Should I buy a chainsaw

[jwfirebird]

think your best bet is training, being smart about what your doing and not over buying a huge saw if you dont need it is the smartest plan seems like you have that idea. still dealer in town is a great source for me on what i need and didnt for ppe and the saw, why i buy my equipment and supplies there.

i use two "sizes" now, you end up beat and i had a near miss because i was tired, moved it toward me after the cut and in half a second destoyed my bibs, but at least i was wearing them, so embarrassment was the only lasting issue. and now i have alot mare respect for not doing it tired and use a battery saws-all and a brush blade for all the stuff under 3-4 inches. they cut surprisingly fast and dont wear on you so bad when you are bending around and they dont get stuck as easy

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just remember it s not toy ,respect it greatly cuz it can bite you really bad if misused ,like most powered tools. Getting a little training from someone familiar with these saws is never wasted and good luck!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

One other thing to try: If you have access to battery powered tools, saws, or sawsall? THey can make short work of a medium sized tree. I use my royobi sawsall and rip saw all the time to trim and cut small to medium sized trees. I have a special wood trimming blade for the sawsall thats 12 in long. The sawsall would be a safer option for the first timers. This baby will probably be my next purchase as i already have 5 extra batteries. And i use a saw for camping and at an off the grid country place.
(broken link removed)

 

[TreePointer]

Let's keep it simple:

Q: "Should I buy a chainsaw?"
A: Yes.

Got a lot of wood to cut? Get a chainsaw. Pretty simple. Really, nothing anybody here will tell you can get you over the hump in terms of getting the confidence to make that first cut. Once you do, however, look out! It may become your favorite power tool. It is mine.

 

[xman23]

Let's keep it simple:

Q: "Should I buy a chainsaw?"
A: Yes.

Got a lot of wood to cut? Get a chainsaw. Pretty simple. Really, nothing anybody here will tell you can get you over the hump in terms of getting the confidence to make that first cut. Once you do, however, look out! It may become your favorite power tool. It is mine.

Yes, well said

 

[jetsam]

It may become your favorite power tool. It is mine.

Come on, your profile picture is a tractor with a bucket on the front. The chainsaw is #1, really?

 

[TreePointer]

Come on, your profile picture is a tractor with a bucket on the front. The chainsaw is #1, really?

Lol! Maybe I should have said "favorite hand held power tool."

I will say that sometimes tractors do get boring going back and forth when working a field. I've never been bored running a chainsaw, and I jump at opportunities to use one.

 

[Sodbuster]

Allow me to buck the trend here, and be pragmatic for a moment. If you are working, and you rely on your hands/arms to make a living, I'd say have a neighbor or son do it. My wife makes her living with her hands, giving anesthesia. If she were to irreparably damage a tendon or nerve in her hand or arm, to the point she couldn't mask a patient down, her career would be over. My grandfather had a saw chain snap and wrap itself around his arm. He was lucky and only had deep cuts, it could've been much worse.

 

[jetsam]

Allow me to buck the trend here, and be pragmatic for a moment. If you are working, and you rely on your hands/arms to make a living, I'd say have a neighbor or son do it. My wife makes her living with her hands, giving anesthesia. If she were to irreparably damage a tendon or nerve in her hand or arm, to the point she couldn't mask a patient down, her career would be over. My grandfather had a saw chain snap and wrap itself around his arm. He was lucky and only had deep cuts, it could've been much worse.

They are much less likely to do that these days. They've had chain catchers for decades.

 

[Sodbuster]

They are much less likely to do that these days. They've had chain catchers for decades.

Agreed, that was on an old Homelite Super XL, I inherited it, and used it till it was too tired, great saw. I'll stick to the cutting and splitting , my wife and daughter can do the stacking. They are better anyway.

 

[Woody5506]

Sometimes I think people get bugged out over using a chainsaw because it CAN be a very dangerous tool to use, if you're being careless. Overall, in my opinion, a chainsaw is fairly self explanatory, and there isn't a whole lot of need to be making a huge science project out of using one. If you're cutting down trees then that's one thing, but if you're just hacking up rounds into firewood size pieces, it's not a difficult tool to use.

I encourage you to get one, have someone give you a quick run down on how to use it efficiently, and don't bug yourself out over it.

 

[Birdbrain]

Well, thanks again to all, I learned a lot here. Was excited about getting started. For now, my decision for this winter was made by circumstances. I slipped a disc a day doing almost all better, but it is tender and bending forward with any weight is not good right now.

 

[Prof]

Well, thanks again to all, I learned a lot here. Was excited about getting started. For now, my decision for this winter was made by circumstances. I slipped a disc a day doing almost all better, but it is tender and bending forward with any weight is not good right now.

Hope you feel better soon--best wishes!

 

[rowerwet]

Since you are looking to cut wood without killing or maiming yourself, and without wearing yourself out.
I would look into a Sawzall and a package of long brush cutting blades
Since the blade goes in and out instead of around in a loop, the forces and dangers are much lower.
Look for blades that have large agressive teeth.
These kind of saws come in cordless and corded, and will handle branches and small logs.

 

[SeanBB]

Well, thanks again to all, I learned a lot here. Was excited about getting started. For now, my decision for this winter was made by circumstances. I slipped a disc a day doing almost all better, but it is tender and bending forward with any weight is not good right now.

Hope you get well soon.
When your back is better I suggest you ask friends and family if they know anyone with a chainsaw that would let you try using it under their supervision. I am sure they would be happy to do that. I think a corded electric chainsaw would suit you best. They are lighter, quieter and almost no vibration. Of course they have some limitations but they are not expensive and later you can always buy a gas one if you need to. If I am cutting anything near my buildings I prefer to use an electric chainsaw.

 

[H2oWerker]

4. Be diligent in each step you take. Think about what will happen once the cut is finished.
5. Constantly assess your position for safety and ergonomics to avoid injury.
6. Don't get tired and sloppy. If you are tired take a break.
7. Don't be in a hurry. Let the saw do the work. Stop and sharpen the chain when needed.

Those are some extremely important words of wisdom! Fatigue, and gravity are powerful forces that can maim and kill.


Aside from that, I would highly recommend a cordless chainsaw for a beginner/novice who intends to cut small. We have one at work (also have a husky rancher 18") for handling downed tree limbs. It's super handy to have around (might get one for myself) and only half the maintenance.

Power:
The newer Li-ion batteries will power through about 100 6" limbs between charges (I have yet to kill a battery on a job)

Safety:
While it has all the physical hazards (except noise) of it's gas-powered counterparts, it's really quiet, and you can hear (mostly) the world around you. So the creaking and snapping of something ready to break may well warn you that it's time to step back and reassess the situation before something unexpected happens.


*Side note* The cordless chainsaw we use is part of a nearly full line of yard equipment. We also use a single stage snow thrower that I am always amazed by.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just got a Ryobi 18Volt 10 In cordless chainsaw. It takes the same batteries as most of their tools. Nice and light weight,should be a good limbing saw.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Just got a Ryobi 18Volt 10 In cordless chainsaw. It takes the same batteries as most of their tools. Nice and light weight,should be a good limbing saw.

Just bought a hedge trimmer from the same line. Really makes a long, tedious job much faster and more manageable. Now that I have the battery, I'd like to try the chainsaw.

 

[maple1]

Milwaukee has a ton of tools for their M18 batteries, but I wish they would come out with a few more. Would like to try their trimmer, but haven't seen one in stores here yet. I might have just not been in the right store. A saw that takes two batteries would be interesting. If priced sensibly. Prices for their trimmer I've seen online are up there. Already have the batteries.

 

[mtcox1791]

Consider trying a bow saw. They use a crosscut blade, but are much smaller than a crosscut saw. You can get a decent one for under $20.

I have two chainsaws, and I still use my bow saw for small stuff sometimes.

View attachment 201706

+1 on the Bow saw. If I am pruning a single small branch, 3 inches or less from a live tree, I usually go for my bow saw. It is cheap, fast (takes me a while to put my protective equipment on, and cooler (the PPE is hot in the summer). These are usually the tree limbs that sag with leaves that I didn't cut with my chainsaw in the winter.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

First session on Ryobi Cordless electric chainsaw. Not knowing what to expect i took 3 batteries along. 2 2AH and one 4 AH . I didnt get past the first 2 AH battery. Still 1 bar of charge left after about 30 minutes of intermittent sawing. Tree was about 6in dia.Oak and dry and hard. Saw cuts as well as my small gas saw did.

 

[Cast Iron]

MInority opinion: if you have to ask online whether or not to get a firearm, or chainsaw, or any similar potentially killing tool......don't get it.
Gas or battery, a chainsaw needs you to do due dilgence first. It ain't here, it 's not on YouTube.

 

[rudysmallfry]

OP, you are me a few years ago. Just need to get through the smaller stuff, but a healthy respect for using a chainsaw. I got a Stihl MS-180. It's an EZ start, so no yanking on the cord a dozen times to get it going. The bar is very narrow in the kickback area, so there's very little chance of hitting that sweet spot. When I first started using it, I just made sure to stand well off to the side of what I was cutting, that way if I did hit the bad spot, it would not get me in the head. It's been 3 years and quite a bit of bucking to this point (on stuff bigger than the saw was rated for) and I've had zero issues using it. If you do get a gas saw, spend the extra money on the ethanol free gas.

If you need to get your confidence up before your first use, watch videos of idiots using their saws recklessly. You'll soon realize, if people that dumb can use them without dying, you'll do fine using some common sense.

 

[Cast Iron]

As our training instructor sergeant told us before the final test: " 'common sense' ain't so common" .
Ditch the videos. Get some real training with professionals; found at forestry schools, pro training schools, "Game of Logging" programs.

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If you need to get your confidence up before your first use, watch videos of idiots using their saws recklessly. You'll soon realize, if people that dumb can use them without dying, you'll do fine using some common sense.

 

[bholler]

As our training instructor sergeant told us before the final test: " 'common sense' ain't so common" .
Ditch the videos. Get some real training with professionals; found at forestry schools, pro training schools, "Game of Logging" programs.

Professional training would be great. But it just isnt available in many areas. There is absolutly nothing like that offered here.