Who uses the chain brake?

[Bushmans]

I was always under the impression that the brake was a saftey feature for kickback. Nothing more.
I don't use it except when I sharpen the chain on the saw.
My friend will set his between every round as he side shuffles down the log. I find it most annoying to hear that click..clack.....click..clack.
To each his own I say!

 

[066blaster]

I have set mine a couple times when climbing a ladder with it running, and have seen a lot of climbers do this between cuts when thier climbing.

 

[procarbine2k1]

I use it on rare occasion, mostly if I am walking through brush with the saw at idle. Or on a short walk while the saw warms up on my way to the next tree.

 

[ford832]

For many years,never.Then a couple years ago I slipped and fell and some brush caught the trigger with my head and neck a couple inches away from the chain.These days,never when starting but ALWAYS when moving around or setting it down for even a few seconds.
It becomes habit pretty quick.
On the other hand,my grandfather was a logger his whole life and hated them.He always said they were in the way for limbing,around brush or whatever and said if you knew what you were doing,and paid attention,you didn't need them anyway.
To my knowledge,he never cut himself so maybe he was right-for him.
The last saw he bought new before he died was a Partner 5000.The first thing he did when he got it home is take out the hacksaw and "fix" the brake.

 

[Chris-PA]

I always use the brake If the saw is idling too fast and I don't wanna stop to fix it right away.

That is exactly when you should not use it. It guarantees you are pumping heat into the clutch.

 

[Little Al]

A good few of the saws I own were made in the days before chain brake were standard fittings. When I am using one of these I ALWAYS stop the saw if i`m walking around, with brake equipped saws I sometimes set the brake but more often stop the saw [habit] with using the non brake jobbys quite a bit. I think it`s all down to concentration & not becoming complacent although accidents can & do happen, so steps to prevent it happening are a must

 

[imagineero]

I'm going to re-post what something I posted in the chain brake usage poll;

I'm a full time tree worker and witness a lot of poor saw handling by John Q Public. There's no surprises there, seeing a guy out in his shorts and sandals, no hard hat, glasses or ear protection, no chaps, waving a blunt saw around like an idiot. It's disheartening, but not unexpected. What is sad though, is seeing professionals with poor saw handling practices.

Saw safety is much like gun safety in my mind - many of the same rules apply. Keep a good clear work zone around yourself - dont cut with other people working beside or behind you. Have a clear plan, don't just make it up as you go along. Keep a good solid stance, dont be afraid to get down on your knees. Start that saw only when you intend to cut something, and only take the brake off when you need to cut. You don't go waving a gun around without the safety on, that safety has a clear purpose. On a saw, its the same. I see professionals walking round all the time with the brake off, hand on trigger, blipping the throttle for no reason whatsoever. No way you would do that with a gun, especially not if other people were around you. I won't allow it on my job sites. I'm very strict on chain brake use, and even stricter on guys just learning. It takes no extra effort or time to use the brake, and it adds a margin of safety to saw handling. Lets be professional and deliberate in our use of these tools. We owe it to ourselves, our families, our co workers, and those just starting in the industry who are watching and learning from our practices.

And here's a little extra; no, usng the chain brake on starting a saw does not wear the brake, or the clutch out. And if it did, who cares? Additionally, activating the brake during cutting does not wear it, or the clutch out, and if it did, who cares? The brake on a saw is worth so little. Even the whole saw is really worth nothing in my mind. I test my saws from time to time by activating the brake at WOT. I've not yet ever worn a clutch or brake band out from this practice, and I've had plenty of saws that have been in active service for over 3 years of every day usage, 8 hours a day (the whole saw doesn't last that long!). That's the equivalent hour usage of 25-30 years of home owner use. And again, even if it wore the saw, or broke the saw, who cares?

Good chain brake practices are a keystone of chainsaw operations. If you get into the habit of activating the chainbrake as soon as you have finished cutting, then if one day something does go wrong it will be instinctual. Further, if you have that habit, you will avoid many potentially lethal situations.

Anybody walking around waving a loaded gun with the safety off, while not in the middle of shooting something deserves to be ##### slapped.

And if there was any doubt.... What would you have your kids do?

Shaun


Shaun

 

[cmsmoke]

Well said!

 

[2dumb4words]

Excellent post. Thanks. And yes, my brake use "habits" are under review.

 

[casual cutter]

And here's a little extra; no, usng the chain brake on starting a saw does not wear the brake, or the clutch out. And if it did, who cares?

Not wanting to start an argument with you, but I somewhat disagree...

A cold start, high idle state can and will slip the clutch if the brake is engaged, at least on some saws. Would it be safer to cold start with the brake engaged? I'm not sure... I figure if someone cannot start a saw properly without the brake engaged, should that operator even attempt to cut wood?

 

[imagineero]

Not wanting to start an argument with you, but I somewhat disagree...

A cold start, high idle state can and will slip the clutch if the brake is engaged, at least on some saws. Would it be safer to cold start with the brake engaged? I'm not sure... I figure if someone cannot start a saw properly without the brake engaged, should that operator even attempt to cut wood?

I'm happy to have an argument with you. I start all my saws (about a dozen) on high idle, with the chain break on, every single day of the saws life, as well as engaging the chain brake after every cut, and engaging it at WOT. The rest of the saw dies before the clutch/brake does.

Click the throttle to go on to low idle. If you are starting the saw without the chain brake engaged, and the clutch is rubbing, then the chain is moving. The chain should not be moving unless you are cutting wood. I've yet to see a saw starting method that involved having both hands holding the saw, but even if I did, the chain should not be moving. Every method of starting the chainsaw with the chan moving adds risk.

Would it be safer to cold start with the brake engaged? I'm sure it is. I don't know any way of properly starting a saw without the brake engaged, so if an operator cannot start the saw without the brake engaged, should that operator even attempt to cut wood?

Use the chain brake. That's what it's there for. It's not a rainy day fund, to save up for an emergency.

Let's drive it home, once again. If you had a daughter, and she was hell bent on running a saw, would you let her start the saw with the chain running?

Shaun

 

[casual cutter]

If it's started of firm ground, while under 100% operator control, how could a saw all of a sudden become some uncontrollable killing beast?

 

[imagineero]

If it's started of firm ground, while under 100% operator control, how could a saw all of a sudden become some uncontrollable killing beast?

Off the top of my head;

your foot could slip off the front handle onto the chain

You could lose your footing and fall onto the chain

while transitioning the saw from ground to holding, you could drop it

another person could slip and fall onto the saw

A dog, or child could get interested in it and try to touch/bite it.

you could rock the saw forward, burying the bar in the dirt.

That's just a few, off the top of my head. All quite feasable scenarios. I can't think of any advantage to not engaging the chain brake, besides perceived chain brake wear. It's certainly no faster.

Shaun

 

[imagineero]

I'll throw another guess out there and say that anyone who advocates not using the chain brake has never witnessed first hand, the terrible ripping destruction that a running saw brings to flesh, much less had that happen to their own flesh. Working in the tree industry full time, I've got an unfortunately long list of competent, qualified, experienced friends who have all been injured. Legs, arms, forehead, wrist. The statistics will stack up against you over time.

Use best practice, not 'good enough' practice.

Shaun

 

[casual cutter]

Fair enough, imagineero. I do thank you for taking the time to respond!

 

[imagineero]

My pleasure ;-)

We've got to watch each others backs, so we don't see each other in the 'injures and fatalities' thread. I'm not on the attack, I'm on the defense, of every chainsaw operators life and wellbeing. Stay safe brother!

Shaun

 

[2dumb4words]

You had me at... And if there was any doubt.... What would you have your kids do?

Thanks again for the post.

 

[slowp]

I'm in the habit of throwing the brake on if I have to walk more than a couple of steps with the saw. It is a reflex now. I'll retell the story of my habit saving a guy from either carnage or a whack with an axe handle.

I went to a Game Of Logging falling class. I was curious, and I did learn a lot. Anyway, we worked in pairs.
That was scary for me because I don't automatically trust other people, especially when working in the woods around dangerous things.

I was finishing up my undercut and slapped on my chainbrake as I finished. At the same time, the guy I was paired up with was REACHING OUT TO GRAB THE BAR OF MY RUNNING SAW! The instructor was there and he carried an ax, handle out and he was just going to hit the guy's arm away, but since I had put the brake on, he deflected his blow.

My partner got a horrified look from the two of us, and a short lecture.

The instructor took me aside and said he was so glad I automatically put the brake on because he was a bit slow with the ax handle.

I do it. I don't care if you do or not. It is a good habit to have.

 

[imagineero]

You had me at... And if there was any doubt.... What would you have your kids do?

I find that question brings a lot of clarity to what can otherwise be clouded issues. It's my catch call at toolbox meetings. And since us dumbass treeworkers don't seem to give two hoots about our own safety most of the time I always replace 'you' with 'your daughter' since most guys care a whole lot more about their daughters than themselves, even those without kids can identify with it pretty easy.

"would you let your daughter on this site without a hard hat? are you willing to take the risk that she won't be stanging in the wrong place at the wrong time?" seems to hit home a bt harder than 'wear your friggin' hard hats for gods sake you numskulls!'

Shaun

 

[066blaster]

honestly I wouldnt allow my daughter to ever use a saw.

I let my wife make a cut one time and it scared the s### out of me.

Is it just me, or when you watch vids of arborists they almost look like total ametuers when it comes to running a saw. I grew up cutting firewood, I watched my dad for years and then started cutting at 12 I am now 36. I have cut alot of wood. done alot of tree removals. When I watch these arborist's they almost look like its the first time they used a saw. not just in vids, also in person. Is it they were taught different? They look like there afraid of it. And i could never wear all that ppe, It seems like it would cause an accident, all that bulk. I where ear muffs now and then and steel toe logging boots, and gloves, thats it.