We had some trees in the back yard fall from heavy snow last night. One was on the roof, but didn't do any damage. We all went out about 9 this morning to start cutting them up. I decided it was time my 15 year old son learn to use a saw. I was reminded of my first time with my dad's old Skil saw with a 24" bar and no vibration system. He got to learn with my MS261. I went over safety and physics of how the saw cuts and how the brake works. Showed him how to start the saw and guided him thru cutting some limbs that were not in a bind. Then I got him to a point where he could make some cuts thru the trunk. Ironically when he was about 1 or 2 a tree had fallen in the same spot and he was out there with his toy saw and we took a pic. Today we sort of recreated that photo, but I had his toy and he had the real saw. I think he was proud of himself and enjoyed it.
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super!
The "then and now" aspect is great. He's even got the same color shirt on!
Very nice! Get a few fundamental safety procedures in and he just needs practice.
Spike60, my wife said the same thing when she dug out the picture. "He's even wearing a green shirt"
That's Awesome!!
Excellent! Great photos.
He said something about that might be the only time he uses a chainsaw. Little does he know I'm teaching him to use a saw so the next time a tree falls he can use that saw and I can use my other one and we can get the work done twice as fast. Although if he takes as long to be proficient with a chainsaw as he is with driving it's gonna be a long time.
safety first. it took 4 years to teach my daughter to drive.
That look on your face in the re-creation photo seems to indicate that maybe it wasn't your idea, you'd like the picture taken a bit quicker and time is being wasted?
No, I was on board with it. She took several pictures, but that one was the one I chose to post. I just realized he's also wearing the same hear protection as the original photo. My wife is an audiologist and bought the kids head phones when they were little. They still fit and are in good shape.
Awesome.
Nice, good to see the youg ones learning.
I remember my first cut with a chainsaw. Guess l was about 12, helping grandpa cut up a broken branch in the apple orchard.
I asked if l could run the saw....a pos MiniMac.
It vibrated so bad that after I made the cut (3" limb) I gave it back and was really happy to pick up wood and brush...lol.
Ed
That is awesome! Put some chaps on both if you to set the safety standards from the get go. Carharts won't stop a saw
No Chainsawpants? I thought they were some kind of protection pants?
the leg protection would be my number one safety device on a learner, before eye and ear protection!
No, he wasn't wearing chaps. It was a quick lesson and I know an accident could happen anytime. In the future when I let him do some more cutting, I will have him wear chaps.
Bill. we have all got a time out on that one! :)
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Here is a question to every one: If this is off topic, sorry, please feel free to move this post.
I have been told that chaps will work very well to stop a gas chainsaw from damaging you.
I have also been told that chaps will not stop an electric (battery) chain saw because there is more torque than a gas saw.
Do any of you have any personal experience with battery saws and how well chaps will stop them from damaging you?
Thanks in advance.
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So the choice behind the question would be ?? Don't use an electric chainsaw, or don't use chaps?
Cuz I'm thinking the chaps would stop most damage to the underlying skin, muscle, and bone whether using a gas saw or an electric one. Chaps being better than nothing.
Electric (battery) saws do not have more torque than gas saws.
One guy that I love to watch but am very wary of Total BS content:
https://youtu.be/pZS9A0TPpgU (https://youtu.be/pZS9A0TPpgU)
Click Bait title but shows an electric saw being denied by some cheap chaps.
A Slavic guy that looks wild and has the "Outrageous Acts of Science" video to prove it: https://youtu.be/r5VSivQe760 (https://youtu.be/r5VSivQe760)
Conclusion:
Gas or electric, the Kevlar will jam up the chain/bar/sprocket in milliseconds.
I wear'em, get a comfortable pair and just make them part of the routine.
Here's another video:
#271 Will Stihl Chainsaw Chaps Stop a Battery Powered Chainsaw? - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kelAHD6AYII)
There is a difference between gas and electric in either torque or chain speed and some say you need better chaps for electric, but I have yet to find any data on that. Just wear the protection, because not wearing it is stupid. You can debate how effective the gear really is, but as when I took my initial firefighter training years ago and we learned all about our bunker gear and what it could do (and that stuff is considerably more expensive than any chaps). They told us the difference between wearing the gear and not wearing the gear came down to whether we wanted a closed or open casket funeral when things went wrong.
This is a neat lesson FFOTS. I have a 16 yo son and a 14 yo daughter that I'm slowly trying to teach some stuff. My boy has only within the past year or so decided he likes doing some of the heavy lifting work and my daughter likes finding and digging up rocks, both are good with me. I asked my son if he wanted to try the chainsaw out and he said no, but that'll only last so long. I also want them both to be able to run the backhoe and they aren't too deep on that yet either. It would be quite handy to have anyone in the family pick up a saw or hop in the backhoe to help get some stuff done. I think maybe, when the weather warms up a bit, we'll have a "on the farm learning weekend" where I teach them and my wife how this stuff works. I guess I should write up some procedures too.
I've found that they have to have some interest in doing such things, otherwise it is like pushing a string. Also a need to do things.
Leave plenty of room for them to fill in for you to accomplish jobs. Being around helping when you're making firewood or cutting down trees, or running the backhoe may lead to you asking them to run the saw or run the backhoe. Then accept some lessons.
i.e. if they get a ride to wherever they want to go, then learning to drive might be the last thing on their list of things to learn.
You are probably right beenthere. I've done a lot for them when they were growing up, to my own detriment. My wife (their stepmom) has been much better about having me have them do stuff. They default to no, but then slowly warm up to things. My son likes to help when I'm doing backhoe stuff but he's usually on the ground hooking up chains and such. I'd like for him to be able to run it when we are out in the open so I can work on the ground when needed.
My kids for the most part don't seem interested in a lot of the stuff I do. They do have chores they have to do like taking trash out, feeding chickens and collecting eggs, feeding my goats. The 15 year old who just learned the chainsaw, thought he had it hard until he was volunteered to go help his buddy clean out a horse stall full of manure a few weeks ago. He hasn't complained about having to do his chores lately.
Even if my kids don't develop interest in doing things like running chainsaws or woodworking, I try to have them do things and teach them to use tools. I figure someday, they will buy their own homes and then need to do things whether they are interested in it or not. Liam learned to wire a new light fixture on the outside of the garage the other day. Then my wife came out and said, maybe you can teach me how to do that too.
No dear, cause you are a girl... prob. wrong answer! :snowball: :)
So what did he think of running the saw? Did he see the fun in it, or just the work? :)
My kids were exposed to just about everything, from butchering, to running equipment. The only thing they weren't to happy with was working in the garden. Especially da youngest son. :D Now he's an avid gardener, always tryin' to outdo his old man. 8)
My son started when he was 12 and I got him a Stihl 250 EZ start. He mostly did not like the noise. He can help with firewood, but he does not volunteer, but he will if asked with a definite tone. He is 21 now.
We are all different and so are the kids today. At 12 years old I wanted to run anything with a motor, my 3 year older brother not so much. One of my nephews loved coming to my farm to help out while others weren't interested. By the time I was 16 I probably had more hours on a chainsaw than my dad did in his 90 years on earth, learned from an uncle.
Very nice pictures!!!
I think he thought it was a little exciting and a little scary. Of course I taught him about the chain brake and that he should learn to engage the brake if he was going to walk very far with a running saw. After he was done he shut the saw off and set it down. About 5 minutes later I picked up the saw to start it and realized the brake was engaged. I was impressed that he had done it.
When I was a kid I spent a lot of time with my dad working. He did a lot of odd jobs around for people on the weekend and usually he'd take me with to help (which I had no desire to do and was quite resentful) but then as I grew up I realized I was pretty fortunate to have some skills I didn't realize I was learning, so I wasn't too afraid to try things or think critically about how to accomplish tasks. I think I've missed that window, unfortunately, with my kids, but they are starting to show some more interest in some of the stuff, which is good.
I've got a toilet to install this weekend, maybe I'll get them to help on that...
Spend as much time as you can with kids, any kid! Take your tasks, projects and repairs and make them opportunities for learning. May take you longer to complete your job, but learning and memories are being built. In the long run it will pay off. Your kid will develop skills that many others lack.
as long as you live, it is never too late.
@firefighter ontheside (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=26921) I'm still laughing at your story of the 15 year old and the horse stall. I had some jobs that encouraged me to stay in school, I didn't want to be doing for the rest of my life. Unloading and stacking 87 lb bags of concrete mix was one of them.
@sawguy21 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=1763) we felt a little bad as parents tricking him, but it was funny. His buddy's mom videoed him when he showed up at their house. He thought he was just going over to hang out and then saw Connor dressed up to muck the stall and handed him a shovel.
well at least he dove in. some may have sat down and looked at their phone, waiting on the friend to get done. I have done this with my 21 y/o. he may have a task like firewood or putting the Christmas tree in the attic (2 man job). His friends come to our house to play Warhammer and games, and we usually feed them something. so I will just ask them as a group to do something. If they look like they are getting ready to leave, I remind them, "don't forget the firewood"!
:D :)