I'm a Lumberjack and I'm Ok
2006.10.20
So, there’s this fairly large tree stump next to my garage, undoubtedly the original home of the carpenter ants which invaded said garage. (And may still be living there? To be investigated at a later date.) Furthermore, it contributes to the problem of the ground behind the garage being too high, allowing water to reach the sill plate, thus causing rot, thus attracting the ants… etc.
So yesterday I went to Sears and bought this little electric chainsaw. Ah the Craftsman brand… once a hallmark of quality tools… now only about a half-step above Harbor Freight. This model does have a nifty little tensioning knob, which makes it easy to adjust the tension while you work, without messing with a couple wrenches.
Well, as soon as I started it up, oil started oozing out of the reservoir cap like crazy. Upon inspection, it turns out there is a pinhole in the middle of the cap… uh, what? Is that supposed to be there? I put a piece of duct tape over it and that helped somewhat. The engine smoked for the first minute or two, but after that seemed ok.
Wow, this was hard work. I put in about five hours today (with numerous breaks) and hardly made any progress. My forearms are killing me. Glad I didn’t buy a bigger chainsaw, this one is heavy enough.
Clearly, this little electric chainsaw is not up to the task. Good tool for trimming small branches though, so I don’t regret buying it. And at any rate, you don’t want to take any chainsaw down to the ground, that dulls the chain in a hurry. So renting a stumpgrinder is inevitable. Hey Nate… whattaya doin’ next weekend?
Clothesline Pole