Читать книгу Chainsaw Manual for Homeowners - Brian J. Ruth - Страница 6

Introduction

What if you didn’t grow up with a chainsaw, or don’t have a friend to teach you, what do you do then?

That is what this book is all about. It is meant to introduce you to the chainsaw. I’ll spell out the differences among the various saws so you can choose the one that is right for you. I’ll help you understand how it works and what happens when its chain contacts what you’re cutting. I will walk you through various projects and the methods of using the saw to complete those projects. I will show you essential safety gear, and how to maintain your saw. Most of all, I’ll show you safe methods of working so that if you choose to run a chainsaw you can do it safely and effectively.

I’ve been running a chainsaw for so long I hardly remember how I learned. I remember standing by the saw buck as my father and grandfather placed the logs up on it for me to cut. I think I was about thirteen the first time. My grandfather bought that saw from a preacher. My father gave it to me as a keepsake and I still have that saw. It’s an old M all electric with a rear pistol grip and a short front handle grip. It was very heavy, and the wiser of the group were more than happy to let me have my fun and tire myself out by running the saw—which I did, every chance I got. I would relish the thought of having to cut more firewood.

In high school I got a job with a small tree service. My job was to feed the chipper and cut up anything that was downed by one of the climbers. It was a dream job: good pay, outdoors, and most important, I got to run a chainsaw. It didn’t take long until I was asking if I could do some climbing. My workmate Joe was an excellent climber. He instructed me on notches and roping down limbs and staying alive running a chainsaw a hundred feet up a tree.

I did tree work all through my college years and I consider that time as my chainsaw survival training. By the time I started chainsaw carving I had a great feel for the bite of a chainsaw and it was only the art aspect that I had to learn. I have been lucky in more ways than one. I practically grew up with a chainsaw, I had the world’s best teachers, and in all the years of working with the world’s most dangerous power tool, I haven’t needed more than a band aid.

This antique monster saw weighs a ton and you have to pivot the engine in its housing to keep the carburetor upright, or else it floods and stalls. This wasn’t my first saw, but it sure does illustrate how far we’ve come from the professional-only saws of yesterday to homeowner-friendly saws today.