"Sawhenge" Grows In Repairman's Front Yard

"Sawhenge" Grows In Repairman's Front Yard WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Chain Saws 28-4-23 Drive by Anthony Cardwell's home near Hardinsburg, Ind., and you'll see a rare sight - rows of old chain saws "planted" in his front yard. There are three rows in all, with 20 saws per row. Cardwell calls it his "Sawhenge" after England's world famous Stonehenge monument, which is thought to have been built by sun-worshipping natives in pre-historic times. "Sometimes local people stop by to ask if any new saws have sprouted up," says Cardwell, a retired machinist whose sideline business for years has been to fix chain saws. "A few years ago I visited æCarhenge' in Nebraska (FARM SHOW's Vol. 12, No. 6) and was really impressed with it. Right in the middle of a wheat field there are 32 cars arranged in a circle to look like the real Stonehenge. "One day I was sorting out some old chain saws, trying to decide which ones to repair and which ones to keep for parts. I was going to throw a saw into my pickup when instead, on a whim, I decided to throw it on the ground and it stood up. The ground was soft so the blade stuck. I kept thinking about that and about Carhenge. Finally I decided to put all my other nonrepairable saws into the ground, too, and arrange them in rows." That was four years ago. Now Cardwell adds a saw to his collection anytime he gets one that can't be fixed. The saws have blades that are anywhere from 1 to 3 ft. long. To plant a saw he removes the bar and uses a sledgehammer to drive it into the ground before reattaching the engine. He sticks the saws about half way down into the ground, depending on how heavy they are. "Sometimes I'll even start up a saw, then let the blade dig itself into the ground so I don't have to do any work," he says. He says ninety percent of the saws were given to him. "Many of the saws were in operating condition when I stuck them in the ground, but no one wanted them. The problem is that parts for chain saws are so expensive, you can often buy a new one for less than it would cost to repair it," he says. The oldest saw in his collection is a 1946 Allis Chalmers. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Anthony Cardwell, 11958 S. State Rd. 66, Hardinsburg, Ind. 47125 (ph 812 472-3338).

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