Chainsaw Class - Serious Advanced Training

Helmet, good leather boots and gloves, hearing and eye protection, chaps - we had them all and were ready for chainsaw class.   On January 13th and 14th  NCAMN and Bull Shoals – White River State Park hosted a chainsaw training class for Master Naturalists and park maintenance personnel.   The class was lead by Sarah K. Jones, Superintendent of White Oak Lake State Park, Larry Ross of the U. S. Forest Service and Billy McMillen from FoOT (Friends of the Ouachita Trail).

Class members experience ran the gamut from novice to seasoned sawyers, but none had been professionally trained.  Most probably wondered how handling a chainsaw could possibly take two full days of instruction.  But by the end of the class everyone realized what a small dent we had made in the amount there was to learn. Terms like bucking, the dog, Dutchman, gunning mark, kickback zone, and back cut were now part of our vocabulary.  We learned how to carry a saw (blade to the rear) and how to sharpen one (requiring more precision that most of us realized).  We learned how to take the saw apart and how to clean it.  We also learned and understood the importance of HELPP (Hazards, Escape, Lean, Plan and Personal protection equipment).

Most of our first day was spent in the classroom learning the importance of good safety habits; limbing, bucking, and felling techniques; and equipment and how to care for it (Don't wash your chaps with detergent, use Citrosqueeze; nicked chaps can be mended with Seam Grip....but if the yellow Kevlar fibers are damaged, you need a new pair).  Always keep both hands on the running saw, use the back of your left hand to bump the chain break on without loosing your grip. 

Day two was all field work and we put the safety precautions and sawing techniques into practice.  We practiced determining the lean of  the tree; learned the different types of felling notches and the advantages of each and rotated to each of three stations where we were graded on our ability in bucking, the bore cut and felling a tree.

Two days well spent.  Novices and long-time sawyers alike were pleased and impressed by the experience.

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Click here to another article by Bert Turner, CAMN, "Why Should Master Naturalists take a Chainsaw Course."

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