Chainsaw safety device

[Ianab]

Listen, i believe we did not clarify our idea enough originally. The device would allow the chainsaw to clamp onto the tree, and not require a person to hold it, only a person to move the bar which would push the blade toward the wood. And we would set up the clamping system so that you could make cuts at different angles using this same contraption(saw clamped to tree, user controls the cut without the weight of the saw being put on his or her back.) Hope this helps clarify our idea, as we really want to make this work. Thanks for all the input everyone, and any further input or ideas are greatly appreciated.

I do like a good mechanical challenge. But this ones got me stumped (pun intended)

Even assuming you could rig up your saw holder to be able to make the minimum of three different cuts, bearing in mind the 3rd one is usually made from the other side of the tree, or with the saw flipped over you still have two serious problems.

If the weight of the tree isn't in the direction of the fall, or if you have misjudged the lean or branch weight, the tree "sits back" on your bar and chain. and jams it. Now you are stuck, with a 90% cut tree teetering overhead. To prevent this you would insert a felling wedge into the cut behind the saw to prevent the cut closing up, Once the cut is complete, you can then use the wedge to lift the back of the tree and tip it over.  So you NEED the ability to insert a wedge. While not every tree is going to need a wedge, a large enough % do, even if it's only as a precaution.

The other thing is your saw is going to be left sitting on the stump as the tree falls, That's a BIG problem as many trees will bounce or spring back over the stump, even landing on it, then rolling off to the side. Again, not every tree, but it's common enough that you don't stand there while the tree is falling. You grab your saw, and take  4 or 5 large steps to get to a safer spot. I'd put the odds of your device, and the saw, being pancaked at about 5% every time it was used?

Now as far as the actual cutting goes, I'm not sure what experience your team has, so spend a couple of minutes and watch this video. Tim Ard is a professional chainsaw instructor, and knows his stuff. He explains how, and also the why of the methods he uses here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFTOlmCijjs
Now there are variations on the exact method, but that's the general idea of how to (safely) fell a tree. I just can't see any way to fabricate a simple mechanism to do that remotely. And especially one that could be operated by an inexperienced person. Simply strapping a saw on to the stump and cutting is just going to turn to custard so fast it wont be funny, unless you have grabbed the tree with a 40 ton machine first.

[CTYank]

Gotta understand the human-factors involved. Even a small "homeowner" chainsaw is a ferocious, noisy, smelly threatening little beast that specializes in amputations. Operator control, or at least the semblance of control is psychologically important to the user. Then the ambulance-chasers will sniff out and latch onto anything that gives prospect of drawing blood. You still don't know if it will work.

Best to get some runtime on a variety of saws, conventional and polesaws, to build some muscle-memory of what's involved in getting to your goal, so you can focus on the possible. All sorts of Rube Goldberg devices have been devised for the purpose of cutting wood. Only a few remain.

I use polesaws a lot. Every ounce that can be removed from the cutting end is a BIG DEAL, a very big deal. This would of course apply to maneuvering any powered device at the end of a pole. Best get some first-hand experience of what's involved there. Few homeowners are sumo-wrestlers.

[Al_Smith]

The subject did give rise to lively conversation but the general opinion is it's just not practical .If it were no doubt some maker of chainsaw would have already developed it .

I once had what I thought was a brilliant idea .In the days before Mr Coffee and Bun you had to wait 15 minutes for your morning cup to brew .I thought why not an electrical receptacle  on a clock radio,get up your coffee is made so I put one together,worked great .It was about a month later I discovered they already made same .

[pabst79]

LTA, it may seem that we're all being jerks, but I assure you its for good reason. Even a small saw, 12" bar and lightweight can cause life changing or ending damage in a second. I find it hard to believe a High School would be willing to let students operate and design something so dangerous, the only way I can see it to be plausible is if your instructor was well trained and helped with every step of design and use. That being said, if your instructor/teacher was well versed in chainsaw use and safety, there is NO way he/she would have their students trying to build such a contraption. You mentioned small homeowner trees? What's a small tree, 8",12"? If you watch the video that Ianab posted you'll see how critically important it is to be at your saw and have complete control of it. If you mounted a saw to a tree and stood back 8' or 10' doesn't matter, you would not be able to feel if the tree was twisting, leaning back a bit or anything else trees may do. I'm afraid the user may not notice in time if the tree was moving in a dangerous direction and I promise even a small "homeowner" tree will break your neck in a second.

  If you really are a High School student, I think its great your thinking of inventing some type of safety device, everyone on the forum welcomes safety. However, I would think you would be better served to spend your budget on a used saw and safety equipment, then spend some time, under supervision, actually using a saw. That way you and your team would get an idea of what your actually trying to design, maybe the "lightbulb" will go off per-say. Good Luck.

[Jeff]

I would suggest you talk with your instructor and make arrangements to visit the U.S. Forest Products lab in Madison. You are only a short jaunt to there from your town.  There you can speak with people about what you wish to do and get some top notch feedback and information on wood and tree processing.   

[HolmenTree]

Here's some inspiration for the LTA-team.

Here's a chainsaw machine that clamps to a tree and takes all the limbs off.
This machine was originally introduced as a Sachs Tree Monkey over in Europe in 1965.
https://youtu.be/kJVz8N_PJ2E

[teakwood]

Very cool machine.  Seems to have a drill bit to cut the branches ???  How does it come down, just with shutting it off.  We do lots of pruning work in the teak plantations, the most important thing is that the branch is cut of fairly straight and as near as possible at the tree.

[John Mc]

Just want to see if I am understanding this correctly:

If I want to cut a limb from the tree - maybe one that I can't comfortably reach from the ground - I'd use your device to clamp the saw to the tree (in a manner that allows the saw to pivot). I would pivot the saw into the limb by using an extension pole attached to your device. Presumably, this pole would also have some sort of remote trigger for the saw's throttle.

Is that a fair description?

[LTA-team]

Just want to see if I am understanding this correctly:

If I want to cut a limb from the tree - maybe one that I can't comfortably reach from the ground - I'd use your device to clamp the saw to the tree (in a manner that allows the saw to pivot). I would pivot the saw into the limb by using an extension pole attached to your device. Presumably, this pole would also have some sort of remote trigger for the saw's throttle.

Is that a fair description?

Yes, that is a fair description.

[alabama]

I like the idea of having full physical control on the chainsaw. Technology is good but it is also becoming overwhelming. Whatever happened to a good hard days work? There was a time you know that we didn't have drones, robots and things seemed a lot better to me, this is just my opinion though.

[HolmenTree]

Very cool machine.  Seems to have a drill bit to cut the branches ???

Yes looks like this newer version was upgraded to a auger bit.
Here's the 1965 article on the Sachs tree monkey. Its chain is a scratcher tooth pattern.