Chainsaw Advice - Newbie

[Trailoftears]

Also either via battery you still nead to learn about tensioning/cleaning, maintenance and so on.

[Trailoftears]

You could admittedly go for state of the art stihl-msa 300+2 ap500 batts+charger.I'd be interested to see a quote for that kit.

[GarethM]

It probably gets delivered by a rough looking old bloke sporting a bucket of their finest lube 

[GarethM]

Whilst it's probably a little sexist, dealers could atleast send out the sexy young thing with the bill.

 

Atleast when I'm paying handsomely for something she could briefly distract me as card payment goes through then disappear.

[Trailoftears]

I'm personally disappointed by the weight penalty with a lot of battery saws too.I expect something lighter not heavier!One of my clients proudly showed me his new Milwaukee battery saw tuther day with a 20v battery on board-WHAT a pig (the saw-not him!),heavy as feck with one of those weird big tranverse mid motors last seen on electric saws 20 years ago......

[rapalaman]

Don’t forget some chainsaw trousers at the very least, plus helmet with ear and face protection 

[Trailoftears]

Absolutely.If available,take a short sharp! Course on basic maintenance,ppe,safety gear etc.Time more than well spent.

[Stubby]

3 hours ago, ChrisNewport said:

Firstly before buying a saw is the wood you intend to cut yours? as you could be wasting your money if it isnt. Many of the woodland owners round here would rather let fallen branches rot away than let someone untrained with a chainsaw on their land. Id go for a  Stihl MS231

There is lots of potential fire wood where I live ( mostly felled ash ) l with easy access for me but , South Downs National Park want it all left as habitat . As you say the OP needs to get permission first .

[GarethM]

Possibly do that beforehand, if you can.

Plus if the training place has the gear you can see what feels right.

[Trailoftears]

As to the basics of personal protection-sturdy boots with toe protection-s3 type, cofra are good,you dont need big clunky steel toecaps anymore thankfully,most leightweights come with plastic toecaps-much better.Trousers or 'chaps',If you go trousers,pay a bit more and get the lightest you can afford-or you'll be sweating like a tied-up donkey in a sauna,particularly in the summer!Helmet with visor+ear defenders+glasses underneath visor-oily sawdust will find your eyes under a visor on a windy day-no fun at all for the remainder of your day.Chainsaw gloves-2 choices,big clunky gauntlet type/or smaller arborist type-a bit more dextrous.Also,I recommend arm shields with kevlar too.As to gloves/trousers go for class 1 as a newbie-both hands have cut protection.As to helmets/visors-pay a tad more and go for etched steel as opposed to a plastic or poycarbonate visor.You could go for chainsaw wellies to protect your feet,but you will move like frankenstein and carry more sawdust in the house than your wife will stand for=divorce.