A Prairie Home Companion from American Public Media: First Person

Safety First
By John Rowe
November 20, 2007

Chainsaws are great fun! I have to admit that I was a bit cautious when I bought my first gas one a few years ago. The manual suggested getting leather chaps, face shield, leather gloves, leather boots, etc. etc. and after reading all the possible warnings I was almost afraid to start the darn thing. But it sure rips through trees in a big hurry. Sometimes though an electric chain saw is in order. A case in point is a project I undertook in the Fall of 2006.

I had been contemplating taking down a 35 foot oak tree located midway between my house and my neighbor's so when I discovered that they had left town for the weekend, I decided the time had come. (I didn't want to make them nervous by cutting it down while they were home!) I hadn't actually taken down a tree of this size before - just cut up deadfall and trimmed branches - so I was a little concerned about the possibility of taking out the eaves on either my neighbor's house (worst case scenario) or my own (bad, but not as bad). To minimize the risk, I decided the thing to do was to cut the top off the tree first and then fell the trunk. No problem! To get to the top, I propped my trusty 24' aluminum extension ladder against the trunk and since I'm a firm believer in safety first, I climbed up and tied the top rung to the trunk as a precaution. Next, I carried my running gas chainsaw up to the top (the chain brake was engaged of course — safety first!) and cut off the smaller of the two top sections of the tree. My big concern was that this large section would pivot around and knock me off the ladder. Luckily it didn't. However, the ladder did bounce in a most unnerving manner when the weight was relieved from the trunk. I subsequently decided that I would have to figure out a safer way to bring the other top section down since it was bigger and I was now imbued with a healthy sense of fear. I decided a pole saw was the way to go. But why pay $99 for a pole saw when you can pay $45 for a regular saw and make your own pole? So I went to the nearest hardware store where I found a suitable implement of destruction in the form of a 14" Remington electric chainsaw. At home I got out three lengths of 1" steel electrical conduit that I had purchased at a junk sale a few years ago and fastened them together with band clamps to create a pole about 20' long. A liberal application of duct tape secured the Remington to the end of this pole. Next I duct taped the power switch in the ON position and taped an extension wire from the saw to the bottom of the pole. As luck would have it, the extension cord plug ended right at the bottom of the pole so I could yank the cord loose to act as my kill switch. The only problem with this arrangement was that the conduit was somewhat flexible and even though the saw weighed only eight pounds or so, when I tried to hoist it up while holding the far end of the pole, the pole just deflected in a big arc leaving the saw on the ground. After contemplating this setback for a few minutes, I eventually figured out that by initially lifting the pole in the center and balancing the saw against the tree, I could gradually work it up to a fully vertical position. With the saw now in the upright position, I plugged it in, lifted the pole as high as I could and let the blade rest against the remaining main limb. I watched carefully for movement of the limb as a shower of chips rained down on me. Being ever mindful of safety, I had my safety glasses on so was suitably protected from the flying debris. When the limb began its inexorable movement toward Mother Earth, I quickly pulled the extension cord and hightailed it out of the region! My rapid egress caused the saw to go off vertical resulting in the pole bending over and despite my best efforts, the middle section of conduit suffered irreparable plastic deformation as the saw made its way to the ground. However, I had succeeded in bringing the top of the tree down safely and thus had no more use for the pole which I subsequently dismantled. It was a simple matter to finish the job by felling the trunk and cutting the whole works up with my gas saw. The larger sections I saved for the fireplace while the smaller branches were shredded in a most satisfactory manner with my gas powered wood chipper. Lately I've been eyeing a 60 foot maple in my backyard.....

About the author:
When not enlarging my carbon footprint with gas powered implements, I work as a mechanical engineer in a manufacturing industry. 'Ah, that explains it!' Yes, but I do keep my house at 62F and wear a sweater in the winter! I generally write technical reports that tend to be a bit stuffy but every so often I'll sneak something in just to who's really paying attention!