We all are aware that chainsaws once were a tool used by only professionals. However, now it’s become a power-tool you’ll find in every home because it’s a very handy-tool one can own. You can use it for overgrowing trees in the backyard, to design home improvement projects, or to cut firewood for the fireplace in winters.
The usages are endless and with various brands manufacturing it, you have the option to buy one that falls under your budget. That being said, to understand how a chainsaw works we feel that it’s imperative to learn what exactly is a chainsaw?
Table of Contents [hide]
- What Exactly is a Chainsaw?
- What Are the Important Parts in a Chainsaw?
- Some Unconventional Uses of a Chainsaw
- How to Effectively Maintain a Chainsaw?
What Exactly is a Chainsaw?
In simpler terms, the best description we have for a chainsaw is that it’s a portable machine that cuts wood with a sharp chain that spins around the guide bar. The chain itself is a metal chain with grooves and notches placed at particular levels to easily cut wood. The chain basically has metal shaped teeth like edges that make cutting through wood possible.
Moreover, apart from the sharp chain, the speed at which it spins around in circular motion cuts through the wood swiftly. The speed of the chainsaw is determined by the horsepower the engine possesses.
What Are the Important Parts in a Chainsaw?
A chainsaw is made up of complex parts, that play an imperative role in the functionality of the overall machine. What you need to keep in mind is that without the parts being maintained and connected the chainsaw will not function properly, can be dangerous and the wood cutting performance can be compromised that could cause damage to the wood.
Therefore, in our opinion, it is crucial to learn about the integral parts that make up a chainsaw. Now let’s start looking at the parts of a chainsaw, shall we?
Engine
One of the most integral parts of a chainsaw is the engine. It’s the engine that eliminates the physical labor required to use a traditional chainsaw. The engine requires power to create force.
Therefore, there are two types of a chainsaw, an electrically powered chainsaw, and a gas-powered chainsaw. An electrically powered chainsaw needs to be plugged into an electrical source, while a gas-powered chainsaw runs on gasoline.
There are also battery-powered chainsaws that obtain power from rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. However, the downside of battery-powered chainsaws is that they don’t offer the power and longevity the other two types of chainsaws provide.
Chain
Of course, without a chain, a chainsaw wouldn’t be a chainsaw. It’s the most integral part of a chainsaw because it is the chain that effortlessly cuts through all types of wood.
A chain has sharp metal teeth that are at a certain distance and width from each other. Chains are not universal and not all chainsaws are compatible with every chainsaw make.
Chain Brake
We mention the chain brake because it’s a safety feature that allows for safer-operations. A kickback is a very common occurrence when using a chainsaw and irrespective of the fact how experienced you are with a chainsaw it can happen for various reasons like the chain getting stuck and more.
The chain brake is what stops the chainsaw from spinning when a kickback occurs making it a very essential part of a chainsaw. A chain brake can be manual or automatic.
Carburetor and Air Filter
A carburetor is what controls the fuel intake in an engine, while an air filter is what protects the engine from clogging with debris, sawdust, and dirt. In a gas-chainsaw a mix of air and fuel is required, the air filter ensures that cleaner air passes through the engine.
Clutch and Fly Wheel
The clutch is responsible for controlling the spinning of the chain, while it’s the flywheel that keeps in check the speed of the engine along with helping the motor to cool down to avoid any unfortunate situations of overheating.
Choke Valve and Bucking Spikes
It is the choke wall that helps in kick-starting a chainsaw as it controls how much air and fuel is reached to the carburetor. On the other hand, the bucking spikes help in digging into the wood for straighter cuts that prevent kickback.
Throttle and Throttle Lock
The throttle can be found under the rear handle and allows you to increase or decrease the amount of fuel that reaches the engine. The throttle lock is on the top of the rear handle that has to be engaged for the throttle to be used.
In-Depth Functionality of the Engine
As we discussed before, the engine is what allows the chainsaw to function. Let’s look at the functionality of the engine further in-depth to understand how does a chainsaw work. The energy the engine produces is mostly dependent on the quantity of power.
Every engine is designed to handle a specific amount of energy because not all chainsaws are the same. Some chainsaws are designed for light to medium-duty tasks, while there are chainsaws that are only for heavy-duty tasks like felling large trees.
With the help of the throttle, the revolutions per minute of the chain are controlled. To simplify it a bit further, you can use the throttle to increase or decrease how fast the chain is going to spin around the guide bar.
Another feature we know is very essential for you to know about is the clutch which makes use of suction to stop the stalling of the engine, in case the chain is subjected to hardwood which prevents injuries and mistakes while cutting.
Some of the Uses of a Chainsaw
Chainsaws have various uses, and understanding them will help you in making the best use of this power-tool. Since we are already discussing the different uses of a chainsaw, it’s vital to know that apart from how much power the engine can produce, the blade’s length is another factor that determines what type of task a chainsaw can be used for.
A wrong blade size used for a task it is not for can lead to jeopardizing what you are trying to achieve and it’s also dangerous at the same time.
Chainsaws are ideally used for:
- Limbing: the branches of a tree are removed after it has fallen.
- Bucking: the cutting of wood into logs which mostly involves precision.
- Tree Felling: where you cut the whole tree in one go which requires experience.
- Pruning: where you cut branches to get rid of dead limbs or for decorative purposes.
- Limbing: the branches of a tree are removed after it has fallen.
Some Unconventional Uses of a Chainsaw
It will be of interest to you that chainsaws are not only used for just taking down trees. Human creativity as they say has no bounds, and chainsaws are used by artists who are passionate about creating wooden sculptures and carvings from wood.
Therefore, the usage of chainsaw has expanded over the years and it has become a tool that is used for versatile purposes, instead of just traditional wood cutting for the fireplace or pruning.
How to Effectively Maintain a Chainsaw?
By now you have a fair idea about how does a chainsaw work. However, we felt it was vital for you to understand that how you can effectively maintain a chainsaw, without which a chainsaw would start losing performance and would probably start giving you unnecessary trouble.
How a chainsaw is maintained depends on the type of chainsaw you own or are thinking to purchase.
But for safety’s sake, you should perform some checks like checking the bolts and screws are properly tightened, the chain is properly tensioned, the gauge is functioning and the chain brakes are working.
Moreover, you will also have to make sure that the chain is free from sawdust and debris.
Another thing you have to keep in mind is that with time the chain becomes dull which can be dangerous because the chances of the chainsaw bouncing back when trying to cut wood are increased.
Therefore, it’s essential to make sure that the chain is sharpened and well-oiled for it to spin around the guide bar smoothly. To effectively maintain a chainsaw, you can refer to the user’s manual that is provided by every chainsaw manufacturer.
Conclusion
The truth is chainsaws are a very handy tool to own, and it saves you a lot of time and effort for all types of tasks that involve wood cutting. As we have discussed before, to understand how anything works it’s vital to have some knowledge about the mechanics behind it to use it more effectively.
One of the biggest advantages of understanding how does a chainsaw work is that it will significantly help you in maintaining the chainsaw over time. We hope that this article was helpful and that we have added to your knowledge of chainsaws!
