Chainsaw training when physically disabled

[headgroundsman]

I am paralysed from chest down so have some idea of sorting out a few problems for myself. I have used a pole pruner from the wheelchair quite successfully. You do have to do your risk assessments well. Felling anything other than small stuff will need a lot of thought or a good friend. Being independent is one thing but getting a mate to allow you to do more than you could without him may be safer and will keep you both busy.

[ccharlie]

I am paralysed from chest down so have some idea of sorting out a few problems for myself. I have used a pole pruner from the wheelchair quite successfully. You do have to do your risk assessments well. Felling anything other than small stuff will need a lot of thought or a good friend. Being independent is one thing but getting a mate to allow you to do more than you could without him may be safer and will keep you both busy.

Great to hear about! Nice one for coming up with a cunning solution.

[ccharlie]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice last year. So... I've now bought the wood in Devon (7 miles SW of Exeter, 10 acres) and am now very, very keen to find a local training centre/firm for me (with my physical restrictions) and my girlfriend (with no such problems).

 

There's so much for us now to do and time to get on with prepping a wood storage area and then thinning out the unmanaged woods.

[Woodcrafter]

Cool nice one. Exciting times send us some pics of your progress.

I'm sure there would be some volunteers willing to help out around your woodland and maybe offer you some basic training. I know I would try if I was local. Good luck hope it all goes well.

[JLA Arborists]

Have you thought about a silky? Ridiculously sharp and no training required. Although no less care is required as it wouldn't take much searching to find a multitude of silky bite pics.

I have a curved zubat 330mm. When it was new I would quite happily cut upto 8" now it's two years old and almost blunt (to me) I still can cut 3" without much bother. I'd consider a straight blade if I was doing predominantly felling with it.

http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws/Straight-Saws

[shavey]

Great news you've actually got the woodland you talked about excellent

You could try the silvanus trust for some information they do so many outdoor activities and woodland training schemes working with different trusts

[ccharlie]

If you fancy having a go I'm not that far from Bristol, just off J11 m5, you're welcome to come round one weekend and have a go at cutting a few logs to see how you get on...

Thanks for the offer. Very kind! Alas, I've now moved down to Devon so rarely will I be up Gloucester way. (Time to change my earlier post re where I'm based! Eeek, just tried but it appears that posts from last year can't be edited).

Edited November 5, 2015 by ccharlie

[ccharlie]

One consideration might be what you are using the woodland for.

 

If it's small diameter coppice (e.g. hazel) then you are likely to need to need to work on you knees anyway, and each individual branch will be small enough not to move out of the way when it's cut free. Alternatively, if it's amenity then you may not need to do much felling. Woodland grown trees also tend to be tall and straight with little or no crown, so less of an issue breaking them down as once felled and the top removed they are less likely to roll.

 

If you are cutting up for firewood, you can probably break down into sections you can extract, but you will need to take into account the handling issues.

 

If it's big stuff and you want to try chainsaw milling, I always end up doing this on my knees anyway! With a winch set-up, you would be at very little disadvantage, although a second pair of hands to help extract boards and beams would be very useful (which is no different to anyone else doing it).

 

Working alone in the woods isn't advisable anyway (although quite a few people do it, myself included) so in practice if you work with someone else, either a friend, paid help or for a share in the extracted product, that should take care of the few jobs you can't do.

 

Worth noting that, for your own site as a hobby, you don't formally need training. That's not to say it's not a very good idea to ensure that you know what you are doing, and training is often the best way to achieve this, both for using and maintaining a saw, but you don't need to get tickets. This means you could go down the route of either a formal course, or equally something less formal, either with a recognised trainer or with someone suitably experienced.

 

Alec

Superb tips! Many thanks.

[ccharlie]

To sum up some of the tips so far:

Training organisations

The Silvanus Trust - The Silvanus Trust is working through partnerships to regenerate the woodlands in the South West for economic, social and environmental benefits - Welcome to The Silvanus Trust

Lynher Training (Tavistock) - Lynher Training | Check Availability

Devon Rural Skills Trust - Devon Rural Skills Trust

National Hedgelaying Society - NHLS Home

The Arb Academy - Arb Academy - Home

The Sylva Foundation, myForest management plan - Sylva Foundation • home

 

Kit to consider

Silky saw

Easy lift harness

[ccharlie]

I thought that some peeps may be interested to hear that I've got great news: a few weeks ago I completed my CS38/39 course and passed the assessment!

 

So, someone who is paralysed from the knees down can clamber about in trees and rescue peeps and be assessed as being safe to do so. I am absolutely chuffed to bits and was delighted by the training offered by Arb for Training in Yorkshire.

 

Next on the list is CS30/31 but I don't think that shall happen until later on in the summer... Time to get out and about and back up the trees.