a color story: the chainsaws

Holding on to a yellow rope and it connected to my waist. In retrospect, this dangerous maneuver could have catapulted into a different neighborhood as the other end connected to the top quarter of a 20 ft pine tree. My naivety covered the risky situation as I bored to death watching the new chainsaw in action. I thought the small time window with the entry level battery limited my time as an extra in the new chore. I assumed that the user learned enough from watching Youtube tutorials. But the real thing could never be met with preparation. The real act of cutting down the pine tree required complete humility and attention. I wasn't prepared for the act either.

This pine tree had to go as we experienced a wind storm that brought down four of our taller trees. In the worst cast scenario, this soon-to-be-cut-down pine tree could have landed on top of our neighbor's garage- a nightmare for both parties. 

But, I was in a different nightmare. First, I didn't do any research behind the best practices of the chainsaw or the protocol of holding down a  tree. I was in the complete mercy and trust with the other partner in crime. We entered unfamiliar territory with the tree cutting process. A little necessary screaming and arguing beforehand got my stress levels at the right zone. 

I felt a same scenario different person as I waited when the new and electric chainsaw broke down- new product new troubles. I understood the scenario as I revisited my own faults and showed a subtle form of compassion as I calmly grinned. Of course, he fixed the problem as he untangled the chain. 

Like watching a youtube video, I saw the steps:

1. Cut in a horizontal manner above the ground a third in.

2. Then cut 45 degrees to that horizontal gap.

3. From the opposing side, cut horizontally 2 inches higher

4. apply wooden wedges with a hammer from opposing end

5. pull down the rope

I took note of the steps as I had nothing else to do. My mind had to absorb something in my stressful state. 

Again, the chainsaw went through a malfunction and required a repair. I waited and watched. He took the battery out and opened up the chainsaw with an attached tool - made sure the chain aligned of some sort. Then, he got the chainsaw going. Back to final steps of cutting down the trees,  he chain sawed deeper gaps from the opposing end so the pine trees falls in the opposite direction of the neighboring garage. Then, it happened again. 

I saw the blue electric chainsaw malfunction. My patience was wearing thin as I saw the repetitive troubleshooting action. I believed an hour went by. I suggested that the chain should be loose with my ignorant perspective. He denied the comment. Then, he repeated his motion as I stood still staring at the blue chainsaw. Today, I discovered it was from the brand Kobalt. How appropriate for its blue design. 

All the tension broke as I yawned in the dismal action of the new chainsaw. Again, the chains tangled. He opened up the blue compartment using the built-in tool. Untangled the chain. Put back the chain while holding down some parts. Then put it back together. Was this part of Kobalt's master design for a easily fixable chainsaw? Was putting back the chainsaw in 1 piece part of the fun? Or was this just a quick sale, no return swindle? I was in a crossroad between the two scenarios. 

I ignored the chainsaw and suggested hammering against the wedges -  all we needed were deeper gaps after all. After 10 deep hammer hits, I felt the rope loosening in my direction and the pine tree was going down. I "pulled" down my first tree.

Later on, I had the opportunity to work with the electric chainsaw and it broke down on me, too.  As I made attempts troubleshooting the electric chainsaw, I analyzed the blue shell a little further as I rearranged the chains; it reminded me of a blue child-like toy. Hard to believe right after cutting down a 20 foot tree. I suspected a playful reminder in the blue designs. 

The next day, more tree cuttings faced the electric chainsaw but with a recharged battery. I made a mistake and got the chain tangled. I loosened the bolts and etc. but the chains wouldn't budge. I met a new obstacle. Until we added the chainsaw lubricant, we were back in action. But the chain lost its edge after minutes into cutting. I realized I spent more time troubleshooting then the process of cutting. This was an entry level chainsaw. Or a tool to teach one how to troubleshoot a chain. The blue made sense as it alleviated the fixing process. In a weird way, I felt like a kid fixing this powerful tool. 

I got out the old orange gas powered chainsaw. From all my interactions with the electric and frustrations using the handsaw, I forced myself to learn upon the gas-powered orange chainsaw. First, I filled the gas tank with the chainsaw primer. Then, I filled the chainsaw lubricant which made sure the chain doesn't get rigid. 20 rope pull attempts and we heard the machine roaring. 

Let me tell you, the power with gas made the blue electric one feel like a kids toy. I understood why it was designed in a cautionary orange. The cutting task finished in 10 minutes and the electric chainsaw interaction will remain as a memory. I saw the blue tool as a primer towards the gas powered chainsaw -or even as an expensive tutorial. My impressions on the humbling experience was highlighted in the minimal aesthetic (pictured). 

Branches were cut down. Trunks chopped. Three of the trunk happened to make benches with equidistant branch legs. I used a chainsaw.