I find the history of the Chainsaw quite interesting. It has had a major impact on the world and it gets little credit. Think of the increase in lower cost and higher supply of wood for building that the chainsaw has provided. Without a doubt the chainsaw for cutting lumber is an invention of Europe, and mostly by Swedish inventors. Sweden is heavily forrested and this explains their desire for a more automated way to harvest wood.
There was also a medical chainsaw used in the 19th century for childbirth. 😳 It was used to cut cartlidge to separate the pelvis in women while giving birth. Yes it sounds horribly barbaric, and is no longer used. Cutting wood with chains sounds like a much better idea.
In 1926 Andreas Stihl, who is known as the Father of the Modern Chainsaw, patented two-man chainsaws. The gas powered saw came in 1929, it was called a tree felling machine and it weighed 101 pounds. Which at least partially explains why it was a two-man saw. The second man held the tip of the bar with a handle while a chain rotated under the handle. This saw was called the “Tree Felling Machine”. Andreas Stihl’s company was founded in 1926 and is still making saws to this day in Germany and in the US (in Virginia Beach and Oregon). Given what I know about chainsaw cutting and seeing photos of this monstrosity, I would imagine that the bar twisted often and the chain frequently became stuck while cutting.
In 1950 Stihl’s company manufactured the first one-man gasoline-powered chainsaw. The saw weighed 35lbs. There are photos of this chainsaw and it is enormous. I bet only large lumberjacks could use these machines, in the 1950’s. Little guys need not apply.
I plan to buy a Stihl pro series as my next saw in honor of Andreas.