I bought a table saw a few years ago - the instructions warned against using it whilst up a ladder :-)
I bought a table saw a few years ago - the instructions warned against using it whilst up a ladder :-)
I know, I was just pointing out chainsaw kickback has softer targets than limbs. This type of accident (to a diyer rather than a tradesman) sparked off a whole plethora of safety requirements that effectively have become a restricted practice.
AJH
I don't know why chainsaws don't have a riving knife to stop them doing as much damage if they kick back. I know it would be too heavy to make a really stiff one on a 48" professional saw but not a 18" DIY saw.
A bit like a Bloody Mary with crunchy bits...
Owain
Speaking as a professional user: it's because you need to use both sides of the bar when snedding (delimbing branches).
My guess would be that most professional use of chainsaws will be with bars of 18" or less (after all that will fell a 36" diameter tree).
You miss the point however, kickbacks occur, the counter to them is to be holding the saw firmly in two hands, preferably with the saw supported by ones body or the work also. The case I quoted appeared to have been when the chap was working off a ladder, holding the saw in one hand and the ladder with the other (no reason to believe anything alcohol related).
AJH
I have no doubt I missed the point.. I wouldn't go near a chain saw myself so I have never used one. But I still don't see why they can't be guarded on the one side.. you aren't supposed to cut with the side that is running away from you AFAIK. Doing so breaks all the rules I have seen.
First I've heard of it
What rules?
I actually did have a saw with a full length guard over the pushing edge of the chain, I lent it to a museum and never got it back. It was a Teles with a Villiers engine.
BTW kickback tends to occur when the tip inadvertently contacts the work, it couldn't happen with the teles because the helper's handle covered the tip, now that would break today's rules.
That's why you shouldn't go near a chainsaw.
Nor for that matter, anything used for ripping that does require a riving knife.
Also by using a saw that has appropriate spurs fitted. Most do, unless it's either truly ancient, or it has been adjusted for ripping. Doing "a quick bit of crosscutting" with a saw set up for ripping is a favourite route to an accident.
There's also the issue of top-handle saws.
Dogs? We used to use smaller saws without dogs for pulp cutting, they lost you a bit of length and there was no benefit in them for small stuff.
There are fairly stringent restrictions on the use of top handle saws professionally.
AJH
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