Chainsaw Competence
The two courses, taught by Mark Isted, were excellent, providing much useful and relevant information and practical training in the preparation, maintenance and use of chainsaws. I recommend them to anyone seeking confidence and competence with a saw, and hoping to retain all his limbs and give his saw a long life. Mark presented the information we needed in an interesting, comprehensible form, with relevant comments and anecdotes from his experiences, which both illustrated the material and reinforced the importance of following the correct procedures. The students were also able to earn LANTRA certificates (which I imagine might be worth having, even for self-employed and hobby sawyers should they have mishaps and have to deal with insurers and/or the HSE).
On the first day we did not actually start our saws, but spent the time learning about their workings and doing simple maintenance and servicing (checking, sharpening and installing chains; air cleaners; recoil starters (one student, being shown how to rewind his starter commented that he had been saved the cost of a new starter); chain brakes and clutches). We were fortunate that one of us had borrowed a saw from an unmechanically minded friend - we were all able to see what a neglected chainsaw and its faults look like and how to deal with them.
The second morning was spent in the woods cutting up firewood from fallen and previously felled material: the afternoon consisted of an informal exam on both the cutting we had learnt in the morning and on servicing our saws and preparing them for the next time they would be used.
A great deal of what Mark told us evinced the thought 'how simple and obvious - why did I never think of that myself'; but I hadn't thought of it and my life is easier and safer from having been told it.
The second weekend was spent entirely in the woods. The weather was dry and fine (though hot for physical work in heavy chainsaw trousers and boots); had it been wet or raining it would have been much less enjoyable, with the woods sloping and surfaced with wet leaves and soil. We were shown and then practised techniques for felling small trees and for avoiding and dealing with the problems that arise in the real world. As always has to happen in our modern health & safety obsessed world, Mark emphasised the dangers of what could go wrong, how to prevent or avoid it and how to deal with it. I welcomed this approach as one feels that this work presents serious hazards that are not necessarily obvious in advance.
The courses were enjoyable, informative and relevant. They gave us a wealth of useful and not always obvious information. I recommend them to anyone thinking of using a chainsaw (and also to those who have used one without training).
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