Hi All,
What sort of training can you get in chainsaws over there? Coincidentally enough, I just finished a chainsaw certification course last weekend. We are required by law to have certification if we are doing any paid work (using your chainsaw on your own property for your own purposes doesn't require a certificate). The course was about 24 hours long - 2 nights of class work (including learning how to clean, sharpen and maintain the saw) and 2 full days of field work.
Last Saturday saw me cutting down 6 red pine that were 12 - 16 inches in diameter. And Sunday we were clearing Scot's pine and poplar out of a woodlot.
Safety was definitely always on my mind. We were required to wear steel toed boots, hard hat with face shield, and, most importantly, chainsaw pants.
It was a lot of fun but I have to admit I've never been so sore before! I discovered muscles I never new I had. By the end of the day I could barely lift the saw and did my limbing with the saw resting on either my leg or the tree!
Wendi