An indispensable tool for those who have to take care of a large garden is undoubtedly the chainsaw, but which model is right for you among electric chainsaws, petrol or mixture chainsaws or a more versatile battery-powered electric saw? What factors should you consider when choosing your tool? How much maintenance does it need? Let's make things clear right away, equip ourselves with a handy tape measure and start by measuring the diameter of the trunks we have to cut, it's useless to buy a 40 cm bar if I have to make my way through the bushes, for that a good brush cutter with the right wire would be enough, but if I have 10 meter tall plants in front of me with a trunk diameter of more than 30 cm, then that tool immediately becomes indispensable.
It is essential to always remember safety, certain interventions can be extremely dangerous, you are not playing basketball, we have a chainsaw in our hands, so keep your feet firmly on the ground and try to avoid blocking the chain, the advice is to start with simple cuts with logs positioned horizontally, to become familiar with your tool and then start having fun in safety.


Chainsaw or electric saw: what are the pros and cons?

 

Each model has its own characteristics, from the length of the bar to the power of the engine, but which power supply should you choose? If you find yourself working in tight spaces that require less maintenance and with relatively small plants you can opt for an electric saw, the current still guarantees excellent performance, it knows how to do its job, on the other hand undoubtedly a wire that can sometimes be annoying. When is it better to choose a battery model? Its advantage undoubtedly lies in the weight and therefore the versatility of the tool, with the right batteries you can also work on various cuts, on the other hand a featherweight is more bearable for the arms to support but also less incisive in the cutting action, among the Makita DUC252Z battery-powered chainsaws are a good compromise to address this problem, available in the store as a body only, the best chainsaw models, petrol or mix, weighing more than 4 kg, literally allow you to rest your bar on the trunk and let it do all the work by itself, so when we are faced with larger trees with thick trunks the choice is for the petrol engine.

 

 

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How and why to carry out good maintenance

 

Important, indeed fundamental for the longevity of your chainsaw is its maintenance, which together with some tricks of the trade will help you cut for a long time with your tool. What are the fundamental interventions? As we well know, our chainsaw is equipped with a tank for fuel and one for oil to lubricate the chain, first of all we check that the oil output is correct and not excessive or too low, but how to do it? A fundamental rule: when the petrol runs out the oil must run out, simple and convenient to remember, so fill up the first tank and when the fuel runs out check and then adjust the oil output.
After a long day of work, clean the housing where the bar is attached to the machine body, then unscrew the cover and remove any remaining sawdust and oil stuck in it, especially any shavings that are blocking the oil flow.
A practical tip? At the end of the bar (so on the opposite side to the hook) you will notice a small washer, when you have to use your tool, apply some oil there too, it will greatly reduce friction in a delicate point of your tool.
Last but not least, the chain tensioning affects both ease of use and safety.

Chain tensioning: how important is it and how is it done?

 

Nothing shocking, there is only one screw to adjust that will move your bar outwards or inwards depending on whether you want to respectively increase or decrease the tension of the chain. When and why do I have to do this? Each blockage causes a slight lengthening as does a whole day of work, at each break, with the engine obviously off (always better to specify), with thumb and forefinger go to pinch your chain, normally the chain should be adherent to the entire bar (check by sliding it a little by hand that the lower part of the bar remains adherent to the chain) while when you try to pull it you should be able to detach it from the bar by the same length as the tooth that fixes it to the latter (so up to a maximum of 5 mm); all this will allow you to have a chainsaw always ready to make the best cuts it will have to face, decreasing the risk of blocking the chain.