Everyone wants to borrow a chain saw.

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I have a coworker that wants to barrow my MS500i or 592xp for a 60ft cottonwood that split from a storm. It's also hung up on another tree next to his house. Of course a local company quoted him $3500 just to drop it and another $3500 to haul it away. I think the saw he has is a home owner stihl with a 16 or 18" bar...
No way! That's nerve!
 
I’ve got a couple of Husky 55s and 51s that I built pretty cheap a couple of years ago that I’ll let a neighbor borrow if they need one. I won’t loan out anything larger or more expensive for fear of the saw being way too much for them and them getting hurt. It’s usually got a bar/chain combo that will cut fine, but on its last legs. If it gets in the dirt, or rocked, not much lost. I usually send the fuel and bar oil with them so I don’t have to worry about them properly mixing the stuff…
 
Believe it or not, there are people in this World that do not consider a chainsaw an essential must have.... I know, but the World is full of weirdos.
Having said that, needing one for a few minutes and knowing someone in the neighbourhood has one is priceless- you might get to borrow it and not have to buy one so it acts like a boat or a caravan- handy for the day you want to use it, something to trip over and store for the other 364 days of the year.
Which is safer for a novice user does not really come into it- bit like you can kill stuff just as dead with a .22lr as you can with a .45/70- the holes just get bigger.
A 22 single shot bolt action is way safer for a gun new guy than a 1911 or glock or 308 ar. I am an nra pistol instructor and often recommend a 38 special 5 shot alum revolver to new folks. They are easier to determine if they are loaded. And easier to unload than anything with a magazine. Thats just how it is. I also take new folks out to learn clays or trap shooting. A semi auto beretta A400 is very easy to operate and keep safe with up to 2 shells only. You dont load til you are ready to shoot.
 
I will stick w loaning out a plug in electric saw. No gas no trouble starting it or using straight gas. Electric is slower and easier for less qualified folks. Dont want to see anyone hurt with a fast gas saw.
Electric saws are probably more so dangerous bc people might get complacent around it thinking it’s less dangerous.
I don’t lend saws or any 2 stroke equipment anymore.
 
A 22 single shot bolt action is way safer for a gun new guy than a 1911 or glock or 308 ar. I am an nra pistol instructor and often recommend a 38 special 5 shot alum revolver to new folks. They are easier to determine if they are loaded. And easier to unload than anything with a magazine. Thats just how it is. I also take new folks out to learn clays or trap shooting. A semi auto beretta A400 is very easy to operate and keep safe with up to 2 shells only. You dont load til you are ready to shoot.

Not my point- I know better that trying to start a firearm disagreement with North American viewers. :laugh:
My point is- if you do something silly, you can cut yourself with 3/8LP chain on an electric saw, just as easily as you can with a 100cc gas saw running .404 on a 36 inch bar.
Just like you can humanely extinguish the life of a cattle beast with a .22lr- but a .45/70 might make an easier job of it.
My point is, in untrained hands- either of each can be dangerous, that is just the nature of the machines in question- it is the human factor in the equation that makes either safe- or unsafe.
 
A heavier saw with half the chain speed is not more dangerous ever. No muffler to burn yourself on.
The electric saws I have handled are usually saw heavy and not balanced very well and also didn’t require a chain brake until recently it seems. I have had people tell me longer bars are more dangerous and look at me funny when I explain that in a kickback the heavier weight of a longer bar will kick slower then a shorter bar.
 
The old saying was, to have an old running tag sale find "Wild Thingy" Poulan on hand, filled with oil/mix, when someone asks for a saw.
I actually bought a green and purple 34cc Poulan at a garage/divorce sale. Used once the lady said, and it looked liked it had been used only once. Came with a black plastic case, open gallon of bar oil, $20. Bought it just for that purpose of “loaning it out”. Heck I use it for the quick clean up when one of my mature cottonwoods sheds a limb during a wind storm. Never could bring myself to loan it out, it works dang good for what I use it for. My other saws get a good cleaning and are put away dry during the “off-season“ here.
 
There are only a small number of people that I would loan a saw to, mainly because they know how to run them. I have lots of neighbors and have done plenty of work for them with my saws, truck, tractor, ect. Most of those who can help me every chance they get. There are a few bad apples, but we help them too. They're still our neighbors.
 
I live in a suburban but tons of trees and bushes area.. i am pretty beat up so I run a stihl saw every few days for cleanup but cant run it for long. I get too tired out. So I am happy with my situation. However my neighbors can hear my saw running and come over and want to borrow one for ten minutes to do a few branches.
I dont trust that people are safe with a stihl pro saw. I run fast non safety chain.
Saws are so cheap they should get one if they really need one. Not a pro stihl. But hell i have loaned out the harbor freight plug in electric saw. They seem much safer for folks without skills.. and total cost is 45 bucks for a saw inc bar and chain..

Why do people think its ok to ask for expensive gear ? Or stuff they cant run properly ?
They dont know how to mix gas and oil. Cant tighten a chain. And run the chain into the dirt if I am dumb enough to give them a chance.
So often if its someone I like.. god forbid. I will do the work for them. But not loan out the gear.

Other people do similar stuff ?? Or am I missing something I should know better. ??
I’m a Stihl tech (for Ace Hardware). Any piece that comes in for repair that was lent to a neighbor is usually trashed!
 
I have a coworker that wants to barrow my MS500i or 592xp for a 60ft cottonwood that split from a storm. It's also hung up on another tree next to his house. Of course a local company quoted him $3500 just to drop it and another $3500 to haul it away. I think the saw he has is a home owner stihl with a 16 or 18" bar...

He is trying to save $3500 twice for $7000 total.. sorry he can buy all his own equipment. I would offer to give training and support.

And the question is, any of these people even offering any money or such to borrow your equipment? I like the comment to provide Home Depot rental.
 
I live in a suburban but tons of trees and bushes area.. i am pretty beat up so I run a stihl saw every few days for cleanup but cant run it for long. I get too tired out. So I am happy with my situation. However my neighbors can hear my saw running and come over and want to borrow one for ten minutes to do a few branches.
I dont trust that people are safe with a stihl pro saw. I run fast non safety chain.
Saws are so cheap they should get one if they really need one. Not a pro stihl. But hell i have loaned out the harbor freight plug in electric saw. They seem much safer for folks without skills.. and total cost is 45 bucks for a saw inc bar and chain..

Why do people think its ok to ask for expensive gear ? Or stuff they cant run properly ?
They dont know how to mix gas and oil. Cant tighten a chain. And run the chain into the dirt if I am dumb enough to give them a chance.
So often if its someone I like.. god forbid. I will do the work for them. But not loan out the gear.

Other people do similar stuff ?? Or am I missing something I should know better. ??
"You almost lost your audience at paragraph 3. This stuff is for fbook. Your innocent reflections make you out to be some old fart lost in the last attack. That keyboard is neither a way out of your chosen boredom.......or a conduit to honest answers. This post asks a basic question, with an centuries old answer.."

Thats the response you may get from someone, who routinely borrows. A loser and a user. Its crude....and insensitive.

I'm 70 and my response is directed more sincerely,
I live in a suburban but tons of trees and bushes area.. i am pretty beat up so I run a stihl saw every few days for cleanup but cant run it for long. I get too tired out. So I am happy with my situation. However my neighbors can hear my saw running and come over and want to borrow one for ten minutes to do a few branches.
I dont trust that people are safe with a stihl pro saw. I run fast non safety chain.
Saws are so cheap they should get one if they really need one. Not a pro stihl. But hell i have loaned out the harbor freight plug in electric saw. They seem much safer for folks without skills.. and total cost is 45 bucks for a saw inc bar and chain..

Why do people think its ok to ask for expensive gear ? Or stuff they cant run properly ?
They dont know how to mix gas and oil. Cant tighten a chain. And run the chain into the dirt if I am dumb enough to give them a chance.
So often if its someone I like.. god forbid. I will do the work for them. But not loan out the gear.

Other people do similar stuff ?? Or am I missing something I should know better. ??


NO! you never loan out what someone else can rent!
Only folks living in a trailer park run across that anticipated sharing.........
In urban cities across America, the sound of a chainsaw is never considered an invite to mooch...

Of course, every farmer/rural property owner, up-north hunt cabin guy....those guys already have your saw.....................

Just say NO, and drop all your quizzical thoughts.....and lets go cut wood.
 
When I used to sell saws on ebay people would buy a nice one from me, I wouldn't hear anything from them for several days then all of a sudden they would want their money back because they said the saw "wasn't as advertised" or " it wouldn't run." I get the saws back with sawdust and dirt all over them. So essentially I loaned them a clean saw and got back a dirty one. I quit selling there several years ago because of their dishonesty..
 
When I used to sell saws on ebay people would buy a nice one from me, I wouldn't hear anything from them for several days then all of a sudden they would want their money back because they said the saw "wasn't as advertised" or " it wouldn't run." I get the saws back with sawdust and dirt all over them. So essentially I loaned them a clean saw and got back a dirty one. I quit selling there several years ago because of their dishonesty..
Yep, I only sell as parts/not working on evilbay and promise nothing about it running, even of by chance it does.
On to the main question. No I don't loan any tools out with few exceptions, and those are very close friends and some family members. I used to be one of the poulan loaner guys, but I'd loan it out with a $50.00 deposit. Bring the saw back running, cleaned off and the chain not destroyed and I'd give the money back. This was also when you could pick a cheap little saw up for under $20.00. Can't do that anymore and iq levels have dropped sharply in the past few years.
Now onto your very barbaric view of electric saws. They will hurt you just as bad, just as quick as their gas counterpart. What they lack in chain speed they near up for in torque, and many people arw just careless when they use them. You best hope whoever you loan one out to doesn't get hurt and decide to sue because you gave them a power tool that was unsafe.
 
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