I’m cutting logs at least 2 days a week now for 2-3 hours at a time. Timber already felled. I’m thinking that before I do myself a mischief I should get some proper training. What sort of courses should I be looking at and what level of qualification? Can anybody recommend company/course Glasgow South side?

As you may have already discovered, there is no such thing as a simple, cheap chainsaw course. I researched it fairly intensively a few year ago when a landowner wanted to see a qualification before I cut logs on her land. Even a two day course was in the region of £600, and covered loads of things I (and you) probably already knew – how to use the chain brake, how to mix fuel etc.

I decided that my money would be far better spent on a load of high end PPE (I never start the saw without boots, trousers, gloves, helmet with visor and ear defenders) and some safety gear – I use one of those saw horses which clamps the chainsaw bar whenever I can.

You can have all the training and tickets going, and still make silly mistakes – perhaps using a saw every day makes you ambivalent to the risks? Both pro tree surgeons I know have running chain injuries to hands and arms. Just treat the saw as a live creature liable to leap up at you at any moment and you should be safe enough.

The training is properly useful and worth more than PPE IN MY VIEW.

Lotto, I did mine locally, I’ll look it up if you like. I’m sure it was in Bathgate, but their lications were flexible.

CS30 & 31

No there really are cheap simple one day courses. No formal qualification and maybe some will sneer but I found it very useful. It covered basic use and maintenance. Can’t recommend anything local to you but a bit of googling and asking around should work.

worth more than PPE

but get the PPE anyway..

Informed Tree Services cover Central Scotland.
ITS

I did a one day course a few years ago. I think it was with one of the Woodland charities, maybe the Woodland Trust.
But like siwhite above, I never start my chainsaw without the full kit on.

Find out who runs the courses, go and have a word with them and ask them to come and supervise you / help for a day, half a day or whatever. Most of the course instructors round here also run their own arb companies so training isn’t their only income.

You might have to sign off that you understand you are not qualified to any extent, but that’s not really relevant unless you want to do other courses.

The qualifications are necessary if you want to do it commercially but probably overkill for occasional domestic use. (Standard liability insurance will only cover non-commercial work)

I can recommend Informed Tree Service’s done a few courses over the years with them, Chris is a top guy.
Try Elmwood and Oatridge colleges as they used to one day courses for casual users.

You can probably skip the assessment part as that is normally another half day / day, although you may like to do it to know that you have taken everything in.

If you’re not already mechanically minded, the course gets you a lot of the maintenance and repairs know how that will keep you going. Ultimately, the course doesn’t make you better, practice does. The course just makes you more aware of your actions hopefully.

I take on a lot of newly qualified, new entrants to forestry and the first few weeks can be a bit scary for us.

Yes it was Informed Tree services that I used. I regularly think about things I was taught when using the saw, absolutely worth it (though I still managed to nearly chop my achilles in half once!).