String trimmers, edgers, blowers and saws

Equipment you carry rather than push: string trimmers, edgers, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and saws. Line and blade replacement, guards, intakes, and the storage that decides whether the machine starts next season.

Common failure modes

• Line wound in the wrong direction, so the head will not feed
• A guard taken off for access and never put back
• An intake screen blocked by clippings, which overheats the engine
• A blade or a chain run blunt, which loads the machine and the operator
• Fuel left in the tank through the winter

Procedures

• What size and shape of trimmer line do I need?Every string trimmer head has a maximum line diameter, and it is a property of the head, not of trimmers in general. Tor
• Why a leaf blower loses power, and how to clear a blocked intakeA blower that has gone weak has usually not broken. It is breathing through a screen packed with grass dust, and the fix
• How to grease the gearbox on a string trimmer or hedge trimmerMany gas-powered string trimmers and hedge trimmers carry a small gear housing where the engine's drive shaft turns the
• What chain fits my chainsaw? How to check pitch, gauge, and drive link countEvery chainsaw chain has three critical measurements stamped on it or marked on your guide bar: pitch, gauge, and drive
• Replace a chainsaw guide bar and check whether the drive sprocket is worn tooA new guide bar must match your saw and chain specifications. Before you install the new bar, check the drive sprocket f
• How to change the blade on a lawn edgerAn edger blade is a steel disc spinning inches from your feet, and it is held on by one nut. That makes two things matte
• How to put new line in a string trimmer, and what size line to useRefilling a trimmer head is a ten-minute job that goes wrong for one reason more than any other: the line is the wrong t
• How to tell if a chainsaw chain is too loose, and how to tighten itA chainsaw chain that is too loose can leave the guide bar, and one that is too tight wears the bar and the chain and lo
• Sharpen a chainsaw chain with a round file and a depth gauge, and know when to stop filingA dull chainsaw chain makes the saw work harder, produces fine dust instead of chips, and increases the risk of kickback

Where this stops

Carburettor adjustment, clutch work and engine internal work are deferred. Chain and blade sharpening geometry comes from the machine manufacturer's documentation, never from this site.