10 minute read
LIEBHERR LH
Left: Fuel injected Stihl MS 500i saw.
Right: Just hanging out with friends...
Advertisement
Below: FB’s #TongueOut- Tuesday pose.
the job is like, and I always take time to answer all their questions and encourage more people to join this great industry. The training camps are always good for meeting new people and encouraging trainees to get as much experience in the forestry industry as possible. I just love my job and I’m sure a lot of other people would too.
I graduated at the end of 2020 and, at the company where I work, I’ve been given the responsibility of training the new apprentice, which is very enjoyable. As I did, the new apprentice changed careers later in life – he is in his 40s and I’m in my 30s – which I think is cool and such a lot of fun.
I also get a lot of technical questions on social media from newbies to the industry. These are mainly guys who I think are probably more comfortable asking me some basic questions about saws and saw maintenance as they don’t feel comfortable asking their male buddies about basic stuff!
I wish everybody would just remember that we all start at the bottom and we only learn by asking questions. It’s better to applaud people in their search for knowledge rather than make them afraid to ask again. I would always prefer a job environment filled with skilled colleagues rather than people afraid to ask for fear of mockery. I’m still relatively new and learning all the time from more experienced colleagues. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t even know how to start the saw, let alone maintain it.
There is also a lot of fun doing social media, particularly on a Tuesday when I get a chance to do my trademark #TongueOutTuesday expression, as I get so many requests from my followers if I forget to post a new one every week!
DW: How big is the company you work for?
FB: It’s quite a small company – there are only three of us and there will be a fourth person joining soon. We hire freelance skilled people when we take on bigger jobs and so on, but because it’s so small we get to know each other and work really well together.
I keep in contact with a small group of other local female lumberjacks – some freelance and some in-company, but there are not that many of us. Out of a class of 28 on my course, I was the only female student!
DW: How did you become a Stihl ambassador?
FB: It started out with a couple of online chainsaw video posts from my own collection, and then when I really wanted to try out the new MS 500i chainsaw I contacted Stihl to borrow one to make a video and the company was kind enough to lend me one. After that, we just kept in touch as I borrowed a few more saws and I guess they liked what I was doing and they made me an offer to become one of their ambassadors, which is a great honour. It’s awesome to be a part of this fantastic and highly respected brand.
I’ve also worked with Echo as an EAG member and also had the opportunity to work with Husqvarna, but I chose Stihl as I really like its equipment and find them to be more ergonomically suited to me, and they produce a large range of high performance and reliable chainsaws.
DW: What does a typical day, week and month look like for you and your colleagues?
FB: As I mentioned before, we have very different days but we normally start out on a Monday by having a team talk about the week ahead and planning the various jobs and workload. For us, that’s mainly tree cutting and pruning. Unlike in other regions, we all have to work in all functions – we all work as both ‘groundies’ and climbers, so one day my boss might be raking while I’m climbing, and the next day I might be out stump grinding while my boss is climbing and the other apprentice has ground duty. In a three-person team, you need everyone to be climbers in case an aerial rescue is needed.
Each day we start at 7am. Working in and around Copenhagen, the weather is so
Right: Felixia has a large chainsaw collection.
changeable and working outside all year long it’s great to see the colours of the seasons changing – and yes, we do work when it’s raining, which is quite a lot of the time! However, when it’s stormy we have to stop working because it’s not safe when working at height and the trees can fall in the wrong direction.
SAFETY
DW: Speaking of safety, what safety gear do you use and why?
FB: For me, safety is the number one thing before I go out to work, so I wear my chainsaw protective pants and chainsaw boots everyday regardless of the weather. Next up is my safety helmet – some girls like to own a lot of shoes, but I have a number of helmets that protect my eyes and my hearing. My favourite is a Protos Integral Arborist helmet with a design I created known as the ‘FemaleLumberJack Edition’. The helmet is also fitted with my ‘Send it’ logo visor that’s really cool – when you look through the mesh visor, you don’t see the logo.
I recently had to take down a really sketchy tree, which is why I decided to set up my anchor point in the healthy tree next to it. I’m really glad I did because while I was working in the tree, it suddenly snapped at the roots. As I was roped to the neighbouring tree, it saved me from serious injury.
DW: Tell us more about working at height and the training involved.
FB: I think you must a lot of respect for the
Above: Wood carving is a weekend hobby for Felixia.
job, as it can be quite dangerous when working at height. I have section felled trees that are 36 metres tall, and you have to take a lot of things into consideration, such as what condition the tree is in, your surroundings and weather conditions. You might be surprised to see just how far off target a branch can fly if the wind grabs it.
It’s not all about muscles in this job, though – it’s more about technique, particularly when you’re climbing trees, but I have put on some extra muscle without going to the gym. Some of the smaller saws that I thought were quite heavy at the start of my training now feel quite light.
DW: Where did you learn to safely use a chainsaw?
FB: I’m ABA certified in chainsaw maintenance and crosscutting and basic felling. I’ve attended courses for operating chainsaws while working at height where you learn how to safely make the cut and also learn about tree biology and how to tie in. We also attend a yearly first aid training course and we do aerial rescue training each year with realistic dummies and real people. This is so important to know and means you can react quickly and effectively to an emergency situation.
CHAINSAWS
DW: What is your favourite chainsaw and why?
FB: That’s a difficult question. I think I would have to choose two: the Stihl MS 261 C and the Stihl MS 500i, as those are the ones I use almost every day and would choose them before any other saw. These saws have a great power-to-weight ratio, and they are simple and comfortable to operate, with low vibration and outstanding manoeuvrability for most jobs.
The MS 500i fuel injection saw has a great throttle response and instant high levels of torque. The MS 261 C is light and powerful, and you can use it all day on the ground without getting tired.
DW: How many saws do you own?
FB: Oh my god, I have too many! We have 15 chainsaws in the company, and I have 10 chainsaws in my own personal collection, which is kind of fun as none of them are used for work, but I do use some of them for carving as a weekend hobby, and the occasional milling. I recognise I have a lot of chainsaws, so I might have an addiction problem!
DW: What do you like most about Stihl chainsaws?
FB: For me, the Stihl saw really fits me well and little things like the throttle controls are slightly smaller on Stihl chainsaws. When I’m walking into the forest, they are easier to transport under my arm or on my shoulder, and Stihl has a very good range of intermediate saw sizes for every job. They are such good machines and very reliable. If we do encounter a technical problem on a job, 99% of the time we can fix the saw as they are so easy to repair, and we very rarely need to send them back to the dealer for more technical work or repairs.
In fact, my company boss changed from Husqvarna to Stihl, not because of me or my ambassador role, it was just because they are very reliable, easy to use and powerful.
DW: How good are the latest batterypowered chainsaws?
FB: I like to use battery-powered chainsaws in sound sensitive areas, and if you’re climbing and felling something like a spruce where you have a lot of branches to saw it’s really convenient, as you don’t have to stop and start the engine every time. Whilst they’re not as powerful as a petrol chainsaw, they’re getting better all the time.
DW: What are your top chainsaw maintenance tips and tricks?
FB: I’m really into chainsaw maintenance, so I’m responsible for all the company chainsaws – sharpening their chains, general maintenance duties and so on. I feel it’s such an
Left: There’s no cleaning up in a forest.
Right: Making lots of glitter, AKA sawdust.
important job because if you look after the chainsaw, it will look after you. I would say my top tip is just daily cleaning by blowing out all the excess dust with compressed air, and it’s really important to clean out the air filter to keep your saw running well.
Another thing you can do is buy premixed fuel rather than mixing your own, as especially some of the newer saws can be very sensitive to change in mixture ratio.
There’s also something zen about maintenance days and getting to pamper all my ‘babies’.
DW: What are your main priorities and what would you love to do in the future?
FB: Mainly safety and helping other people achieve a better, safer and happier workday through my social media accounts. I am very conscious about the fact that a lot of people look at my work and perhaps learn from my pictures and videos, so it’s very important to me that what I post is a good and safe way to handle a given assignment and not the most rock ‘n’ roll’ solution. Following my experiences with my late parents, someday I would really like to get involved with a rehabilitation/therapy woodland garden project, as these places can really make a huge difference for some people. I look back on the moments I had with my parents in such gardens with extreme warmth; they provided a small refuge from the situation. I have also been to gardens set up to help veterans suffering from PTSD and have been fascinated by the positive impact such a place can have on their lives.
CONCLUSION
Whilst Felixia is not the only female lumberjack, it’s fair to say that with her Stihl ambassadorial role and great following on her social media channels, she is blazing a trail for other females to join the forestry industry, as she has successfully demonstrated it can be done. She clearly takes a great deal of pride in her work, and her enthusiasm for helping others do the best job that they can, and in the safest possible way, is infectious. We wish her every success for the future, and we look forward to catching up with her again as her career progresses.
