The most expensive thing I ever learned about a chainsaw…

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I would agree that pinches are pretty rare, but if you ever get the opportunity to cut blowdown timber on steep ground you will be talking to yourself fairly often! I've got about 60 years of experience now, but an old boss that I worked for a long time ago would just tell you to start chopping! "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!"

I'm on board with that quote. See my sig:
"Experience is the name we give to our mistakes". –Oscar Wilde​
I have more experience than most folks. -PDQDL​
 
They are both good looking women and definitely younger than me. I imagine that they would consider this request creepy. ;)
Grizz, just let them know you are on a chainsaw forum and its known as Man Law... matter of fact the only time you can ignore this important law is when its your Wife, Girlfriend or Daughter! Mom's, Aunts and Cousins are open game. :)

edit: Grizz I just saw your other post. obviously this is a joke, so don't take offense.

You talk about them baking cookies... seems rather misogynist to me. why aren't you baking them cookies while fixing their problems?
 
Grizz, just let them know you are on a chainsaw forum and its known as Man Law... matter of fact the only time you can ignore this important law is when its your Wife, Girlfriend or Daughter! Mom's, Aunts and Cousins are open game. :)

edit: Grizz I just saw your other post. obviously this is a joke, so don't take offense.

You talk about them baking cookies... seems rather misogynist to me. why aren't you baking them cookies while fixing their problems?
I'd just had another one of those discussions with a woman and was perhaps over sensitized at that moment...

Regarding the cookies... The woman offered the cookies as thanks for removing an 8" maple branch that broke off her tree, was hung up, and was jeopardizing her fence. It was a nice gesture. Also, if I had a kitchen I could bake. I'm living in a whole house renovation at the moment. Every room in the house is in various stages of demolition/construction. It is a complete gut job, inside and out, with all new mechanicals. The outside is pretty much done... Most of the rewiring, insulation and rock is in. I have a pile of poplar that will become Shaker style millwork (trim, doors, cabinets) and am accumulating red oak for the floors. After that wood is dried and processed I'll add to my cherry, walnut and maple inventory so I can make the furniture. It will take time...
 
Dropped a XP540T out of a bucket at 40' without a tether attached.
Tethers are GOOD use them wisely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When climbing, I use a tether. When in an aerial, I tend to not use a tether.

I'd rather not get a saw snatched from me and then get sling-shot out of the aerial device when it rebounds from the snatched chainsaw. If you think you'll never get a saw snatched out of your hands, well... Y'er either fooling yourself or far better than me or anyone I know.
 
I figured this thread would be loaded with pics of bloodied legs, fingers, toes, etc.. Those are expensive lessons! Have to say I'm a bit surprised, and disappointed at the same time! :D

I learned a few lessons myself, but not with a chainsaw. With motorcycles, I learned it's not a good idea to use the street as a racetrack, especially with bald tires and a SEVERE hangover. Cost me a chunk of flesh from both my knee and hip, plus bruised ribs, and smashed plastic on my once pristine bike!

More recently with my paramotor, I learned rushing and forcing a take off is a BAD idea. It's a bad idea in aviation in general! That cost me $280 for a new prop, plus a plate and 6 self-tappers in my right 4th metacarpal.

Some things you must learn by carrying the cat by it's tail. :envy:

Oh, and all that damage to the bike was from the bike hitting me in the ribs after the wheel bounced off the guardrail ...

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I would agree that pinches are pretty rare, but if you ever get the opportunity to cut blowdown timber on steep ground you will be talking to yourself fairly often! I've got about 60 years of experience now, but an old boss that I worked for a long time ago would just tell you to start chopping! "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!"

“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.”​

Mark Twain
 
I see how that is possible, but I don't know if I'd be using any outboard clutch models when I'm away from vehicles, so I guess I don't have to worry about that. I can't pretend that I never get pinches, but it's rare enough that so far, each pinch has been one where I've been in a situation where I could change bars if the next guy/saw was far away. Point well taken though.

Plus, a pinch can be an early indicator of lost focus and/or reduced alertness maybe due to fatigue of the operator. The pause in cutting you take when changing a bar for this reason could be enough to consider whether you should continue or take a break to refocus or just call it a day if you have that option. Once you have some experience, pinches are very rare and therefore beg the question, "How or why did I let this happen?" and "Do I need to wake up?"
I had this happen… big wood pinch, outboard clutch. Luckily it was a saw with a side tensioner and I wasn’t buried to the dogs. Was able to loosen and get the power head off. I’m glad I wasn’t using another saw with a front tensioner. Might not have cost me much, other than time. I’ve gotten pretty good about not getting pinched though… just got so sick of getting stuck or throwing chains.
 
I'd just had another one of those discussions with a woman and was perhaps over sensitized at that moment...

Regarding the cookies... The woman offered the cookies as thanks for removing an 8" maple branch that broke off her tree, was hung up, and was jeopardizing her fence. It was a nice gesture. Also, if I had a kitchen I could bake. I'm living in a whole house renovation at the moment. Every room in the house is in various stages of demolition/construction. It is a complete gut job, inside and out, with all new mechanicals. The outside is pretty much done... Most of the rewiring, insulation and rock is in. I have a pile of poplar that will become Shaker style millwork (trim, doors, cabinets) and am accumulating red oak for the floors. After that wood is dried and processed I'll add to my cherry, walnut and maple inventory so I can make the furniture. It will take time...
Grizz I was teasing you….
 
Some say having two saws saves you from ruining one dealing with a pinch and that makes some sense.

But I'll save you some more money and more importantly, weight. One saw. Bring an extra bar/chain that's just long enough to get a saw out of a pinch. You can temporarily abandon just the stuck bar and chain and move the powerhead onto your spare to free it up. When we cut on a steep slope significantly far from vehicle access, we don't want to lug a second powerhead around. Just an extra bar/chain will do.

Also, when I mentioned the hernia on an earlier post on this thread, turns out there's 16 staples, not 15 that were used to close up the surgery incision. All over only maybe 4 inches, so they're pretty close together. I'm not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds for many weeks, and that's expensive work loss. Luckily I have other ways to keep enough income to support the family for now, but just let it be a lesson... Treat your body right or you'll pay in lost work.
Since I only own one saw at a time, that is what I do. It is easy to just replace the bar and chain in the field.
 
jeezus
Picked up a CL saw, chain was filthy, thick, dirt, grease, rust. Took it off the bar, started cleaning it on the wire wheel, was looking GOOD.
Yeah start cringing, got distracted, wheel grabbed the chain, pulled it out of my hand. That pause; you know? it's going to be bad, put a dent in your week, really wish you had the last 5 seconds to do over, but it doesn't hurt yet and yah gotta look? One tooth milled a hooked slot in my palm between thumb and fore finger about an inch and half long. Whew, palm meat, no tendons, relieved it wasn't worse.
Went to bathroom to clean it out. All I could find was Mercurochrome, remember that stuff? Poured it on the cut. KEE-RISTE that stung, whipped my hand, sprayed bathroom wall with purple Mercurochrome and blood. Paper towel and duct tape, back to work.
wife wouldn't stitch so got 14 at ER, wife cut and removed them later. Dumb me.
 

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