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How to Operate a Chainsaw

November 12, 2008 - SKOWHEGAN -- The logger's chainsaw snarled as it cut through the base of the towering, foot-thick basswood. Moments later, the tree fell, tearing through the forest canopy and shaking the ground beneath the feet of about 20 people standing nearby.

What looked like a simple operation had actually taken quite bit of planning and preparation, with the ultimate goal of the logger being to walk out of the woods at the end of the day, still in one piece.

As higher heating oil prices drive more and more Mainers to change over to wood burning to heat their homes, more people are venturing into their wood lots to wield a chainsaw for the first time. Certified Logging Professional Pete Tracy wants people to know how to do so correctly.

"You're dealing with a lot of heavy, tall, vertical objects that by the force of gravity want to go horizontal, and you don't want to be in the way when they do," he told a group of chainsaw owners at Lake George Regional Park in Skowhegan Saturday.

Loggers and new chainsaw users came from across the state to learn proper chainsaw technique.

Many loggers in the state use outdated or incorrect methods, and have been for years, Tracy said.

"For one thing, I found out I'd been sharpening my chain wrong my entire life," said Alan Haberstock, a resident of Canaan who has cut his own wood to heat his home for the past decade.

Tracy said preparation for safer chainsaw use begins well before the sawdust starts flying.

First, don't start up a chainsaw without proper equipment, which includes protection for the head, eyes and face, chest, torso, hands, legs and feet. Kevlar and a hard hat can do a lot to protect against a kicking chainsaw. Loggers at the seminar examined articles of protective clothing, many of them damaged by errant chainsaws, that Tracy had brought for display.

A leather boot had been cut in half through the top by a chainsaw -- the swinging blade had missed the steel toe by less than an inch, but, judging from the damage to the upper, the logger's foot had not fared so well. Chaps, boots and gloves were constructed of Kevlar and other materials designed to stop a chainsaw blade.

Loggers should always carry a first aid kit, know how to use it, and have a plan to check in with someone at set times. Tracy suggested Tampax as a blood stopper.

When approaching a tree, especially in the 12- to 15-foot "kill zone," loggers should always wear hard hats and check the branches overhead for hanging deadwood that might dislodge when a tree falls.

"Deadwood is deadly!" Tracy said repeatedly. "A limb the size of your arm can kill you if it lands on your head from 60 feet up."

Tracy demonstrated how to size up the lean of a tree and choose the direction for its fall, sighting across the top of his saw as he prepared to cut out a wedge in the trunk.

For the logger to control the tree's direction of fall, the fibers of a portion of its trunk must remain attached like a hinge, he said.

Thus, the angle of an open face notch should measure at least 90 degrees, since that will be how far the tree will change in orientation. Increase the angle to accommodate if the tree is falling downhill.

BY JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer, Kennebec Journal, 11/09/2008


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