Chainsaw and bag for clearing trails?
- Thread starter p3eps
- Start date
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
He would have had time during his recuperation!
Plenty of stored up energy too...
2WheelsNot4
E*POWAH Master
Incredible the number of accidents those top handle saw cause.
You just have to use them like any normal saw. People just think that because they are a little battery saw they can't hurt you. If you use proper technique, they are fine.
There seems to be a lot of "left" handedness on this forum ! 
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Latin lovers call the left-handed "sinister" and the right-handed "dexter" (where the word dextrous comes from). Lefties are rarer than righties and "sinister" became the word used for sinister. (There's something wrong with him.)
Well, that was what I learned as a kid! As a dextrous rightie, it seemed OK to me, never questioned it. Until now.
Well, that was what I learned as a kid! As a dextrous rightie, it seemed OK to me, never questioned it. Until now.
Don't get me wrong, it's just humor.. 
But it is difficult to translate between different languages
But it is difficult to translate between different languages
We can never plan or expect to be injured …we can only prepare. I generally ride solo or work on trails by myself. A gps phone and a small first aid package are always a part of my riding kit. Sh*t can happen when you least expect it.
***Warning***
Another long and boring diatribe. Scroll past.
I was standing in a cashier lineup with my Canadian Tire purchase. 4th in line I was waiting my turn. I suddenly sensed someone behind me. Another customer likely, so I turned to greet the person.
“How’s it going?” I said. The gentleman politely responded. “I’m quite well. How are you?” . My head head quickly snapped forward …that voice…that accent …nicely dressed appearance. A British or Scottish accent …my thoughts raced. I then turned and asked the gentleman, “Did they ever catch you??”
He starred at me with a puzzled look for a moment. “Excuse me”? I stared back at him and expanded my question. “Did the RCMP ever catch you??”.
Three years earlier I had received a phone call from Fedje & Gunnerson on my week off. They were a well known Falling Company on Vancouver Island who I had contracted with before. They explained that two of their Fallers had to suddenly leave an area and left a dozen trees to be felled. Maybe an hour’s work to complete the contract. I knew they were desperate to complete the job.
I reluctantly accepted and negotiated the terms for this unique situation. A daily rate, transportation, food, safety coverage etc. This was going to be very expensive for them.
I left the airport in Campbell River early the next morning. A small single engine aircraft was chartered just for me…and all the necessary equipment I took was loaded. After a short hour flight we landed on a gravel landing strip in one of the many inlets on the west coast of BC. A very narrow landing strip.
One of the camp workers met me with a work crummy (pickup truck) and loaded my equipment into the back. I started to feel “special”, even though I wasn’t.
Another half hour ride to the site where rigging and logging crews were assembled. I made safety coverage arrangement's with the crew boss and loaded my equipment into the standing helicopter close by. My work location was about a mile up the mountain and my safety coverage would be the rigging crew below.…via frequent radio check every 20 minutes. I would also have visual contact with them but it was unlikely they could see me.
I exited the helicopter on a stump and the pilot “toe’d in so I could remove my saws and equipment. In my usual coach position I gave the pilot a thumbs up and off he went. Quiet at last.
I quickly surveyed the area and determined the next tree to be felled. It looked like only 10 trees were left within the ribboned boundary. I placed my extra equipment out of the way and made a quick radio check to my safety coverage. Everything looked and sounded good
!
I walked over to the first tree to be felled. There was a mixture of Hemlock and Balsam…4-6’ in diameter. The next 5 trees were no problem. Easily felled and bucked for the Virtal logging helicopter. Predicted weight was important but I knew the correct bucking lengths. 5 trees to go!
I approached a large leaning Balsam. It appeared to have some rot at the base and was aimed at the other trees along the edge of the ‘face’. Things could go bad here so I prepared an extra escape route and a large hemlock to hide behind if the Balsam started to brush the other standing timber. Giant tree limbs could be whipped back towards my position if the Balsam decided to brush the other standing trees. Kinda like giant darts.
The moment of truth.
As I stated to place the backcut in I could see that I no longer had control of the falling direction. Time to bail and run towards the safety of the large Hemlock, hide, become very small and wait until the event was over.
Several limbs darted on both sides of the Hemlock and me. I waited for a few moments for a sign of quietness before I peeked around the low side …then I found myself on my back.
A chunk of limb had ricocheted off a stump below me and impaled my left arm and into my bicep. The force was great enough to spin my body around like a corkscrew and flung me to the ground. Damm…I think my arm is broken.
As I layed on my back I reached for my compression bandage near my shoulder and held on by my suspenders. Blood was starting to emerge though my shirt sleeve and I quickly wrapped the compression bandage around my arm to stop any flow of blood. Why did this have to happen now? The chunk of tree limb was nowhere to be found but I only saw a momentary blur of it as it struck me.
While laying on my back I gathered my thoughts. There’s a procedure for this and help is only a radio call away. A call for help shuts down all operations. I just need to make that call. I stood up but kept my elbow folded to maintain pressure on the bleed area. Make the call! Make the f****** call.
Five trees were left standing. If I could just tip these over, the area would be finished. With my left arm still folded I picked up my 066 Stihl and maneuvered it with one arm. Can I even do this? After several attempts I realized that it was hopeless and very very dangerous. I made the dreaded call for help.
There was radio silence for a moment. And then a voice said “we’ll be right there”. A helicopter toe’d in and a first aid attendant leaped out. When the helicopter lifted off he scurried over to ready me for transport and to assess my injury. He removed scissors from his bag and began cutting my sleeve off. He unwrapped my compression bandage and slightly straightened my arm. Blood squirted out. I recognized that as an artery bleed. It’s worse than I first thought.
He wrapped me backup again with cleaner bandages. He also carried my equipment back to the toe’d in helicopter. I walked and climbed in. A logging ambulance was waiting for me below. Some time passed as we made our way back to camp. I was rushed into the first aid shack where my wound was dressed again. Unknowingly to me, the first aid crew had summoned a plane flying down Johnston Straight and asked that they detour to this site and pickup an injured worker (me).
At the end of the very small gravel runway I waited in the crummy. I noticed that the plane arriving had two engines and the wing span was greater. Will it even fit on this landing strip? Near our vehicle the plane spun around and aimed itself back where it came from. I walked towards the side entrance of the plane and abruptly stopped. I then began to laugh out loud.
This plane was full of passengers …probably nine. Someone told them to all get off. As they climbed out I noticed that they were all Korean tourists. As they walked past me their eyes widened when they glanced at me. I must of been a horrible sight …half covered in drying blood. I jumped in the plane and asked the pilot for permission to sit next to him …like a co-pilot.
The flight back to the Campbell River airport was nice. Like traveling in luxury. When we reached Seymour Narrows the pilot descended to fly alongside a cruise ship before we eventually landed at the CR airport. I then called a taxi to pick me and all my equipment to my truck. I think I freaked out the taxi driver because he didn’t say much to me.
Campbell River has its own hospital but I lived in Courtenay. Half hour drive away and a slightly better hospital. Driving a stick shift would be challenging but if I used my knee for steering sometimes I could shift gears with my good arm.
After I parked my truck I entered the emergency entrance of the hospital. I figured that there could be a wait …even though our medical is free. Another set of doors automatically opened and I began to walk past other patients and sniffing noses. Suddenly a nurse grabbed me and led me to a small operating room next to the emergency ward. “A Doctor will be in to see you …no need for ID at this time”. She sat me on a bed and started preparing stuff. Wtf…is this real?
Within a minute the doctor entered and I recognized her immediately, and she recognized me. We both laughed. We remember each other from other visits for hockey injuries. “So what happened this time?” She said. I laughed again.
She removed the soaked bandages and began to feel and probe the area.
“ I don’t think your arm is broken but we’ll X-ray just to make sure. Meanwhile ill need to freeze your arm.”
She injected the wound and surrounding area and told me several minutes were needed before she could explore my wound further. “That’s fine” I said, and she left the room. But she had accidentally opened the curtain and I could now see most people in the emergency ward.
I noticed a gentleman wandering back and forth. Not a patient …a visitor perhaps? As I sat on the bed my appearance was probably worse than it felt. This nicely dressed man noticed me and said “What happened to you?”
“Are you a doctor?” I said.
“Yeah I’m a f*ckin doctor …and I’m gonna fix you up”. He then drew a hunting knife from his waist area and started to enter my room. I rose off the bed and rolled the surgical tray and instruments between us. “If you don’t leave my room right now you’re going to be wearing all of these knives and scissors”.
He started to back out and told me to “take it easy pal”. I watched him walk down the hallway and entered a cubicle of someone he apparently knew. This day just keeps getting better.
Soon the nurse returned followed by my favourite doctor. “How’s it feel…numb?” “Numb enough I guess, by the way did you notice a guy with a knife…” I never got to finish when the nurse jumped up and said “WHAT!” She ran off and soon the hallway glowing blue. Announcements were blasting over the speakers. A robotic “code-blue” could be heard. The hallway that I could see was extremely active with nurses, staff and doctors. What’s going on?
Within a few minutes I could see RCMP running up and down the hallway. This continued on when the nurse, my favourite doctor a three RCMP officer's entered my room. The doctor positioned herself on a stool infront of me. It now looked like the doctor was going to take care of her patient (me) and the police were going to question me for a description.…at the same time!
I gave my arm to the doctor, who was now without any assistance, and began answering questions. “What’d he look like, what was he wearing, how big was the knife etc. Meanwhile I could see that the doctor was having difficulty. I told her that I could help and grabbed some forceps from the tray and pulled back some skin from my wound which opened up the puncture enough so that she could see better inside. I turned my attention back to the officers to continue answering questions when promptly one of them left through the curtains. Within seconds the youngest officer started to sway and fell through the curtain and into the hallway. The third officer stayed but continued his questioning while staring at the ceiling.
“Your artery was only nicked. It’ll be fine. I’ll put in a few stitches and you can go”
Anyways; three years later I was standing in cashier line in Canadian Tire.
“That time you pulled a knife on me while I was in the hospital” I could see the panic in his eyes …I laughed. He seemed like a nice guy …with some bad judgment.
***Warning***
Another long and boring diatribe. Scroll past.
I was standing in a cashier lineup with my Canadian Tire purchase. 4th in line I was waiting my turn. I suddenly sensed someone behind me. Another customer likely, so I turned to greet the person.
“How’s it going?” I said. The gentleman politely responded. “I’m quite well. How are you?” . My head head quickly snapped forward …that voice…that accent …nicely dressed appearance. A British or Scottish accent …my thoughts raced. I then turned and asked the gentleman, “Did they ever catch you??”
He starred at me with a puzzled look for a moment. “Excuse me”? I stared back at him and expanded my question. “Did the RCMP ever catch you??”.
Three years earlier I had received a phone call from Fedje & Gunnerson on my week off. They were a well known Falling Company on Vancouver Island who I had contracted with before. They explained that two of their Fallers had to suddenly leave an area and left a dozen trees to be felled. Maybe an hour’s work to complete the contract. I knew they were desperate to complete the job.
I reluctantly accepted and negotiated the terms for this unique situation. A daily rate, transportation, food, safety coverage etc. This was going to be very expensive for them.
I left the airport in Campbell River early the next morning. A small single engine aircraft was chartered just for me…and all the necessary equipment I took was loaded. After a short hour flight we landed on a gravel landing strip in one of the many inlets on the west coast of BC. A very narrow landing strip.
One of the camp workers met me with a work crummy (pickup truck) and loaded my equipment into the back. I started to feel “special”, even though I wasn’t.
Another half hour ride to the site where rigging and logging crews were assembled. I made safety coverage arrangement's with the crew boss and loaded my equipment into the standing helicopter close by. My work location was about a mile up the mountain and my safety coverage would be the rigging crew below.…via frequent radio check every 20 minutes. I would also have visual contact with them but it was unlikely they could see me.
I exited the helicopter on a stump and the pilot “toe’d in so I could remove my saws and equipment. In my usual coach position I gave the pilot a thumbs up and off he went. Quiet at last.
I quickly surveyed the area and determined the next tree to be felled. It looked like only 10 trees were left within the ribboned boundary. I placed my extra equipment out of the way and made a quick radio check to my safety coverage. Everything looked and sounded good
! I walked over to the first tree to be felled. There was a mixture of Hemlock and Balsam…4-6’ in diameter. The next 5 trees were no problem. Easily felled and bucked for the Virtal logging helicopter. Predicted weight was important but I knew the correct bucking lengths. 5 trees to go!
I approached a large leaning Balsam. It appeared to have some rot at the base and was aimed at the other trees along the edge of the ‘face’. Things could go bad here so I prepared an extra escape route and a large hemlock to hide behind if the Balsam started to brush the other standing timber. Giant tree limbs could be whipped back towards my position if the Balsam decided to brush the other standing trees. Kinda like giant darts.
The moment of truth.
As I stated to place the backcut in I could see that I no longer had control of the falling direction. Time to bail and run towards the safety of the large Hemlock, hide, become very small and wait until the event was over.
Several limbs darted on both sides of the Hemlock and me. I waited for a few moments for a sign of quietness before I peeked around the low side …then I found myself on my back.
A chunk of limb had ricocheted off a stump below me and impaled my left arm and into my bicep. The force was great enough to spin my body around like a corkscrew and flung me to the ground. Damm…I think my arm is broken.
As I layed on my back I reached for my compression bandage near my shoulder and held on by my suspenders. Blood was starting to emerge though my shirt sleeve and I quickly wrapped the compression bandage around my arm to stop any flow of blood. Why did this have to happen now? The chunk of tree limb was nowhere to be found but I only saw a momentary blur of it as it struck me.
While laying on my back I gathered my thoughts. There’s a procedure for this and help is only a radio call away. A call for help shuts down all operations. I just need to make that call. I stood up but kept my elbow folded to maintain pressure on the bleed area. Make the call! Make the f****** call.
Five trees were left standing. If I could just tip these over, the area would be finished. With my left arm still folded I picked up my 066 Stihl and maneuvered it with one arm. Can I even do this? After several attempts I realized that it was hopeless and very very dangerous. I made the dreaded call for help.
There was radio silence for a moment. And then a voice said “we’ll be right there”. A helicopter toe’d in and a first aid attendant leaped out. When the helicopter lifted off he scurried over to ready me for transport and to assess my injury. He removed scissors from his bag and began cutting my sleeve off. He unwrapped my compression bandage and slightly straightened my arm. Blood squirted out. I recognized that as an artery bleed. It’s worse than I first thought.
He wrapped me backup again with cleaner bandages. He also carried my equipment back to the toe’d in helicopter. I walked and climbed in. A logging ambulance was waiting for me below. Some time passed as we made our way back to camp. I was rushed into the first aid shack where my wound was dressed again. Unknowingly to me, the first aid crew had summoned a plane flying down Johnston Straight and asked that they detour to this site and pickup an injured worker (me).
At the end of the very small gravel runway I waited in the crummy. I noticed that the plane arriving had two engines and the wing span was greater. Will it even fit on this landing strip? Near our vehicle the plane spun around and aimed itself back where it came from. I walked towards the side entrance of the plane and abruptly stopped. I then began to laugh out loud.
This plane was full of passengers …probably nine. Someone told them to all get off. As they climbed out I noticed that they were all Korean tourists. As they walked past me their eyes widened when they glanced at me. I must of been a horrible sight …half covered in drying blood. I jumped in the plane and asked the pilot for permission to sit next to him …like a co-pilot.
The flight back to the Campbell River airport was nice. Like traveling in luxury. When we reached Seymour Narrows the pilot descended to fly alongside a cruise ship before we eventually landed at the CR airport. I then called a taxi to pick me and all my equipment to my truck. I think I freaked out the taxi driver because he didn’t say much to me.
Campbell River has its own hospital but I lived in Courtenay. Half hour drive away and a slightly better hospital. Driving a stick shift would be challenging but if I used my knee for steering sometimes I could shift gears with my good arm.
After I parked my truck I entered the emergency entrance of the hospital. I figured that there could be a wait …even though our medical is free. Another set of doors automatically opened and I began to walk past other patients and sniffing noses. Suddenly a nurse grabbed me and led me to a small operating room next to the emergency ward. “A Doctor will be in to see you …no need for ID at this time”. She sat me on a bed and started preparing stuff. Wtf…is this real?
Within a minute the doctor entered and I recognized her immediately, and she recognized me. We both laughed. We remember each other from other visits for hockey injuries. “So what happened this time?” She said. I laughed again.
She removed the soaked bandages and began to feel and probe the area.
“ I don’t think your arm is broken but we’ll X-ray just to make sure. Meanwhile ill need to freeze your arm.”
She injected the wound and surrounding area and told me several minutes were needed before she could explore my wound further. “That’s fine” I said, and she left the room. But she had accidentally opened the curtain and I could now see most people in the emergency ward.
I noticed a gentleman wandering back and forth. Not a patient …a visitor perhaps? As I sat on the bed my appearance was probably worse than it felt. This nicely dressed man noticed me and said “What happened to you?”
“Are you a doctor?” I said.
“Yeah I’m a f*ckin doctor …and I’m gonna fix you up”. He then drew a hunting knife from his waist area and started to enter my room. I rose off the bed and rolled the surgical tray and instruments between us. “If you don’t leave my room right now you’re going to be wearing all of these knives and scissors”.
He started to back out and told me to “take it easy pal”. I watched him walk down the hallway and entered a cubicle of someone he apparently knew. This day just keeps getting better.
Soon the nurse returned followed by my favourite doctor. “How’s it feel…numb?” “Numb enough I guess, by the way did you notice a guy with a knife…” I never got to finish when the nurse jumped up and said “WHAT!” She ran off and soon the hallway glowing blue. Announcements were blasting over the speakers. A robotic “code-blue” could be heard. The hallway that I could see was extremely active with nurses, staff and doctors. What’s going on?
Within a few minutes I could see RCMP running up and down the hallway. This continued on when the nurse, my favourite doctor a three RCMP officer's entered my room. The doctor positioned herself on a stool infront of me. It now looked like the doctor was going to take care of her patient (me) and the police were going to question me for a description.…at the same time!
I gave my arm to the doctor, who was now without any assistance, and began answering questions. “What’d he look like, what was he wearing, how big was the knife etc. Meanwhile I could see that the doctor was having difficulty. I told her that I could help and grabbed some forceps from the tray and pulled back some skin from my wound which opened up the puncture enough so that she could see better inside. I turned my attention back to the officers to continue answering questions when promptly one of them left through the curtains. Within seconds the youngest officer started to sway and fell through the curtain and into the hallway. The third officer stayed but continued his questioning while staring at the ceiling.
“Your artery was only nicked. It’ll be fine. I’ll put in a few stitches and you can go”
Anyways; three years later I was standing in cashier line in Canadian Tire.
“That time you pulled a knife on me while I was in the hospital” I could see the panic in his eyes …I laughed. He seemed like a nice guy …with some bad judgment.
Jeff McD
Well-known member
Wow, you should write novels stihldog! Cool story. Hey p3eps, I'm the head of our volunteer trail maintenance and trail building crew where I live in the state forest reserve that I maintain. Started in 1993. Definitely I'm not going to do this kind of work very often with hand saws. I started with an old Camelback backpack, the largest one, and cut a neat little slice in the bottom of the largest chamber just wide enough to slip in chainsaw pointed downwards, with bar cover tied to the saw, through the slit. Thick cardboard box folded flat and trimmed to fit perfectly inside the Camelback protected my back in addition to the padding. Or you could put it in with the blade pointed upwards and just lengthen the shoulder straps so it sits lower on your back but for me it shifted around too much- can pull u down in tight turns.
I have always sworn by the cordless chainsaws. Tried the lighter 20 V saws but found I prefer the more powerful 36/40 V saws. I can't emphasize strongly enough all the advice given earlier. I have had to cut out downed trees, leaning t, widowmaker t for the past 20 years on our trails and you can't be careful enough. I've had many close calls for not thinking things through well enough ahead of time. You absolutely have to move slowly and ask yourself at every point have you prepared adequately before you make this cut. I work alone simply because can't find help.
You can never presume a tree that has fallen across the trail (most of trees that have fallen across the trail are not laying on the ground but propped up off the ground because of the branches) are going to have one trunk or the other fall straight downwards as you finish your cut. In fact they rarely do. You have to presume that the branches leaning into the ground are always unbalanced enough to roll that trunk to one side or the other. If it rolls to your side into you you're screwed. I keep stopping periodically as I am cutting to see which side or top or bottom of the cut trunk is opening up with other side closing down to see which way it's going to go. Yes, not foolproof but it has worked for me. I also try to never cut completely through. Just enough to where it starts to crack, then very little at a time with more cracking until you can push on it to have it break loose, or if it's really big and scary I will cut off a 3" branch, limb it and use it as a pry bar.
I once turned around to see how my experienced helper was doing, just he completed his cut through a 13" Ohia hardwood trunk 6 feet off the ground, and one side of this cut trunk rolled instantly towards him. As he stepped back instinctively, one shoe caught on a rock and as he fell backwards into a kneeling position it came down directly on top of his 90° bent knee and then bounced forward onto the ground pinning his toes momentarily. It would have pinned his pelvis if it kept rolling towards him. If that had hit his mid thigh it would've snapped his femur like a twig, and pinned him on the ground. I'm pretty sure he would've died. I'm a skinny old guy with bilateral shoulder injuries and missing rotator cuff tendons and never would've been able to lift that massively heavy trunk w/ entire top of tree off him. But since the impact went straight down from the top of the knee joint through his lower leg to the ground it withstood the impact just fine and he was only bruised. Like everybody has said shit happens. He just didn't expect it because he had not examined the unbalanced branches well enough. He was quite experienced so I was working on a separate section than he was.
I have never had the money for a trail building backpack but recently a vacationer from California rode our trails, loved them immensely, and we got to chatting in the parking lot. When he learned I was the trail building guy he call a fellow marketing guy at Dakine and they graciously donated 2 trailbuilder packs to me. Incredible, a $220 lighter weight pack and the larger $260 pack that I actually also can fit 5 gallon buckets it's so big. Awesome, absolutely incredibly well designed packs. Can't recommend these highly enough.
I always carry a rolled up contractors grade black garbage bag in my backpack and if a job is going to take more than a day I will leave the chainsaw/bar, DampRid container, sawsall if brought, in the bag with end of bag rolled up so no moisture can get in and just take the chain home to sharpen for the next days work. Much less weight to carry then since my return trip is usually up steep steep hills.
Frequently carry a Sawzall with 6 inch, 9 inch and 12 inch landscape blades which are incredibly effective for things smaller than 15" inches. These cost $2.60 apiece at AliExpress so they are what are I use if I have to go down into the dirt, not the chainsaw. To me these are disposables. My WORX 20 V combination Sawzall/jigsaw weighs only 3 1/2 pounds w/batt so that's frequently in pack w/chainsaw. Presently using Stihl MSA 200 C B 36 V chainsaw but with the longer 14 inch blade (Comes stock with 12 inch blade but too short). Uses a narrow kerf .043 bar with 1/4", .043 ga, 3/8" LP pitch semi-chisel chain that doesn't create as much resistance to preserve battery power. I love this chainsaw. Only weighs 10.25 pounds w/batt, so quite manageable with a backpack rather than mount it on the bike. Try cutting with a 15 pound chainsaw at shoulder height for hours and you will appreciate lightweight saws. I have removed downed trees with 30 inch trunks with this saw. And doesn't leak oil ha ha. Neither does my 40 V Oregon 14 inch cordless, but that weighs 12 1/2 pounds with battery so don't use that much anymore. Sadly my 20 V Dewalt chainsaw leaks everywhere but extremely useful so I bring a small plastic bottle with only a little chain oil, only put enough in for the job ahead when I get to where I'm going to work on the trails, then turn chainsaw upside down and empty oil container at the end before putting it in the pack and it doesn't mess up my pack. That's for days when I'm not going to leave the saw at worksite in the bag. Sounds complicated but when I'm using the chainsaw twice a week it gets to be a real pain in the ass to carry that around on the Mountain Bike on our tight technical extremely tight steep rocky rooty trails.
I love using a chainsaw. It is so satisfying a tool, but I have to say as a last word, if you are one of what I call the "nervous, twitchy people", might not be a good idea. You must respect this tool, repeatedly examine the job ahead, work calmly, mindfully. You just can't rush no matter how late you are.
I have always sworn by the cordless chainsaws. Tried the lighter 20 V saws but found I prefer the more powerful 36/40 V saws. I can't emphasize strongly enough all the advice given earlier. I have had to cut out downed trees, leaning t, widowmaker t for the past 20 years on our trails and you can't be careful enough. I've had many close calls for not thinking things through well enough ahead of time. You absolutely have to move slowly and ask yourself at every point have you prepared adequately before you make this cut. I work alone simply because can't find help.
You can never presume a tree that has fallen across the trail (most of trees that have fallen across the trail are not laying on the ground but propped up off the ground because of the branches) are going to have one trunk or the other fall straight downwards as you finish your cut. In fact they rarely do. You have to presume that the branches leaning into the ground are always unbalanced enough to roll that trunk to one side or the other. If it rolls to your side into you you're screwed. I keep stopping periodically as I am cutting to see which side or top or bottom of the cut trunk is opening up with other side closing down to see which way it's going to go. Yes, not foolproof but it has worked for me. I also try to never cut completely through. Just enough to where it starts to crack, then very little at a time with more cracking until you can push on it to have it break loose, or if it's really big and scary I will cut off a 3" branch, limb it and use it as a pry bar.
I once turned around to see how my experienced helper was doing, just he completed his cut through a 13" Ohia hardwood trunk 6 feet off the ground, and one side of this cut trunk rolled instantly towards him. As he stepped back instinctively, one shoe caught on a rock and as he fell backwards into a kneeling position it came down directly on top of his 90° bent knee and then bounced forward onto the ground pinning his toes momentarily. It would have pinned his pelvis if it kept rolling towards him. If that had hit his mid thigh it would've snapped his femur like a twig, and pinned him on the ground. I'm pretty sure he would've died. I'm a skinny old guy with bilateral shoulder injuries and missing rotator cuff tendons and never would've been able to lift that massively heavy trunk w/ entire top of tree off him. But since the impact went straight down from the top of the knee joint through his lower leg to the ground it withstood the impact just fine and he was only bruised. Like everybody has said shit happens. He just didn't expect it because he had not examined the unbalanced branches well enough. He was quite experienced so I was working on a separate section than he was.
I have never had the money for a trail building backpack but recently a vacationer from California rode our trails, loved them immensely, and we got to chatting in the parking lot. When he learned I was the trail building guy he call a fellow marketing guy at Dakine and they graciously donated 2 trailbuilder packs to me. Incredible, a $220 lighter weight pack and the larger $260 pack that I actually also can fit 5 gallon buckets it's so big. Awesome, absolutely incredibly well designed packs. Can't recommend these highly enough.
I always carry a rolled up contractors grade black garbage bag in my backpack and if a job is going to take more than a day I will leave the chainsaw/bar, DampRid container, sawsall if brought, in the bag with end of bag rolled up so no moisture can get in and just take the chain home to sharpen for the next days work. Much less weight to carry then since my return trip is usually up steep steep hills.
Frequently carry a Sawzall with 6 inch, 9 inch and 12 inch landscape blades which are incredibly effective for things smaller than 15" inches. These cost $2.60 apiece at AliExpress so they are what are I use if I have to go down into the dirt, not the chainsaw. To me these are disposables. My WORX 20 V combination Sawzall/jigsaw weighs only 3 1/2 pounds w/batt so that's frequently in pack w/chainsaw. Presently using Stihl MSA 200 C B 36 V chainsaw but with the longer 14 inch blade (Comes stock with 12 inch blade but too short). Uses a narrow kerf .043 bar with 1/4", .043 ga, 3/8" LP pitch semi-chisel chain that doesn't create as much resistance to preserve battery power. I love this chainsaw. Only weighs 10.25 pounds w/batt, so quite manageable with a backpack rather than mount it on the bike. Try cutting with a 15 pound chainsaw at shoulder height for hours and you will appreciate lightweight saws. I have removed downed trees with 30 inch trunks with this saw. And doesn't leak oil ha ha. Neither does my 40 V Oregon 14 inch cordless, but that weighs 12 1/2 pounds with battery so don't use that much anymore. Sadly my 20 V Dewalt chainsaw leaks everywhere but extremely useful so I bring a small plastic bottle with only a little chain oil, only put enough in for the job ahead when I get to where I'm going to work on the trails, then turn chainsaw upside down and empty oil container at the end before putting it in the pack and it doesn't mess up my pack. That's for days when I'm not going to leave the saw at worksite in the bag. Sounds complicated but when I'm using the chainsaw twice a week it gets to be a real pain in the ass to carry that around on the Mountain Bike on our tight technical extremely tight steep rocky rooty trails.
I love using a chainsaw. It is so satisfying a tool, but I have to say as a last word, if you are one of what I call the "nervous, twitchy people", might not be a good idea. You must respect this tool, repeatedly examine the job ahead, work calmly, mindfully. You just can't rush no matter how late you are.
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That’s awesome! I practically do the same for trail work. Large green garbage bag for storing those tools for awhile …makes a great rain coat too
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
There is a macho he-man world out there that I know nothing about! WOW!
TGR KS
Member
I have been carrying a Silky Pocketboy 170 mm folding saw for years. It is truly excellent but about one year ago I bought a Ryobi reciprocating saw, especially for tree roots. I carry it in an ugly oversized pack. I wish I had bought a smaller pack. Everything else is OK.
the quality of the blade makes all the difference, and for maximum effectiveness the tool needs to be wedged a gainst the timber to be cut using the "heel". Where the tool struggles is on branches/limbs that are not rigidly fixed.........all the energy tends to be translated to vibrating the branch!!
Not really …a peddle strike to the shin is one of the worst things that can ever happen. My cries(when it happens) can be heard halfway around the world. Those sounds are likely cancelled out by others experiencing the same.
fasterjason
Member
I have been backpacking a stihl 250 in an old LL Bean bag for about 10 years. I carry it bar upright with a liter of pre-mix, half liter of bar lube, saw chaps, stilhl helmet, hand saw and spare chain, wedges, tools, etc, with weight of about 25lbs.
Our local club designated several of us as sawyers, and got us wildland firesaw certified. We have about 37 miles of singletrack on city property.
As others have said a safety mindset can't be overstated.
I use to get exhausted carrying the saw riding bio. Since getting an ebike in 2019 carrying the saw is a breeze. I love the smell of two-stroke in the morning.
Our local club designated several of us as sawyers, and got us wildland firesaw certified. We have about 37 miles of singletrack on city property.
As others have said a safety mindset can't be overstated.
I use to get exhausted carrying the saw riding bio. Since getting an ebike in 2019 carrying the saw is a breeze. I love the smell of two-stroke in the morning.
- Thread starter
- #77
After the recommendations of a Silky, I ordered one from Japan on New Years day. It took almost 4 weeks to arrive, but cost me £25 + £12 postage... and the price in the UK is about £95.
An impressive looking 'weapon' when you ping it open!
First time out on my bike since the 7th this weekend as I had an operation on my toe on the 13th, and for 2 weeks have had to live in slippers because of the large bandage and stitches (I was even going to work in my slippers!).
The stitches came out on Friday, and I was finally able to get a trainer on. As I type, I'm sitting at work in a shirt, tie, dress trousers. and a pair of Nike Air Force 1's - as they have a large open toe box!!
Anyway - I figured my 5:10's would be alright for a couple of hours and have a pretty stiff sole - so my toe should be ok. I went on one of my regular routes - and came across THE TREE that I wanted to remove. I had chopped up it's partner about 30 yards further up the path with a woodsaw.... which took me about an hour of sweat and hard work. It was essentially a 12" stump right across the path - although it was a bit split and 'sprung' where it was still in the ground. There were very few small branches - so I basically just had to do a few large cuts to chop it into manageable pieces to carry it out of the way.
This one looks a lot more complicated to me. It has lots of straggling branches, and could potentially be held from falling by various parts. I spent about 40 mins with the Silky BigBoy removing branches, then carrying them away from the trail to dispose of them. Eventually I had a go at removing the top half of the tree. By the time I'd done that, I was exhausted, and running out of time. I left it like this, and finished off my ride.
Hopefully next weekend, I can get back and finish it off. I need to chop up the big bit I've felled, and then have a go at the larger remaining part. I have to say, I'm very impressed with the Silky, and how easily it cuts with minimal effort. A chainsaw would have probably had the whole thing ripped apart in 30mins... however the folding Silky means it can live in my backpack, and it hardly weighs anything.
An impressive looking 'weapon' when you ping it open!
First time out on my bike since the 7th this weekend as I had an operation on my toe on the 13th, and for 2 weeks have had to live in slippers because of the large bandage and stitches (I was even going to work in my slippers!).
The stitches came out on Friday, and I was finally able to get a trainer on. As I type, I'm sitting at work in a shirt, tie, dress trousers. and a pair of Nike Air Force 1's - as they have a large open toe box!!
Anyway - I figured my 5:10's would be alright for a couple of hours and have a pretty stiff sole - so my toe should be ok. I went on one of my regular routes - and came across THE TREE that I wanted to remove. I had chopped up it's partner about 30 yards further up the path with a woodsaw.... which took me about an hour of sweat and hard work. It was essentially a 12" stump right across the path - although it was a bit split and 'sprung' where it was still in the ground. There were very few small branches - so I basically just had to do a few large cuts to chop it into manageable pieces to carry it out of the way.
This one looks a lot more complicated to me. It has lots of straggling branches, and could potentially be held from falling by various parts. I spent about 40 mins with the Silky BigBoy removing branches, then carrying them away from the trail to dispose of them. Eventually I had a go at removing the top half of the tree. By the time I'd done that, I was exhausted, and running out of time. I left it like this, and finished off my ride.
Hopefully next weekend, I can get back and finish it off. I need to chop up the big bit I've felled, and then have a go at the larger remaining part. I have to say, I'm very impressed with the Silky, and how easily it cuts with minimal effort. A chainsaw would have probably had the whole thing ripped apart in 30mins... however the folding Silky means it can live in my backpack, and it hardly weighs anything.
That thing looks nasty! Good on you for safely and carefully clearing up that mess.
Our trees here are generally straight long poles that occasionally blow down across our trails. They’re not as complicated as this (a deciduous mess) but can be just as dangerous.
Because our trees are tall there can be hazards hidden in the canopy; ie, widow makers or other hung up trees. My decision to proceed is determined by this. It’s a habit of mine that is absolutely necessary. Sometimes I’m able to rectify the hazard, or I will report and notify the proper authority.
The folding saw is so helpful. Most of the time that’s all I need. It’s lightweight and just fits into my hip-pac. 5-15 minutes of work and I can continue on with my ride.
Packing a chainsaw and/or tools can throw off your centre of balance during a ride. A bit more care is needed or some time to get use to the extra weight.
Large green garbage bags come in handy for stashing and hiding those expensive tools.Saves me from packing tools in and out for those longer maintenance tasks.
Anyways, like I may have already said, there are a handful trail elves on this mountain that go un-noticed. They probably have more time on their hands and quietly keep the trails open. And they never wear their gold medals.
Is there any advantage, apart from the folding and keeping in a rucksack, that the Silky type saw offers? I'm interested, same predicament as you with local trails. Love the look of these, even looking at the big 2 handed fella. looks the biz!
- Thread starter
- #80
I don't have anything to compare it to - other than my Stanley wood saw from B&Q. Compared to that, it was night and day.
Lightweight, and takes up relatively no space in my Osprey Siskin 8 (pretty small) backpack. I'd be quite happy to leave it in there all the time along with my regular bike tool roll. I'm glad I didn't pay £95 for it, however I probably would pay that having actually used it now. I'm actually looking forward to the weekend so I can go finish that tree off
Most of the trees round here look like that I'm afraid. Straggly bits everywhere!
- Thread starter
- #81
Hard going when the tree is thicker than the saw… but I persevered!
After about 35mins I had chopped up the smaller bit on the ground, and then cut through the large trunk.
Tomorrow’s job will be to cut the remaining bit on the ground, then drag it out of the way. Not pretty, but at least the path will be clear.
Put that sawdust in a plastic bag. When you get home, sprinkle the sawdust all over yourself and wipe your brow as you enter the house.…then flop down on the couch.…suddenly your favourite beverage arrives. It works for me.
.
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- Thread starter
- #83
Your wife must be much more sympathetic than mine. Mine wonders why on earth I’m cutting down a random tree in the woods that are no where near my house!Put that sawdust in a plastic bag. When you get home, sprinkle the sawdust all over yourself and wipe your brow as you enter the house.…then flop down on the couch.…suddenly your favourite beverage arrives. It works for me.
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
I'm pretty sure that @Stihldog is a lumberjack and therefore he was faking working for a living!Your wife must be much more sympathetic than mine. Mine wonders why on earth I’m cutting down a random tree in the woods that are no where near my house!
- Thread starter
- #85
Another 30 mins today, and it’s all clear. Sure, I could have probably done the whole thing in 20 mins with a chainsaw… but there’s a bit of satisfaction about doing it bit by bit!
On my way home, I came across another tree that had fallen across the path. A thin tall one - maybe 6” thick in total. I stopped, got the saw out, and cut through it in about 30 seconds. Dragged it into the bushes - job done.
I think the Silky is more designed for this type of use… definitely a handy thing to keep in my backpack though.
Do you have a link to where you bought it? I've fancied one of these for a while but too cheap to pay UK prices.
- Thread starter
- #87
Silky 2000R Folding Saw Big Boy 2000 Japan - Cuts Powerfully & Fast -
Introducing the Silky 2000R Folding Saw Big Boy 2000 Japan, the ultimate saw for any woodworking job. Its powerful cutting ability and fast cutting speed make it ideal for cutting through tough wood and other materials. The saw is ergonomically designed with two handles, so you can hold it with...
japanwithlovestore.com
Got it here. Price has gone up, as has shipping… but still a damned sight cheaper than the UK. You’ll have to wait about 3 weeks for it though.
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