I see. I guess it’s just a gameplay mechanics thing then. But…
Really… it’s a freakin’ chainsaw! An automatic tool designed for easily cutting through wood.
I made a chainsaw to clear out some young trees, and it worked pitifully compared to a mace. It just doesn’t make any sense and I thought I’d point it out…
Also, a Chainsaw has Tree Cutting power of 2, while a Wood Axe has Tree Cutting power of 3. Why is a low tech wood axe better than a chainsaw at cutting down trees!!
I guess my main complaint is that chainsaws are underwhelming and need a buff, otherwise they are rather useless.
EDIT: Okay… thinking about it, it does make perfect sense.
(S)mash command represents a general unskilled usage of the item as a bludgeon. That’s why smashing things with a jackhammer has poor results, but (a)ctivating it and selecting to jackhammer a wall works as you might expect. The thing is chainsaw lacks an activateable action like this for general usage against wooden objects (for fully grown trees the option in the construction menu works just fine though). Just ignore my ranting…