Chainsaw, wood chipper and leaf vacuum

How  hard it is to learn to use a small electric chain saw?  This  place has  areas that really need cleaning up and I just can't afford to hire anybody for mostly 2-4 in brushy trees. 

a feature I would like to clean up and reclaim for flowers

when first built


The compost bins area


out front and covered in pine straw



more along back fence


I also want to buy a leaf blower/vacuum/mulcher to take care of the year round pin oak leaf fall and pine needle fall.  The debris would be returned to the "forest" floor or the compost pile.

Kay

walshevak wrote:How  hard it is to learn to use a small electric chain saw?  This  place has  areas that really need cleaning up and I just can't afford to hire anybody for mostly 2-4 in brushy trees. Kay

To learn to use it is fairly simple. plug it in, grab the handle and pull the trigger.
Now learning how to control it can be a bit more difficult. Even though it is small and electric, it can hurt you. Plus you also have to watch out for the power cord (just ask my wife , granted she was using electric hedge clippers but same principle)

Kay I don't think it would be that difficult to figure out. I would practice where there lots to clean out first. That way if you mess up there is not much lost. Good luck to you.

ralitaco wrote:To learn to use it is fairly simple. plug it in, grab the handle and pull the trigger.
Now learning how to control it can be a bit more difficult. Even though it is small and electric, it can hurt you....

+1 with emphasis: an electric saw WILL CUT YOUR HAND OFF JUST AS FAST AS A GAS SAW!

Besides cutting your foot, the biggest danger is from kickback.  That happens when the bar tip touches some wood just right such that the chain momentum jerks the bar back at your body.  I'm not recommending this particular model, I just grabbed the picture to show you the gizmo on the end of the bar that prevents kickback.  For a beginner, I recommend buying a saw that has an anti-kickback device.  The arrow points at the device.



The other easy way to get hurt is when there is tension on the wood you're cutting.  You'll start cutting it, and all of a sudden it will snap and spring.  It really hurts if you're in the way!

Like any power tool, respect the potential danger but don't be afraid.  Eye and ear protection are a must.  You'll get the hang of it in no time.

Kay, Way to go girl! My Mother used one for small bushes around her house. She used it until maybe early 80's. Just use caution and respect.

Kay - I bought an Alligator saw several years ago and love it. It won't handle stuff much more than 4" diameter but I would be afraid to take something bigger down myself:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/products/lawn-and-garden/trees-and-shrubs/woodcutting/alligatorreg-lopper/lp1000

Also bought an electric chain saw - just in case - but haven't used it as much as the above unit.  As others have said - "Safety is all important"

Will be interested to see what others say about a blower.

Looking at the stuff you want to take down, I would skip the chain saw and go with a manual Bow saw.  A 4"-ish diameter plant doesn't offer much resistance to a saw.  Take your time, switch hands when an arm gets tired, and you'll be done sooner than you think.

If you do opt for a chain saw, keep the blade sharp and tensioned on the bar.  Lube the bar per the manual.  Like the fellow mentioned in the previous post, you can cut yourself just as efficiently with an electric saw as you would with a gas saw.  Also wear safety glasses (nothing quite like wood chips in the eyeballs.)

As for brand, I can't really make a recommendation since I've only used one brand.  My Dad started collecting old Stihl chainsaws (yeah, seems a little weird, but everybody needs a hobby) so that's all I've ever used for 35 years of cutting trees on the farm.  They work quite well, but even I resort to a hand Bow saw for small stuff...wielding a chain saw around can be every bit as tiring as using a hand saw.

We bought an electric chain saw that is a branch pruner on a longish pole.  The pole can be removed allowing it to be used separately on smaller branches.  We've had it for at least 15 years with no troubles.  

All the safety advice here is valuable and you can probably look up youtube videos on how to prune branches to find more advice.  Have fun creating a new area!

Oops, I thought this was a Father's Day shopping list! I was going to add "Pressure Washer".

I've been using chainsaws since I was fourteen. I love my Husky (Husqvarna) saw. I'll add a "+1" to the bow saw. You can't learn to safely use a chainsaw over the internet. And, while I think the electric pole saw* is very cool, it is STILL A CHAINSAW. On the other hand, ask your neighbors; if you are lucky enough to live near a tool junkie, he or she just might be willing to get out their trusty Husky, Stihl, Homelite or Echo and do the work for a cold one. I would (except its kind of a long drive ).

*I think this is a very cool tool. My buddy bought one about 18 months ago and still hasn't used it. I'd have plugged it in to the Jeep's cigarette lighter and used it on the way home from HD!

FRED58 wrote:Oops, I thought this was a Father's Day shopping list! I was going to add "Pressure Washer".

*I think this is a very cool tool. My buddy bought one about 18 months ago and still hasn't used it. I'd have plugged it in to the Jeep's cigarette lighter and used it on the way home from HD!

My pruner, works with or without electricity:

boffer wrote:

ralitaco wrote:To learn to use it is fairly simple. plug it in, grab the handle and pull the trigger.
Now learning how to control it can be a bit more difficult. Even though it is small and electric, it can hurt you....

+1 with emphasis: an electric saw WILL CUT YOUR HAND OFF JUST AS FAST AS A GAS SAW!

Besides cutting your foot, the biggest danger is from kickback.  That happens when the bar tip touches some wood just right such that the chain momentum jerks the bar back at your body.  I'm not recommending this particular model, I just grabbed the picture to show you the gizmo on the end of the bar that prevents kickback.  For a beginner, I recommend buying a saw that has an anti-kickback device.  The arrow points at the device.



The other easy way to get hurt is when there is tension on the wood you're cutting.  You'll start cutting it, and all of a sudden it will snap and spring.  It really hurts if you're in the way!

Like any power tool, respect the potential danger but don't be afraid.  Eye and ear protection are a must.  You'll get the hang of it in no time.

Funny, that is one of the models I was looking at.  It weighs less than 10lbs.

But I do have some higher stuff and the one on a pole Audrey talks about sounds interesting.  Audrey, what brand?  My son might be willing to help if he had a cool tool to work with.  My dad taught him how to use a chain saw years ago.

I miss Otis.  He cut my grass every 2 weeks and for between $50 - $100 he would trim  bushes, trim trees and take down broken branches.  And haul off the debris.  And when I was traveling for 2 months at a time, he would keep the place looking neat and tidy.  I just sent him a check twice a month and then caught him up if I owed him some when I got home.  He even trimmed up a tree a hurricane did damage to when I was on a trip, trusting me to pay him when I got home. 

Kay

Because chainsaws can bite quite nastily , if you're getting on in years or have injuries may  I suggest you go for something  like a Hitachi reciprocating blade sabre saw , it needs two hands to operate it safely .

It can be fitted with an  eight inch coarse blade and makes short work of 10 inch  oak that's either green and fresh or old fallen and well seasoned. You can also fit several other types of blades hack say :-  fine cut , plastic pipe cutting , stainless steel & aluminium cutting blades .


 This is why I suggest the sabre saw :-

 In 1982 my brother John 9 a policeman and former combat engineer in the British army had access to a 24 inch bar chainsaw and all the personal protection equipment you can imagine including gloves . In his eagerness to prove how clever he was , he didn't carefully check out the 9 foot tall thick hawthorn and privet hedge he was going to take out .

 Waving the chainsaw about & revving like a racing car , he looked as if performing part two of the " Texas chainsaw massacre " horror movie .
Shouting , " Come on you Mother f.....'s , I'll have you " .
According to Halina who was looking out the kitchen window ....he attacked the hedge and suddenly fell backwards with blood gushing out his face & head .

 Lucky for him I was close by my phone when it happened , for his Polish wife Halina called me & speaking in Polish & German said ", " Help Davey , Johnnie's had a terrible accident ".
 I expertly drove the two miles at great speed without accident & found John laid flat on his back , the chainsaw to one side and a rather messy face & head  with his safety helmet & goggles badly cut up laying close by ..he was a greasy pale cheese colour & out for the count fortunately .

I wapped his head up with towels and a rubber bungee to hold them in place , dialed emergency services and told them I was on the way to the nearest hospital , my route and car number etc ...... could they give me a blues & twos escort to the casualty dept at the hospital .
  Halina & I some how got him in the car and drove like lightening for three miles till two police cars took up the blues & twos escort duty for me .  They passed info to the hospital as we got near and an emergency  team were waiting for us , whereupon they got him out the car into a wheelchair , I went and filled out the paper work .


The chain had cut through his peaked safety hat and his safety goggles  , taking out a groove from his nose to the upper front of his head .. his brain was just starting to show .

 That was 38 years ago , two weeks ago he collapsed with a large tumour .. found to be directly under the exposed area of his skull where his brain was poking through .

 If only he had bothered to check that the hedge was safe to use a chainsaw in rather than acting the goat ,the chances are he'd not be in the position he now is ,# which is not looking very good at all .

 What happened is that at sometime there had been a six foot tall plastic coated steel chain link fence around the property and over they years the wooden posts had rotted away , the hawthorn & privet etc. had arrived and grown through the fencing then split it up .

The high revved chainsaw had caught some of the old wire and climbed upwards as john was still in the act of bending forward to attack the base of the shrubbery .  Had he put his safety helmet on and correctly fitted the straps it's like as not that his hat would have stayed on instead of falling off his head ,as he'd worn it GI Joe/ John Wayne style without securing the chinstraps.

Shared this with husband. Terrifying story.