Pinched I Am

 

   Of all the modern conveniences I use, the one I hate the most is the chain saw. We've been burning wood most of the time we've lived here and the only way to burn wood and also hold down a job is by using a chain saw.

   There's so much to dislike. My first saw was hard to start. Once I got it going, it was noisy and dangerous with its chain filled with teeth spinning a few inches from my vitals. Then there's the trees to contend with. Dropping a tree where you want it is an art. There's always the chance that as the tree falls, it will kick back and kill you. Then there's the dead branches that can break free to  bonk you on the head. The dead branches aptly named "widow makers."

   What I really hate is when my tree gets hung up on other trees. I can cut down the tree that’s hanging up my tree, or I can work on my original tree which is still fairly vertical. Both choices are unattractive because both trees are under pressure and knowing which way they're going to spring when cut is another art.

   I like it when trees fall down on their own when I am not around. I let them lay for a couple of years so they can dry, then cut them up at leisure. If they're hung up initially, old man Winter has a way of laying them on the ground for me. A couple of weeks ago, a big boxelder fell down between the house and the river. It was hung up on three smaller trees. I was ready to let this tangle alone for now, but Teresa pointed out it was blocking our view of the river. I like a good view almost as much as life itself, so I put a freshly sharpened chain on my saw and we headed for the tree.

   Teresa knew there was potential danger and insisted on being present. The tree was many limbed and of great girth. It had pulled up a big clump of earth as it went over. Since the tree was hung up, its trunk was a couple of feet off the ground so I decided to start near the base. I cut about half way through then switched to the bottom. I knew from hard experience that thanks to forces of compression on the trunk, if I cut too far down on the top side, my chain and bar would get pinched. I cut half way through from the top then switched to the underside. The trunk was so big around that cutting from the bottom was awkward.  I decided to cut a bit more from the top. 

   That was a mistake. The trunk slipped down an inch and my saw was trapped. The saw engine keeps running, but the chain is frozen.  My main concern when using my chainsaw is not to cut myself. I have torn a couple of pant legs over the years, but that's been it. Secondly, I try not to let the tree fall on me. There have been close calls, but I've always been faster than the tree. I always park my vehicle away from the action. The truck attached to the hood that got creased by that surprisingly tall tree went to the junk yard many years ago so there’s no need to discuss it  

   Thirdly, I do my best not to get my chain and bar pinched. It can be a pain. If the tree's not too big, the bar can be wrestled free. I've had less than a half dozen serious entrapments in my career. I had a spare bar and chain for my first saw. If desperate, I could unbolt the saw engine from the bar and put on the spare bar and carefully rescue the trapped one. I've been meaning to get a spare bar for my current saw, but I also keep meaning to retire from cutting wood, and won't need a spare. 

   This past Friday, after trying to free the saw with crow bars and wedges, I drove to my friend Steve's to borrow his saw. He got it running for me because it's temperamental. It took another trip back to Steve's before I mastered his technique of keeping it running. I decided to cut off some of the limbs first, but after one of them shot out at me with a bang I opted to down tools for the day.

   Once several years ago I cut a dead oak that was leaning over the frozen river. When my bar got stuck, I borrowed Steve's handyman jack. I was able to put the jack on the ice and lift the tree enough to get my bar out. But my present tree was far too big for a jack to get a purchase. 

   Steve has two handyman jacks and as I turned the problem over in my mind I thought that if I put a sturdy board under the tree I could use a jack on either side to catch the board and lift the tree enough to free the saw. It was too late on Saturday when I thought of this and Sunday is a day of rest around here, so I procrastinated. Wouldn't you? On Monday I had a haircut appointment so there was nothing to be done about the saw on Monday.  

   Then I remembered the little hydraulic jack I had bought at an estate sale twenty years ago. I could put that directly under the tree trunk near the saw. I had never used this jack and when I checked it, it wouldn't hold anything up. I called Steve to borrow his two jacks. He asked if I had checked the hydraulic fluid in my jack. The cardboard box my jack sat in was soaked in oil which was a good clue my oil might be low.

   Once the oil was topped up, the thing was like a new jack. I got a couple of blocks of wood to make a level spot for the jack. There was a flat spot on the tree track for me to jack against. It was my lucky day. After a half dozen strokes of the jack handle,the tree started to rise, and with a half dozen more the saw was free. I could have spent the next couple of hours cutting up the tree, but I decided to give it a reprieve. After all, it's Thanksgiving.

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