Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Don't Rock Your Saw!

 Last week we had to break down and hire a guy with a bucket truck to take down a couple of bad trees next to the house, and I started cleaning them up over the weekend.  Working around a home with a chainsaw can be a bit more hazardous to your saw than working in the woods.  Metal in trees is pretty common, and I checked these for mineral stain as I worked my way down.  They had no wire, which was a surprise.  In this photo you can see concrete and metal grating, both of which have to be worked around very carefully.

 So far, so good.
 Now, to work on the smaller parts from the top of the tree.  Working without a swamper, all the wood piled in close to the stump, lots of twigs and leaves...

...but, hiding under one of the pieces was a Danville paving brick, the vitrified kind.  The Carlton chain took it pretty well, but some filing is in order.  Besides working alone, I couldn't see where the saw was going in the piled up pieces.  When you work on a pile like this, break it down and spread it out if you can.  Besides the danger of rocking your saw like I did, a pile of wood like this one enhances your chances of having a kickback if the tip of your saw runs into something unexpected.  It's good to reflect on these things while you work with your file to fix your mistakes.

2 comments:

NotClauswitz said...

As close as I get to that kind of dangerous outdoorsy activity is spraying the giant-spiders in their nests...

David aka True Blue Sam said...

Running a chainsaw is a mental exercise much like shooting, but the danger to yourself is greater. Putting a tree where you want it and working it up is very satisfying. When you cut a tree in a yard, you lift its entire weight twice cleaning it up; more, if you split it for firewood. At 60, that isn't as much fun as it used to be.