STIHL MS170 Great Entry level Saw

Darryl G

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Ok. Here we go. Keep in mind that I AM NOT AN EXPERT in chainsaw use or a tree professional, but I was trained by one decades ago.

I'll start with things that I personally do that fall into the "recommended best practice" category that I'm fully aware are routinely not practiced by others.

1) I always start my saws on the ground (I don't climb with a saw) with the chain brake on and my foot in the right handle. It's the safest way.

2) Second, I always limb on the opposite side of the tree that I'm standing. That way the tree is between me and the saw.

3) I cut with the bottom rear of the bar/chain whenever possible, always checking for things that the tip of the saw can contact and cause a kickback. When cutting with the bottom of the saw, if it starts getting pinched it will pull the saw in rather than spit it out at you.

4) I usually engage the chain brake when moving around with the saw and not actually cutting. Engaging the brake is just a matter of bumping it with your wrist by rotating your left hand. Yes, I always feel like an idiot when I try to start cutting with the brake on, lol. If I haven't engaged the brake I hold the saw facing backwards with my left hand on the top handle only. The reason is that if you have your hand on the right hand handle the throttle safety is disengaged and you could accidentally hit the throttle.

5) I lock my left arm at the elbow when cutting. That way if you do get a kickback the saw will rotate up and over your head rather than into your face, assuming you have enough arm strength.

Now for the "things I saw in the video that can be dangerous" category, other than dropping one tree the wrong way and walking under another while it's falling, which I've already mentioned.

1) Working with brush under foot. You want unobstructed footing and clear paths of egress from the area. Balance and stance are very important!

2) Using your feet to stomp on the wood you're cutting with the saw still running, chain brake off and in close proximity to your legs/feet.

3) Working the saw back and forth in a sawing motion like it's a hand saw. WTF is with that?! That's how you sent that wood chip into your face and that's how you could end up creating a kickback situation. Again, cut with the back of the saw, not the tip whenever possible. Yes, you can rock it back and forth, but there's no reason to be pushing/pulling it back and forth.

4) Sweeping the saw into fine brush. That's how you derailed the chain.

5) Not giving your full attention to what you're doing and being distracted by creating a video. No, I'm not kidding.

6) Cutting all the way through wood that's laying flat on the ground. Prop it up, cut part way and then roll it over to cut the rest of the way or use a sawhorse. A sawhorse is easy to make with a couple of 2 X 4s or 2 X 6s and can be constructed so you can fold it up for transport and storage.

7) Working by yourself with nobody to provide or summon immediate help in case of an emergency.

I'm sure I could keep going. Personally I don't think you have any business doing chainsaw work on other people's properties with your current level of experience and "bad habits". I've been using chainsaws for over 20 years, was trained by and worked for an arborist and have a heavily wooded 34 acre property that I have felled/cleared countless trees on and I still will not drop a tree on someone else's property like the one that you walked under. I'm not insured for it and I'm not a tree professional. Small ornamental trees, fruit trees, saplings and trees that are already down with nothing in the vicinity to damage I will do. Speaking of trees and parts of trees that are already down, they have their own dangers. For storm damage cleanup I use my power pole pruner a lot, at least to start with. Limbs that are under tension can be hard to see and read when they're in a tangle of other limbs and can be deadly if they spring and hit you. It's nice to be able to do it with a "chain saw on a stick" from 10 feet away. :smile:

Oh, one more thing. Not all trees are suitable to be felling with the standard hinge method. That includes dead/rotted trees and some softer woods. Trees with heavy leans and/or curved trunks can also be very tricky.

Tree work is a specialty. It's one thing to cut up wood at your wood pile or take down trees on your own property and entirely another to be taking trees down on someone else's property. IMO, that's best left to professionals/experts or at least those who have been trained by one and are properly insured for the work.
 
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bertsmobile1

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sure i have a lot to learn just like the next guy, I never said I was a pro lol

So you admit that you have bad habits , do not know what you are doing and have never been formally trained.

SO why the hell did you post the video ?

You claim to be Veterans.
I only spent a few months in basic during the conscription years but if you are indicative of how the USA trains their troops no wonder all the current engagements are such a mess
I see nothing in your video to suggest it was made by a man who was ever trained in anything, let alone proper use of a chainsaw.
Admittedly we were a bunch of stupid teenagers but personal safety was drummed into every ones head from the second we stepped out of the bus closely followed by discipline
I don't usually waste my time watching videos here because it is in peak download time but as yours has created so much comment, I watched them at home.
I see nothing in there that indicates the person shown can even spell discipline & safety let alone follow them.
After watching all of them there is not single one that is worth the energy in the electrons playing them

The original post was fine, endorsing a particular saw but the video is nothing short of two drunken idiots fooling around with dangerous equipment.

I like to keep an open mind about people on the forum.
Your avatar suggested you were shop trying to get some cheap & cheesy advertising but you profile says you are an Echo tragic then you post this about Stihl , which suggest otherwise.
The text of your posts still suggest you are just using the forum to inflate your own ego, elevate your U-tube standing and flogg your mowing service.
If the moderators end up feeling this is the case then you and everything you had posted will get removed without a trace.

My business is repairing lawn care equipment, not using them , but I do have all of the local contractors on my books, even if it is just for lower priced parts sales, but to a man , all of them wear appropriate safety cloths.
Now perhaps you are so bullet proof that mower blades & projectiles flying out of long grass will just bounce off your feet and broken bottles hidden in the long grass can not cut them either, but even the most impoverished , foolish & intellectually impaired of my customers know the value of their feet & wear protective footwear .And around 40 of them came out of sheltered workshops.
And again all of the real veterans I have associated with were nothing short of paranoid about foot protection & care yet you seem to treat yours with contempt, it just does not gel to me.

Everyones opinions are valued and of equal value and I am sure you have some knowledge that can & will be of help to others but if you are going to stay here please refrain from posting any more trash videos
 

Darryl G

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It's ok Bert, you can just say how you feel without the need for being so politically correct.:laughing:

The video has been removed by YouTube for violation of their terms of service. Hmmm....
 

bertsmobile1

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That was probably the only thing it did not violate.
One of the good things about living here is the lack of false niceness.
Very few will look you in the eyes, parrot off "Haave a Nice Daaaye" then give you the bird while your back is turned.
The government is trying to get the paralysing UK political correctness made law but it is meeting strong resistance.
We are by & large plain talking which means I can call a S'head a S'head to their face so they know it & I know they know it.
All of this two faced insult slinging creates more problems as it causes the precious to try and read meanings ( intended or otherwise ) into everything.
Add to this training in engineering where plain talk is manditory you can become very blunt in communications.

The summer bush flies make this worse cause you don't want to have your mouth open for too long either.
 

Darryl G

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I was thinking of dropping this dead black birch tree on my property and thought of this thread. I had mentioned that dropping dead and leaning trees can be tricky.

Case in point - It looks like a simple drop but it's not. It has a lean and a clear drop zone in that direction. The problem is that it is badly rotted so if you try to notch it, it could just snap off and slam you in the face and the wood isn't strong enough to have a hinge control it anyway. If you just try to cut it on a slant it can slide off the stump and travel backwards as it falls. But the biggest hazard in my mind is the rotted top breaking off as it falls and traveling backwards. Most of this isn't obvious to a novice tree cutter. This is the kind of tree that a novice shouldn't attempt to drop.
 

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cpurvis

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All in all, I'd prefer to not cut hollow-out dead trees at all. That said, I'd rather cut one that is leaning than one standing straight up.
 

Darryl G

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All in all, I'd prefer to not cut hollow-out dead trees at all. That said, I'd rather cut one that is leaning than one standing straight up.

I'll drop it with my pole pruner from the side 10 feet away when my son is here this weekend so I have someone to help clean it up and to act as a safety spotter. :smile:
 

bertsmobile1

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Suppose it is different in the USA but we leave trees like that standing.
At best we might cut it about 1/2 height.
So many natives live in rotten trees and finally most of the rednecks down here are realizing they are all greatly beneficial.
 

Darryl G

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Suppose it is different in the USA but we leave trees like that standing.
At best we might cut it about 1/2 height.
So many natives live in rotten trees and finally most of the rednecks down here are realizing they are all greatly beneficial.
I leave as much standing deadwood as I can but there's actually a trail that runs below that berm in the background within reach of the tree and on the foreground side of it is the access to the brush pile my wife uses for the woody wastes from the veggie garden that don't compost well. So it's a hazard. If you look at the base you might be able to make out the stump from the other a larger part of it that already broke off.
 
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