yep, i second the hearing protection. i suffer from tinitus, most of which came from playing in loud bands but chainsaws are a noisy creature. safety glasses are a must, as well as a hard hat when needed. watch out for the dead limbs and trees, as the upper branches may break off as the tree starts to fall. stay well clear if in doubt.
right now i'm in the process of getting my friend into a chainsaw operator course. yesterday he asked me to help him drop two small evergreens (about 12" at the base). we roped the first tree off to avoid having it fall onto his electric line. we both agreed on the best place for it to go, and he insisted on felling it. he gets his saw going and cuts a wedge in the right place. then he starts to cut on the back side and is seesawing the saw back and forth. i try to tell him to stop, but there's no hearing me with the saw going. the tree starts to fall, bingo right where we wanted it. he stops the saw and i go over to talk to him about his technique. we look at the stump and i point out how the hinge is totally cut off on both sides with only a crescent shape sliver left, and how it should be nearly straight across with about an inch thickness. he points out that the tree fell right where we wanted it, and i tell him he got lucky. so i figure my advice hasn't fallen on deaf ears, and we rope off the second tree. this time he cuts the hinge entirely off and the tree falls directly towards where he is standing about 90 degrees from our planned landing zone). fortunatly he is watching and steps around the tree to avoid getting hurt. he owns an outdoor wood furnace, and heats entirely with wood so he uses his saw all the time. i have given him some advice on cutting in the past trying not to butt-in excessively, but after watching him fell these trees i think it's time to get him some professional instruction.
