Chainsaw Safety: Part One

As I sat in my office a number of years ago we were in the midst of a four-day deluge that included plenty of wind and more than five inches of rain.

Suddenly there was a thundering boom and the ground shook. As I turned to look out the window, I immediately saw the cause. A giant oak tree, some 120 feet tall, had collapsed into the parking lot. In its path was a number of pricey automobiles.

The tree was a mess, as were the three cars parked near it. Time to get out the chainsaws.

It was at that time I remembered some statistics that I’d seen just a few days before. More than 40,000 Americans would be seriously injured by chainsaws that year and scores would die in accidents with these tools. And nearly every problem was avoidable.

Few people take the time and effort to use these saws properly and yet they are probably the most dangerous outdoor garden and yard tools that we use. It doesn’t help matters that we now find them packaged in cute little boxes in hardware and home improvement centers, making them look so innocuous.

But even the saws with only a 12-inch bar and small engines can effortlessly take off a leg, arm, a few toes or a couple of fingers with virtually no effort. And don’t be fooled by the fact that some are electric instead of gas; they can be just as deadly.

The key word here is respect. Read all of the instructions that come with the saw and be sure that you understand what to expect and the capabilities of your equipment. Many saws come with an instructional video: watch it! If you’re a complete novice, swallow your pride and ask a neighbor or friend with chainsaw experience to give you some instruction.

For starters, I’ll assume that you are working with trees that are already down. Before even starting the saw, check the tree or log for stability.

The trunk will rest on limbs that are sprung and are under considerable weight and tension. If you cut the wrong one it may fly out at you or release the tree to roll. It can also catch the guide bar (a common problem with inexperienced users) in a bind or flip it out of your hands. If the hinge (the center spine of wood left between the front notch and rear felling cut used to guide direction of fall) did not snap on impact, the butt can contain tons of compressed energy.

If the tree is down in leaf, you won’t be able to see all the limbs and it may be wise to let the plant defoliate on its own before cutting takes place. This has the additional effect of speeding up drying since the leaves will help to evaporate moisture in the downed tree.

Trees on a slope can roll or slide, so always work the uphill side. Test the supporting branches, gingerly. If the stump or branches are springy, the tree is green and more apt to surprise you. If it’s a big one and you are a novice, practice on smaller stuff and learn how the downed stuff behaves when cutting.

Above all, watch your footing and keep your balance at all times. Work with your feet firmly placed in a comfortable, well-balanced stance. Sneakers are not the shoe of choice for this type of work.

Try to begin your work at the top of the tree by cutting the small limbs off in foot-long stove wood or fireplace lengths. If you can, try to keep the trunk of the tree between you and the limb being cut.

Little twigs and small branches go into a neat pile at the tree’s crown to make a refuge for wildlife and aid in disposal, if required. Once non-supporting limbs are removed, it is a matter of judgment whether to pull the log off supporting limbs with a pry bar or truck/tractor and chain; cut into the supports, perhaps blocking up the main limb; or just saw in from the top, cutting to length as you do. I like to cut uphill into main limbs trying to cut 12- to 18-inch blocks that will fit well into our stove.

Next it’s on to the main trunk, from butt-down if felled heading downhill, from top-down if the reverse.

You’ll find some of the most basic safety rules in next week’s column, but to these I’d add, never force your saw. A properly sharpened saw should cut with just light feed pressure. Rest it in the cut but let the saw do the work, not your arms and especially not your back.

If wood smokes in the cut, fine sawdust instead of chips come out of it, or sap builds up behind the teeth, the chain needs replacement or sharpening. Never let a running saw touch the ground as you will not only damage the chain, but the saw may kick up and injure you.

Watch for sand or gravel or nails embedded in the bark where you intend to cut. Grit in the bark can sometimes be blown off with the exhaust blast from the saw. Make sure you keep the guide bar and chain in the clear or actuate the chain brake (the declutching type) while you do it. If you encounter abrasives or rocks (we all do in the beginning), you’ll need a resharpening job or a spare chain that’s a ready replacement.

Especially if you are pushing a dull saw, kickback is a danger when the tip gets caught in the cut and throws the saw back at you. The newer saws and anti-kickback chains help to reduce this problem, but be very careful when the tip gets into the cut.

To cut off the big stuff, reach over and cut into the far side of the log, then pull back and cut down. This way you have a pre-cut section for the bar to reach through.

The worst scenario is when the bar binds up when a compressed branch, limb or trunk pinches the saw. It’s possible when that happens that you’ll need another saw to cut out the original, but in less severe cases some opposite pressure will let the saw fall out, though it may be a two-person job.

You can avoid this situation by using natural forces: cut into the back of a bowed, compressed branch and use gravity to your advantage or notch a big limb on the underside, then cut down or in toward the direction of the fall. You can also make double, close parallel cuts that will relieve a certain amount of bind. Above all, preplan your cuts so that the weight or tension of the piece being sawn opens, not closes the cut.

Next week, there will more on chainsaw safety, plus buying tips and how to keep your saw ready for work when you need it. Be safe, and keep growing.