The chainsaw

By william-korat
Posted in Living in Thailand
December 6 2024

Yes, that is a shock for readers with a 'bad memory' or those who like to watch movies such as thrillers or horror films.
I once saw several films in which a very naughty man pointed out to a less naughty man that he could answer the question better, using a chainsaw as a means of coercion.

I used such a device a long time ago for my work as a gardener.
In those days, thinning out trees or removing them completely was not a big problem in the Netherlands, although scaring them with naughty men was.
In public green areas, private gardens, even a small front garden where it was often a matter of removing or accidents, a permit was required.
Waiting for weeks, because people didn't take it lightly, who did you think you were to just cut down a tree.
It has caused some frustrations among clients.

A chainsaw is a motorized [combustion engine] or electrically powered device that allows you to easily saw thick wood using a rotating chain with teeth.
This is for those of you who are wondering if you don't get tired doing that kind of work with a bow or blade saw, those are of course for the thin branches.

Here in Thailand they see it differently, preferably everything with a chainsaw.
This morning at eight o'clock the local gardener started his working day to earn his daily bread, and soon after I heard the familiar sound again.
He's had the same old chainsaw for many years, with the same noises as the machine struggles, so to speak.
Years ago he also removed a tree from me that slightly undermined the relaxed atmosphere in the dead-end street of Weltevrede.
Smooth with the ground level, that is.
I sometimes get the impression that fifty percent of his work involves pruning and removing.
Enjoy removing or trimming a tree in your everyday outfit with a chainsaw and ant spray can.

A friend of mine had three mango trees completely removed after twenty years, the trees were fifteen meters high, and no one looked at them or asked if it was necessary.
It's your tree and who am I to ask.
His excuse is that the squirrels can get onto the roof of my house via the tree and therefore inside and I don't want that.
Well, okay then, they are also extremely dangerous animals when they are hungry.
Various snakes also like to sit in trees, he said.
A whole habitat of birds, squirrels, ants, bees, sometimes a snake and what not in it and under it to its grandmother with a few thousand baht.
Five pick-ups full of wood, of which everything thicker than your wrist will be used again for the barbecue.

In our Moo Baan, for years, there were large street trees in the middle of the road that were trimmed every year by the same team as the garbage collectors.
They had become a kind of pollard willows, growing quite fast.
The men also use it from two sides, firstly they were paid to trim those trees and secondly they made charcoal from it.
The men were not too bothered by it again. Swinging on a bamboo ladder with that screaming chainsaw in his shorts, sandals and a T-shirt at a height of three meters.
No protective clothing or glasses, hoppa, rip that thing apart, with the ground crew also using a chainsaw to cut it into usable pieces and deposit it on the truck.
Thirty and forty of those trees pruned in no time.
A lot of noise, you don't want to know, but hey, everyone is happy, trees are cut short again, leaves and rubbish are gone again.
The 'poor' Thai men again had enough wood for their charcoal trade and it is suspected that even the client was not worse off during the pruning collection.

I also bought a chainsaw with an electric angle grinder, you have to fit in a bit, don't you?
As the years pass, the green volume of the garden becomes larger and the body gets older, not a bad plan.
The finger of that is not allowed will serve out my time here.
I recently lent it out to the neighbours again after the miracle team of roofers 'we can do almost anything' were foaming at the mouth hanging from the mango tree at a height of three metres with a bow saw.

It was a while, MISTER William, Kop khun khrap.

About this blogger

william-korat
william-korat
I have been asked to provide some information about the ins and outs of my presence here. Let me state first that I see myself as a part-time journalist at best. Writer is also allowed, who would have thought.
I left for Thailand at the age of 54 after having been engaged, married and in love with my Thai love for about eight years.
The grey clouds in the Netherlands became too dark, the recession, the employer talked a lot, a lot about Poland. The genie had been out of the bottle for a while, and not always the friendliest.
Apartment from 1928 sold for a fat profit after twenty years of living there. And moved into our Thai house that we bought years ago. We are talking about the year 2008.
Like the waves of the sea on a restless day in Thailand, we have now been in calm waters for a few years, provided with my pension.
Hobbies of all kinds within the boundaries of our existence, after reading, writing has occasionally been added.

6 Responses to “The Chainsaw”

  1. GeertP says up

    I hope you applied for the necessary felling permits and consulted a tree surgeon before letting the chainsaw do its work.

  2. ed says up

    I once talked about this with my wife, who said that you shouldn't just own a chainsaw.
    You need papers for that. It would be a murder weapon.
    Assumed it from her, no idea if it's really true. It must have been discussed in the family at some point and from there the theory.

  3. william-korat says up

    Well after a quick search I came across this, ed.

    Chainsaw Act 2002 [2545]

    The main objective of this law is to conserve and maintain the current forest resources, especially by preventing and suppressing illegal deforestation through the use of a chainsaw, which is widely used for cutting and sawing timber. The law consists of 23 sections.

    All persons are prohibited from possessing, manufacturing or importing chainsaws unless they have obtained a permit from the Chain Saw Registrar. The qualifications and prohibited qualifications of persons seeking to obtain a permit are determined by the Ministerial Regulations. The law further provides for the offences and penalties for the illegal possession and importation of chainsaws into Thailand.

    Luckily I have an angle grinder with a removable chainring and they sell those things in bulk at the hardware store.

    So she is right, albeit for a different reason.

  4. Jack S says up

    Really? You need a permit to use a chainsaw? I have two… one with a long cord and another one that runs on a battery with an extension. I usually use it to cut branches with seeds from our palm trees, so the seeds don’t end up in the pond.

    I also often saw branches off a tree on the other side of our wall. That tree drops so many leaves and seeds that nothing can grow underneath.

    I didn’t know you needed a permit for that… but hey, we live in Thailand. Not here, right?

  5. william-korat says up

    Stress 'all over the place' let me start with the fact that there are many people called Sjaak, advantage, the point that your last name starts with an S is dangerous, these are indications for the people who want to pass this kind of information on to higher powers to gain favor [55555]

    Luckily, you have that kind of equipment with a cord or battery, which is of little use in a forest.
    Cutting down large trees to survive the harsh winter in Thailand or to set up a charcoal business is not going to work.

    A downside is that trimming vegetation in your garden is on the public road or is that the neighbors?
    Dangerous situation???

    All joking aside then.

    If you want to know everything very precisely, I have included the complete information with 23 sections, but I have not read them myself. https://ap.lc/iClmp

  6. William says up

    Well, from what I read about chainsaw ownership, government agencies can immediately make arrests if Thais are clearing land illegally with those things.
    Assume that used chainsaws are therefore illegal.
    To obtain a license, one will have to explain what chainsaws are needed for, right?
    Or does that fall under another 'escape law' in Land of Rubber Laws?
    (…”brown envelope in the basket overthere, please. Thank you “…)
    Tsss.


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