Should Children Have Access to Firearms and Explosives?

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The discussion revolves around the challenges of cutting down a small tree with thick branches and the need for efficient tools. Participants suggest considering an electric chainsaw for safety and ease of use, highlighting that electric models are generally lighter and less dangerous than gas-powered options. Concerns are raised about the risks of using a chainsaw, especially overhead, with many recommending hiring a professional for safety reasons. The conversation touches on the size of the tree and branches, with suggestions for using a hand saw or a reciprocating saw for smaller jobs. Humor is interspersed throughout, with some participants joking about the dangers of DIY tree cutting and the potential for accidents. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards either hiring a professional or using safer, less powerful tools for the task at hand.

Should Evo get a chainsaw?

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I have a small tree that died that I need to cut down and there are a lot of thick branches. I also need to cut a lot of dead branches off some other trees and a hand saw will take forever. Also, most of the branches are above my head.

What do you guys think?
 
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You could get an electric one - much less dangerous.

Had to vote no; that is unless you get Tribdog to supervise.
 
Don't you always do something like this and get hurt...?
 
Ivan Seeking said:
You could get an electric one - much less dangerous.
oooh, dismembered AND electrocuted, good idea!

Electric, maybe I will go that route, they're lighter?
 
Don't do it evo, hire someone!1! You'll never make it!@!@111
 
Not so much a weight advantage but they are much safer. They don't have the power to buck and take off your head like a gas powered saw. You can still cut off your toes and fingers, but you probably wouldn't lose your head.
 
What is the largest diameter log that you would need to cut?
 
If you have the money go for it! If you don't get one, then using a handsaw may seem like a lot of work, but you can just maybe work at it for 20 minutes a day or so until it is done. Consider it your workout.

But if you get the chainsaw, and the branches are too high for you, be really careful if you use the chainsaw on a ladder (or just don't do that) that would be a likely recipe for disaster.
 
Please don't kill me!
 
  • #10
Evo, how much to delete the post above?
 
  • #11
Get a man to do it for you, or even a woman who knows what she is doing,
the thought of you with a pair of hedge clippers makes me shudder, but up
a ladder with a chain saw, how near is your local hospital ?
 
  • #12
small tree that died that I need to cut down and there are a lot of thick branches.
This is a bit puzzling - a small tree, but thick branches. I am kind of wondering along the line of Ivan, what size have you had experience with vs what size are the branches and trunk?

Are the branches one or two inches in diameter? How tall is the tree and what is the diameter?

If you get a chain saw, think about save gloves, glasses and shin guards.

Don't cut overhead unless you know what you are doing.

To drop the tree, do two wedge cuts with the lower one on the side toward which you want to drop the tree. The wedges are so you don't get the chain caught.

I would recommend hiring a handyman or tree service - but the services can cost a few bucks. At least they'll haul away the debris. Then again you could save the branches and trunk and compost them.
 
  • #13
wolram said:
Get a man to do it for you, or even a woman who knows what she is doing,
the thought of you with a pair of hedge clippers makes me shudder, but up
a ladder with a chain saw, how near is your local hospital ?
I was going to hire a guy to do it, but he turned out to be insane.

As I wrote a friend: "I called a guy that advertised doing lawn care. HE'S NUTS. He's at my house and won't leave. I've called him twice and told him NO. GO AWAY. I found someone else.

GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE YOU PSYCHO.

AAAARGGH."

This guy starts talking about how religious he is and goes off into these bizarre tirades. He's completely illiterate, yet he's claiming to have a graduate degree in tree care. :bugeye: And on and on.

I was sure by the time I got home, I would have shrines to the Madonna erected in my yard. Or maybe goat sacrifices, I wasn't sure.
 
  • #14
Or save money and get exercize at the same time; use a handsaw even if it takes forever! The tree's not going anywhere.
 
  • #15
I figure they are expensive. I just looked up prices and apparently you can get one cheap so perhaps nevermind. Home Depot has an electric one for 40 bucks. It says it's "lightweight".
 
  • #16
Read this Evo.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD2487.html

You could paint the tree green and hang decorations on it, if it is not liable
to fall.
 
  • #17
Just remember to consider the wind speed and direction when messing with trees.
 
  • #18
Oh, Get a chain saw! There's no kick-back to worry about these days with a "consumer" model chain. A 14" or 16" long bar is all you need. Husqvarna or Stihl are the best brands, but a Poulan is OK for the lower price saws.

Then you can start getting your own firewood! Do odd jobs around the neighborhood! Take care of that blasted ginko tree on the corner! Clear the way downtown when you're in a hurry! Get your point clearly across when talking with parents of P-I-A students...

delete that last line please.
 
  • #19
Mental Gridlock said:
I figure they are expensive. I just looked up prices and apparently you can get one cheap so perhaps nevermind. Home Depot has an electric one for 40 bucks. It says it's "lightweight".
It's not the cost of the chainsaw, but the cost of the ER visit. If they have to add in a life flight, even worse.

Evo, find a non-psycho tree service, especially if there's a lot overhead to cut. Maybe you can save cost by having them just take the tree down and cut the trunk into sections and leave you with the branches to attack on your own with your loppers.

At the very least, find someone who knows how to use a chainsaw to help you. Let them teach you and supervise so you learn to handle it properly (and have someone to call 911 when...erm...I mean if...you get hurt using it).
 
  • #20
The real question is, if this was Tribdog's thread, what would we all say?

Well that's my answer.
 
  • #21
I'd have to agree that taking down a tree is probably better done by pros if possible. How much did lawnmowerman quote you for the job?
 
  • #22
franznietzsche said:
The real question is, if this was Tribdog's thread, what would we all say?

Well that's my answer.
:smile: If it was tribdog's thread, he wouldn't be asking before doing it, he'd be giving us the count of how many stitches it took to reattach his toes and/or fingers. :biggrin:
 
  • #23
Ok, I'm going for the small, light electric. Hypatia mentioned one on a pole? That would be good.

Or maybe I could duct tape one onto a pole?

I just repaired my weed eater with duct tape.
 
  • #24
What kind of tree? How dry? I voted "No" since you called yourself a "klutz," 'cause it's no fun fighting dry, gnarly, osage orange, and a couple other varieties I can think of.
 
  • #25
Bystander said:
What kind of tree? How dry? I voted "No" since you called yourself a "klutz," 'cause it's no fun fighting dry, gnarly, osage orange, and a couple other varieties I can think of.
Read my journal, you'll be glad you voted no.

It's a plum tree. Trunk is about 6" in diameter, limbs 1-2' in diameter. Need to prune some dead limbs on another flowering plum, finish off the broken willow, take the lower branches off of a Pin Oak, and prune a clump of River Birch. I could do all of it with a hand saw, but there is just so much, i could do it in no time with a small chainsaw.
 
  • #26
Evo said:
Ok, I'm going for the small, light electric. Hypatia mentioned one on a pole? That would be good.

Or maybe I could duct tape one onto a pole?

I just repaired my weed eater with duct tape.
Well if you're getting the chainsaw don't forget to get one of these too.
 
  • #27
Evo said:
Or maybe I could duct tape one onto a pole?


That really sounds like a bad idea.
 
  • #28
  • #29
It is a bit strange, (Evostick) being a brand name for glue, i wonder is it
sticks Evo,s back together, i think it best to take her photo first, so we
know which bit goes where.
 
  • #30
wolram said:
It is a bit strange, (Evostick) being a brand name for glue, i wonder is it
sticks Evo,s back together, i think it best to take her photo first, so we
know which bit goes where.


Good idea.
 
  • #31
Like this poll is going to affect her decision.
 
  • #32
Plum? You might be much happier paying someone to catch the splits, splinters, and slivers --- once it's dried out a bit, it's got the nasty habit of being tough and brittle at the same time --- not at all user friendly like pine, fir, spruce and other softwoods.
 
  • #33
Just don't gnaw on the cord and stand in a puddle of water with conductant material as shoes and you will be fine if you choose an electrical chainsaw :)
 
  • #34
From all the lopping and weed eating I did yesterday I was certain my arms would be sore today. Nothing.

I'm still going to get a small electric chainsaw though. I guess I should get some steel toe boots. :redface:
 
  • #35
I was thinking more of a full shark attack suit:redface: ..Just make sure to practise at ground level first.
Mine is a small gas powered one, I didnt want to mess with cords{more to get tangled in}. Its light weight, and easy to use AND it has a nifty pole mount.
 
  • #36
Get a chainsaw, Evo. I'm many miles away from you, so I can't make it into the disaster I made out of my Dad's old apple tree.
 
  • #37
hypatia said:
I was thinking more of a full shark attack suit:redface: ..Just make sure to practise at ground level first.
Mine is a small gas powered one, I didnt want to mess with cords{more to get tangled in}. Its light weight, and easy to use AND it has a nifty pole mount.
What brand is your pole mount?
 
  • #38
Evo said:
It's a plum tree. Trunk is about 6" in diameter, limbs 1-2' in diameter. Need to prune some dead limbs on another flowering plum, finish off the broken willow, take the lower branches off of a Pin Oak, and prune a clump of River Birch. I could do all of it with a hand saw, but there is just so much, i could do it in no time with a small chainsaw.
No need for a chainsaw for these chores, Evo. And definitely do not use a chainsaw (even an electric one IMO) above your shoulders or so. Just use a good quality hand saw on the 6" trunk (and fell the tree as described early in the thread and be careful about the direction...), and use a good saw on a pole (purchased as a unit, not put together with duct tape) to do the higher branches.

Chainsaws are for big jobs, like multiple 6"-12" firewood pile cutting jobs.
 
  • #39
Am I the only one left who still cuts down trees with Primacord? :confused:
 
  • #40
Evo, for a small fruit tree like that, you can use a small cross-cut saw. They are lightweight and cheap and cannot kick back and hurt you. I have a nice Husqvarna chain saw, but I use my crosscut for small jobs. Good exercise, and it's quiet, so I can listen to the birds.

Got lots of chickadees and goldfinches and redpolls around, and recently robins, phoebes, and chipping sparrows have arrived. The tufted titmouse hasn't shown up for a few days - possibly the cutest bird in existence, but the pileated woodpecker was here earlier tearing into a dead tree across the road. Of course, the downy and hairy woodpeckers overwinter here along with white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches so they are constant visitors to the feeder. I like working outside in the spring - it sounds like a jungle out there.
 
  • #41
Yeah, I can use a saw to take down the tree, but that darn flowering plum has tons of thick branches and sawing them by hand is a nightmare.
 
  • #42
Its a Poulan brand, and weighs about 11 lbs. I bought it at a True Value hardware store last spring, less then 200 dollars as I recall.

For electric, Remington makes a good all-around one, that's easy to use..or at least my neighbor makes it look easy.
 
  • #43
Evo said:
Yeah, I can use a saw to take down the tree, but that darn flowering plum has tons of thick branches and sawing them by hand is a nightmare.
Then see if you can rent an electric reciprocating saw, like a Sawzall with a coarse-toothed wood blade. No point in buying a chain saw for a little job like that. Of course, I prefer the aluminum-framed cross-cut saw and just take my time. You may wish to try this first before dumping lots of money into power equipment. That tree is not going to go anywhere, and you can saw branches for a while, take a break and come back at it again later. One thing - plum wood burns beautifully. Most of these fruit trees make excellent firewood, and you may have a neighbor who will cut it, split it, and haul it off just for the firewood. If someone offered to give me an apple tree or a plum tree for free, just for cutting it up and hauling it away, I would jump at it. With the price of heating oil, we opted for wood this year, and heated our little log house with a little over 3 cords of wood for the whole winter ($150/cord, cut split and delivered). We have a couple of cords of wood left over from out 5-cord order, and I just laid up 3/4 of a cord of ash (a tree with insect damage and bark-loss that was at least 100 ft high and too near the house to risk leaving it). I just bought nice 4-wheeler to haul firewood up from the 9 acre wood-lot out back. I have a chain saw, but I need one. I don't think that you do, especially if you have neighbors with wood stoves or fireplaces. Plum is great wood!
 
  • #46
  • #47
Evo, buy yourself a Sawzall (Milwaukee's latest one is a beaut). You'll find more than one use for it. And it'll cut through a 2" branch just by staring at it !
 
  • #48
Evo said:
I can't wait to get home and see what this is. :rolleyes:

There is a bit of a (knack) to start it, that pull cord can be a bit tricky.
 
  • #49
Gokul43201 said:
Evo, buy yourself a Sawzall (Milwaukee's latest one is a beaut). You'll find more than one use for it. And it'll cut through a 2" branch just by staring at it !
Oh, that might be nice!
 

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