today was first experience with kickback from chainsaw. I’ve had it happen to a small degree but today was a whole different thing. No injuries fortunately and saw never made contact with me. Wanted to post this a reminder that while we can become pretty skilled with the equipment we use, things can still happen. I was working on my pile of various sized wood from many scrounges and while cutting the intended log, the blade made contact with another piece of wood probably around the tip of blade. The blade kicked back straight in the direction of my face and luckily stopped a bit before making contact with my baseball hat visor. The whole thing lasted about 1/10 of second. I had read about kickback before but had never experienced how strong of a force (and fast) this can be. I am no authority on chainsaw safety so will not give specific advice because I could be wrong. I would review safety info from good authorities on the subject though and I plan to do that myself. I would suggest some basic safety precautions related to awareness and alertness. After this happened, I tried to understand why it happened. I know that today I’m pretty tired and a bit distracted today. Just before the kickback, I know that I was mulling over in my head this crappy scenario that has about a 1 in a 1000 chance of happening. That all seemed pretty insignificant after this situation. I also have a habit of favoring my lower back and I tend to want to avoid bending (in this case to make sure the log I intended to cut was free from other wood so it could be cut safely. A chainsaw is an amazing time saver of a tool and definitely afford someone the 2 seconds to make sure you’re set to cut something safely. I was also home alone today, so I may think twice before cutting alone again. In general, be well rested, well fed and not distracted when you’re cutting wood.
All good advice/thoughts for sure, My question is did the inertia brake on the saw engage? If properly adjusted that brake should engage on kickback without your left hand needing to bump it. I also try to stay clear of the plane of the chain when bucking in piles or other areas where tip contact is possible/probable. The biggest lesson that stuck with me was always know where the bar tip is & do not ever "monkey paw" the handle of the saw. Meaning left hand on top of the handle, not off to the side, that way your knuckles will kick the brake handle if it doesn't set from the kick. So glad you weren't injured! Saws are wicked machines when they come into contact with a human body.
Good to hear your ok Ctwoodtick Amateur cutter what does monkey pawing the handle mean? I’m assuming thumb over?
Yikes Steve, thats scary. Glad you are okay, but a good lesson learned. As amateur cutter said, keep plane of bar to the side of head/face. Never allow upper tip of bar to contact anything as thats where the force occurs. I always try to be mindful of where that section of bar is at all times. I also engage the brake by "backhanding" it with my left wrist when im moving with or setting the saw down to idle. Ive encountered kickback, but nothing like that. Chain brake has engaged everytime. Need you in one piece to cut some birch at the honey hole! I learned with the Fiskars a few weeks back as well.
The chain brake must have engaged with the force of the kickback. I thought that that might have happened by chance, but I’m glad to hear that that is safety feature (and that it works).
Will do, on all fronts, brad! I know to keep bar to the side, but I was getting lazy today. Definitely lesson learned.
I'm glad you're ok Ctwoodtick , I have some rules with the wife about cutting which I follow. I always liked a flip phone because I could have it on me when cutting but since we changed over to smartphones I bought a hip pack so my phone would be on me.
Glad you're safe Ctwoodtick I've had a couple small kickbacks over the years, but nothing as severe as you experienced. Good advice here as always.
Monkey Paw is a term I heard used years ago by an old guy, means the left hand is lower on the left side of the handle rather than on top. Your hand/knuckles need to be inline with brake handle. it's easier than you think to let your hand slide down the handle, you lose both grip strength & control of the saw in this position. If it kicks it'll rip it out of your hand & your hand misses the brake handle/guard. Bad stuff gets worse in under a second at that point.
Glad you are alright, Ctwoodtick! Thank you for sharing the reminder, as well. Although I never learned the term "monkey paw" I surely like it amateur cutter - that was one of the first lessons taught by my grandfather and uncle when I was allowed to start running a saw. Top hand is strong grip at all times, and aligned with the cut, never on the side. If you need to cut angled or horizontally, rotate the hand around the loop of the handle so it remains on top, and again try to keep a stiff arm. With the elbow locked and the wrist engaged in A firm grip, kickback will spin the saw straight back and the brake (along with the stiff arm) will have lots of opportunity to stop the chain before it gets to anything fleshy.
Glad your OK woodtick. It’ll certainly wake you up fast. I know all about the back issue. I sometimes buck logs on my knees which I’m sure would be considered a safety no no. Just to throw it out there most chains are “safety” chains. Designed to lessen the chance of kickback but not stop it entirely. Then there’s the professional chains. More old school design without the extra “nubs” for lack of proper terminology. Mostly found in the full chisel variety. Faster cutting chains but more dangerous. May want to make sure you haven’t gone pro without realizing it. Pro is great if everything is set up for it but tinckeri g around in piles you can get in trouble. Then there’s the amount you file down the rakers. Take too much off and that chain will not only be grabby but kickback is enhanced. I’ve gotten lazy and careless in the past and ground the rakers down too far on pro chains. It’s like cutting wood with a machine gun. Not good.
Nothing wrong with that I don't think. I do it frequently when bucking or noodling at ground level. Stay left of the chain & good grip position on the saw, much better on the back for us more mature folks. I've also never tripped on brush or other obstacles when kneeling.
Good to hear. My back matured at the age of 18 LOL. Did it up real good in my late 30’s and partially paralyzed my left leg. So yeah it feels safer for me. I know all about tripping around on stuff.
