My chainsaw rules: 1-Don't get hurt - always wear safety glasses, never wear loose clothing or gloves (they can get caught in the chain, instead of a flesh wound you can end up with a missing finger or even worse) 2-know where the branch falls so it doesn't hurt anyone or destroy anything 3-never cut the branch you're sitting on... 4-keep the chain sharp - may take 15min to sharpen but saves aggravation and makes cutting much easier.