IME… chains jumping off the bar is almost always due to user (me) error. Not tensioning correctly, using in brush, or at inappropriate angles.
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I end up having to retighten the chain frequently. I do cut in brush because I’m cutting a lot of Buckthorn 2" to 4" diameter and Tartarian Honeysuckle. It was also jumping on a partially burned Cottonwood.
if you cut in brush, throwing the chain is inevitable. you can minimize it by maintaining proper chain tension, slowing down your movement, and only cutting 1 branch/stem at a time.
generally what happens is the cut end of a stem wedges under the chain when moving quickly, rides under the chain to the nose and throws it off.
i also run 3/8 chain on my MS261, which is a little more robust than the stock .325 chain. you do lose a little power spinning the heavier chain though.
also, a short bar length for the size of the saw helps. chains have some stretch. so if you’re running a 3/8 chain on an 18 or 20 inch bar, that will have much less stretch than a .325 or 3/8 lo pro on the same size bar. we’re getting into the odd territory though so you will need a good saw shop or to order stuff online. note if you switch chain sizes you also need to switch the bar and the driver gear on the clutch.
this is the big problem with electric. they use micro size chains to increase efficiency and make up for the lack of power density in the battery. but they throw more easily because they’re stretchy and weak.
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Agree on not cutting brush with the pole saw… It’s the wrong tool for the job and definitely user error.
There are electric hedge trimmer attachments from ryobi for the pole saw base that are interchangeable as a quick attachment. I believe ryobi has a similar setup. Additionally, ryobi has extended electric loppers that might do the job.
I just picked up a Dewalt battery compatible hand lopper for $30 and a converter from Dewalt to Milwaukee batteries for $10. So for $40 I have a brushless fig cutting monster and I can significantly reduce the amount of blisters I’ll get next year.
It will also be really nice for general pruning. Work smart and hard when you are limited on time.
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A badly worn bar will also throw the chain. Check the sprocket and bar rails for excessive or uneven wear.
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I just bought this one 
wish me luck lol. Also bought face protection to go with it
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yes, good point
My neighbor has this one. I haven’t personally seen it in use, but he highly recommended it.
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A rope saw would be another option although I have no experience with them. I’m looking at them for the purpose of removing limbs that are too high for pole saws and trees that are way too difficult to climb and use any type of chainsaw on.
I got to pick up the 13 lb Stihl MS 271 Farm Boss ~ 13 lbs and the Stihl MS 250 at ~11 lbs. I have White Pine growing on the property that is already over 16" diameter. Honestly I’m not a big or strong guy so the Farm Boss felt pretty large to me, but if that is what a mature White Pine requires, then I’d have to get it. The MS 250 was much more comfortable and felt like something I could put a short bar on and climb with. Both have 3 carburetor adjustment screws and 2 big nuts at the bar.
For now I’m keeping the quieter battery chainsaw as a go-to for tree climbing. I have to climb trees when it’s zero degrees. Maybe I’m doing the ear protection wrong, but remember I’m not a professional and I learned sport rock climbing, not arborist work. So I have a rock climbing helmet from REI, silicone earplugs, and a balaclava, a pair of generic ear protectors muffs that never stay on well over a balaclava and are likely to get pulled off a a branch.
My life is not where I thought I’d end up. I never thought I’d be shopping for a pear tree then looking at pollination time charts to pick scionwood to graft to the same one pear tree to self-pollinate and produce multiple flavors of fruit.
No chance I would ever climb a tree with a chainsaw. In fact, I would never climb a tree anymore saw or no saw. I wouldn’t recommend any homeowner climb a tree for diy arborist work. Leave it to a professional IMO
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It’s much safer than climbing mountains.
These people aren’t carrying chainsaws with them
@ribs1 …
Some of us are just die hard do it your selfers…
That is me in the top of that tall hickory tree… I removed all limbs with a bow saw from one side of the tree… to help make it fall away from our electric service lines.
I did 4… 20-24 inch hickory trees like that.
Success on all.
As a serious deer hunter most of my life… lots of experience at tree climbing… I also had a couple years experience as a young man working for a timber company.
I did not use a chainsaw for that project but would have in a heartbeat if I had a good one.
About 30 years ago we owned a home that had a huge oak tree that was dieing and starting to drop limbs.
The stump of the tree was 6.5 ft across.
I went to the top of it… with a small chainsaw… and took it down… piece by piece until it was all gone.
Some of the limbs made nice saw logs and I sold those.
Was it dangerous… yes… but I had a good safety harness and the skills and determination to make it happen.
TNHunter
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The MS250 isn’t amazing but they are totally fine. I have a few friends that have them for volunteer trail work. I’m not aware of any reliability issues. Power is a little low, but remember cutting performance is mostly about how sharp you keep your chain
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The rules (supposedly to never die) sport climbing a tree are:
- Don’t climb a trunk line narrower than your thigh. I’ve watched “professional arborists” skimp on this rule, but I only would on strong wood like oak. (In reality I skimped all the time as a kid if it was fresh and green springy wood, but now I have a rope to a much bigger thing if I skimp.)
- Don’t climb anything without bark.
- If Emerald Ash Borers ate the tree, it’s never truly safe even with the above 2 rules.
I learned climbing for mountain snow travel. I drop top ropes so I can get back up the tree using Prussik loops for self-rescue from a crevasse, which is both an easy-to-learn skill and fun. My climbing is slow because I have more safety ropes than you are showing, but I get to practice sport climbing knots to maintain skills that would otherwise be forgotten. A main skill one needs to rehearse for self-rescue from a tree or crevasse with a top rope safety is called “passing the knot” which is demonstrated on YouTube. Mountaineers are known to practice on trees to maintain skills, particularly rappelling, passing the knot, and self-rescue where a ladder into a tree is the easiest way to rehearse at home.
Besides those you should have a climbing harness and belay device like an ATC or GriGri for lowering branches and rappelling yourself. For lowering heavy tree parts you would have the belay device tied not to your harness but to large part of the tree. The self-rappel knot if you accidentally drop your belay device (been there) is called a Munter hitch. There are many guides to self-rescue online since everyone seems to make a web page or YouTube video about it to prove to themself they know how.
You did a great job trimming the branches to make hand and footholds up the tree by cutting the branches in a vertical line. I have a rope with multiple loops that I swap up those posts as I work up a tree if I’m taking the whole thing down – since any of those branches could fail you usually encircle the trunk with a rope at all times the first time up and use (2 but preferably 3) weight-carry-capable branches at a time as anchors on subsequent climbs.
In the picture where you are standing on top above the crotch, you should still be wearing a harness with a safety rope to the crotch below you. In your specific picture, you are above a crotch on the central trunk so you could self-rescue if hanging from a shorter rope by stepping onto the handhold and foothold branches you cut on your way up. If trimming the ends of large branches on larger oaks and maples, you might find yourself hanging with no tree trunk within arms reach. Thus more generally to self-rescue without the fire department, you need to have rehearsed self-rescue skills because once you have your weight hanging from a rope, the knots involved are supposed to be impossible to undo while they are bearing weight (or they could drop you), hence you need to have rehearsed the many-step self-rescue process to get your weight off the knots to free yourself and rappel out.
A Chinese made tree climbing spikes set and harness isn’t too expensive on Amazon, etc. and I’ve met a 70-year-old DIYer who uses them out here instead of sport climbing. You need a harness of some kind to hang from the tree while running the chainsaw with both hands.
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I’ve used a Stihl MS 270, 16 inch, for over 20 yrs and never had a problem with it. Cut down large oaks with it. Weight is 5.3 kg, 11.7 lbs.
@ShiverMinneapolisZ4b … I learned to climb as a kid… we had a yard full of tall trees and they all got climbed pretty regular with no safety harness.
Young hickory trees are flexible enough that a kid can climb to the top and then lean out… and the top will bend over enough to deliver you back to the ground.
I deer hunted probably 30 years with a climbing stand… and the last 20… actually using a safety harness that traveled up and down with you… keeping you safe at all times.
Sure you might fall a foot or two before the harness kicks in but that was no problem… and yes… I tested that several times.
Spending thousands of hours sitting 25 ft up in a tree… you can get used to that. Great view… deer never knew what hit them.
I used that same harness when taking out those 4 hickory trees.
I doubt I will be climbing any more trees like that… i would not have climbed those except for our electeic service lines being there.
Once I got all the big limbs off that side… i tied a rope to the tree top… then ran that rope way out in my field to my truck… and put some tension on them… got all 4 cut down falling away from the electeic lines.
They made some good firewood.
TNHunter
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Thank you. The Oregon 16" 40 V battery saw I have has been discontinued (making parts difficult) because a Private Equity firm bought out Oregon Tool company and is gutting the business, and closing US manufacturing. Being battery operated, it was only able to cut up to 4 inches less than the bar length or 12" diameter trunks.
Suddenly I might want a gas saw to climb with and when harnessed to a spruce tree that means holding a saw for a long period of time shoulder height or higher. The MS 250 felt a lot more realistic for that. I don’t have to make a decision this month, so I’ll keep walking around considering my needs and the capabilities stated here that a MS 271 Farm Boss could handle up to 34" diameter wood so MS 250 might be able to do 30" or 30.5" diameter.
Yeah listed bar length isn’t quite the same as cut capacity, you lose a couple inches at the attachment. Not sure exactly but I think an 18" bar has like 15-16" usable length. So if you cut from both sides and account for some imperfection, 28-30" trees are realistic
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