Nobody's saying he is a lying sack of poo, just saying he was ignorant on the proper way to run a saw. He did not understand the how the brake functions, understand when a motor is straining something is wrong, didn't understand when smoke and the smell of burning plastic starts occurring that you shut the dang saw down. He is just failing to take responsibilitly for his own actions.
I have seen numerous guys on here come clean and tell about their mistakes, it takes a lot of character to do it. This guy just wants to blame the saw manafacturer for his inexpierence and lack of saw knowledge. It's the first post I ever remember on this. I'll bet every brake is checked for proper function before it leaves the factory. Sounds like the owner needs to buddy up with someone who can teach him how to run a saw.
Friends don't let friends use and toast chainsaws.
IS, I'm not trying to argue with you or Tom or Fish, I think a lot of all of you. But here's the pivotal point of his story, which nobody seems to believe, and which prompted my sack of poo comment: he says the chain was spinning up to the point the saw stopped, which is different from the chain stopping and him continuing to rev the saw. Everybody assumes the brake tripped and he continued to rev until the clutch fried, and that would certainly be his fault. Because I've had a similar experience with another saw, I've imagined a scenario where when the brake is disengaged the brake band rubs but does not stop the saw until enough heat is created to cook everything. Would an experienced operator smell something or feel an unusual resistance and shut off the saw? Of course, but an inexperienced operator in this scenario might not, and since he was operating the saw correctly (not having tripped the brake), it would be hard to blame him.
Again, the general assumption is that the chain brake is foolproof in that it is either off or on, and the fault in this case is continuing to rev the saw with it on. I've suggested another possibility. I'm not saying that's what happened, just that it would explain the guy's story.
Jack