you sharpen.

At the very minimum get
-good leather boots with ankle support and good traction
-leather gloves (when operating a saw safely and having both hands on the saw hand injuries are uncommon, just get good leather)
-chainsaw chaps (pants are better but a lot more expensive)
-a helmet (preferably with a mesh mask and ear muffs built in)
-eye protection if your helmet does not have a mesh mask/visor
-ear pro (again if not built into helmet)

More importantly than all of the equipment though is to do all the research you can and take a class if you do not have an experienced chainsaw user to walk you through things. There are hundreds of chainsaw safety, felling, limbing, bucking videos on the internet, I still find new ones and watch them even after years. An inexperienced user with all the safety gear and a saw that is not properly maintained is more dangerous than a pro logger running a 395xp buck naked with his manhood dangling in the breeze.

Keep your saw properly maintained, chain sharp, rakers at the right height etc. this is often overlooked by new saw owners, learn to handfile but I would recommend a file holder with angle gauges to keep it at a proper angle. Oregon makes an easy to use raker gauge and file kit for the rakers, freehand filing them could leave you spitting saw dust instead of chips or even worse, ruin the chain and have it too aggressive for the saw to pull it.

Everyone starts somewhere, and I don’t blame you for asking questions. Even pro loggers I know are still learning as they go, stay humble and watch/read as you go. This thread should give you enough info for several more days of reading and watching videos on the topics and points brought up. People here are willing to help and there’s plenty of good info in this thread already, no one wants to see an inexperienced user hurt themself badly though after not doing enough research on how to run one safely. It happens every day and gives what is already the most dangerous job in the world (logging) an even worse reputation.

Have you bought a saw already?

 

[OM617YOTA]

Just put Captain Bruce on ignore, and heed the rest of the advice given. It's the internet, every forum has someone who can't wait to tell everyone how much of a douchebag they are, and you just met ours.

 

[Patrick1903]

Interesting, never understood asking a honest question would warrant hostility. Most boards i follow people are very welcoming of new posters and only too helpful to answer questions as best they can.

PV Hiker i appreciate your help in posting the link, i have already watched all the context and yes it was useful. I also found the answer for which i posted, a small engine forum i visited knew the answer right away, and was generous in sharing the information.

Seeing i am not welcome here i will be turning to other sites where i can ask questions and learn from those who have already been through the process.

Thanks to all that contributed,
Cheers.

Just put Captain Bruce on ignore, and heed the rest of the advice given. It's the internet, every forum has someone who can't wait to tell everyone how much of a douchebag they are, and you just met ours.

@Ballroomblitz Click his avatar, look for the ignore button. Don’t feed the trolls!

 

[Del_]

Just put Captain Bruce on ignore, and heed the rest of the advice given. It's the internet, every forum has someone who can't wait to tell everyone how much of a douchebag they are, and you just met ours.

Subscribed!