Chain Saws, Part 1. Selection A Master Class

This is the first part of a four-part series on selection and use of a chain saw.

As a Vo-Ag/Natural Resources instructor I have taught several thousand high school students and adults how to operate a chain saw. I have attended numerous chain saw safety programs with some of the top instructors in the USA.

Operating a chain saw is dangerous and a serious business. With that said, I get upset when some people with little knowledge or practical experience operating a chain saw have lots of opinions. You know whom I am talking about: The so-called expert who cleared the land, cut all the logs and lumber to build their home and heated it for a number of years with a small chain saw with an 8-inch bar. Oh, and he only had to replace one spark plug and sharpen the saw twice in all that time. The real kicker is when he got paid to teach this nonsense because he is an ‘expert’. I’m not an expert but I am an experienced operator and instructor.

Since most homesteaders heat with firewood, let’s get everyone on the same page with some terms and definitions.

1. A cord of firewood (FW) is a 128 cubic ft pile of FW. The old measurements are 4 ft high x 8 ft long x 4 ft wide. If we use the model standards of today our FW piece is about 16 inches long. Therefore, a cord of FW for our purposes is 4 ft high x 24 ft long x 16 inches wide.

2. A cord of Appalachian hardwood dried FW weighs 2.5 tons. A Chevy S-10 pickup won’t haul a full cord unless the guy makes 4 – 5 trips, no matter how high he stacks it.

3. Today’s new chain saws have aluminum engines and only have a limited life span of operation based upon the manufacturer’s grade. All manufacturers have models ranging from limited home owner’s use to professional timber use.

4. Chain saws are sold based on the cubic inches or horsepower rating.

5. Most chain saws can be fitted with various lengths of the bar.

6. As the chain saw cuts wood, the cutters get dull. Hitting dirt, metal, or rocks dulls the chain instantly.

7. The typical FW cutters usually take 3 hours or more to cut a full cord of FW.

8. The normal home needs 8 – 12 cords of FW for the annual heating season when heating only with wood.

I know some of you will be able to cut faster, your home may have great insulation, or you may be using a masonry heater but these are the average numbers and I’m just trying to establish a baseline.

Now to get to this week’s topic – Selecting a Chain Saw for Your Needs.

Before you purchase a chain saw there are some questions you need ask yourself to get the right tool for YOUR homestead.

1. What are you going to use the saw to do:

a. Light home yard work?

b. Felling and trimming small trees and brushes?

c. Cutting down limbs?

d. Cutting FW for the occasional fire?

e. Land clearing?

f. Forestry management and logging?

g. Providing FW to totally heat the home?

2. How often are you going to be using the chain saw?

3. Do you need a quality, dependable saw to heat your home for the winter?

4. Are you trained to use a chain saw and do you have the PPE safety apparel?

Being homesteaders, we usually have limited funds, therefore we need to be practical and reasonable about our purchases. Being realistic about our needs, the type of work and the number of hours we plan to use the saw will help us to make the right choice.

Chain saw prices are determined by the saw’s style, engine size, and the construction grade of the saw. Saw styles can include bells and whistles like the EZ start cranks, EZ bar tension cranks, bar designs, self-sharpening devices and so on. These features add to the cost of your saw.

We will start with energy sources:

1. Electric cord saws and pole saws (The electric-cord saw and pole saws are very limited in their uses and not part of our discussion today.)

2. Battery unit saws

3. Gas and oil mix fueled saws

For the casual chain saw user, the electric battery unit chain saw has become a great alternative and quite cost-effective purchase.

Benefits for battery unit chain saws:

1. Easy to start – pull the trigger

2. No old or stale fuel problems

3. No mixing fuel and oil

4. Less engine maintenance

5. Great unit to transport in your vehicle to cut and remove down trees from roadways

6. A fully charged battery unit should have enough power to cut about ½ cord of FW

7. Battery unit saws have a 5-year warranty on the saw and a 2-year warranty on the battery

8. Battery units may be used in other portable power tools

Drawbacks to battery unit chain saws:

1. Batteries must be charged or the saw is useless

2. Back-up batteries can be expensive and should be purchased

3. Cold weather will drain the battery more quickly

4. These saws are relatively new technology and you may want to wait until the second or third generation are available

Let’s turn our attention to the more common gas/oil mix fuel chain saws:

#1 Most Important Information I Can Give You – Beware of buying a used chain saw, no matter how great the price is unless you know exactly what you are buying.

All chain saw manufacturers carry three production lines:

1. Homeowner

2. Farm and Ranch (commercial grade)

3. Professional

Homeowner saws are generally under $400 with a manufacturer’s specs life of 20 – 100 hours of operation. Most have limited or no major repair parts available. Usually the saws are fitted with .325” saw chain and has lower horsepower. These are the saws available at big box stores and discount tool stores. Nearly all saw shops carry a line of homeowner saws, so know what you are buying at your local saw shop.

Farm and Ranch/ Commercial saws cost under $800, have a life of 50 – 500 hours depending on manufacturer. This saw usually has more horsepower and is a better-quality saw than the Homeowners model. Repair parts are generally available. They are a good value for most homesteaders. These saws come with .325 or 3/8” saw chain in addition to the extra horsepower and torque for cutting.

The Professional saw costs more than $800, has a life between 500 – 1000 hours, is more economical to repair. It has a 3/8” or larger drive chain, more horsepower and more torque.

So, how can you know which type of saw you should buy? Do your homework – all manufacturers list their chain saws by model numbers related to production quality and horsepower rating.

I will cover chain saw sizes and designs and types of bars available in Part 2.

A few additional tidbits:

For the beginners – Don’t get fooled into buying a saw with EZ start, EZ bar tension, a self-sharpening feature or other special features. Certified saw mechanics will warn you to stay away from these costly add-ons.

One item you want to have is the anti-kick feature. Some low-end saws have hand guards or a hand set anti-kick brake. Please only purchase force induced anti-kickback brake saws. If a kickback occurs, the force of the saw being thrown out of the cut will set the anti-kickback force brake in 1/5 of a second. A hand set brake takes longer and YOUR hand has to activate the brake.

I will get into kickback and prevention during the chain saw operation segment.

What if you can get a big old chain saw that your grandpa used? Yes, it will still work but you are gambling on safety without the safety features of new saws. Besides the force anti-kickback brake system, the new saws have built-in anti-vibration handles and many other safety features to reduce incidence of a condition known as white finger, and operation fatigue. More will be covered in the Safety segment.

So, when selecting a chain saw you need to determine what you are going to use the saw for and how often. Who is going to operate it – you, your spouse, your kids, another adult?

Remember, a chain saw is only a tool and not dangerous until the operator starts it.

Until next time,

Bob