by Joe Owens

Created on: December 04, 2009

For centuries the task of retrieving wood for use in heating the dwelling place was seriously labor intensive, requiring a sustain exertion of energy and muscle power as trees were chopped in two and dropped to the ground, where the labor continued as the wood seeker had to either chop or saw the tree into useable sections. Surely there was a health benefit to this exercise, but the time required made it a day long ritual to be sure.

Luckily for us, technology has provided us with many stepping stones to reduce the amount of hard physical labor required to take care of our basic needs. Included in this long list of improvements is a device that radically changed the process of gathering wood. This device is known by a moniker that basically describes its operation, the chain saw.

Basically it is comprised of a motor that propels a chain around a bar that extends out from the motor. On the chain are little teeth that are moving very fast when the saw is running and throttle engaged. If these teeth are properly sharpened they can make quick work of even the hardest wood. They can also make quick work of anything else that gets in the way, so beware.

As with all gas powered equipment you will have to know what type of fuel your chain saw needs to function properly. Many work on a two cycle or gas and oil mixture. This can be found at hardware or home improvement stores. In the manual of your chain saw there should be an indication of the fuel to oil ratio. It will be something like 32:1 or 16:1 or the like. It is important to follow this guideline to make your saw work at peak efficiently.

Separate from the fuel you will have a port that will be labeled for lubricating oil. This chain is rotating around the bar at several hundred revolutions per minute, so it can generate considerable heat and wear on the inner parts. The oil you insert in the port help mitigate the wear and keep thing moving correctly.

May saws will have a safety device known as a kill switch that will immediately stop the chain from rotating, in case you get into trouble. This switch is sometimes just before the section where the bar extrudes from the motor. Be sure to know how to properly engage and disengage this important safety device.

Now let us move on to the cutting process. Once you get your saw started, you can precede to use it in cutting the wood. Don't try to move around with the chain spinning on the saw blade other than to shift positions as this is the most dangerous

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