zxcvbob wrote:

Stephen M. Henning wrote:
One of the most dangerous times in using a chair saw is when starting a
gasoline saw.

No it's not. The chain doesn't start moving until the motor is reved high
enough to engage the clutch. A modern saw will have a chain brake, and if
it's engaged the blade will not turn even if you rev it up. And they don't
rev very fast when first starting. It is possible to cut yourself when
starting a saw without the chain brake set, but there are lots of cutting
situations that are *much* more dangerous (like felling a big sycamore tree
or a leaning tree without first wrapping a logging chain around the trunk
to keep it from splitting, or trimming limbs while standing on a ladder.)

Bob, the first thing the logger that trained me to use woods tools
including chain saws taught me was:

"What would happen if what you thought was going to happen didn't
happen?"

In this case if you start a saw in such a way that you are depending
upon a safety brake working, you are not operating safely. The reason
the safety brake was put on saws was to protect inept operators. A
properly trained operator doesn't assume that such features are going to
save his life.

You mentioned a couple more of the most dangerous times a person uses a
chain saw. In the years I worked in the woods, I saw more injuries
happen when not actually cutting trees.

By the way, when I worked on a Forest Service crew we didn't carry
logging chains or ladders with us. We had ropes, spotters and escape
paths.

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