So how old were you guys when you started cutting on your own?

[beaglebriar]

13 or 14. Carried a mini mac with me to clear trails. Hindsight probably wasn't super smart...I wouldn't let my 13yr old loose with a saw by himself now. Hell I ran a table saw all day by myself at 12-13.

 

[FergusonTO35]

There never was a time when dad suddenly announced to me, "ok, you're officially old enough and responsible enough to use a saw on your own so have at it!" He let me use it under his supervision from the time I was maybe 8 or 9 onward. I was allowed to go hunting by myself at age 12 and could also drive a tractor and use the gas weedeater. I see no reason he wouldn't have let me use a chainsaw by myself by that time if I had wanted to.

 

[angelo c]

I started at 35....I finally matured enough at that age.

 

[Dub11]

I started when I was 12 or 13 with my dad supervising he had a Homelite Zip 22 inch bar cutting firewood. I started my boy about the same with a Jonsered 2152. If I caught him moving / walking with chain break not on I would get in his a$$ good.

You were probably over 6 foot and close to 180 by then.


I bought my first and only brand new saw at 17 a Poulan Pro 3516AVX. It was also the first saw I did a MM on.

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

You were probably over 6 foot and close to 180 by then.


I bought my first and only brand new saw at 17 a Poulan Pro 3516AVX. It was also the first saw I did a MM on.

Hell that's been 40 years ago. Probably

 

[bowtechmadman]

16/17 alone. Had been running a Partner 65 since 12 under supervision. Farm kid and we heated with wood, driving the wood truck by 12, JD A,B,50, MF 35/65 around 10.
Depends on the person if/and when I'd let them run a saw alone. I would let my 13yr old daughter run one alone before I would my 19 year old daughter or my wife.

 

[MarcS]

16 with dads 026. Needed firewood for a camping trip and he said “go ahead, be careful”. He probably figured I was smart enough to cut dead limbs or something but I cut a prime Sugar Maple and got it hung up. Had just enough knowledge of running dozer so pulled it down by myself and then got the dozer buried. I’ve learned a lot the hard way and been lucky along the way.

 

[TreeLife]

I was 14 when my dad put his trusty 036 in my hands. One of my proudest moments, I got a compliment from my father. "You might be 14 son, but there are guys out there twice your age that are half the man you are."

One of the few compliments I've received from him over the years. He's a hard man.

 

[MG porting]

Still haven't ran a saw.

 

[CR888]

In a time where we're told a nuclear family is not all that important, its funny how many replies here include the terms ''dad' or 'father'...yes of coarse when I first used a saw aged 10-12 it was under supervision of my father & brother/s. I remember too cutting kindling with a small hatchet for hours after school as it was my job to do it.

 

[backhoelover]

Around 12. Dad bought 50 acres with a old cotton mill on it. Cotton mill was powered by a old dam. Was using a poulan wild thing and was cutting under his supervision cleaning the place up. He was an older man in his mid 60 so I did as much as I could to take the load off him. There was also a shooting range in the property. Local law enforcement paid us to shoot there. We end up selling the land in lots. Wish I would have talk to him about me keeping land

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Electric wen brand saw at 9 or 10, then at 12 I got a homelite super2 that wasn’t ever supposed to run in my dads mind. Well ran the day after getting it and he bought me the 20$ handle I needed for it and in exchange every dead tree in the yard was gone. Even standing ones started falling small trees at 12 also after getting lessons from my dad and uncle. Then at 14 or 15 dad bought brand new 026 for me to cut firewood with I wanted an 036 but dealer wouldn’t sell dad that big of a saw if I was going to use it.

 

[XP_Slinger]

The age of a kid really doesn't matter. The amount of experience and level of maturity they have is what matters to me.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

This is all that matters.

 

[ayoungtexan]

10 years old here. It was my uncles Husqvarna 350. He was watching my every move with it and keeping me out of danger. After that, I got to use gradually bigger saws, up until when I was 14, I got to run my grandfather’s 046. It was a big saw to me back then, and he was watching me just like my uncle was. After that, my father and grandfather let me use saws on my own.

 

[5155]

8 or 10 I split maple with a dbl bit. It was later till I could touch a saw.
Around 20 got a job in restoration, they dubbed me mechanical genius and game on.

I still have those tools today.

 

[sawfun]

14 I went to Sears and bought a Craftsman/Poulan top handle to cut down a laurel hedge. I had no father and my mom knew nothing about power tools so I used what all us kids that survived had, common sense and self taught. I never knew about kick back, I just was careful and watched what I was doing.

 

[OC455]

Early twenties.....don't remember exactly, but felled a couple of large pines on a deceased relatives property to clean it up. Wasn't to experienced at felling, don't care to do it that much. Cutting them up afterward, not an issue. Used my father's Sachs Dolmar 123.

He never let anyone run his saw. I ended up replacing the fuel lines and rebuilding the carb. Still runs good today.

 

[Nate.]

12 with supervision 14 without. Back then I didn't know how fast a saw could cut with a sharp chain.

 

[PA Plumber]

13 or 14. Would get home from school, hook up the tractor and trailer and head across the field to the woods to block firewood. Ran a new Sachs Dolmar dad had just bought.
Started swinging an 8 lb maul much earlier to split for heating the house.

Was a “farm kid.”
Started mowing with the riding mower at 4 and running the tractor at 7. Driving the stick pickup with grain wagons and in the field all day by myself at 9.
Big grain dump at 10.

Wasn’t smooth sailing but did learn a ton about responsibility and how to work through stuff.

 

[rogue60]

I honestly don't remember the 1st time I used a saw on my own.
I was born into chainsaws I remember as a kid sharing the back seat with my brothers and dads chainsaws lol
I don't claim to be a gun/pro on a saw or anything I just grew up with them around me and used them to cut chit up for longer than I care to remember.
But I do remember me and my brother's getting a hatchet each from dad I must of been about 8 or there abouts we cut down anything that looked like a tree for miles for no other reason than to cut chit down lol

I was 5 or 6? in this pic 1st time I pull the trigger on a 090 lol
I kind of remember it was loud scary and he crushed my fingers on the trigger! Lol