whoops!!.... feeling pretty dumb

[psych038]

day after x-mas a couple of buddies and me went to go cut a few loads of firewood. i am not an expert by any means, but have been sawing for a couple of years now. i would say that i am always very carefull but it would be hard to convince anyone of that after my last wood cutting endevour. anyhow after i droppred a pretty good sized tree, we all started cutting the brush out of the top and while stepping through the brush i managed to cut my damned leg!!! really felt like a jack@$$!!! wasnt seriouse (9 stitches) but really gives me a new respect for that saw. i wasnt even on the gas, it was just still barely spinning after the last cut. i guess i will start using the brake a little more often, and prob be investing in a pair of chaps. havent got the bill from the ER but i bet i didnt save any money heating with wood this year.
please everybody be careful. i see so many people cut in horible positions and can only imagine what kind of damage a saw could really do. i was pretty lucky!!!

 

[Stein]

Good thing it wasn't worse. I just picked up some Stihl chaps new in the bag on CL for $25 the other day and I don't even notice that I am wearing them.

 

[treeslayer]

i wasnt even on the gas, it was just still barely spinning after the last cut. i guess i will start using the brake a little more often, and prob be investing in a pair of chaps. havent got the bill from the ER but i bet i didnt save any money heating with wood this year.
please everybody be careful. i see so many people cut in horible positions and can only imagine what kind of damage a saw could really do. i was pretty lucky!!!

EXACTLY !! both my cuts over the years were from IDLING saws.

that's when our guard is down.

best thread of the day.

 

[dancan]

day after x-mas a couple of buddies and me went to go cut a few loads of firewood. i am not an expert by any means, but have been sawing for a couple of years now. i would say that i am always very carefull but it would be hard to convince anyone of that after my last wood cutting endevour. anyhow after i droppred a pretty good sized tree, we all started cutting the brush out of the top and while stepping through the brush i managed to cut my damned leg!!! really felt like a jack@$$!!! wasnt seriouse (9 stitches) but really gives me a new respect for that saw. i wasnt even on the gas, it was just still barely spinning after the last cut. i guess i will start using the brake a little more often, and prob be investing in a pair of chaps. havent got the bill from the ER but i bet i didnt save any money heating with wood this year.
please everybody be careful. i see so many people cut in horible positions and can only imagine what kind of damage a saw could really do. i was pretty lucky!!!

Alot of lessons in that statement , thanks for being a big enough man to share with all of us .

 

[habanero]

After cutting for better than 15 years with no incident (and no PPE), I sliced a good chunk out of a pair of jeans last year. Kind of the same situation, limbing a trunk and not even revving the saw. Luckily it just cut the jeans and didn't even scratch my leg. I bought my chaps the next week and have worn them ever since.

 

[stumpjumper83]

Another thing to keep after is the saw idle speed. Overtime the idle screw can move letting the revs come up at idle, thus spinning the chain. Keep an eye on that, and adjust as necessary, and always use your chain brake when moving around. Chaps are another very good thing to have.

 

[Sawmill]

I sawed down a large white pine several years ago and was cutting the limbs off from it. I was half way up the trunk and I cut one limb off and next thing I knew the saw was up in the air and then down my leg. Thank god for chain brakes When I cut all the brush on where the tree fell one maple about 2 or 3 inches in dia was buried under the pine and did not get cut. When I cut the pine limb I also cut the top of this tree and it sprung back up hitting me in the forearm which applied the chain brake. Then in a downward motion the saw came down my leg from my waist to my knee. Other than a badly bruised arm all I got was a bunch of scratches down my leg and one pair of pants that was shredded. I stopped sawing for the night and went to the house changed my pants hung them over a chair and went and bought a pair of chaps. I don't even want to think what would have happened it it was not for the chain brake.

 

[ericjeeper]

SO we all agree chaps are money well spent aye?

I never run a saw without my chaps.. I just watched the video of the saw eating up that ham... And I was smart enough to get myself and my son a set.

 

[alderman]

Seems to be a common theme

I've always been careful but like a lot of you I had one close call that spurred me into getting some chaps. Now if we could just convince folks to get their ppe before the s*** hits the fan. Now I don't cut unless the chaps and helmet are on.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Years ago......

Years ago, my uncle was walking through the woods with the saw running and the chain was spinning. The chain caught something and popped the chain right up across his mouth, taking out a few teeth and putting a real nasty cut/scar across his upper and lower lips. He never really talked about it...I was just a kid....and I think that he felt a little stupid for something like that happening to him. This is a guy that would hold the shift lever on a car making sure it would stay in park when he was starting it.

I think that I'll be getting some PPE really soon. I have all parts of my body and would like to keep them.

FWIW

Dan

 

[trek5900]

Read your post and stopped by my local Stihl dealer on the way home and bought a pair of chaps. Been cutting firewood most of my life and am 62 now and I feel like I need to be more careful.

While I was in the shop I looked at a 361. Asked how he might trade for my MS 270. He said about $250 difference. Really got to think about that. May get a 361!

 

[buildmyown]

My husky is the first saw I have owned that has a chain brake and I now use it religiously. Anytime im not cutting the brake is on. Its a wounder that I never had an accident with my old saws most had a high idel once they warmed up. Still need to buy a pair of chaps no excues for not owning a pair.

Dont feel dumb there called accidents for a reason all you can do is learn from it and move on. Hopefully others will learn something as well. What did you learn this time? Set the brake and buy a pair of chaps.

 

[November Wolf]

Don't forget to wear hearing protection too. A chainsaw will permanently damage your hearing.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

What?

Don't forget to wear hearing protection too. A chainsaw will permanently damage your hearing.

WHAT?? WOULD YOU PLEASE SAY THAT AGAIN? :agree2:

 

[thejdman04]

They can sure bite you in a hurry

 

[Joshlaugh]

Thanks for the reminder. I need it every once in awhile. I am required to wear full PPE at work but for a while I wasn't when I was cutting at home. I almost feel naked without all the gear on now. Saw a really close call last April when an arborist I know had a tree fall on him(Large Pin Oak) It shattered him helmet into about 20 pieces, he broke his ankle too. The helmet was the only thing that saved his life. My crew sent his helmet to him in a zip lock bag at the hospital.

 

[rtrsam]

For years I wore chaps at work because my employer required it. It started to become a lifestyle thing, for me, they kept my legs warm (alternative to long johns) and dry, I could slip my hands behind the chaps to warm them (less obtrusive than putting hands in pockets, esp when wet or muddy hands). At lunch, take them off and sit on them, keep the hind parts warm and dry.

Over time, I saw a couple of good, experienced, careful fellows put running saws into chaps. Impressed me how the chaps stopped the chain, and how the fellows were totally uninjured (except wounded pride, actually quite somber reflection on what had just "almost" happened).

I now wear chaps because I consider them an absolutley no exceptions requirement when running a saw, even on my own time and my own saw.

 

[turnkey4099]

Even PPE is not gauranteed. Last year I was brushing out a tree, finished the limb I was on, took one step and stumbled. Saw in right hand with finger right on trigger. Yep, stumbled, Put a real nice slice right through my boot behind the steel nose cap (chaps no help there). Just barely scratched my little toe. One of those "Do I really want to look at that?"

Harry K

 

[cmetalbend]

Read your post and stopped by my local Stihl dealer on the way home and bought a pair of chaps. Been cutting firewood most of my life and am 62 now and I feel like I need to be more careful.

While I was in the shop I looked at a 361. Asked how he might trade for my MS 270. He said about $250 difference. Really got to think about that. May get a 361!

9 stiches for a 270 roughly equates to about 18 for a 361. I too took an idle saw across the leg. Ripped my new chaps about 7 inches. .

 

[Lloyd H]

chain saw injuries

I once read that the "AVERAGE" chain saw injury requires 110 stitches. 30 or so years ago I cut my arm with an XL2, 1 cutter touched my arm but didn't cut thru (chain just stopped in time), required 1 bandaid. Every time I cut I think of the 220 stitches the law of average has waiting for a careless moment on my part. Happy new year everyone.