Who's been saved by your chain brake?

[Flatbedford]

Non-safety in my case. But it was just a stupid mistake and had nothing to do with actual wood cutting.

 

[mayhem]

For those who have had the brake automatically engage, were you using safety chain or non-safety chain?

Ken

Safety chain in my case, it was on ly old Craftsman 42cc 18" saw...a Wild thing with different colored plastic. Safety chain was all that there was for it so thats all it got. In my situation, it type of chain was not the issue, it was a pinch on the cutting side of the chain when the log shifted slightly that did it.

 

[CTYank]

When i bought my new Sthil last year, they had a model where the chain brake would engage whenever you removed your hand from the rear handle.

I'm not sure what that would accomplish. In a kickback situation, your hand is still on the handle. If you release the rear handle, it saw idles anyway....

I agree, too much complexity reduces reliability.

Ken

Seems to me the designers noted that some folks don't really grip the saw that well, maybe figuring it's going nowhere. Some have the bad habit of using a monkey grip (thumb not opposed to fingers) on the front handle.

And ... that part of the motion of the saw when kickback occurs is rotation- front up, rear down.

If the saw is running, the kickback will take a millisecond or two; it'll take LOTS longer for the engine to return to idle.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

So far, only 1 kickback ever, and I had full control of the saw, didn't engage the brake as I remember. But I also wouldn't run a saw without them. Then again, so far at 52, I have never had a "need" for a seat belt, but wear one always. Motorcycle helmets are a different story... killed a couple of them.

 

[seeyal8r]

I'm always cutting in nasty brush areas where the tip of my saws are touching stuff I can't see. I've had the brake kick on several times but I don't think any of those times saved anything because I wasn't directly over the saw.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I have had mine engage a few times, usually in brush, never anything real scary. I do find it smart to intentionally set the brake when I am walking around with the saw and getting into position for a different part of a tree, especially with the hills around here I am not often on level ground. I would not like to trip with a saw running.

 

[mywaynow]

This thread caused me to experience 2 safety brake engagements today. Working an Ash that was laying on top of another, both in excess of 22 inches, with a gap of 6 inches or so between them. I had to finish off some of the cuts from the bottom side, with the top of the bar. Each time the round broke free of the stump, it jarred the bar and triggered the brake. Only triggered that brake once in the last 3 months before this thread appeared. :shut: Running a chisel chain.

 

[seeyal8r]

I'm always cutting in nasty brush areas where the tip of my saws are touching stuff I can't see. I've had the brake kick on several times but I don't think any of those times saved anything because I wasn't directly over the saw.

I guess I should have put that: I use my brake all the time. Especially when climbing a tree or moving around in some downed limbs. Until I'm ready to cut I don't want the chain moving so I set the brake and leave it.

 

[Ken45]

I wonder which is safer:

1) a saw without a brake but a safety chain

2) a saw with a brake and a non safety chain

 

[Flatbedford]

I'd bet the farm on #2

 

[firefighterjake]

I'd bet the farm on #2

I concur.

 

[Ken45]

I don't think I have every had the brake engage while cutting, but I've always had safety chain. That's why I asked.

Ken

 

[fyrwoodguy]

i learned the hard way not to use chainsaw with-out chainbrake AND TO PAY ATTENTION to where the tip is (or going to contact)
my lesson involved a 2100 husqvarna 24".....and don't saw wood when your angry
i was already missing the 2 middle fingers from playing with fire crackers at age 11 :red:
i started sawing in '67 and am still sawing. DON'T USE A CHAINSAW WITH-OUT THE BRAKE OPERATING!

 

[BrianK]

Ten years ago I was cutting a 4" dead tree about a foot up when it broke off at ground level. As it fellover it popped the trunk up and the bar hit me in the face. The chain had been stopped by the brake thank God, but I still wound up with a series of lacerations and eight stitches.
Told everyone I was in a bar fight.

Would the helmet with mesh mask they advertise for chainsaw use have prevented the injury?

 

[brian89gp]

I've had mine engage twice but both times were not because of kickback. Cutting brush and something shifted, the snarled mess of over-growth hit the brake. I use it excessively manually though, unless I am ready to cut I leave the brake set.

I do use safety chains on all my saws and those Oregon double guard bars with the more pointy tips when available. I've had them kick back a couple times when I had the saw on its side cutting brush off at the ground but it was mild enough that it didn't even set the brake off.

I don't really care how much slower safety chains may or may not cut, I'm not in that much of a hurry.

 

[Manitoulin Maples]

i experienced kickback on my MS 261 this year and the inertia activated the chain brake....i made a really stupid mistake (limbing) and thankfully the saw worked as it's supposed to. i'm amazed i didn't get hurt and it really has stuck with me since then how fast something can happen by the slightest mistake. like someone else said previously in this thread, by the time i actually realized what had happened everything was over.