Chainsaw safety

D2W said:

I'm not looking forward to the day my kids are discussing with others the need to take away my tools of destruction.

It'd be one thing if he'd been using it his whole life, but the fact is that while he was adept with most things when he was aged 12-30, he's paid to have just about everything done for the past 34 years. He now is retired and has time and enjoys this stuff... but old hockey injuries mean that he's just not up to it as much as he should be, and it makes us all nervous. Would you teach a 64 year old with significant nerve damage from the left knee down that negatively impacts his balance to use a chainsaw?

That wasn't meant to mean what you are doing is wrong.  Only the fact that someday I'll be a grisly old codger and two of my four kids will be asking friends "how do we take away dad's hand held laser beam cutoff widget? He is going to decapitate himself."

As the others have said... chaps, gloves, and the mask/ears hard hat contraption. You just have to get him to use them!

As others have said: a gas saw might be more of a hassle to use with the mix fuel and having to start it. Maybe that is a benefit to your situation. At the same time... having a charged battery ready would present the same. A battery takes longer to charge though than a trip to buy a gallon of gas.

On a related note, it's no different than a kitchen knife. A sharp chain is safer than a dull chain as it cuts on its own without having to push on it and use it the wrong way. 

I'm just surprised nobody cross-posted this from the hotlinked GIFs thread already...

mtn said:

Ian F said:

mtn said:

gearheadmb said:

Is he wanting to cut up downed trees, or just do some trimming? If only trimming the polesaws are pretty awesome. They put the dangerous part a safe distance away AND keep you off a ladder. 

Cut up downed trees. He has enough on his [new to him] property that it kind of really is necessary.

Wait.  How big are these tress?  How many? 

While I know battery tools have come a long way, I'm not sure one is up to the continuous use cutting downed trees will require.  

size varies, but knowing my dad we're not talking continuous use. He works slowlly and a full day of work for him is about an hour nowadays.

Ah, OK. So in a way, the battery life would be a good "work-time-limiter". 

Ransom said:

I'm just surprised nobody cross-posted this from the hotlinked GIFs thread already...

Well, I'd probably trust him on skates more than I would on land... and they live on the lake in the UP.... Hmmmmmm

Don't get a chainsaw on your Hootus

My father is almost 80 and still uses a 290 series Stihl on a regular basis. No chaps, no hat, no glasses, no ear muffs. Nothing but a pair of jeans, a t shirt, and boots. One of my brother in laws bought all the safety crap for him once. It's all still in the box on a shelf in his shop. His words, "I've been running chainsaws for 50 years without that crap, I'm not about to start now."

Unless your father is a safety conscious person, don't waste your money. He probably wouldn't use it anyway.

Toyman01 said:

My father is almost 80 and still uses a 290 series Stihl on a regular basis. No chaps, no hat, no glasses, no ear muffs. Nothing but a pair of jeans, a t shirt, and boots. One of my brother in laws bought all the safety crap for him once. It's all still in the box on a shelf in his shop. His words, "I've been running chainsaws for 50 years without that crap, I'm not about to start now."

Unless your father is a safety conscious person, don't waste your money. He probably wouldn't use it anyway.

Ain't that the truth.  I still remember when my pops was incredulous that I hadn't defeated all the safety nannies on my J-D lawn tractor. 

Dad took a safety class on riding an ATV, even when he never intends to use it for more than yard work. So he'd wear it if we buy it.