I believe this could be an important article. Few preppers in my region in the cold Intermountain West possess an adequate supply and ability to keep their chainsaws in operation for more than a year or two. This area of prepping is overlooked or underappreciated. I suspect that as many folks will freeze to death during the first winter after a collapse as those who die of malnutrition. In the cold north, the risk of dying from hypothermia is greater than the risk of being killed by a gunshot or a bacterial infection. This is a huge hole in the plans of most preppers.
While I could explain how to overhaul a motor or sharpen a chain, it is better to outline what is needed to keep a chainsaw operational for many years to come. Here are four crucial factors:
1.) Selecting the appropriate size saw.
2.) Supplying it with the correct two-cycle oil, and fuel, and bar oil.
3.) Having enough spare chains and the files to sharpen those chains.
4.) For the long term or to ensure that existing and well-used saws can remain in operation, a supply of the key small and wearing parts.
I have helped several preppers develop their chainsaw logistics. One of these preppers is a professional woodcutter who knows more about the mechanics of saws than I ever will. But this is about logistics, a topic that escapes even the professional. In my previous life, part of my work was serving as a quartermaster and logistician, as well as a coordinator and manager. A logistician is often asked to perform miracles and is often mistaken or expected to be a magician who can make things appear out of thin air.
We need to keep in mind that prior proper planning prevents pitifully poor performance and assume that there will be no resupply during a long-term collapse. And consider that silver or even ammunition as a barter item may not be able to purchase certain life-preserving essentials from antibiotics, food, and even a chainsaw. And while attempting barter, in particular for hard-to-find items, we are exposing ourselves to possible bodily injury or death during the exchange. Over-reliance on barter items and precious metals is a poor survival strategy, in my book. I’d rather stay alive than speculate.
No Wood = No Heat
While we could burn many fuels, in most parts of the planet wood-like materials that are comprised of mostly of cellulose fibers is the most common. If we were on the fruited plain populated by buffalo, buffalo chips might be the only fuel and we would not need a chainsaw to cut up dried cow pies, just a pitchfork and a hatchet would do, and a burlap sack to haul it with. However convenient buffalo chips would be, we likely do not live where the buffalo roam or where large herds of cattle graze, therefore we will have to cut wood, one way or another, the easy way, or the hard way.
As I grow older, or perhaps out of a growing appreciation for the simple life a survivalist might gravitate toward or both, I am becoming more like a Luddite. While we can possess layers of redundancy in ways to cut wood using hand-operated cross-cut saws from small to the largest, I am getting older every day and would prefer to cheat by cutting wood the easy way. I even have plans on the drawing board in my head for a solar-direct powered buzz saw or to use to a wood gasifier to power a buzz saw, a lumber mill, or an old vehicle op on blocks fitted with only one wheel with no tire that drives a wide belt or a power-takeoff (PTO). I have most of the parts and the technology. I do not like being cold and I like to eat cooked meals.
The chainsaw is essential technology. It is a complex and high-performance machine with many wearing parts. As I grow older I become more dependent on labor-saving devices as my brawn and brain wane. For obvious reasons, the chainsaw is the most popular way to cut wood and I am certainly not opposed to that! There is a point where being Luddite is a fool’s errand, and what a fool I would be to not use a chainsaw. And just as foolish, would be to prepare for a long-term collapse of our county that might be multi-generational in duration, where Luddites rule and chainsaws no longer function. It would be wiser to do whatever it takes, to invest whatever it takes to ensure the ability to make firewood for as long as possible by keeping our saws functional and cutting wood with a chainsaw.
Saw Brand Standardization
Stihl brand saws are the most popular saws here in the United States. Husqvarna saws are perhaps a better quality saw, and a better value. Echo, Poulan, and other companies also make good quality saws. However, because of the popularity and widespread use of the Stihl saw and the parts availability of the Stihl brand, it is the logical choice. Yet more important is the fact that the more popular the brand, the more used spare parts and new spare parts are easily found for sale at reasonable prices. A corollary: It is not the razor that gets you in the pocketbook, it is the price of the blades.
I recommend standardizing on the brand of chainsaw that is most prevalent in your area. In my case, that would be the Stihl brand. This a popular brand that many readers probably own. The reason for this is during a societal collapse there will be many Stihl chainsaws that will no longer run due to a lack of fuel or mechanical failures. These saws would be a good source of spare parts for those who can afford these broken-down saws.
These saws might be available for sale or barter, sold because the owners have no means to repair them as new spare parts would be difficult to impossible to find, or because the owners do not know how to repair them even if parts were available. I’m attempting to help readers become better armed with the knowledge necessary to keep their saws up and running.
Parts Interchangeability
There is parts interchangeability between various models of a certain class and generations of Stihl saws made during the same decades. When there is a new generation of saw produced, parts interchangeability is less likely if not impossible between the earlier generation and the latest generation. For example, Stihl saws made during the 1980s and 1990s might share the same drive sprocket and use the same drive links and number of drive links, bars, and chains of the correct gauge, but cannot use these parts from the latest generation of Stihl saws, unless of course the sprocket and bar from a newer saw can be fitted onto the old style saw. It is possible, yet not as likely if one can not modify the late-generation parts to be retrofitted onto an earlier generation saw. Using similar techniques to modify parts, it is also possible to use bars and chains from less popular saws.
JWR Adds: One of my recommendations is buying several spare “dead” chainsaws of the same make, model, and bar length that you own, that you can cannibalize for parts. Non-running (“dead”) spares can be found through Craigslist and similar websites. These spare saws can be used as a source for bars, recoil starters, fuel and oil caps, sprockets, bar attachment nuts, small hardware, and so forth.
Even if one is not a mechanic, simply being aware that parts interchangeability is possible, we could set ourselves up for success in the future, and that is the goal of this article. Mechanics will be found. But without the requisite parts to make the repair, the saw cannot be repaired. The same applies to most other mechanical devices, from rifles to vehicles. If we own a popular rifle or a popular brand and type of vehicle, there is the possibility of obtaining used spare parts or re-manufacturing or modifying one type of part to work on a different generation of the same kind or different kind of machine. This possibility is less likely as the skills and tools for this level would be scarce.
In addition to fuel, two-cycle oil, spare chains, and files, I suggest buying new and used replacement parts that are the most likely to fail. With those, we can keep a saw running. The older the saw is, the difference in the kind of replacement parts that will be needed as these parts are the most likely to cause it to fail. Therefore our spare parts inventory should include those critical and wearing parts. For example, an older saw that has few hours on it, yet has been in storage for a few years or longer will likely suffer from a degraded fuel system, a plugged-up carburetor, a dry and brittle fuel pump diaphragm, and eventually a leaking a fuel delivery line. Worse yet, leaky crankshaft seals that most often will end the service of life of the saw.
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 2.)