Big Gus is Ishpeming's Guinness-record chainsaw

Big Gus looks like the sort of roadside claim that grows with every retelling, but the core of this one has real record support. Guinness World Records lists Big Gus under the title “largest chainsaw” and describes it as a working machine.

The measurements are hard to miss: 6.98 meters, or 22 feet 11 inches, long and 1.83 meters, or 6 feet, high. Guinness says Moran Iron Works of Onaway built it in 1996 and that it was put on display at Da Yoopers Tourist Trap in Ishpeming.

The word working is part of the record description. It is not a promise that staff will run the saw during your visit, and the current visitor listing does not publish a demonstration schedule. Think of Big Gus as a record-holding display unless the attraction tells you otherwise.

Pure Michigan’s current listing places the attraction at 490 N. Steel Street and describes a shop with Yooper-made gifts, unusual displays, and an underground mining exhibit. It lists the attraction as open year-round, but hours can change. That is worth checking before making a special drive. Big Gus does not need extra roadside lore to be interesting: a Michigan-built, Guinness-listed chainsaw nearly 23 feet long is plenty.