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Chainsaw question about the chain brake


mmaddock
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No experience of chainsaws before, but after getting fed up of hand sawing logs I bought one!  It's only a fairly cheap McCullough petrol model.  The instruction manual isn't the best and in the interest of safety I just want to check out how hard (or not) the chain brake should be to operate.  It takes a fair effort to put it on (and take off) to the point where I feel like it's going to snap everytime I do it.  Is this normal, because it is a cheapo model, or is something likely setup wrong?  It does actually do what it's supposed to do.

Cheers,

Matt

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Hi, not sure about your make or model but I have an Echo chainsaw and it isn't too difficult to push on and off. If it is really hard to apply then it sound like something is wrong. Did you buy it in France? if so, suggest taking it back and asking them to check it out.

Sorry I can't be more help. Good luck.

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Is that the correct spelling?,  McULLOCH  make chain saws and my model is very positive/a tad tight when the chain brake is applied, but I agree with Andy that if any case you are concerned ,you  should check it out, these saws can't be messed with.

Mike

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[quote user="Inca"]Is that the correct spelling?,  McULLOCH  make chain saws [/quote]

Nope- it's a "McCulloch" - I should have checked the spelling!

[quote user="Inca"]

and my model is very positive/a tad tight when the chain brake is applied, but I agree with Andy that if any case you are concerned ,you  should check it out, these saws can't be messed with.

[/quote]

I'll take it down to MrBricolage where I bought it and see what they say about it.  It all seems to operate fine, and the chain brake does what it says on the tin - I'm just not sure how hard I should have to push/pull to get it on/off as I don't have any experience of others - being a safety feature I want to be sure it's right!

Cheers for the replies,

Matt

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[quote user="Chris Head"]

Hi Matt,

Check out the sticky post on the top of this section, I've covered correct chain brake application in it.

Try taking the housing off and spraying a little WD40 and then putting the CB on and off lots off times, it might free it up.

[/quote]

Cheers for that.  I played with it a bit after cutting some logs today and it does seem a little less difficult than when I first started using it.  I'll take the housing off and give it a clean and a WD-40 tomorrow.

[quote user="Chris Head"]

Dare I mention safety clothing?

[/quote]

Depends on what sort of a response you want!  I do take the safety of it pretty seriously - I'm aware that it has the ability to sever limbs with relative ease, tho 99% of what I do is cutting relatively small logs at ground level and not dangling from a tree so nothing terribly dangerous in chainsaw terms.

Matt

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[quote user="Chris Head"]

99% of what I do is cutting relatively small logs at ground level and not dangling from a tree so nothing terribly dangerous in chainsaw terms.

No Matt....no danger there then, sounds like you know what you're doing eh? Good luck.

[/quote]

Maybe you should consider changing the photos on your website before you start talking about chainsaw safety eh Chris?!  If you actually read what I said, I never said there was no danger - I was putting it in context.

Matt

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What am I not wearing that concerns you?

I've got class one boots on, front only class one trousers, ear protection and eye protection, no helmet as there is no impact risk, no gloves as they affect the control of the saw over long periods of use(aside from being pretty useless imho), are you talking about the way I use saws Matt? I'm confused.

After many thousands of hours of saw use, both in forestry/tree surgery and carving with them, I'm always willing to learn something new!

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I always wear my glasses-type protective goggles, I have a heavy set of gloves/gauntlets - tho I do agree that they are restrictive and I do wonder if they do more harm than good!  I have a very heavy pair of boots, I don't have 'official' trousers, but when I'm doing a big cut I put on my armoured motorbike trousers!  Maybe not all ideal, but I do take it seriously as I'd rather not loose an arm or a leg anytime soon!  There is risk in anything and I think it is all about taking a measured approach to it.  If I did it as a full-time job or more than a couple of times a year then I'd be the first down the shop to max out my card on the best kit available!  On reflection I can see you have a bugbear about this, and I confess to having the same thing when it comes to sailing - the number of idiots you see going to sea with not even a life jacket on is unbelieveable - these are always the people who have broken radios etc. etc. and end up being rescued by someone else risking their life for them.

Matt

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