Getting Close to a Chain Saw

(photo:
tamaki)
An overrated item popularly used in noir themed movie killings,
the chain saw is perhaps the most popular breed of power tool,
familiar to any household in the world.
In a nutshell, a chain saw is basically a motorized saw.
It’s most common utilization can be found in logging
activities, where bucking and felling trees and branches are
needed. Due to its “portable” nature, chain saws aren’t exactly
limited for loggers’ use only. Fire fighters are known to use
chain saws, especially in controlling forest fires, and cutting
firebreaks. In the arena of do-it-yourself repairs, simple
households have also come to see the benefits of a chain saw,
especially for precise wood cutting needs.
Though not exactly a power tool for “detailed” woodworking
projects, a chain saw greatly aids in cutting up major chunks
of wood, preparing wood pieces for more detailed operations.
When talking about woodworking, one could say a chain saw is
similar to that of a roller brush, which is used to put a
primer on a wall, before smaller brushes are utilized in
completing a mural.
There are two major types of chain saws. There are types
that use a two-stroke gasoline powered engine, as well as types
that utilize an electric motor. Riveted metal portions are
joined together in the similar fashion a bicycle chain is
fabricated. This make up the “chain” part in a chain saw, and
pretty much defines the successful operation of the item. Sharp
blades, individually called a tooth, are mounted on each link,
as the tool’s motor cycles it, thus cutting whatever surface
it’s directed to cut.
Chain saw variations can be determined through gap positions
of the tooth. A skip tooth chain saw has a tooth mounted on
ever second link, reducing the clogging risk of the chain saw
when it comes to cutting soft wood. Recent variations include
an alternation between right and left handed teeth, making cuts
made by a chain saw more even.
It is believed that the first chain saw came to be by 1830,
through the efforts of Bernard Heine a German orthopedist. It
wasn’t used to cut wood though. As the proponent’s profession
implies, it was used to cut bone. By 1929 Dolmar came out with
the first gasoline-powered chain saw. These saws were geared to
cut wood this time, and were two-person operated devices. Chain
saws by this time were heavy, and often came mounted on
wheels.
As improvements in engine design blossomed after World War
II, lighter and more compact chain saws were introduced into
the market, becoming the “base design” for chain saws as we
recognize them nowadays.
These days, chain saws have replaced simple brute-force
powered saws, making wood cutting excursions fast, accurate,
and easy. Sculpting using chain saws could be easily achieved,
using special chain saw teeth.
Coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, chain saws prove to
be quite useful when it comes to woodworking projects, and has
been acknowledged for such. If you're searching for one, I
recommend the
Makita 5012B Commercial Grade 12-Inch 11.5 amp Electric Chain
Saw . Can be found at Amazon, for example.
Click here to visit the online shop.
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