How to Use Your Chainsaw Safely (Step-by-Step Guide)

 

As you may know, anything sharp can be as harmful as they are super helpful, if you use them wrongly. Ever had a paper cut? Then imagine what a Chainsaw can cause when the sharp edge accidentally touches your finger. With its sharp teeth on the chain, which is driving around the guide bar with an incredible speed, this machine is aimed to cut everything in his way. Among power tools this specific one is super popular among those who are intended to limbing branches, bucking an already felled tree into a preferred length, and felling upright trees. Simply borrowing a chainsaw from your neighbor and cutting down everything in your yard is going to be much harder than it looks, and you’ll need to make sure that you are not gonna lose any finger during that. To use the correct working techniques and have the best safety equipment, you need to know more about dangerous possibilities and different possible situations during using a chain saw. By Ronix, we always want to make sure that our users experience a harmless and safe sawing task. In order to do that, we have prepared a brief guide to get you started for your very first heavy-duty cutting experience. Now to have a safe and sound operation, scroll down!

 

 

1.   Safety first – get your protective clothing

Never lose the hat!

“What can possibly hit my head?” you might ask. By cutting an upright huge tree, it is very important to wear a hard hat to prevent any sudden falling and sudden impact on the head. To be even more prepared, wear special helmets. They include not only a hard hat but also earplugs and face screen.

Hold it tight

Wearing slip-resistant gloves can help you maintain a better handle on the chainsaw, especially if the power tool is too heavy for you or you have to work for long hours. Releasing a working chainsaw during the operation can not only harm you but anyone around you in the job site. Another reason to wear cut-protection gloves is to protect your hand from hazardous materials like wood splinters when you are trying to move logs from one place to another.

See without any harm

Using safety glasses or goggles is essential while working with a chainsaw. The wood chips or flying debris and dust can easily damage your eyes which are soft tissues, and also can cause possible loss of vision for good.

More to protect

Chaps are the underestimated, yet super important protective clothing. They are more than just a thick pant, containing more than 6 and up to 9 layers to prevent getting cut by the chain and lose a good chunk of flesh. This cut-retardant piece of cloth can give you enough time to move away from the machine from yourself before the chain touches your leg or thigh. Another important and useful protecting equipment is ear muffs. With over 100 dB loudness, chainsaws are staying in the “too loud” stage among power tools that can damage your hearing in less than a minute of operating. To prevent hearing loss, make sure you wear hearing protection or at least a pair of earplugs.

 

2.   Prepare the area, yourself, and everyone else around you!

Survey the Area

If you have a precious car around, electrical cables, wildlife, or any other obstacles that might come in the way or get hurt, make sure you move them away or change place. Another important factor to watch out for is the wood itself. Check the wood before you start doing anything for any nails, screws, or other metal objects that are there in the wood away from your knowledge. This little piece of metals can seriously damage your power tool and even cause further injuries.

 

Make others aware of what you are doing

If you are a pro at this, you may know the hazards pretty well. But since you have read till here, means it’s probably your first time using a chainsaw. Accidents are unfortunately pretty common among woodworkers, which has led it to 36,000 injuries per year. Therefore, you must prepare yourself for everything that can happen, and to prevent many serious injuries, just tell your buddy that where you are working at or have a mobile phone in your pocket to call ASAP.

3.   Starting the Chainsaw

Before you start, adjust the chain tension around the guide bar. Also, if you’re using a 2-cycle gas engine chainsaw, make sure it is filled with the proper proportion of oil and gas. Now that your electric saw is ready, you should know how to hold your heavy power saw. Even using a handheld saw you need to have the proper angle, to have the best and easiest cut.

First place down the chain saw on the ground, take the handlebar with one hand, and the chain brake with the other hand. After turning on the switch (which has different positions, for example by DeWalt chainsaw is below the handle and by Ronix chainsaw is above the handle), squeeze the throttle a few times very fast to high up the engine's idle. Afterward, adjust the choke to the run position and then release the chain brake and start cutting!

4.   Keep an eye on it, while cutting

There are a few tips that you must consider while using your powerful gasoline chainsaw. At first, never cut any branch or any part of the tree above your waist. Another super common accident is the kickbacks, which is also common among other power tools. Stihl chainsaws have always recommended never to use the tip of your machine while using it, cause among different types of electric or even cordless tools, whether it is a Hilti or Bosch, Metabo, or Ronix… with all you should avoid kickbacks since they can hurt you for real. It is worth to know that not only the tip but any part of the saw should never touch the ground or any other surfaces rather than the wood.

If you’ve come through all till here, having a safe and sound cutting with your robust chainsaw wouldn’t be a wish for you anymore. To summarize, always make sure you are prepared and have an eye on your machine; they are sharp, loud, heavy, and fast but all in all, they are the best choice to make a bunch of little logs out of a 25-foot tree in no time!