BY Donna Lacey

Recently, I attended a workshop that was offered by the Bruce Grey Woodlands Association. The instructor was actually one of the two people that signed off on my Cutter Certification in 1992. This training session reminded me of all of the items that I was taught so many years ago.
I attended as a bystander, not a trainee, which was a different role for me and offered the opportunity to just listen and relish the information shared. While it was pretty awesome to watch both experienced chainsaw operators and relatively new operators, it was also neat to see just how much I have actually retained from my teaching. I sure hope that my cartography professor doesn’t expect me to have the same recall. I suppose it was easy for me to remember because it was all very practical information shared to keep me and my colleagues safe.
The workshop was a half-day inside followed by an afternoon outside with the saws running. The inside learning started off with what I would call general chainsaw safety, leading off with necessary safety gear for the chainsaw operator.
 Operators should wear a hard hat outfitted with a screen and muffs, along with either chaps or pants that are designed for chainsaw safety, safety boots, and leather gloves. Some operators may prefer to wear safety glasses and ear plugs. For the Cadillac in safety, I recommend the operator wearing safety glasses while using a screen. It is important to ensure that muffs are properly rated and in good condition to ensure effectiveness.
 I prefer pants over chaps as I feel that they provide greater safety. In my experience, chaps shift and move a lot while in use. This movement may result in the ballistic nylon to move from where it is needed. Chainsaw pants and chaps are outfitted with ballistic nylon in the most often encountered danger places. Ballistic nylon will save the user by filling the chain with fibers that stops the chain from turning, it essentially jams it up. 
Other important pieces of information reviewed included such things as parts of the saw as well as the dangers of kickback when cutting using the noon to three o’clock location of the bar and chain. Also discussed were the handguard, hand brake, the inertia brake, and the chain catch on the underside of the saw. Another feature mentioned was the often forgotten, at least by people under 60, anti-vibration features. The final item that I will list is the sight line. Most of these safety features are very casually included with each chainsaw manufactured in the past few decades.
Who has operated a chainsaw and not experienced a kickback incident? I think most of us can be very grateful that we have experienced a kickback without any outcomes that required a first aid kit or worse. Knowing where the risks are is the first step in avoiding them. Operators should avoid cutting with the top to middle of the bar tip as much as is possible to avoid kickback.  If a kickback should occur and the operator’s hands are in the correct position on the handle, the hand brake should stop the chain.
The hand brake is in a location that covers most of the handle that would be used in regular cutting. It is incredibly important to remember that the hand brake should always be engaged when you are not cutting, especially when you are walking between cutting areas. The process is simple –  if the saw kicks upwards or you rock your hand forward, the brake will engage and stop the chain from turning. This is a very valuable safety feature that just works.
Should the operator experience a kickback or other sudden movement while operating the saw, the inertia brake will engage. The inertia brake will also stop the chain from turning. It is important to note that while both of these brakes are incredible safety features, an operator could still be cut severely by the force of the chainsaw when it makes contact with skin. Chainsaw teeth, if properly cared for, are very sharp and will penetrate many materials. I have seen many close calls in damaged safety equipment to prove the importance of avoiding kickback and wearing safety gear.
Many people that operate a saw do not heed much notice to the small plastic or aluminum piece that is on the underside of the saw furthest out from the handle. This small piece doesn’t look like much, but if your chain were to come off during cutting or outside of the tree, you will be very glad that it is there. This little item will stop the chain from flying free from the saw and right into you.
Anti-vibration adaptations keep operators from suffering from many common ailments like white finger disease or Raynaud’s Phenomenon. Young people will not understand just how important this feature is if they haven’t operated an old saw or even a trimmer. Many people don’t know why the saw flexes a little between the handle and the motor.
Most operators would notice that the bottom for the trigger handle has a wider side to it. While this width may help those that chose to start the saw on the ground, that really isn’t its main purpose. Should the chain come free from the bar, this wide section will protect the hand that is most vulnerable.
When I went to college for forestry I never really knew what my Dad thought of the stuff I was learning. I didn’t know if he thought it was a ridiculous waste of time and money or if he saw any value in it. Following my lessons in chainsaw safety and cutting, I was given the opportunity to cut wood at home. It was at this time that I was using the sight line on the saw to determine exactly where I was going to place the tree, if all went right. My Dad was quite surprised to learn about this feature that was on every saw he owned. All saws manufactured in the last few decades have a sight line on them that runs around the top three sides of the saw, basically perpendicular to the handle. If you read the tree appropriately and use the sight line, you should be able to drop any tree where you wish, if there are no obstacles.
There is so much more to say about this, I hope I have started off well, more to come. ◊