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Hi

I've got a chance to go on a week's course to acquire a chainsaw ticket. I know there are several posters who've done such courses.

Thoughts? What to ask, aim for, expect? Is it worth it?

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TOT, in The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, 'certificate' is written as 'stifficut', which I always thought hilarious and in this case slightly appropriate. There you go.

It's definitely worth it even if you only use a chainsaw infrequently.

I would expect a course to cover: Risk assessment, PPE, chainsaw maintenance, felling (standard, forward leaners, backward leaners, on the flat, on a slope), snedding, handling windfalls and hang-ups, cross-cutting, stacking and safe manual handling of timber.

I have a ticket but I did it as a part of a two year forestry course.

Emma chissit, this chainsaw ticket?

Vortex wrote:Emma chissit, this chainsaw ticket?

Although I have scant details as yet regarding the contents of the course, according to the initial notification the cost will be 'approximately' €650 for a week-long course.

I've e-mailed the organisers asking them exactly what will be included, what hours etc and I must remember to ask how many are expected to be on the course. I hate it when you end up getting very little one-on-one tuition because of high student numbers.

€650 .... wow!

For that you could probably download info from the web and/or buy a book AND buy the protective kit AND a cheap saw too!

I'm not judging it until I know what's involved. €650 for a week-long intensive course with a recognised qualification at the end of it could be ok. I'll have to wait and see.

Oh, and I suppose there's around €115 vat in there too.

Watched a good Jonsered safty video online. And Axemen is very good (joking...). Not knocking it and all, but E650 sounds steep considering the economic climate etc... Just spend the E650 on a chainsaw and take things slowly and carefully. Read and learn. Plenty of people around to pass on tips, but don't listen to those with only 3 limbs.

Jonsered video here. 26 mins long, 25 MB. Enjoy.

I probably shouldn't admit it, but the first time I used mine the chain came off . I hadn't adjusted the chain properly. Cost me a bit to replace it too, but at least I had all my bits still attached . I've got leggings and a helmet, and wear safety boots. I haven't had any training, but always take things carefully, and don't do anything I don't feel comfortable with. I've mainly used it for cutting logs, and have only taken down a few small trees. I'd get someone else to fell anything bigger, or get training first.

My chain saw is in store, so I haven't been able to play with it for ages .

Oh, and quite a length of the narrow gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in North Devon was laid with ex main line sleepers I cut in half with it.

I've been using mine again recently. Great tools. Man I'm going to miss it when it's gone....

[quote="emordnilap"]

RGR wrote:

emordnilap wrote:

Vortex wrote:Emma chissit, this chainsaw ticket?

Although I have scant details as yet regarding the contents of the course, according to the initial notification the cost will be 'approximately' €650 for a week-long course.

.

You actually PAY that kind of money to learn to USE a chainsaw? Versus say, buying one for less than that and actually USING it for a few weeks to get it figured out, along with a self help book? And you get a CERTIFICATION for this?

Well, I've been asking myself the same thing. Some expression of extreme risk-aversion I guess.

Never really understood why perfectly healthy US men run to the doctor for "checkups" all the time either. Comparing the latest cholesterol test seems to be perfectly normal for dinner conversations and loss of "healthcare" seems like a major setback of some kind. I can understand why someone who is sick want "healthcare", but all the others?

RGR wrote: You actually PAY that kind of money to learn to USE a chainsaw? Versus say, buying one for less than that and actually USING it for a few weeks to get it figured out, along with a self help book? And you get a CERTIFICATION for this?

RGR, in Europe we PLAN things. We get the paperwork sorted out BEFORE we start the task.

An anecdote: some years back I was working in a dark, deep bunker in a dangerous foreign land installing some equipment with a German/American team of engineers.

The Germans had blueprints for the work ... but whilst they were checking where we needed to drill several holes in some heavy metal plate the Texans decided to do their own thing.

They simply grabbed the equipment we were fitting, slapped it against the metal plate, hoiked out a huge battery powered drill and whacked holes into the plate until "it looked right". The whole process took about 45 seconds!

The Germans went absolutely nuts and spent the rest of the day photographing the setup, and faxing details back to Germany.

They had to work all night too because the bunker had one crap telephone line and a steam powered fax machine. By breakfast the next day we had a revised set of plans faxed back from Germany.

The funny thing was that we had THREE chambers to set up ... and the SAME thing happened TWICE more.

The Germans & Americans were disgusted with each other by the end of all this!

Vortex wrote:
An anecdote: some years back I was working in a dark, deep bunker in a dangerous foreign land installing some equipment with a German/American team of engineers.

Let me guess. Iraq during the 1980's.
... and officially the Americans weren't supposed to be there? (that's more of a punt)

skeptik wrote:

Vortex wrote:
An anecdote: some years back I was working in a dark, deep bunker in a dangerous foreign land installing some equipment with a German/American team of engineers.

Let me guess. Iraq during the 1980's.
... and officially the Americans weren't supposed to be there? (that's more of a punt)

Can't say.

The most surreal part of this job was the staff canteen.

It was a small, pretty single story hexagonal building sitting in the centre of a manicured grass lawn ... but fitted with very thick concrete walls, heavy green bullet proof windows and very heavy steel doors.

The canteen food was great ... but sadly it took so long to ascend from the depths, we usually took sandwiches for lunch.