chainsaw kickback

Re: chainsaw kickback

joaz hill

>I have worked as a logger and have put many hours on the chair saw. It's always scary to have a kick back but it can be avoided several ways.

Always wear a helmet with a wire mesh screen to protect your face.

You can get anti-kick back chains for your saw.

When you are using the tip, slow down the saw and pay close attention to where the tip is.

Most modern saws have an anti-kick back guard mounted onthe front of the saw.That stops the chain when a kick back occours.

I try not to use the tip and keep the cut as close as possible to the back of the chain.

Be careful and stay alert.

I love my saw for what it can do but I have a lot of respect for the danger.

Happy bowling. Joaz Hill

Re: chainsaw kickback

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>John, there are two primary reasons for kickback that I know of. First is engaging the upper 90* of the tip's curve in cutting. That's not to say you can't bury the tip, just don't let that section of tip do the cutting; the chain will grab and flip the bar back towards you. This often occurs because users don't clear the cut path and the tip grabs on another log or branch. That said, I have used the force of kickback when plunge-cutting a larger tree with a smaller saw and cutting with the top of the bar, but it's not something to do without extreme caution.

Second cause is not engaging enough chain in a cut. Good general rule is always have 3 teeth in the cut at all times. That means not using a chain saw to slice 1" branches. Watched helplessly last weekend as a friend barely missed getting his brand new 20" Husky in the teeth for violating that little rule. Saw hit him in the right shoulder, but the chain brake had done its job so he only got a bandaid cut.

Re: chainsaw kickback

John Lucas

>Respect for the tool is why I posted this. I have a lot of respect for the tool but since I have never had a kickback I was worried that I was not giving the saw as much respect as I should.

Re: chainsaw kickback

John Lucas

>Mark

Did it jerk the saw out of his hands. It seems like it would have to kick pretty hard to do this. Not doubting your word I know a saw has a lot of horsepower I'm just trying to understand what happens so I can make sure I avoid this situation.

Re: chainsaw kickback

barry

>John,

Now you have me spooked. I just bought a new Stihl 361 with a 20" bar. I have used it all of................maybe 5 minutes. I have used chainsaws before, but always the cheap Walmart variety. You know, Poulans, McCullochs and Homelites with 14 " and 16" bars. Never had this much saw before. I would really like to see a good demo on safety. I think our club has one in the works, don't they?

Barry

Re: chainsaw kickback

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>No. It pivoted kind of in a circle with the handle and his right hand at the center. His left arm could not react fast enough to push against more than the chain break and maybe deflect its path a bit. Since he at least listened to me when I told him to stand to the left of the cutline (rather than directly behind the saw) and to keep the saw as verticle as possible, the bar passed to the right of his head.

That was one shaken man. He commented that he didn't believe how fast it could fly back at him even when he had both hands gripping the handles.

13,000 rpm, 3+ hp, 20" bar; he believes it now.

Mark

Re: chainsaw kickback

John Lucas

>Barry

I don't know if the TAW has a chainsaw demo in the works but we will be having one sometime this summer in Cookeville. I'm having a turning day at my house June 11th. Your welcome to come up. We'll pull out the chainsaw probably because I don't have that much wood prepared for whatever people want to turn.

Re: chainsaw kickback

John Lucas

>Mark

I have to cut up an entire Oak tree that blew over at my son's house. It will be a long day tomorrow. I probably won't keep much for myself because I don't turn oak that often. I will definitely be paying attention to the chainsaw.

Lee Valley has a course manual

Carole in VA

>on chain saw (and crosscut saw) training put out by the USDA Forest Service. It is on page 22 of the June catalogue. It's item #49L81.10 if you are looking on the web site. I wish I had seen that before I placed my last order on Friday. I would have added it. Have to wait now...shipping would be more than the cost of the book. :(

Re: chainsaw kickback

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>John,

I have two 28" maples that I dropped last Fall to slice and dice on Monday. Will have two friends with smaller saws helping. In light of last weekend, we're having a little "clinic" before we start in on the big wood, and topic one will be kickback.

Be safe and remember, neither the wood nor the damn saw is worth getting hurt for, let alone your life.

Mark

Re: Lee Valley has a course manual *LINK*

darrell

>This site might be useful


Basic Chainsaw course

Re: chainsaw kickback

echo8287

>I havnen't had a kickback while cutting firewood,usually very careful. We use chainsaws working on houses sometimes and I've had a couple of incidents on them. Both involved the tip.Worst one,I was cutting off a rafter tail on a log house,standing on some scaffold planks on the side of the house. Tip caught the plywood on the roof and walked back towards my head. I looked like one of those girl gymnists on the balance beam doing a back flip. My head almost touched the scaffold plank bent over backwards, but there was no bloodshed and didn't fall. Didn't do that anymore though ,David

Re: Lee Valley has a course manual

Barry Irby

>If it's an FPL book you can probably down load it from their website. Haven't tried it, but I would go looking.

Re: chainsaw kickback

Duane C.Leach

>Barry..It's a wise idea to get some quality training before even starting to use your new chain saw.. I suggest you spend a little extra cash and get a smaller bar and chain for it. Use the big bar for the big stuff and short bar for small stuff. A long bar on small limbs is just asking for trouble.

You wouldn't use a 1/4" gouge to rough out a 24" bowl, or a 3/4" gouge to make a tree ornament, so why should the use of different size chain saw bars be any different.

Happy chainsawing.

Duane Leach

Re: chainsaw kickback

adrien

>Stihl has a DVD on chain saw available for $10 at their site.

short or long bar?

Terry Daniel

>Duane, I think I would respectfully disagree about the length of the bar being safer if shorter. Of the chainsaw accidents I have heard about most were with small saws and short bars. My thinking is the small saws are used closer to your body and neck and face, thus the accidents more severe. Also we tend to use the small saws over our heads, with one hand, and such.....all the dangerous things we should never do with any saw but we'll chance it with a small one. I personally think bigger saws are safer and a longer bar gets you that much further from the cutting edge. TD (who has never seen anyone hurt with a big saw)(yet).

Re: Lee Valley has a course manual *LINK*

Mark Wollschlager

>This looks like the book.

It is available on the Appalachian Trail Conference web site.The USDA site is full of broken links and pages. If it is there , it is well hidden.

A good reference.


Chain saw safety manual

Re: chainsaw kickback

John K Jordan

>>I would really like to see a good demo on safety.

You might also look for the book "The Good Woodcutter's Guide" by Dave Johnson, ISBN 1-89012-15-2. Written by a guy with years of experience in cutting timber, it is full of valuable info on chain saws, felling trees, safety equipment, etc. He goes into the "why", not just the "how".

JKJ in East TN