Chainsaws 1

If you have an open fire, a log burner, or just a home made fire in your garage or for heating your greenhouse the one thing you need is fuel and generally this would be wood and this is for good reason as often wood is readily accessible and often free; and in the event of a major meltdown you can get wood in the form of wind falls in most woods. While you may not necessarily get the permission of the owners to get this wind fall wood, it often comes in pieces too large for you to carry or put in your car boot and it needs cutting.

Saws come in a variety of guises as well as many sizes and shapes and styles and these come as basic hand saws to powered devices such as electrically driven static saws such as those used in a joiners shop, they also come as basic handsaws through to powered mobile saws using everything from batteries to mains power to power electric motors, and petrol engines for chainsaws of various types.

Most basic are the hand saws and while a basic woodworking saw may be fine for a few cuts it will dull the saw quickly and ruin it because wet or green wood is actually quite abrasive and cutting wood while it is growing means it will be wet and the sap running from the tree will clog your saw blade making cutting difficult in most cases.
Garden saws are similar to woodworking saws in appearance, but they have fewer teeth per inch (TPI) and the gullet or space between the teeth is larger and deeper to eject the cut chips and the teeth are much harder and generally heat treated to counter the abrasive materials and the growing wood and its fibres. Folding garden saws are just that, a blade which folds into a handle so it can be opened and locked in the open position and has a shaped blade similar to a bow saw, but is generally shaped so it is easier to use and lock into the open position. Basic hand, garden saws are not straightforward as the blades come in many different types and this may be from the design, treatment to even the coating as an open type uninterrupted tooth cuts better and the large gullets clear the chips and any coating such as Teflon makes binding so much harder and reduces the stress on you while cutting.

Now it is the powered saws and these are generally battery electric, mains electric and internal combustion engines which are usually petrol and often 2 stroke petrol for lightness and useful power so we will begin with the reciprocating saw as these are very flexible and not necessarily cheaper than a branded entry level chainsaw from a reputable manufacturer. Reciprocating saws are very handy in both battery and mains powered types as the mains powered items cut quickly and easily and they are only limited by their blades and you can get a variety of them including for cutting logs, and in sizes up to 10” (250mm) generally and in a different range of designs for different applications from cutting metal or wood and even trimming bushes and trees. Battery items require less power and batteries generally work well and their only limitation is the battery life if you do a lot of cutting and with a charger and 2 batteries they are fine for trimming larger branches in a wood, down to size, to fit your car for example as you use minimum cuts.

Chainsaws come in different types and for different purposes and the first is the pole pruner as these generally come with a branded chain such as Oregon and often a bar also from Oregon and this is a good start as generally they are 8” or 10” long and at over 10” you are into the small chainsaw territory, so why a pole pruner? Because they are designed to trim smaller branches from trees while you are on the ground which is often safer for you as the branches can be cut while they are thinner and not allowed to continue growing into thicker branches. Once you have cut the branch and it has fallen to the ground you can often use the pole pruner to cut it up further and actually into logs ready for seasoning, pole pruners are ideal for cutting branches from trees as many are telescopic and have a range of heights they can work from and to.
Mains powered electrical pole pruners have plenty of power normally and due to their length it can sometimes be too much due this length and battery pruners have issues with weight and weight distribution and this is often due to the location of their battery which is often next to the cutting head, making it excessively weighted at one and cumbersome to work. Some pole pruners have their battery at the bottom end of pole and this means the cutting end is at one and of the pole with the battery at the other end and this is much better for weight distribution and makes it easier to use as it is more balanced. Mains powered electrical and petrol engined pole pruners don’t have this problem as they don’t have the weight of a battery and petrol engined models have their engine at the bottom of the pole anyway. One other consideration is the angle of the cutting head and is it inline with the pole and fixed, at an angle to the pole and fixed, or has it got an adjustable head which the user sets due to the position, height, and angle of any branches they intend cutting.

Next comes the single handed chainsaw which usually come with a chain length of 8” or 10” and can be had with a chain lengths up to 12” and these are designed for tree cutting by professionals who are actually up in the tree and are usually attached to the user by a rope attached to the saw and the users belt so they can just pull it up and fire the saw up. Most of these saws are called top handle saws and come with a petrol engine which is both small and lightweight and designed solely for trimming smaller diameter branches from trees by providing useful power from the saw; battery top handle saws have seemingly limited use and while sometimes useful the petrol engined versions appear more popular with professionals due to a longer running time on petrol and not having to carry multiple batteries to do a days work. Top handle saws have issues and these are that they are designed for the user to be in the tree, and have safe access to the branch, and they have to have sufficient arm and wrist strength to wield the chainsaw safely which could be a serious issue for older people and for inexperienced amateurs who could unintentionally cut themselves with the chain; and chainsaw cuts are possibly the worst sort of cuts.

Cuts from chainsaw chains are the worst type of cuts as they do not actually cut as the chain makes a lot of nibbles and each nibble removes a chunk of skin and this happens so rapidly that even if the safety brake is applied it will hit your skin multiple times and this leaves an irregular gash of varying depths and introduces contamination straight into the open wound. These wounds leave scars and as they cut chunks out of your skin they are hard to close and often require skin grafts and on many occasions they are never successfully cleaned which can lead to further problems further down the line.

Now to the daddy and these are the full blown chainsaws and come in a variety of sizes and power outputs as petrol 2 stroke units, battery electric, or mains electric units and when it comes to chainsaws there are only two manufacturers according to many alleged experts, which are Stihl and Husqvarna and the reality away from marketing are totally different as other manufacturers such as Poulan or Echo produce some excellent quality saws while chain manufacturers such as Oregon produce some excellent electric mains saws.

Now you need to be objective and know what you want and not what you would like as want and like are different beasts and you have to steer away from what you think you might want and away from marketing, branding, and spiel as too large a chainsaw can be unwieldy and dangerous for a beginner and too small a chainsaw may just be overworked and give up the ghost and die.

Stihl and Husqvarna may be the market leaders and this is for good reason, they produce a quality range of saws and have excellent back up with worldwide dealerships and excellent spares back up and it is a balance of all these things, Echo produce some excellent saws and are reputedly the toughest saws, tougher than Husqvarna and Stihl but their spares back up and dealers let them down and for a commercial user they need dealers and instantly available spares. All these companies produce top notch commercial saws solely for commercial users such as loggers or forestry work or to telecommunications companies for cutting telegraph poles and even emergency services with their rescue chainsaws with their carbon and diamond chains or their carbide and diamond mix.

All chainsaws come as three main components and these are the power head, the bar, and the chain and usually you have to assemble them; petrol models come with a fuel tank for the petrol and electric models nearly all come with automatic chain oiling so have the oil tank for the chain oil as the bar and chain are metal and oil prevents the metal to metal contact. On the end of the petrol engine crankshaft or the motor shaft we have the drive sprocket into which the chain drive links fit and the bar which has a groove all the way around it for the drive links to run in and guide the chain around the bar.

Guide bars are generally laminated from 3 pieces of steel and the two outer pieces are the same size and the middle piece is smaller so when they are laminated and welded together the groove is left to guide the chain around the guide bar and this also carries the oil to the next part which is the sprocket tip which is basically a rotary tip at the end of the guide bar and guides the chain from the top of the guide bar to the bottom of the guide bar groove as smoothly as possible. This groove is sufficiently wide to carry the chain drive links which come in standard widths and a type 90 chain drive links are 1.1mm wide while a common type 91 chain drive links are 1.3mm wide and the groove had to be wide enough to accommodate them without binding and sufficiently wide enough not to allow them to be a sloppy fit in the groove which could be dangerous to the user.

Guide bars attach to the power head in basically the same way and this is by a standard size groove in the connection end and this slides over blocks, pressed plates, or a simple pair of studs of the correct diameter on the power head and you fit the chain over the guide bar, engage it on the sprocket and fit it over the drive sprocket and adjust the guide bar until the little hole at the side engages with the tension pin. You fit the side plate over the studs and fit the nuts and nip them up and this prevents the guide bar from disengaging and you adjust the tensioning screw with a screwdriver and this pulls the tension pin which is now engaged with the guide bar and pulls it in or out, you stand the saw on its base and wind the tension screw until the drive links are engaged in the guide bar grooves with slight slack, tighten the nuts and the bar and chain are assembled. You should be able to turn the chain by hand now and you hit the chain brake which should lock the chain.

Chains are all basically the same but come in different sizes and in different lengths to suit different saws and different guide bars and the type of chain is described by a number type and this gives the useful dimensions, so what is a chain and what are all the bits? If we take our chain loop and lay it out we can see all the components. First is the inside of the chain and these are the drive links and all saw chains are measured on drive links and not length as length is only the cutting length and not the chain length. If your chain has 52 drive links it defines the length and as one of my chainsaws has 52 drive links I merely specify them to my chain supplier and he makes it to that length.

If you look at the chain you will see it is a series of links and you find the pitch by measuring between one pin on one link and exactly the same pin on the next link and these are measured in imperial and are ¼” 3/8” 0.325” and 0.404” and this is the chain pitch. Gauge is measured by the thickness of the drive link and these are 1.1mm, 1.3mm, 1.5mm, and 1.6mm and with the pitch and gauge we can identify our chain from a number of standard chains which come as s set of standard numbers.

Type 20 has a pitch of ¼” and a drive link gauge of 1.3mm.
Type 90 has a pitch of 3/8th and a drive link gauge of 1.1mm.
Type 91 chain has a pitch of 3/8” and a drive link gauge of 1.3mm.

There are many more but if you count your drive links and it has 52 drive links you ask your chain supplier for a type 91 chain with 52 drive links and they make it for you.

If we look above the chain we see the cutting edges and these are called chisels and it is these which actually cut the wood, or is it? We need to look at a chisel to explain this as all chisels come as a shape and they are either square or rounded, or fully round and this defines their type as the chisels do not actually cut. All chisels are plated and usually with chrome and this thin film of chrome is rarely polished and shiny but it is very thin and extremely sharp and it is this chrome which actually cuts the wood and inside the chisel we have a rounded section which is called the gullet and the gullet clears the cut chip away. If we look above the chain and between the chisels we see pieces of metal standing up and these are the depth gauges and the height between the top of them and the top of the chisel is the depth of cut the chisel will cut, and both the chisel and depth gauge can be filed down to sharpen the chisel and to alter the depth of cut. All chains have a maximum depth of cut and to measure yours you put a straight edge across two chisels on the top of your bar and measure the depth of the gap to the top of the depth gauge with feeler gauges and this measurement is the depth of wood the chisel will cut on each pass.
Gullets are measured in millimetres and this measurement is critical if you sharpen your own chain (as you should) as this dictates the size of file you will need to sharpen your chain and maintain it in tip top condition as a sharp chain reduces the load on the engine or motor and makes for an efficient cut and uses less fuel or electricity and prolongs battery life for battery chainsaws.

If you are new to chainsaws of any kind you should understand your needs and requirements and if you get long lengths of wood below around 7” (175mm) then ask do you really need a chainsaw as a reciprocating saw may be better if you only need it at home and have electricity available.

If you have smaller trees or taller shrubs you may find a pole pruner is the preferred option as you can cut off the branches and once on the floor you can use the pruner to cut them into logs and your only decision is petrol or electric and do you have mains power or not and if not do you want battery or petrol versions. If you go for a pole pruner does it have the rotating or adjustable head so you can rotate it to an angle suitable for your work and more importantly does it have auto chain lubrication which means it has an oil tank and you have to fill this with chain oil to protect your chain and bar.

If you decide on the chainsaw your intended use should decide your bar length and for general logging of timber for home fires the normal 14” or 16” bar should suffice and if you have to cut trees down you may feel this is not enough bar length and opt for the 20” bar and chain as this allows you to cut through larger trees and buck them as bucking is cutting off all the branches to leave just the trunk.
Petrol or electric? And do you need a portable saw as this means battery or petrol and if you don’t need portability then mains electric produce lots of power and for logging they are fine, but if you have access to woods where sometimes you have to cut down trees, petrol is the better option.

Just a quick word on battery chainsaws, professional users have issues with them and this is the battery life and manufacturers claims, many claim their 14” bar will make a specified number of cuts with a full battery and the actual example quoted stated 176 cuts which looks impressive until you read them carefully as it lists seasoned 2” (50mm) thick timber which requires much less power than a 2” wet or green wood. Green wood is the wet wood or wood which is growing and has to be trimmed or cut from a living tree or shrub and this takes around 3X the power generally, than dry wood. Professionals found their claims were so far removed from reality they went back to their petrol top handled of small bar units.
If you want portability and intend only making a few cuts, or have a couple of batteries and you are not time critical than battery are the easiest as they only require chain oil and the batteries; petrol models require 2 stroke oil, petrol, mixing container, and chain oil just to run the saw and while you can pre mix your 2 stroke oil and carry it in a container, you still have to have it.


Maintain Your Chainsaw

Maintaining your chainsaw is easy and a well maintained saw will last for years as my old Spear and Jackson will attest and at over 20 years old it still starts on the second pull and will run all day.

Your first job is to clean your saw every time before you put it away as undoubtedly the wood you are cutting will be wet and the wet chips stick to your saw, and the first port of call is the chip ejection port which is the large opening below the drive sprocket as this ejects most of the chips and it also clogs up the most, and for a beginner I would suggest using a plastic knife to avoid damaging the chain.
Check your chain tension as sometimes the side guard clamp becomes loose and the chains also wear and stretch which loosens the chain, while you are at it you can brush your guide bar off and lubricate the end sprocket which has a small hole either side into which you put a couple of drops of chain oil and rotate the chain by hand to distribute it.
Every few uses or about every 6 hours you remove the side cover and remove the guide bar and chain and clean it all out and you turn the guide bar over and refit it and the chain as most are double sided and reversible which evens the wear on the guide bar and chain and you optimise both the bar and chain life. If you have a band type chain brake cleaning it out will prevent it from clogging and failing when you actually need it as compacted chips can be forced in behind the brake band mechanism.

Cleaning down the engine means no sawdust can collect in the engine and its cooling fins meaning the engine runs at its optimum temperature without overheating and you check all your bolts and screws for tightness and security as items such as silencers can and do work loose and you lose them in the most inopportune places at the most inappropriate times.

When you intend leaving your saw for a period of time then empty the fuel tank by running it out of fuel and basically running it dry as stale fuel is one of the most prolific reasons saws refuse to start and run properly and you refuel before your next use with fresh fuel so basically avoid leaving it with fuel in the tank for long periods.

Periodical checks would be to remove the air filter and clean or replace it, many saws are coming with the foam type air filters and these can be washed so take it out and wash it and remember they still become clogged if they are left in a dusty shed or garage, if it is a replaceable type then blow it out from the inside to the outside with an airline. Remove and inspect your spark plug and note its colour as a correctly running saw can be identified by the spark plug colour and you can inspect the HT lead for damage to the lead or its end.
Examine your guide bar if the coating is coming off as they do with use and time and this bare metal is visually examined and colour is the most important as any blue means the bar has been overheated in that area which means the bar is not getting sufficient oil or you are putting too much weight on the saw to make it cut.
Your silencer or muffler is often ignored and this is sheer folly as inside it is usually a perforated mesh which over time can clog up and impede your performance as the soot is caught by the mesh restricts the exhaust flow and ultimately the performance, so remove it and clean it.

Understanding Petrol and Oils

Petrol chainsaws rely upon several things and the first is fuel and generally this is petrol with 2 stroke oil mixed with it in the correct proportions as no 2 stroke oil means no lubrication and your saw won’t last long so start saving for a new power head, or a new chainsaw. Petrol has oil added to a ratio and for most reputable or professional brands it is 50:1 or 50 parts petrol to 1 part 2 stroke oil and this is the accepted professional chainsaw ratio for professional saws; problems arise when someone buys a low end or semi professional saw as this may require a 40:1 mix and my S&J requires this and many cheap or knock off saws may require a 25:1 mix and this is the danger signal as most Chinese rip off saws use this 25:1 ratio which screams avoid me I am rubbish.

Many domestic saws come as a kit and this includes a mixing bottle for the fuel and you add petrol to a line and top this up with oil to ensure you have the correct mix and if you have one of these smaller mixing bottles you can pre mix several bottles and put them into a marked fuel can for future use to allow you to refuel without mixing every time you refuel.
Many professionals have both their standard mixing bottles which came with their saw and they also buy a much larger bottle as Husqvarna and Stihl do them as do many premium brands in the chainsaw market such as Oregon who make chains, these are designed for professional cutters and vary in size to last a professional cutter all day, many now come with a separate petrol and 2 stroke oil chamber and you can often just measure out 1 litre or just your full bottle.

Before using I would always recommend shaking your bottle and ensuring the petrol and oil are fully mixed as they do separate over time, particularly petrol with ethanol at a rate of more than 5%. If you want to avoid mixing then you can buy 5 litres of petrol and you can get the one shot containers and you simply add this to the petrol and shake and you have your 50:1 mix and as many of these 1 shot oils are fully synthetic they are ideal; If you still prefer to mix your own then I suggest using fully synthetic oils and for occasional users avoid the eco oils which break down over time.

Your next oil is called bar or chain oil and this is totally different to 2 stroke oil and the two cannot be mixed and the function of this oil is to lubricate your guide bar and it mainly does this by being pumped from a tank on your machine when the engine or bar is running and it flows directly onto your guide bar where the running chain picks it up and distributes it. You put this bar oil into the tank on the machine and every time you refuel you check your bar oil as theoretically a tank should last for a tank of petrol, but theory and practise again as sometimes the bar oil is depleted before the fuel tank is low and this means the saw is running with no bar lubrication. Most bar oils are anti fling and this is a misnomer as any oil on a chain rotating at such speeds is going to fling some off and usually this is all over you so wear appropriate clothing and footwear as shorts and flip flops are simply asking for trouble.

Sharpening Your Chain

Keeping your chain sharp is the best thing you can do for cutting performance and if you do a lot of cutting you actually keep it sharp by filing on the saw, while this takes practise it is an easily mastered skill which everyone can learn and to do this you need a chain file which is a round file to suit your chain; my smaller Husqvarna and Spear & Jackson both have a type 91 chain and this requires a 4mm file while my much larger Husqvarna 585 uses type 73 chain which requires a 5.5mm or 7/32” file.

Look at the chain and particularly the chisel and you will notice the top is tapered and the side has a rounded groove and the chisel slopes upwards and these are for good reason as the point penetrates the wood and the tapered top and rounded side chrome slice off the timber where it goes into the gullet, so basically you take your file and file the gullet at the same angle as the taper at the top of the chisel and this is where so many get this wrong.
You look at the centre of your chain and then at the top of the chisel and you file in that direction only and you never put one file stroke in this direction and then file it back as you only ever work in this direction and chisels facing the other way are filed the other way, you normally only need one stroke and this is called “tickling “and all you are doing is removing a little steel from the gullet to reveal more chrome. If you are cutting all day and you stop for lunch you will see most professionals tickling their chains and you do the same and normally only one stroke of the file achieves this and never more than three strokes. Never file from the outside of the chisel towards the centre of your chain as filing leaves a burr and this burr is sharp and you don’t want it on the inside edge of the chisel which doesn’t cut and as every alternative chisel is handed the same way you can do one side and turn the saw around and do the opposite side.

Every few sharpening’s I would check the depth gauge as the chisel tapers upwards and as you file it reduces the height and the depth of cut and you notice your wood chips becoming smaller and smaller until you wonder why your sharp chain isn’t cutting and it is because it isn’t getting the depth of cut is seriously reduced.

To set your depth gauges you put a flat bar or straight edge across two chisels and measure the depth gauge and see how much you would like to remove to reinstate your depth and take a small flat file and take two strokes and measure again and take a single stroke and measure again until you get the required depth of cut and remember how many strokes you took and go to the next depth gauge and take the same number of strokes off this gauge. Repeat this by marking your first filed depth gauge with a marker and do all the top depth gauges then rotate your chain and do some more and rotate the chain again until they are all done and your chain should now be sharp with its depth of cut restored.

Take the time to learn to sharpen your chain yourself as many saw doctors actually charge more to sharpen a chain than the cost of a new chain, and this is the next tip, get a second chain as a spare and ideally keep it in a cool and dry place until it is used, or for used chains put them in a sealable plastic bag with a little oil as this penetrates and lubricates the chain.

Storing Your Saw

Many people never prepare their saw for storage and this is a huge mistake as you do little more than preserve it and the first thing if you intend leaving it for long periods is drain the fuel tank followed by checking the chain tension and then painting a little chain oil onto the bar and chain; fit the bar scabbard over the chain and place it on its bottom, never hang it by the bar or put the saw on its side with any pressure on the bar as this will bend it over time and remove the spark plug and put a tiny amount of 2 stroke oil into the bore and pull the starter cord to lubricate the bore before refitting the spark plug. If you don’t have the space to store your chainsaw with the bar fitted then remove it and store it separately and if you have a chainsaw bag you can put your chainsaw into this for storage, or just cover it with a plastic bag to keep any dust out, and minimise the exposure to damp conditions and rusting. Put it in a cupboard or other place where it is unlikely to become exposed to other things such as metal filings from grinding metals for metalworkers or sawdust from cutting wood for woodworkers, and put the bar into another bag, place the chain into a sealable bag such as the zipper bags and add a little bar oil to the bag to lubricate the chain.

Recommissioning your saw is little more than refitting the guide bar and chain and opening the fuel tank and using a length of wire you pull out the fuel pick up pipe through the filler neck and remove the small pre filter and blow through the stub pipe to remove any residual dirt from the filter.
If you need a new spark plug then swap it and fit a new one and some people keep a spare and like to fit a new item every year simply as a precaution. Similarly, if you have the non washable or non cleanable air filter then fit a new one of simply wash your air filter and dry it before refitting.
Take a small amount of bar oil and turn your chainsaw on its side and note the sprocket tip oiling hole, apply a few drops of oil to the hole and rotate the chain to rotate the tip and lubricate it and as these have a hole on the opposite side you turn your chainsaw onto its other side and lubricate this other hole. Paint a little bar oil along the bar where the chain runs and turn the saw over and repeat on the other side and turn the saw over on its base and paint a little bar oil along the top of the chain to lubricate this.

Fill your bar oil tank with oil and if your saw has a manual pumping feature then pump this a couple of times to ensure the bar oil is coming out onto your guide bar and finally mix a little fuel and add it to your petrol tank and start your saw and allow it to run and idle.

Buying a Chainsaw

Before we begin we need to fully understand our usage as this dictates everything and do not think vanity or brand names and think exactly what you want and what you need as want and need are different beasts and usually expensive different beasts and if you are up in a tree cutting, you don’t want a heavy saw with a massive engine and a 36” bar as the weight alone makes it unwieldly and puts you in danger. Do you want electric, battery electric, or petrol as battery saws are still basically rubbish with overinflated claims which are designed to deceive the uninitiated into buying something they don’t need usually at inflated prices, so do the obvious and if you have the opportunity, go with someone with a chainsaw and try it yourself and you can see how it starts and cuts, how easily you can handle it and as a minimum it gives you a baseline for comparisons of potentially other chainsaws.

Think chainsaw bar and what cutting length you need as you will rarely cut the full length of your bar for trimming, pruning, or log cutting work and it doesn’t stop here as if you get your chainsaw engine power correct and study your proposed chainsaw specifications it will often come with two chainsaw bar figures which are the shortest and longest recommended bars the manufacturer recommends you fit and mine came with a 14” bar and chain and it can be fitted with a 16” or 18” bar. I run mine with the smaller 14” bar and I have the 18” bar with the matching chains as a stand by because on occasions I need the extra length, so I now have 14” – 18” length of cuts, so what does this actually mean? It means you can cut twice the length of your bar and for a 14” bar you do a full depth of cut at 14” and go around the other side of the log and cut the remaining 14” and you have cut a 28” diameter log.

Do you go professional brand or DIY brand and I always say go professional wherever you can as the extra initial expense (if you can afford it) pays off in the long term with longevity and much lower running costs, so let me explain; if you buy a branded chainsaw from Husqvarna or Stihl for example, most of their chainsaws are for professionals using them day in and day out and this quality translates into their home user saws as a professional engine may be used in a professional saw but would they make a different engine for a home user saw? NO is the resounding answer. Therefore your home user chainsaw comes with a professional use engine and not a cheaper home user version and items such as the air filter may be cheaper items and not professional items, the cost savings to you are beneficial. If you go totally home user brands then they have no superior professional use engines and instantly your engine is a cheap version and not designed to last or be worked on and while some solely home user brands have bad press, some are simply cheap copies usually from China while some brands share a couple of generic cheap engines, so what do you look for? look at your fuel mix and most saws are a 50:1 mix and some may be a 40:1 mix and avoid anything below this, particularly if it says full synthetic oil only as it is a cheap saw relying on the oil to protect the poorly manufactured engine. Look at similar brands and find the similarities and many claim a 58cc engine and when they further claim a 20” bar and many brands do this you look at the saws. Most will be exactly the same saw as they may be different colours, but the plastics can be made in any colour, so the orange saw from one manufacturer may be blue from another manufacturer when in reality they are exactly the same saw, just sold under two different brand names. They see the opposition making saws with 40cc engines and with either 14 or 16” bars fitted as standard and to compete they have to make a larger 58cc engine just to get the same power and torque and put a larger 20” bar on so the consumer thinks they are getting more; try getting spares for them?

Things such as guide bars and chains can be bought anywhere and are readily available and your Wongtungchung saw can be fitted with an Oregon bar and chain so it isn’t an issue, spark plugs are another readily available component and again are readily sourced, but try getting that air filter or clutch assembly and your problems begin as often they have to take them from the production line making them expensive and waiting for weeks.

There is also another option to chainsaws and pole pruners and these are the multi tools which consist of a petrol power head with a ½ shaft and the cutting end which maybe a strimmer, chainsaw, or hedge cutter and one engine powers them all, so if you have an allotment, land, or similar which requires a couple or all of these attachments, it may be for you. Most of the major manufacturers are adding them to their product ranges and the benefit is if the engine goes you just buy a power head, or if an attachment fails you merely replace the attachment.

Spare Kit

What kit do you carry and why do you need it? if you are working in a wood or even at your allotment you need certain kit such as fuel and bar oil and as most chainsaws come with a combination double ended socket with a socket for the bar nuts and another for the spark plug and a screwdriver and this means you can do all necessary chainsaw jobs. You can undo your side cover and release your bar, undo your spark plug and either clean or replace it, so the next two things would be a spark plug and the spanner which came with the saw. Next is a couple of chainsaw files of the correct size for your saw, so why a couple? Basically these get lost easily and if you lose one you still have one to tickle your chain; and many come in packs of 3 files. I would also include a spare chain in a sealed bag and a tape measure or measuring device if you are cutting tree branches or trunks into lengths to fit your car.

Safety Kit

What kit do you carry and what do you actually need for domestic work? The full branded helmet complete with ear muffs attached may be the preserve of the gardening cowboys along with chainsaw trousers and boots, but what do you need? I am not going to lecture you and your choices are your own, I will merely make suggestions which you can accept or ignore, its YOUR choice.
First is face protection and while the full helmet complete with face guard and ear defenders may look good to a potential client, are they really necessary as no helmet will protect you if you fall out of a tree but eye protection is a necessity as chainsaws spew out lots of wooden chips and the wind may blow them into your eyes, pole saws working overhead deem them a necessity as the chips fall on you. Ear defenders? No, but for petrol chainsaws I would say yes, particularly if you use a petrol chainsaw for long periods and the foam in the ear type are sufficient to wipe off enough decibels to protect your hearing.
What about gloves? I never wear then as every chainsaw incident I have ever had was down to wearing gloves and I find I cannot safely wear them as they impede the throttle and actually my grip so I never wear them so I can actually grip my chainsaw properly.
Boots, again I would say yes for most work as trees tend to be in woods and forests or parks and other places and these generally have dirt of grass floors and good boots provide grip on poor surfaces and generally a better footing for safer cutting; we have all seen the Americans with their new chainsaw cutting down a tree in shorts and flip flops and we laugh at their stupidity.