How To Use Electric Chainsaw

Electric chainsaws are majorly used around the compound to handle some light duty landscaping cleanups. These include trimming and pruning small branches as well as felling and splitting small trees for firewood.

This tool is truly helpful equipment that is a must have for any given home that needs regular cleanups.

The main limitation of this product is the fact that it is less powerful and can’t compete with their gas driven counterparts. It therefore takes a little longer to cut.

It is also tethered with a power extension cord thus limits you on the radius which you can work on. The main pros associated with the electric chainsaw include: they are less expensive, lighter, easier to handle and quieter than the gas chainsaw.

In addition, if you have never used a chainsaw before, starting with an electric chainsaw will be safer and easier as you advance to the gasoline driven type.

Things Needed

There are a number of things that you will need before you can start learning how to use an electric chainsaw. The first is, of course, the chainsaw itself.

You will also need the machine’s user manual and safety gloves, a helmet or a hard hat, safety goggles, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) 30 oil-confirm from the chainsaw’s owner’s manual and lastly, a heavy gauge extension cord measuring 100 feet.

Together with all these, you must have already selected a project to work on i.e. a tree to be felled or a log to be split.

Using Your Chainsaw

• Read the Chainsaw Owner’s Manual

This is one area that many always assume. It is a very critical stage that anyone who doesn’t want to mess up must always take seriously.

Even if you have operated an electric chainsaw before, it is worth reading the manual for the chainsaw you are having at hand. This is because different chainsaws come with different specifications and features.

As a result, different chainsaws will have some slight difference in the instructional descriptions within their manuals. Reading the manual gives you know how on the way to handle and operate the machine.

In addition, you will get to know the unique safety features that have been developed in the model at hand.

• Fill the blade reservoir

Most of the electric tools are compatible with only the SAE 30 weight oil. One of the reasons why you must read the manual is because a few manufacturers may have recommended a different type of oil.

Fill the blade reservoir of your saw with exactly that oil that has been recommended in the manual.

• Plug the power cord to a power outlet

If your saw has a long enough power cord, say 100 feet, directly plug it in to the power outlet. However, if its cord is too short to reach where your project is, plug it into a long heavy gauge extension cable.

• Safety first

Before operating the machine, ensure that you put on your safety gear. Put on an overall, safety gloves, safety boots, a helmet or a hard hat and ensure that the goggles are in position. In case you are just trimming or pruning some dead, old branches, the helmet and the overall may be optional.

• Start the machine

While placing the chainsaw’s blade to face away from you and any other object, engage the safety switch and then pull the chainsaw’s trigger. Give the machine some time to properly lubricate the chain. If your model has a pump that lubricates the chain on pressing, do exactly as stated in the user manual.

• Start practicing

It is important to choose just the right tree for your project. Let it not be too big and it should also not be too weak as the latter may make you to lose stability as a learner. Practice cutting, as you continue learning to determine the strength as well as its mode of operation.

By the use of your left hand, hold the safety bar handle of the chainsaw as you operate the trigger using your right hand.

With the chain rotating at full speed, after it has fully been lubricated, bring the saw to the tree near the blade’s center. You must never try cutting the wood from the tip of the chainsaw.

While the chain is cutting through the tree, apply some slight downward pressure to guide the tool without forcing it. Just allow the chain to do the cutting.

You must ensure that your arms are tightly and rigidly holding the chainsaw to reduce the risks of injury in the event of a kickback. By cutting through small trees, practice the tree felling art by the use of the chainsaw.

After getting used to felling small trees, it is time to graduate to the medium trees. Fell these trees by horizontally cutting a notch that’s a third of the width of the tree.

The position where you cut the notch in the direction which the tree will probably fall unless it is putting a lot of weight on the opposite side due to a serious slant.

Therefore, you should always cut this notch on the side which you prefer the tree to fall to. Make a forty-five degree angle cut just above the notch thus creating an open wedge.

Reposition your tool to the opposite side of the open wedge. Then cut a forty-five degree angle just some two inches above the wedge’s bottom till the tree comes down.

By the use of the chainsaw, as you apply all the safety precautions as recommended in the manual and at the same time using common sense when using a ladder or while climbing and trim the branches of the tree.

While working on your project, ensure that you have a keen eye on the oil reservoir lest it runs out of oil. Keep on adding the oil before it runs dry and as needed.

Conclusion

Using an electric chainsaw is such an easy activity. Just ensure that you combine your common sense together with everything you read in the user manual and you are ready to go.