How young before we put the kids to work cutting? ;)

[beenthere]

nmurph
Where do you find chaps for the lad?

[clww]

I remember splitting wood around 7 or 8. First supervised running of saw bucking firewood when I was about 14 or so. Falling trees solo when I was 17.
My mom still worries about me climbing, sawing, splitting, chopping......pretty much all the time, and not just in the woods.

[SwampDonkey]

Just being mom.

An old timer whose in his 70's, has a bunch of woods he cuts firewood and pulp on every year. He slashed his face this fall with the chainsaw, kick back from hitting the tip. Made it to a local house or garage where they had to get him to the hospital.

[nmurph]

nmurph
Where do you find chaps for the lad?

Obviously he doesn't have any, that is why we are only making bucking cuts on single logs with the log against the saw and my hands resting on his. If the tip of the saw is clear, the risk of kick-back is nil.

[shortlogger]

I started cutting soon as my dad got a saw small enugh for me to pick up, only let me cut little stuff. Mom didnt like it !! My dad contracted with the USFS to thin replanted pine clear cuts the trees wernt very tall or big around . I got to cut some @ 12 and 13 the summer I turned 14 I got a new pair of chaps and started full time . he said I made him alot of money because the grown men on the crew didnt want to get out worked by a boy ,and I didnt want them to think I couldnt keep up . So we wore our selves out trying not to be out done by one another.

[DebarKing]

I ran my first saw on thanksgiving when i was 12. My Uncle Danny was the only one who decided i was plenty big/smart enough to run it. I helped him get some ash-slab cut up with a "consumer-grade" Homelite, which was shortly followed by an old Stihl 041 (i think?? maybe 044). He quickly let my parents know that I had, as he put it "exceptional beginner skills". For my 13th christmas, my parents got me (against mom's better judgement) a 20" Craftsman 46cc. Used it to buck firewood, and unfortunately had to teach myself how to drop a tree. After hours of reading, and trial and error, I got it down pretty good. It wasn't until about a year ago that my dad offered to teach me how to safely fell a tree. Believe it or not, I showed him a thing or two!!! I think its awesome to have your kids out there with you helping. And I agree, it's probably way easier to teach a younger kid how to operate something like a saw as opposed to a "cocky" teen. I had the pleasure of attempting to teach an 18 year old kid how to buck a log,, that was interesting!!!

[saltydog]

I was 16 when i bought my own saw a jonsered 630 i thought i was the .... But ran the old mans before that around 13.With hands on help mine have ran a 372 at 9yrs.Hes getting somthing small this year so he can earn pocket money.But hes a good size country boy .I think all kids are diffrent.Mine also feed cows and goats and help with makin hay.when they were 4 and 5 they were fighting and there punishment was unloading my f350 dump full of stovewood.that raised moms eyebrows.but they still remember it.

[bandmiller2]

It depends on the kid,some are space shots until late teens outhers are responsable early.I'd say if you can trust them with a firearm their ready for the saw. Frank C.

[lumberjack48]

This lad is doing a excellent job with what hes working with. See how the saw pulling to the right, this means the left hand cutters are dull or the rakers are lower on the right hand side. The bar could have a flange on it, but i don't think so to new.  [ I would have a set of chaps on him and a pair of gloves ]
The saw is binding up in the cut because of the way it was sharped last.

[Ironwood]

I have young boys, my oldest (9) is driving our Gator, running my Yanmar crawler (with close supervision, not many safety features), and generally VERY safety minded. Runs a POWERFUL electric log splitter (very modern safety features), BUT he will likely not use a chainsaw until he is 13-14. Others ar eto young to even consider.

 As mentioned one challenge is the issue of finding GOOD safety equipment. Respirators, chaps, etc.... My welding helmet fits him, MIG welded and plasma cut at 6-7 with me over hs shoulder. I do buy some used wodworking stationary tools of smaller scale than what is in my shop (BIG BIG industrial) for the boy(s) to use in the future.

Ironwood

[SPIKER]

we cut and split wood the old fashioned way with hand saws axes and splitting mauls.   luckly we have all our toes & shins still      goes back to a fire wood prices thread too.   my now passed away family Brother, Sister & she hubby (all gone) used to heat and sell fire wood for $ back in the 70s gas/oil crunch.   was probably pretty good money at the time but from what I remember at early age was 45 or so for a cord 35 for a full truck load that price was delivered split & was stacked where ever they wanted it.    Well for much of early time I was a wheel barrel loader & stacker at 8 or so yrs old...

when I was 12ish we were running chain saws cutting pine plantation for 6" fence posts 8' in mud and ice pits of water     man that was a bad job ..

Mark

[wesdor]

I don't remember the actual age I started using a chainsaw, but when I was 16 we had some trees cut down for barrel staves.  My dad let me use the McCulloch, splitting wedges and maul to process the tops into firewood.  A friend and I made what we thought was pretty good money selling firewood - $25 per load delivered I think.

When my boys were 14 & 12 (1994) we had a lot of timber taken from the farm (that is another story).  I taught both boys to use all the equipment and we cut, hand split, and delivered a lot of wood. My biggest objective was to teach the boys how to work hard.  They did a good job of learning that.

As someone else has said, mothers don't agree with teaching boys that age and we had a few words.  Thankfully she finally forgave me as neither boy had an accident.  We always put safety as our first priority. 

Today the boys are 32 and nearly 30 and I would say teaching them to handle chainsaws and other equipment was an important part of their upbringing.