A chainsaw is itself a dangerous thing- even when it functions normally. You can just look at it go with its sharp chains and think of a shark. Can you imagine how painful it would be if it hit your flesh? Hopefully, you can and that should be enough to make you take all the precautions to prevent the chainsaw from harming you. But, in order to stop it from harming you, you need to know how it can harm you.
One of the most common ways a chainsaw injures or even kills people is through a kickback. The name is quite explanatory, isn’t it? The chainsaw kicks you back instead of doing its thing on the tree it is dealing with. Basically, you are the one standing right behind the chainsaw and when something goes wrong, it stops working on the tree and forces itself toward you.
Now, the force is not a light force. You can imagine how powerful a back force can be when it was just cutting a tree in the forward direction. There are certain things that cause a kickback. If you are aware of these then you may be able to avoid a kickback.
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Chainsaw Kickbacks: The Causes
1.The tip of the bar touching the tree.
The main reason behind a kickback and the most common one is the tip of the bar touching the tree you are cutting. In fact, the moment they touch, you will experience a powerful kickback. Apparently, the tip of the bar guide is actually called the kickback danger-zone.
When you cut a tree, if you know how to cut it right with a chainsaw, you use the other sides of the chainsaw except for the tip of the bar guide. Apparently, the tip is not built for cutting and when it touches the tree- the whole chain gets stuck. As a result, the sudden stop in motion, makes the force go backward because the tree is definitely stronger than you.
Then, the chainsaw may fly towards you if you let it go or you may fall back heavily.
2.When the Wood closes in.
Another similar way the chainsaw delivers a kickback is when you are cutting a tree and the wood around corners the saw to a pinch. In this case, the saw is overpowered by the strength of the tree and is stuck. As you can imagine, the sudden stop again drives the chainsaw backward towards you causing a kickback.
Therefore, you have to be careful about how you use the chainsaw well.
3.Dull Chain.
Chainsaw experts continuously tell you to sharpen your chainsaw for a reason- not only for better performance but also for safety. You may think a dull chain is safer because it cannot cut you that bad. Wrong. It can cause more danger by causing more kickbacks.
The duller the chain, the less it can cut through the tree. As a result, the more the chances of it getting stuck. So, keep the chain sharpened so that you can avoid kickbacks.
4.Loose Chain Tensions.
Well, this is a real bummer. Even when you are not concerned about kickbacks- loose tensions can really irritate you with its inefficiency and pauses. But, you can quite imagine how loose tensions can cause kickbacks. Apparently, it’s lack of power on the tree can cause the tree to overpower it and take over.
So, it gets stuck and causes a kickback.
5.Chains installed wrong.
If you are using the chainsaw in the wrong way, it is no wonder if the chainsaw decides to cut you instead of the tree. In fact, if you install it wrong, the chains will move towards you instead of the tree.
Therefore, always make sure the chainsaw is in its correct form. Even if it comes fully assembled.
6.Chain Depth Gauge Settings.
If you get any of the primary settings wrong like the depth gauge setting- your chainsaw will have a kickback. This is because the power, angle, and depth at which your chainsaw strikes the tree, it must be perfect for the tree you are attacking.
Therefore, get your settings right to avoid a kickback!
7.Incorrectly Sharpened Chains.
Apparently, sharpened chains cannot save you either if they are sharpened wrong. Because of the gap and direction of the chains sharpened wrong, kickbacks can occur and cause harm. So, make sure you sharpen your chains right.
8.Broken parts.
Broken parts are themselves a major threat. Furthermore, they can cause kickbacks in many different ways. You just should be sure that a broken part coming in contact with anything important when you are cutting can cause any kind of accident. And, kickbacks are the most common types of accidents.
How to prevent kickbacks?
First of all deal with the causes of a kickback. You already know what causes kickbacks- just do not do those. Use properly sharpened chains, Do not touch the tip of the bar to the tree, set the chainsaw right, etc.
But, it is essential for you to know that kickbacks occur anyway. Brands equip the chainsaws with features that can prevent kickbacks. The most common preventive feature is the low-kickback one.
It just lowers the force the kickback attacks you with. You can tell the feature is present by looking between the teeth of the chain. There should be a bump like a thing that helps to soothe the strength of the kickback.
Apart from that, no matter how safe you play it- make sure you wear safety gear. A kickback occurs anyway, even at low power, it can cause serious damage if it touches the sensitive parts of your body.
Therefore, wear gloves, proper clothes for cutting trees, masks, etc. to fight the kickbacks even when they occur.
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In conclusion
In order to deal with a problem, you need to understand the problem first. Now, you know the causes of a kickback. The best way to prevent a kickback is to not doing anything that causes it. But, in the case, it occurs anyway, be prepared to take the hit in the easiest form.
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