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Sigh: The Season, She is Over
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#3
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Sigh: The Season, She is Over
On 24 Nov 2003 10:50:00 -0800, (basskisser) wrote:
(Steven Shelikoff) wrote in message ... On 24 Nov 2003 04:52:55 -0800, (basskisser) wrote: (Steven Shelikoff) wrote in message ... On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:42:52 -0500, Harry Krause wrote: Don White wrote: I just spent part of the afternoon trying to get a large snag branch down from a big old ash tree on my front lawn. This was damage left over from hurricane Juan. What a struggle. It was hooked up well. Since I don't own a chainsaw anymore, I had to use my tree limber with it's foot long curved blade on the end of the pole. After cutting through a number of medium sized branches, the snag came crashing down, narrowly missing the wife and mini-van. D'oh! I've not owned a chain saw for many years, but I'm considering the possibility. We lost some trees during the last big storm here; fortunately they fell where they do no harm. Plus I have some scraggly stuff at the edge of the woods I'd like to cut down. If it's for occasional use near your house and you are only going to cut stuff less than around 8"-10" diameter, consider getting an electric chain saw. They're cheaper, much more convenient and very capable. But I absolutely hate sharpening chain saw chains. Again, if it's for occasional use, you can go years without sharpening the blades. Funny, that goes against what most chain saw manufacturers suggest, and that is to sharpen the chain before each use. Once you learn how, it only takes a few minutes to do. Of course manufacturers are going to suggest that, mostly for liability reasons. That way, if someone gets hurt with a chain saw (as they very frequently do because it's probably the most dangerous tool most people ever use) the manufacturer can claim in court that they weren't following the instructions because they didn't sharpen the blades before every use (which almost no one I know does). Most people only sharpen the blades when they need sharpening. And just getting down one snag branch by cutting a few medium sized branches that could also be done with a tree limber shouldn't dull the blades enough to require sharpening next time. Again, if you know what you are doing, it only takes a few minutes to brighten up a chain. Now, mind you, I'm not talking about a chain that hasn't been sharpened in a long time, that takes time to regrind into decent shape. I was taught early in life that if you file your chain often, it doesn't take but a few minutes, and makes cutting SO much easier. If you let it get dull, then it takes a long time to file sharp. I don't let it get dull, but I also don't sharpen it every time I use it. There are many times where I only have to make maybe 2 or 3 cuts into a 2" or less branch. After that, I'm not going to sharpen it. Doing so would be just unnecessary wear. I may do a job like that quite a few times before I bother to sharpen it. But before I use it for a larger job, like pruning a tree and cutting up the branches for firewood, I'll take a sharpening stone to the blades. I don't use a file. I've had the same electric chain saw for maybe 20 years with the same chain and have done plenty of small jobs with it. About 10 years ago I used it to cut the branches of several large felled trees into about 2 cords of wood, a pretty big job for an electric. In the past 2 years I've cut up and burned another couple of cords of firewood for heat, also with the electric. The blades are still in fine shape and it still does a good job. But I'm about to replace the chain because the adjustment is almost to the stops. Steve |
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