Chainsaw brake question.

[oldspark]

Since the PPE thread got somewhat out of hand I will start a new thread.
What is the fear of using a chainsaw without a chain brake, been mentioned here a few times about not wanting to start up a saw with out one and wont run a saw with out one, so I have a saw I bought in 1979 and have kept it up and it has no chain brake and have never felt the need for one and my other two saws that have them rarely get used. What is the process to use them when you are cutting that makes it so much safer?

 

[jeff_t]

I was curious about that too. He made it sound as if he used it on every cut. I never have. I always thought it was there for, and the handle was positioned as it is, in case of kickback. I thought that was the meaning of the term 'inertia brake'.

 

[devinsdad]

I think you're supposed to engage the chain brake when moving about the wood or setting it on the ground whilst running. I've never used it though. Sometimes it gets mysteriously engaged while sitting in the shed .

 

[oldspark]

I feel better as I am not the only one who does not use them, I too thought it was for kickback (never had that problem). I know they are a good idea but the thought of not using one is no (IMHO) saftey concern as many people have expressed on this forum at one time or another.

 

[ANeat]

The instructions say to engage the brake before you start the saw and whenever the saw is running and youre not cutting. When youre cutting its designed to stop the chain in the event of kickback, either when the saw gets ripped out of your hand your hand will hit the brake, or just the inertia of the saw kicking back will engage the brake.

If I set down a running saw I will engage the brake, sometimes I will engage the brake and blip the throttle just to check that its working

 

[oldspark]

I think the "fear" of using a saw with out a brake is way overblown, good thing to have but using the saw correctly will go a long way in preventing an accident.

 

[fjord]

The chain brake is analogous to many safety devices over the years that we've learned to use and appreciate.
Seat belts (formerly only used in aircraft), Kevlar body armor, air bags, rock and ice climbing gear improvements,
ear and eye protection for firearms and ordinance are all working technolgies to protect. GPS, better radio communications
in the field, are others. ALL have made life safer.

Chain brakes work. Until I HAD to pass the CLP training for owner's liability insurance, I never used chain brakes. Now it is automatic when:

1. Moving/stepping with a running saw. In brush, in roots, changing your tie-in up a tree with a running saw, even a slow moving chain
eats flesh. Simple to learn to "kick" the brake on with your forearm, then pull it off when ready to cut. Second nature like checking your
tie-in on a tree job, or climbing. Never tripped walking or moving with a running saw ? Yes, adjust the carb so the chain won't move @ idle.
When you're working on a job, you move fast; the chain doesn't always stop before the next cutting if the brake is off.

2. Brake on when starting: drop start ( not a good idea ), crotch start, or ground start for the 440, 357, 880 larger saws.
Why ? The WOT start can make some high torque that may not be controllable with inattention or fatigue.

3. Brake check for kickback.

Your choice. But at least try the suggestion out to use the chain brake. It's saved lives, livlihoods, serious injuries.

 

[ckarotka]

I was told once that in the cutting position your left hand on the hand grip, if it were to kick back and you held grip your left wrist/forearm could engage the brake as the saw rises and starts to be directed at your face. It seems possible but not really plausible given how far the saw would have to rotate to engage it. By then the saw is cutting your face. The dealer who sold me the saw told me this.

Charlie

 

[smokinj]

I dont use the brake very often If your saw is working right its not spining at an idle. I have fallen backwards with a saw before and the break kick in and save my @ss.

 

[oldspark]

The chain brake is analogous to many safety devices over the years that we've learned to use and appreciate.
Seat belts (formerly only used in aircraft), Kevlar body armor, air bags, rock and ice climbing gear improvements,
ear and eye protection for firearms and ordinance are all working technolgies to protect. GPS, better radio communications
in the field, are others. ALL have made life safer.

Chain brakes work. Until I HAD to pass the CLP training for owner's liability insurance, I never used chain brakes. Now it is automatic when:

1. Moving/stepping with a running saw. In brush, in roots, changing your tie-in up a tree with a running saw, even a slow moving chain
eats flesh. Simple to learn to "kick" the brake on with your forearm, then pull it off when ready to cut. Second nature like checking your
tie-in on a tree job, or climbing. Never tripped walking or moving with a running saw ? Yes, adjust the carb so the chain won't move @ idle.
When you're working on a job, you move fast; the chain doesn't always stop before the next cutting if the brake is off.

2. Brake on when starting: drop start ( not a good idea ), crotch start, or ground start for the 440, 357, 880 larger saws.
Why ? The WOT start can make some high torque that may not be controllable with inattention or fatigue.

3. Brake check for kickback.

Your choice. But at least try the suggestion out to use the chain brake. It's saved lives, livlihoods, serious injuries.

Did you not read my post, my old saw does not have one and am not going to throw it in the trash because it has none, would never take a saw with out a brake up a tree, I do not walk with a moving saw to speak of, your brain is the best PPE out there.

 

[ANeat]

your brain is the best PPE out there.

I agree with that 100% I think the worst thing a person can do is assume all the safety features render the saw "safe" I believe they are there for those "Oh $h1t" moments when something happens.

Hopefully something like a brake or chaps, helment, goggles or whatever do the job when needed.

 

['bert]

If all we are going to discuss here is non-stop PPE, I am going to put on my helmet (in case I slip) and have my morning shower.

 

[thinkxingu]

'bert, funny you said that: a few years ago, I was about to set out on a century cycling ride up Mt. Wachusett when I noticed one of the riders wasn't wearing a helmet. I asked him why he wasn't, and he got a bit peeved: "I don't wear a helmet while taking stairs or walking, why would I wear one riding a bike?" I'm not sure that's great logic, but there is a limit to how much we should worry if we're doing everything else right.

S

 

[fishingpol]

I have owned a few saws over the years. I recall my dad having saws without a chain brake. He was very careful on cutting up wood and never had an issue. I owned a Jonsered for a while and it was much more powerful than my Stihl. The Jonsered did not have a chain break but I used the saw more carefully.

The only way I cut wood is close to the saw body on the bottom of the bar. The large teeth that extend off the saw body are usually dug in giving me leverage and control. If I am limbing a downed tree, I sometimes undercut using the top of the bar in the middle or closer to the saw body. Using the saw bar near the tip especially on an undercut is when the chain can ride up the side limb and kick up, especially if the limb drops and pinches the chain. Saw manuals show ways to avoid kickback. Saws without brakes may require a little bit more careful cutting. I only use the chain brake when starting and I have not yet had an incident where I needed the brake. I do miss the Jonsered... :-/


Jon

 

[firefighterjake]

I often use the chain brake . . . but not in starting the saw . . . I use it quite often if I'm walking and moving with the running saw in undergrowth.

 

[fjord]

No comment...Forest Gump is alive and well.
Hey, why worry ? :bug:

 

[Danno77]

I've never used an airbag, I don't know why they put those stupid things in cars.

 

[smokinj]

If I am cold starting a saw I use the brake, but once its hot I will fire it at an idle.(chains not spinning)

 

[fjord]

I've never used an airbag, I don't know why they put those stupid things in cars.

Saves lives....many many lives.
Your mileage will differ.

 

[Danno77]

I've never used an airbag, I don't know why they put those stupid things in cars.

Saves lives....many many lives.
Your mileage will differ.

that's my sarcastic point. So do chain brakes.

 

[fjord]

I've never used an airbag, I don't know why they put those stupid things in cars.

Saves lives....many many lives.
Your mileage will differ.

that's my sarcastic point. So do chain brakes.

Strange how many go into specialties to solve dysfunction. :lol:

KInda like a fellow in an office down the hall from me , a "psychologist", with a sign on his door that only he found amusing:
" Help, stop me before I kill again." :bug:

 

[Danno77]

Strange how many go into specialties to solve dysfunction. :lol:

KInda like a fellow in an office down the hall from me , a "psychologist", with a sign on his door that only he found amusing:
" Help, stop me before I kill again." :bug:

man, you don't know how true that is. Undergrad in the Psych Department always amused me because of the EXTREMELY high rate of confused, crazy, abused, molested, and disturbed people who were chasing that degree. You might think that their problems caused them to run into a professional that had changed their life and now they were hoping to "give back". You'd be wrong if you thought that. Most of them had never received help before and were merely chasing answers to their unsolvable problems.

 

[oldspark]

I never said they were a bad idea, I have an old saw that does not have one and am fine with it, and I was cutting wood when some of you were crapping yellow.

 

[fjord]

If I am cold starting a saw I use the brake, but once its hot I will fire it at an idle.(chains not spinning)

Where do keep that brake on you when you're "cold" Jay ?
Then, when you're hot, then what ? This could be something big. :cheese:

 

[wendell]

I've never used an airbag, I don't know why they put those stupid things in cars.

Saves lives....many many lives.
Your mileage will differ.

Actually, some studies have shown that front air bags cause more injuries than they prevent. Side curtain air bags on the other hand, are a great thing. Kinda like chain brakes.