Starting a saw in a tree

pantheraba

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Another thread led to this question:

How do you start a saw in the tree?

Many folks say "don't drop start a saw"...isn't that how one has to be started when you are on spurs?
 
I think it was Dean at hotsaws(?), who mentioned drop starting his 090 with a four or five foot bar on it, as regular routine. Don't think that he meant in a tree, though.
 
Just make sure the chain brake is on and you can drop start a chain saw safely,,,anywhere.

The "no drop start" rule came before chain brakes, and no doubt a lot of people got hurt drop starting chain saws back then. But today there's no reason the safety zealots should still be enforcing it. When they should just teach proper technique. "Apply the chain brake" If no chain brake then use recommended technique.

I've heard people in other forums say they would fire an employee for drop starting a saw. And that just has a sour ring to it.
 
Exactly what Jerry said. Why wouldn't you drop start a saw. It's easy fast and efficient and I would say no more dangerous than the 'log start' that Darin described in another thread as long as the chain brake is applied.

Again for me it's the only way I ever start a saw.
 
Maybe we can solve the problem using electric chainsaws in the tree??
 
No,no! You must place the saw on the ground, place your foot in the rear handle(even if it is on top) start the saw and then climb the tree with a running saw.:|:
 
How about if your saw throttle needs to be worked in order for it to be started? Like if it is not running very well?

My preferred way to start a saw is by the most efficient way possible. If that means starting it with it on the ground, or drop starting, or setting it on my leg or a limb or whatever, thats the way I start a saw.

I also use a saw the same way.

Show me a person who says they never drop start a saw and I will show you a slow inefficient worker on the job site. Think cut-and-throw.

Safe is as safe does. Either you are a safe worker, or your not.

This text book stuff works on paper, but the real world is different.
Like one-handing a saw. I have yet to see a climber who is just as efficient always using both hands on a saw as a climber who one-hands a saw.

Its interesting to me the endless debate about these two subjects. Again, get a guy on the job and it all gets sorted out quickly-- either they are slow and in-efficient (lame), or they get to work another day. When I am paying for their time, it gets sorted out right quick.

It only takes an hour or so to figure out if a climber is worth having back on the job again.

I have also seen climber's 'standards' change quickly according to how hungry they are.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9
The chain brake is the answer for me....seems as long as it is applied there should be no problem. That's what I do, too...just wanted to check with youse guys.

Frans, true dat on standards changing when hunger is kicking in. :lol:
 
Exactly what Jerry said. Why wouldn't you drop start a saw. It's easy fast and efficient and I would say no more dangerous than the 'log start' that Darin described in another thread as long as the chain brake is applied.

Again for me it's the only way I ever start a saw.

OK, I'll chime in on why we shouldn't drop start saws.

Not to claim I never do, but I try to avoid it. Not for reasons of safety, re loosing control of the saw...as Jerry rightly says, setting the chain brake takes care of that.

Drop starting a saw is hard on your body, especially over the years. You essentially are throwing the saw away from you with one arm and pulling the starter handle towards you with the other. This torques the joints of your shoulder, elbow, and wrist in an unhappy manner, and over time many will find that those joints don't like it.

Same is true with the "bar over a log" method, but to a lesser degree. I only use this method with larger saws sporting longer bars, generally when they are warm, not cold starting, and with comp releases.

Drop starting smaller saws is actually harder on your joints than larger ones, because there is less mass and inertia in the lightweight powerhead, so the torqueing is more extreme.

In the tree is the most challenging situation...I like Frans' post...do what works best, safest, in each particular position you find yourself in. If you can brace it some way, it's better for your body in the long run. Drop start it when you need to, but look for alternatives.
 
One freezing morning out in the brush I drop started my 056 and the thing just about ate me up. My hands were numb from the cold and I didn't realize the throttle lock was on after pop starting with the choke. The next crank threw that chain to spinning around so fast the saw ran away from me. And my numb hands couldn't hold on to it.

Another time I propped the nose of my 84 inch bar on a 6x6 timber, powerhead on the ground, left hand on the wrap-around handle bar, right foot through the pistol grip, right hand on the pull rope, throttle lock engaged! That was a biiiigggg mistake.

That 090 took off and the chain rolled the timber up to the dogs so fast it threw the saw completely through the air over backwards, narrowly missing me. It hit the ground and threw the chain and everything was OK. but man I was freaked

You got to watch out for those throttle locks!! They're the most dangerous feature on a chainsaw,, I think.
 
If the bar is long enough I set it on something and drop the power head. Burnham, It was explained to me that this give you twice the cranking speed which will start a saw faster, or with fewer cranks. Seems over time this may offset or even counter more pulls with less torque. whatchoothink?
 
If the bar is long enough I set it on something and drop the power head. Burnham, It was explained to me that this give you twice the cranking speed which will start a saw faster, or with fewer cranks. Seems over time this may offset or even counter more pulls with less torque. whatchoothink?

Might be so, Willie. I'm not dismissing that method, which is different from drop starting.

I'm sure that if we think about how we do things, and pay attention to the ergonomics of what's going on, we can probably use even drop starting with less potential for long term damage to our bodies than if we ignore these factors.

I just point out what I feel is the real reason to avoid drop starting...it's not about safety per se, it's about our health.
 
One freezing morning out in the brush I drop started my 056 and the thing just about ate me up. My hands were numb from the cold and I didn't realize the throttle lock was on after pop starting with the choke. The next crank threw that chain to spinning around so fast the saw ran away from me. And my numb hands couldn't hold on to it.

Another time I propped the nose of my 84 inch bar on a 6x6 timber, powerhead on the ground, left hand on the wrap-around handle bar, right foot through the pistol grip, right hand on the pull rope, throttle lock engaged! That was a biiiigggg mistake.

That 090 took off and the chain rolled the timber up to the dogs so fast it threw the saw completely through the air over backwards, narrowly missing me. It hit the ground and threw the chain and everything was OK. but man I was freaked

You got to watch out for those throttle locks!! They're the most dangerous feature on a chainsaw,, I think.

True. I wish the choke/start controls didn't function the way they do nowadays, where the throttle lock MUST be engaged if you are using the choke.
 
You can never emphasize just how important using a chain brake is to people IMHO, when starting the saw and moving with a running saw. The chain brake is not fool proof by any means. But with practice it can be your automatic life and limb saver. In the tree however, I will not reposition with a running saw. Cut/cutting finished, saw off, brake on. Starting the saw, as Frans pointed out, in a manner that is safe and comfortable.

I would also say the phrase "location, location, location". Mind your ropes ladies and gentlemen.. Check your location of the saw to the rope(s) before start and before cut. And how many of us have nicked the rope on a follow through after the cut?
 
In a tree, I'll drop start the top-handles, with the chain brake on, of course.

If it's a rear-handle, I prefer to set the brake, and brace the nose against the tree.

On the ground... I "crotch" start; (Yeah, I can hear the laughter...) where the rear handle is between my thighs, left hand on the top handle, right hand on the pull cord.

I'm no nazi about the drop-start rule, but I see a lot of guys let the saw get "whippy" while trying to do it, and I prefer to be in control.
 
Do you guys switch grips on saws when you dropstart them?
It is standard procedure here, or rather it was, back when I learned to start saws.
Now the safety rules say: on the ground or wedged in your crotch.
The thing about switching grip is, it makes it less likely for the bar to swing into your legs.
Supposing the bar is short enough to swing , that is. Around here that is the norm.
 
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  • #20
Erik, My saw ain't gettin' "whippy"-I'm just gettin' jiggy wid it. :lol:

:lol: Not EVEN knowing what that all means but it sure is funny....FREAKS, all of ya.

Stig, I set the brake on my 019T, keep the right hand on the pistol grip/trigger part, and pull with my left hand...I probably really basically throw/push the saw with the right hand while pulling with the left.

"and get jiggy wid it." (one of those crazy American colloquialisms)
 
There's a world of difference between dropping a 20 T say and an 066especially in a tree .

I seldom get in tree actually .The mid size saws I put behind me knee,none of that crotch stuff for me :O. The large saws get started on the ground . A 125 Mac or an 084 with a 36 " is way too large to drop--or at least for me .
 
I haven't read every post yet but just to clarify, holding the handle with your right hand and pulling the chord with your left is not a drop start. The danger is in holding the wrap around handle bar with your left and pulling the chord with your right hand. The saw can pivot in that circumstance and come back and bite you if the chainbrake isn't on. A log start is safer than a drop start because their isn't sufficient force for the saw to kick back if you are holding the pistol grip. Holding the wrap around handle while starting is the real no no. because the whole saw can pivot on that spot.
 
I haven't read every post yet but just to clarify, holding the handle with your right hand and pulling the chord with your left is not a drop start. The danger is in holding the wrap around handle bar with your left and pulling the chord with your right hand. The saw can pivot in that circumstance and come back and bite you if the chainbrake isn't on. A log start is safer than a drop start because their isn't sufficient force for the saw to kick back if you are holding the pistol grip. Holding the wrap around handle while starting is the real no no. because the whole saw can pivot on that spot.

Holding the top handle with my left hand and pulling the rope with my right is the only way I've ever started most saws. And I disagree that the saw can 'pivot' and bite me. The inertia is in a different plane and even if the saw were to kick back (which it never has in 20+ years), then it would flip around in front of me and not into me.

Over the years I have scolded many people for starting one of MY saws by holding the rear handle in their right hand and pulling the rope with their left. It is almost impossible to do that 10 times in a row without sticking the chain in the dirt (or concrete). They can do it to their own saws but mine will NOT be started in that manner. Either hold the top handle with your left hand or set the saw on the ground to start it. In a tree is different, hold the throttle grip in your right and pull with your left. No problem, just like a top handle.

And chain brake nazis irritate me also. Recently somebody used my favorite 346 for an hour and would SLAM the chain brake after every cut, even before letting off the throttle and letting the saw idle down. Well, 2 days later my chain brake broke and I'm waiting on a replacement now. :(
 
I bet you cringed every time you saw them do it, too.

I know saws are only plastic and metal machines, but I seriously feel their pain when people do stuff like that.
 
I don't really drop start my saws, I just hold with the left and pull with the right. If you don't want to drop start, then wedge it in your knees, as one option. I always use the brake, even with the Stihls that require you to have the throttle lock on to choke it. I just blip the throttle as soon as it starts. Been thinking of bypassing that throttle lock deal. Never use it on the Huskys.
 
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