The Past was a Cast Iron Bitch, and This was her Chain-Saw

in #history7 years ago

It's like someone bolted a motorcycle engine to a Roman broadsword. Just look at this chain-saw! The cylinder is bigger than a fist and the muffler's more solid than a rifle-bore.

I could barely lift the thing. I can't imagine working with it.

Sure, I'm a pussy. Just give me an electric powered plastic and aluminum Worx, please.

Saw2.jpg

I've borrowed the title of this post from @everittdmickey. He used it in the comments of my post about an outdated cell-phone and disposable technology. It made me laugh then, and I thought about it again when I came across this beast in an antique store during Saturday's explorations in Plymouth with @donnadavisart.

This thing's gotten a lot of use. I bet it would start right back up if you popped in a new spark plug and some gas. (It looks like it holds a whole gallon.) It's no piece-of-crap Poulan, that's for sure.

But nuts to that. I'm not going to be the one to pull on the cord.

Saw1.jpg

It would make a great prop for a horror movie, though. Or a horror documentary.

I will say this: the men who worked with these tools must have been strong. And if they lived to old age, they must have been pretty smart too - or at least careful. Lumber-jacking really meant something in those days.

CoupleWooden.jpg

That's why I'd probably have opted for fishing. Or knitting.

Sort:  

Won't lie, chopped down a whole pine tree limb for limb with a reciprocating saw this summer. When it came down to the big gnarly stump, I called my buddy with a chainsaw, always handy to have one. Love the sound of them, but they are very unforgiving and live wood can have hidden characteristics which can cause unexpected perils.

greenies like to spike trees to give those who cut them down a big SURPRISE!

Nothing like taking a mans limb and lively hood to slow down a multi milliondollar industry.
It's always an oddity to me, the self loathing human in his wood house, at his wood table, drinking from a plastic cup.
The big surprise in wood is usually buckshot or the like, you'll still find slugs in the odd 2*4.

A long-handled pair of loppers does wonders limbing a tree in a hurry, and you don't even need an extension cord. I've got a pair that can cut through a 3" limb without too much trouble.

But I pity my ancestors who had to cut through a winter's worth of firewood with hand-powered saws!

How much of the stump did you leave? Digging those things out is a nightmare!

Luckily it's right beside the water mains they are replacing on my street, so hopefully they can grab it with the excavator.
image.jpeg

That's after I got through with my cip-saw. Have a two ft stump cut flush to the ground.

Well done not taking out the electric service!

The main reason I topped it before stripping the lower branches.

Something like that will often be used as the base of an informal business in SA. I have seen similar ones on the side of the road with the name and telephone number of tree cutting services.

Knitting is good, that works it goes with the pipe

Probably a good way to set myself on fire - but it's still safer than messing with that chain saw!