At an age when many of his peers are slowing down, Ross Alphonsus Rixon’s vice-like handshake shows he is still as strong as ever.
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“The key is to keep your saw real sharp and rip real deep,” the 81-year-old said after winning the two-man two-billet post ripping chainsaw competition with team-mate Roderick Sirl at the Sapphire Coast Anglican College Country Fair on Saturday.
“Too many fellas go too shallow,” he said as the sound of Mr Sirl’s saw reverberated across the school oval, sending out large arcs of sawdust.
While Mr Sirl cut through a solid log of young stringy bark, former Western Queensland drover Mr Rixon described the changes he has seen since he first picked up a chainsaw in the early 1950s.
“I taught myself,” the great-great-grandfather said.
“I still chop fence posts to pass the time.
“They used to weigh around 57 pounds [26kg] but now the new saws are about half that.
“Years ago you had no two stroke so you had to use engine oil, so now there is no carbon problem and the anti-vibration technology has changed things.
“The old ones used to shake you to death,” he added with a smile.
While he pointed out all the latest gear being held by other competitors Mr Rixon said he keeps it simple.
“I just use my old bush saw,” he said.
Born in Milton in 1935, his mother named him after an Irish cathedral, but had her dreams of her son entering the clergy shattered when as an altar boy in Sydney he was caught drinking the communal wine.
He moved to a humpy in Cobargo in 1972 and has taught many a local how to skilfully wield a chainsaw in the years since.
While he’s still got what it takes to compete with the younger competitors he does admit he is not the best at the disc cutting competition.
“Four is the best I’ve ever got before,” he said.
“The most I ever saw cut was by a guy from India who got 28 in Nimmitabel a few years ago, but I don’t know where he is now, he just disappeared one year.”