Thread: Shindaiwa Chainsaws

Originally Posted by Col.Coleman

Oh No





Take it somewhere else guys

Cheap Chainsaw




I read your thread Bazz, and think maybe the fuel mix you were using has gummed it up. When I brought this saw home it would not start for the life of me. Pulled the plug, cleaned and gapped it, put some neat petrol in the cylinder, dumped all the old fuel out, swished out the tank with neat fuel then refilled with proper mix. Pulled the choke on, locked the throttle on, 2 pulls, little kick, choke off, pull again and fires into life.

My Honda stuff is real sensitive to fuel. If it is stale it hates it, but still runs. All the 2-stroke stuff I have, non of it cares too much. Just get it real hot and burn all the crud out of it, or pull the muffler and oxy it just like a motorbike baffle. Have you thought of doing a plug chop?

I might resurect your old thread for further discussion.

CC

At the moment it's all good, cleaned the muffler, has fresh fuel, new plug, new filter, i'll just make sure the mix is the same every time and give it a service every time i use it.

Going camping this weekend so we'll see how it goes, i will have a fresh mix of fuel and plug on standby, i have purposely left the saw sitting for 3 weeks to see what happens when i go to start it, if it won't start or it runs bad, then i know not to leave fuel in it for long periods in the future.

Thanks for the advice and no i hadn't thought of a plug chop.

Baz.

I had a moment yesterday with my Echo shredder/vac blower. I pressure washed and serviced all my landscaping equipment on saturday and it wouldn't start afterwards. Thought it might be wet so left it to dry out.

Trying everyday and it still wouldn't go. Pulled the whole thing to pieces, covers off, the whole shebang, then realized the fan cover had been slightly open not engaging the safety switch. Pushed the switch in and it started first go.

There's an hour of my life I'm not getting back

CC

A mate of mine has a Husquvarna agency in a large Qld country town and is kept up todate with servicing / maintance and one of the main problems with petrol powered tools is ones that dont get used often and the age of the fuel used
Petrol today only has a 3 months self life and if old fuel is used in two stroke motors it can shorten the life of the engine considerably over a period of time . All lawn mower shops and dealers sell a petrol adative that extends the live of fuel by three months Its not expencive to buy and is reconmended by all the the mower sales people that I have spoken too .
hodgo

Col Col whaddaya mean "Oh no" followed by several non encouraging smileys ?

I wasn't putting you down mate, I could just see the thread degenerating into a mud slinging match because someone mentioned chaps, ala the thread I highlighted.

Now in answer to your question.

Chainsaws cut by small chisels revolving at high speed linked into a chain. Now every so often, these chisels hit something that make the chain stop. But the chain carries inertia, and the powerhead still trying to rotate the chain causes the saw to try to to rotate itself. Just like a stuck drill bit and a drill.

Now depending on which way you are cutting to what the saw does. If cutting on the bottom of the bar, downwards, the powerhead drops and the blade comes back at you intent on removing your face, because as the saw rotates it normally frees itself and starts spinning again. This all happens in a fraction of a second. When you are cutting in this manner, the chain brake is supposed to hit your hand and move forward and brake the chain. In theory. Depending on the size and power of the saw and blade to how bad this can be. More of either magnifies the results. Hence a face mask and helmet is recommended, as well as saving your face and eyes from swarth from cutting, or things falling on your head. Add in ear muffs to protect your hearing. Gloves and a vest are also a good idea.

Now if cutting on the top of the bar, upwards, the powerhead goes up, the blade comes down and tries to turn you into an extra for an Errol Flynn movie. Hence the recommendation of chaps and boots.

The chaps and vest protect you by being designed in such a way that if the outer layer gets cut through, it is filled with a fibrous material that will snag the chain to stop it moving and hence cutting any further.

The whole point of this is to protect yourself, as you never know when this is going to happen. It is more likely when you are inexperienced, using high powered saws, have been cutting for a long time and get tired, some tree hugging hippie has spiked a tree or whatever. Now it is not always practical to don all such epuipment but you must realize when you don't you must accept the risk you face if something goes wrong. It is up to each operator to decide for themselves, except in the case of OH&S where the decision has been made for you whether you like it or not to protect some organisation from being sued if you hurt yourself.

Saws are a very dangerous thing when something goes wrong, novice or experienced. Best advice is to suit up before you use, but ultimately it is your call. Respect what you are using, just like you would your firearm.

CC

I'm a wimpy bugger that uses chaps.
I like my legs the way they are. It's too easy to slip when limbing.

I use Kiwi 'Cloggers' ones that have a full wrap on the calf (velcro closure) and fastex buckles for the rest of the straps so you are far less likely to snag them on anything compared to a lot of brands.
They also come in an extra long version that I have so they actually cover all the way to your boot for us lanky fella's, unlike a lot of US ones that would be riding half mast on me (are Yanks short arsed or just short legged ?)
They're also green, not the poxxy fluro orange a lot are.

Originally Posted by Col.Coleman

I wasn't putting you down mate, I could just see the thread degenerating into a mud slinging match because someone mentioned chaps, ala the thread I highlighted.

Now in answer to your question.

Chainsaws cut by small chisels revolving at high speed linked into a chain. Now every so often, these chisels hit something that make the chain stop. But the chain carries inertia, and the powerhead still trying to rotate the chain causes the saw to try to to rotate itself. Just like a stuck drill bit and a drill.

Now depending on which way you are cutting to what the saw does. If cutting on the bottom of the bar, downwards, the powerhead drops and the blade comes back at you intent on removing your face, because as the saw rotates it normally frees itself and starts spinning again. This all happens in a fraction of a second. When you are cutting in this manner, the chain brake is supposed to hit your hand and move forward and brake the chain. In theory. Depending on the size and power of the saw and blade to how bad this can be. More of either magnifies the results. Hence a face mask and helmet is recommended, as well as saving your face and eyes from swarth from cutting, or things falling on your head. Add in ear muffs to protect your hearing. Gloves and a vest are also a good idea.

The chain brake on the more modern saws also have an inertia switch built in so you hand doesnt have to hit the brake handle but if the saw is kicked with a set amount of force it triggers the sprung catch and the handle is thrown forward.

Now if cutting on the top of the bar, upwards, the powerhead goes up, the blade comes down and tries to turn you into an extra for an Errol Flynn movie. Hence the recommendation of chaps and boots.

The most common way that people injure their legs is either drop starting or they dont pay attention to where the chain is (normally when stepping away from the log with the chain still spinning) and nick thier leg.
If the cloggers/chaps were not worn, the chain tries to bury itself into the flesh and before it is normally realised that it has happened it has got to bone causing major damage to muscle and nerves etc.

The chaps and vest protect you by being designed in such a way that if the outer layer gets cut through, it is filled with a fibrous material that will snag the chain to stop it moving and hence cutting any further.

The whole point of this is to protect yourself, as you never know when this is going to happen. It is more likely when you are inexperienced, using high powered saws, have been cutting for a long time and get tired, some tree hugging hippie has spiked a tree or whatever. Now it is not always practical to don all such epuipment but you must realize when you don't you must accept the risk you face if something goes wrong. It is up to each operator to decide for themselves, except in the case of OH&S where the decision has been made for you whether you like it or not to protect some organisation from being sued if you hurt yourself.

Saws are a very dangerous thing when something goes wrong, novice or experienced. Best advice is to suit up before you use, but ultimately it is your call. Respect what you are using, just like you would your firearm.

CC

I do very much refer to chainsaws in the same way as I do firearms, safe in the right hands when used properly but when in inexperienced hands are deadly.

Ive just put an order in for so clogger trousers instead of using chaps, they are the same price as the Sthil chaps we buy now but I think much more comfy all though once you get the chaps set up they dont get in the way much unless walking through brances etc.

Hey is that hoya growing on the tree you cut down?

I have a huski 345e love it althought I need a bigger professional sized one as well. Regarding safety, chainsaws are very bloody dangerous, I wear all safety gear helmet,ears, eyes, I dont wear chaps because I am an amputee and have that leg forward when I cut but I still wear at a minimum jeans, but am going to get chaps just to be safe.

Blythe