My brother got bit by a saw, hanging it up after 15+ years of logging...

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woodshed

woodshed

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Pretty amazing that this is the first time he has had an incident with a saw. Was limbing a big oak with his 044 and moved up the tree and just bumped the tip of the bar on a limb and it kicked back, split his thigh open but thankfully didn't go deep at all. No chaps, idiot! Had to pull his jeans away from his leg and cut tissue/denim away from the wound in with some scissors. Not much there to stitch so he has just been applying liberal amounts of bacitracin and a bandage. Lucky but it scared him enough to start looking for a different job. He has an intervue with the new clean coal plant around Louisville, looks hopeful. The only other notable injury he suffered on the job was beaming himself in the mouth with a choker a few years back, split his lip all the way to his nose, nasty scar. Looks like he will be hanging it up and selling his share of the company to his partner. Kinda sucks because he really loved it but with a wifey and a kid he needs something more stable. Some of you guys may have heard of them, Eagle Timber Management, used to be out of Seymour Indiana, now Deputy. Be careful out there!

Scott
 
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You know what they say, "stuff happens!"

Not to be a smart a$$, but he could just as easily do something unsafe at the clean coal place and be hurt, right?

I do understand the steady part though!

Glad it wasn't worse!
 
I think the having a kid thing is weighing on him pretty heavy. Alot more responsibility then back when he and his buddy started the business. It's still a small operation, two cutters, one guy skidding/loading, one semi driver. Pretty easy to see how a couple of weeks of rain could pretty much wipe them out financially. If they can't turn a wheel it is only a matter of time until the moneys gone. It also doesn't help that his partner is on his second divorce, starts drinking at 7 a.m. and leaves around noon to F#CK off while my brother tries to hold everything together. The end was probably near anyway you look at it. They have several 044/440's, an 066, and several smaller saws that have been given to them including Husqvarna 350, Stihl 029.

Scott
 
Sad story but I'm glad you posted it. Several lessons can be learned from it that might help people who read it.
 
Some people would look at an accident like that and see it as a sign to move on to other things. Others would look back and realize how lucky they've been, change their safety habits and continue what they're doing.
 
This is a example why I keep a small trim saw with me, to limb a Oak.

Lots of limbs going all over and a long bar, bigger saw makes that kickback a little more possible.

Light small saw , and work my way in from the outside, is easier to control for me.

Not saying I'm right, just what I do.
 
Modifiedmark said:
This is a example why I keep a small trim saw with me, to limb a Oak.

Lots of limbs going all over and a long bar, bigger saw makes that kickback a little more possible.

Light small saw , and work my way in from the outside, is easier to control for me.

Not saying I'm right, just what I do.
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:agree2:

Use a lightweight saw with short bar for the small stuff, and then move up to a larger saw for more substantial wood.

Accidents can and do happen, and happen quickly.:censored:
 
there really isent any time for the small saw big saw thing in the woods.. It's more like,"I will be cutting wood today so il use the 44 or il use the 66 today cause i am cutting fat saw logs". But i BET it happend cause he was tired!!! That is when i feel the most vulnerable to injury, wearing chaps is sceond.

Sad that he is throwing in the towel just cause of that.
 
Modifiedmark said:
This is a example why I keep a small trim saw with me, to limb a Oak.

Lots of limbs going all over and a long bar, bigger saw makes that kickback a little more possible.

Light small saw , and work my way in from the outside, is easier to control for me.

Not saying I'm right, just what I do.
Click to expand...

+1... You can't have too many saws-the more the merrier :agree2:
 
:agree2:
056 kid said:
there really isent any time for the small saw big saw thing in the woods.. It's more like,"I will be cutting wood today so il use the 44 or il use the 66 today cause i am cutting fat saw logs". But i BET it happend cause he was tired!!! That is when i feel the most vulnerable to injury, wearing chaps is sceond.

Sad that he is throwing in the towel just cause of that.
Click to expand...

I don't know of any hand cutter that carries a limbing saw and a felling saw while working. most of the guys around use a 440 / 372 size for everything all day long. You wouldn't get much done if you kept switching saws on every tree
 
huskystihl said:
Chaps don't do a whole lot with a spinning chain. My brother took 31 stitches and was wearing them.
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He would probably been a cripple the rest of his life if he wasn't wearing them. He was a lucky man, I'm thinking. I think most chaps are designed to stop a spinning chain and at the worst maybe 31 stitches instead of a severed leg.
 
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taxmantoo said:
Sounds like it's just the last straw and the real reason for quitting is that he's in partnership with a drunk who's not pulling his half of the work. Doing the work of two guys might leave him tired and prone to careless mistakes too.
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:agree2: - my thoughts as well......
 
blackoak said:
He would probably been a cripple the rest of his life if he wasn't wearing them. He was a lucky man, I'm thinking. I think most chaps are designed to stop a spinning chain and at the worst maybe 31 stitches instead of a severed leg.
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Your right. A lot of the guys that I work with feel their harder to maneuver yourself around therefore maybe falling when you might not have without them. I believe anyone cutting firewood should always wear them. I just don't run into a-lot of tree guys wearing them. I personally dont due to the fact i'm in and out of the bucket and on and off the loader and they are restrictive, should I wear them? yes ! but I don't.
 

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