Drop starting saws

[wasajco]

As a self taught chainsaw user, and a fellow with bad knees, drop starting was what I thought was normal. I thought starting off the ground was wasted motion, especially since I get stiffer as the day goes on. It figures it's "unsafe" according to the OSHA weenies. :monkey: My wife was just looking over my shoulder and asked what I was writing, I told her and she said, and I quote:"I would start it like that, on the ground, I don't have any arm strength" So I guess it's the girls way to start a chainsaw:biggrinbounce2:

 

[Cameljoe73]

Drop start every thing, 064 with the 36", I don't care. Drop start my lawn mower if I'm pissed at it. But, I am 6'4", 280, and my arms arn't much smaller than my legs.

My son is small for his age, and has blond hair.. hmmmm, anyway, I make my son start his 021 on the ground, toe on the saw, chain brake on. He got in a hurry once, and drop started. I just glared for a second, and he hasn't done it since.

I need a set of old chaps I can cut down for my son, anyone got an old one?

 

[Crofter]

Well, when you are short and you have a saw with a long bar, ya gots a problem! Shorter bars I drop start but if it is a kicker or longer bar I hitch the handle behind my thigh but still start it in the air. Timberwolf has a few saws that taught me I had better stand on their tails to start them. He drop starts them but I dont.

 

[MR4WD]

I'm about 6'4" and 280 as well. I won't drop start a saw ever. I only put my foot on the saw to hold it when some other jackass flooded it to hell.

I put the throttle trigge/handle in between my legs, hold onto the wrap handle with my right hand and pull with my left. It seems more rythmic and less jerky. It's easier on the pull cord as well. Plus, you're stronger pulling in this position.

Rookies and experts alike, I think they all look retarded with a bar and powerhead whipping all around trying to start a saw.

 

[slowp]

As a self taught chainsaw user, and a fellow with bad knees, drop starting was what I thought was normal. I thought starting off the ground was wasted motion, especially since I get stiffer as the day goes on. It figures it's "unsafe" according to the OSHA weenies. :monkey: My wife was just looking over my shoulder and asked what I was writing, I told her and she said, and I quote:"I would start it like that, on the ground, I don't have any arm strength" So I guess it's the girls way to start a chainsaw:biggrinbounce2:

It is. And I do. It is the way I learned but it does scar up Twinkle's handle because I wear calks. I'm thinking of duck taping the handle....in pink of course. At least the saw starts!
Now excuse me please, I have to wash the helicopter whipped up dust out of my hair!

 

[wasajco]

Where to get pink duct tape? Should be a hoot. How does one whip the bar and powerhead around as well?, I can't seem to do that, but then I'm good at it:biggrinbounce2: I'm just a little fella: 5'11" and 260, but I couldn't walk for a couple of years as a youngster,so I learned to compensate by working with my upper body, it worked pretty well. Watching some folks drop start is scary, but it works VERY well for me. Never saw a Downs Syndrome person use a chainsaw, so can't tell if it looks retarded

 

[windthrown]

Well, I have to add that when starting a saw on the ground, I have less strength to start them with, and the starter handle tends to pull back on me a lot harder than when I drop start them. Never mind wearing corks or trying to get my waffle stomper boots into the damn handles, and cracking the orange handles on the cheaper Stihl saws doing that.

 

[SawTroll]

Well, when you are short and you have a saw with a long bar, ya gots a problem! Shorter bars I drop start but if it is a kicker or longer bar I hitch the handle behind my thigh but still start it in the air. .....

If the saw has a chain break, you can put it on, and rest the tip of the bar on a log (or other non-abrasive and not-too-hard object).

I am sure you know that, so I wonder why you don't do that instead????

 

[FATGUY]

I do it like "b" for the first start and like "a" for warm starts.

**edit**
I do drop start my weed wacker though.

:agree2: :agree2: :agree2: :agree2:

 

[slowp]

The most important aspects, along with not cutting your leg, is

DOES THE SAW START? OR ARE YOU SLOW TO GET TO WORK BECAUSE YOU ARE TRYING TO LOOK COOL?

A saw that doesn't start is a most frustrating thing. Especially when you have people watching and waiting for the tree to get cut out of the road so they can go forth and do touristy things--those people in Gore Tex.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I do it both ways. I drop start my small saws. Sometimes I drop my 064, sometimes I set it on the ground. Never put much thought in to why I do it one way or the other. Usually think more about the work to be done than starting the saw.

 

[John Ellison]

I drop start a big saw/bar by putting the bar on wood and rear handle in right hand, then crank with left. A small saw by left hand on handle bar and crank with right. What scares me and looks crazy wild is someone cranking with the left hand, rear handle in the right hand and then letting the saw swing down just inches away from their right leg with the saw running wide open.

 

[heimannm]

A few of each

My preferred method of starting the smaller saws (up to and including the 066/930) is lock the handle behind my right knee, hold the saw with my left hand, pull the starter with my right hand.'

During the day when restarting a warm saw, drop starting is more common.

A few of the saws just don't lend themselves to drop starting, the Super Wiz starts easily on the ground, and the SP125C really needs a knee on top to hold it down, for example.

When I am working in the shop, or with a bigger saw out cutting I like to rest the saw on the bench or a log, hold it with one hand on the throttle and use the other to pull; in the collection there are a number of right hand start saws like the 740, 1-62, all the 44 series, and some of the 10 series McCullochs. Many of the old McCullochs do not have a choke or throttle lock so you have to hold the handle with one hand while starting.

I am just and average size guy and 52 years old, so I may have to adjust my techniques as opposed to what some bigger and/or younger guys can do.

Chain brake? On the few saws that have one, I never use it while starting.

After joining the fun in Baraboo last month, I am thinking I might buy a pair of the Husky comsumer chaps, but so far in maybe 40 years of sawing I've had only one incident, and that did not even draw blood. The most serious accident I have ever suffered came from a wood chisel working in the workshop (off med's at the time).

Mark

 

[madpogue]

Where to get pink duct tape?

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog....ID=cat2901&PRODID=prd58483&_requestid=2231932

I need a set of old chaps I can cut down for my son, anyone got an old one?

There are a few, er, experienced looking pairs on eBay right now.

I'm considerably smaller than average, with almost no upper body strength. And my knees aren't particularly limber, either. My only problem with ground-starting the saw is that (as stated above) my d@mn boot doesn't fit inside the handle loop. Strength-wise, it's never been a problem. The saw even has one of those silly compression releases, supposedly to make starting "easier". I never use it. If anything, I wish the recoil were geared to turn the engine faster, or had a longer rope to turn it another rev or two on each pull.

The bottom of the rear handle is wider on the right side. Why don't they make it wider on the left side as well, so you have something to step on when ground-starting?

Warm start - "crotch start" ("a" in photo), at idle, chain brake on.

 

[gekko]

when coldstarting i put the saw on the ground(mostly)
when warm i always dropstart

 

[woodguy105]

Always start like Pic. A

No way I'm bending over each time cold saw or warmed up, trying to get my big ol boot into in the handle to hold the saw on the ground.....

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

I drop start every saw I've ever owned, even the 084 with a 30" bar, the only one I've never tried drop starting was the Homelite Zip. I wear size 12 boots, no way I'm sticking my boot in that handle.

 

[lectrocrew]

I started out years ago throwing the saw away from me with my right hand on the handle, finger on the trigger WOT and catching the saw with the rope in my left hand but that puts a bad side load at the point where the rope goes into the cover, so after several worn out / broken ropes and a few channeled out fittings at the cover hole, I started using my right hand on the rope. I guess that's a drop start but it's a lot safer than throw & catch.
I rarely used the compression release on Stihl 046, 066, Husky 288 or Poulan Pro 455 and 525's, which are the saws I used during my logging years, but I learned early on to pull like hell the first time. Piston kickback resulting from a half-ass pull didn't take long to learn from!

 

[woodbooga]

Originally Posted by SawTroll
I use the left on the rope, and the right on the handlebar, because of arthritis in the right hand, even though I am really right handed.

No arthritis here but i do it the same way and im right handed also!
I drop start my strimmers

Ditto here. I'm 95% righty (how I hold a pencil) but have some kind of inner lefty. I bat and pt mini golf lefty.

 

[sawdoctor]

Always, unless:

A) Showing a customer how to start their new saw
B) The saw is too large & heavy to do so without doing my back in.