Q: OK, explain the "air drop" start and explain kickback.
Carl Smith: The "air drop" start is dangerous. You basically drop the saw with one hand while pulling the starting cord with the other hand. This method has injured many operators over the years and is against the law to use. The bar is completely unsupported and can go anywhere. DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!!!
You ask about "kickback". Kickback is what causes most cuts to chain saw operators. There is an "anti-kickback" chain available but it, too, will "kickback", if you are not careful. The condition, "kickback" occurs due to 1) the physics of the spinning chain around the tip of the bar, 2) putting the upper 1/4 of the bar tip in a bind or pinched condition (boring with the bar tip or hitting another object such as a limb, sapling or tree), 3) the violent release of pressure from the object being cut (limb under pressure or springpole).
Ways to lessen the effects of this violent reaction are 1) use an "anti-kickback" chain, 2) complete concentration as to the position of the bar tip, 3) proper stance (feet apart with firm and secure footing, hand on handle bar, with thumb curled around it, other hand on pistol grip/trigger, position body so if "kickback does occur the chain saw will go over the shoulder. Never try cutting anything with just one hand on the chain saw. Never try to cut anything above shoulder height.
Q: Bind is a major problem I face when using my saw. Seems I can get the hang of most other techniques but I am frequently binding my saw blade. Please help me out on the binding problem.
Carl Smith: Gravity will cause any unsupported portion of a tree to fall. If the bar and chain is in the wrong place at the wrong time, they will get pinched between the falling material and the stationary material. Pressure, in this same context, is a dramatic release of tension. When pressure is quickly reduced - by cutting - a severe reaction can occur. This reaction must be anticipated and avoided or severe injury and even death can occur. The way the wood fiber grows can also cause a bind or pinching effect especially when the chain is dull or you are using a slow chain speed. I won't get into wood fiber at this point.
There are four types of "bind" that you will have to deal with when bucking. They are as follows:
Top Bind ---The top of the limb or log being cut will try to pinch your bar/chain. To deal with a top bind, you place your first horizontal cut in the top of the log. Watch the saw kerf very closely and stop this cut as soon as you see or feel the saw kerf closing.
Usually this happens at not more than 1/4 of the diameter of the tree. Remove the bar/chain and begin making the finishing cut from the bottom of the log up to the pressure release cut that you made from the top. Insert a wedge as soon as there is room to keep the bar from becoming pinched.
Side Binds ---The limb or log being cut will try to pinch your bar/chain on one side or the other. Your bucking cuts should be vertical cuts beginning with the side that the wood fibers are compressed. Keeping the tree between you and your cut, make your first cut until you see or feel the saw kerf closing. Physically move to the other side and make the release cut on the stretched fiber side of the log. Use your wedges.
Bottom Bind ---The bottom of the limb or log being cut will try to pinch your bar/chain. With a bottom bind you reverse the process you would use for top bind. Use your wedges.
End Bind ---If the tree is laying on an incline, the force of gravity will try to push the upper log down and into the lower log, and pinching your bar and chain. Extreme care must be given as the tree is on an incline and the cut off log and tree could either roll on you or sweep you under it when the log is released. Wedges must be used because your bar/chain will definitely become pinched once the cut or cuts have been completed.
Q: I always have more trouble with bucking a felled tree than almost anything else. Seems the bind comes in to play here and I never have a wedge or an axe. Give us some advice on bucking up a tree.
Carl Smith: This is the term for cutting a piece of a tree's trunk off of the tree itself. This can be in the form of a log or a shorter piece for firewood. Two tools should be used when doing this operation - wedges and an ax, hatchet or maul.
"Size-up" must be performed, once again, before any cuts are made. Always cut from the uphill side of the downed tree. This will keep the cut off section from rolling down and over you. Make sure that the tree is not under any type of "side bind" as this condition can cause the tree or log to swing around and hit you. Many people have been killed because they ignored this condition.
