> Random trivia, of the battery tools we have battery chainsaws do pretty good for length time. Don't really have a good mental model why? I guess cutting wood is not "work", moving air like in a blower is "work"

Perhaps because when you're using a chainsaw you're rarely actually cutting all the time? Most of the time is spent setting up and moving things around.

Depends how you cut .. I've got a rural background and when I cut for firewood it's pretty much continuous; from dropping a tree to stripping back limbs, to propping and dropping rounds.

If I'm there to bring in wood it's generally a two person job, one to cut another to position and stack and once the chainsaw starts it's on and cutting until the tank runs dry with fairly minimal idling time.

There's a lot more idle time when cleaning up firebreaks, it's moving from tree to tree and often the branches that need clearing require a ladder or standing on a cab roof or in a hiab bucket to reach.

I can assure you that the chainsaw is not running continuously when you're cutting firewood. Yes, the engine might be running but your finger is not on the throttle hence it's idling.

When the engine doesn't stop, then it's running .. continuously, idling or not the motor is running.

Also, with due respect, you've never been present when I or my father have cut wood, shorn sheep, loaded hay, or otherwise worked in the field. These activities get optimised via repetition to have minimal slack time and maximal throughput.

With an assistant the chain rarely stops, as one cut is completed wood has been positioned already for the next cut .. perhaps you've never been that efficient.

It's not possible to clear five tonne of cutting and splitting rounds in a day without minimising dead time.

Yes, the motor is running but I'm sure the chain does stop spinning. Surely your finger comes off the throttle when it's not actually cutting, i.e. there must be some up and down action involved even if someone else is positioning the logs?