My son had to have some big trees cut down at his new house after the recent gales. He has been left with loads of wood, branches etc., and I lent him the Bosch small electric chainsaw that I've never used.
When I was there yesterday, he said he'd used the chainsaw and it was really good, but it was right handed.
He is left-handed, although he does do various things, like play musical instruments, right handedly.
He was saying that he had started to use the saw but after about 30 minutes he suddenly realised he was holding it with his arms crossed. He then tried holding it correctly in the right handed way, but said it didn't feel as easy or right.
I said I'd ask about this here. Has anyone any advice?
I'm left-handed too. I have a right-handed chain-saw. It's a royal PITA, but I've learnt to adapt to it, (holding it the way a right-hander would), and most other right-handed things where there's little hope for improvement, or left-handed equivalents.
One of the worst is the (cheap, rubbish) jigsaw I have - which would seem at first sight to be usable by either hand, but guess where the exit blast of air from the motor fan goes.. This is typical of most power tools of that ilk - drills, etc.
I guess over the years I've become equally bad with either hard at most things - makes some thing easy though - painting, I can stand on a ladder, paint a section with my left-hand, then switch to the right-hand for more coverage without moving the ladder, and I manage small hand tools in either hanrd OK (screwdriver, chisel, etc.)
Not really but all chainsaws are designed for the front handle in the left hand and the throttle handle in the right I've not heard southpaws complain about it.
I also am left handed, and it does make using a chain saw somewhat difficult - I find I get lower back pain on one side as I'm reaching over sideways. You are supposed to hold the beast so that the chain is not in line with you, so if a chain breaks it misses you as it flies off. Having just cut up some 3 tons of logs into woodburner sized 8" chucks I feel qualified to comment!
I'm right handed so not qualified to comment but 3 tonnes of logs ( or 7 tank fills whichever came first) was my daily throughput with a saw. Cutting pulp at GBP4/tonne earned me a good wage in the 70s.
Bracing the saw against the work piece or the thigh is to control kickback, it's a properly mounted chain catcher as the pulling chain enters the clutch housing that controls a broken chain, spitting teeth when you try and cut some embedded shrapnel goes forward.
I'm a left-handed chainsaw user[1] and I've never given the matter any thought. In general I find it better to adapt to the right-handed method for two-handed activities, but obviously I use the left hand for one-handed activities. [Stop that tittering at the back, Right Now.] But sometimes - for instance, with a mouse - it's better to learn to do it right-handed from the outset.
[1] That's a left-handed chainsaw-user, not a left-handed-chainsaw user.
I too am left handed. A chainsaw (not that I use them often!) is one of those things where you just have to learn to do it wrong handed.
My mouse, on the other hand :P is on the left of the keyboard. My sons, both right handed as it happens, use it on the left. It's the way it always was when they were small! My wife however insists on moving it.
The gripping hand is that we live in a world of right handers.
chassis. Also the front handle protrudes above and to the left, so that the blade can be oriented either vertically or horizontally for felling.
It actually looks like the very common Ningbo (factory) saw that is re- badged by everyone and sometimes sold with an Oregon chain and bar. They're 18" (which is long) and 46cc (which is big). They're usually cheap at =A3120 and =A380 is the best price I've seen on eBay. A very capable saw, with most of the usual features of a real saw. I've got one (Axminster) for smalll stuff, instead of the big Stihl.
Downsides? Bit on the heavy side, but not so you'd care.
Mostly though the problem is the build quality. They're not designed for long service and they wouldn't survive it. The case will smash if dropped. Small controls will break off if mis-handled. The triggger linkage is usually mis-assembled from the factory and mine has been replaced with a CNCed aluminium copy. The chain tensioner would be nice, except that it will wear out in no time.
Spares availability is by a few of the better sellers keeping one on the shelf and stripping it, as required. Otherwise forget it. However chain and bars will swap easily, and sprockets probably will too.
So if you want a petrol chainsaw for not a huge amount of work, you won't find much better without spending =A3160 on a S/H Stihl of similar size.
Chainsaws have the chain as close to one side as possible to increase clearance. They don't come with the chain in the centre of the body (not since the '60s). So the handedness is defined by which side the motor doesn't stick out, with the chain cutting towards you on the bottom.
You can't make an ambidextrous chainsaw. If you did try, with either a really wrap-around loop handle, or else scissor handles like the Alligator, you'd also need to reverse the motor and put the chain on backwards.
I am right handed, but a while ago I had problems with my shoulder and was advised to use the mouse with my left hand.
I've never changed back. Now I can write at the same time as using the mouse...and there's more space to do so. I have one of those L shaped desks, with the large part to the right...it works well.
I have always been too worried about the lethal properties of a chainsaw ever to use one. I cut up wood with an axe.
I too am left handed but have found that anything that needs both hands is relatively easy to learn right handed but that might explain why my attempts to play a guitar and golf were not particularly successful. ;-)
For some obscure reason I learnt to use a mouse with my right hand and now find left handed mouse use awkward and I have been known to confuse left and right both under direction and in one particular case myself driving a screw in an awkward position and congratulating myself that I was left handed just before I realised I was using my right hand.
About 90% apparently. My particular hate is scissors. Not only are the grips often shaped for the wrong hand using them with the left hand means the slack between the blades is opened up instead of being closed down.
I'm ambi-moustrous for some reason, I swap hands frequently - helps avoid wrist strain I find too.
Even right handed people need to cut their right hand fingernails :-) You'd have hoped it wasn't beyond the wit of man to create scissors that close as they cut so can be used either way !
My oldest son uses the mouse on either side. He is left handed because both parents are, but seems naturally right handed. His stock in trade at school was swapping the mouse buttons over as he could use a mouse either way. Both parents always use a right handed mouse on the left. Sometimes meeses are asymettrical but we usually manage to find one that isn't.
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