Your worst chainsaw injury

[komatsuvarna]

About 12-13 years ago I ran a 026 across the top of my foot. I knew better than to do what I was doing, but done it anyway. Had several stiches and a cut ligament to my big toe, but all healed well.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Steel toe'd boots saved my right foots toes, I had just finished fixing a 346 for one of my cutting buddies, slipped the boots on and went to the wood pile for a test cut. Wood kicked out and chain hit toe of boots. I shut the saw off and called itgb a night.

 

[anlrolfe]

Red Wing steel toes = check
Stihl chaps = check
Safety glasses = check
Ear plugs = check
Helmet...... I've got a construction hard hat

 

[Gologit]

I had an old Mac gear drive with a 60" bar get pinched in a bucking cut. It came back out of that log like a battering ram and one of the handle bars hit me in the chest. Two broken ribs. I had just started the cut and the saw was still above chest height. I'm lucky it didn't take my head off.
Other than that, not much. A few cuts and scrapes while handling or sharpening. The usual stuff.

 

[towingace]

I had an old Mac gear drive with a 60" bar get pinched in a bucking cut. It came back out of that log like a battering ram and one of the handle bars hit me in the chest. Two broken ribs. I had just started the cut and the saw was still above chest height. I'm lucky it didn't take my head off.
Other than that, not much. A few cuts and scrapes while handling or sharpening. The usual stuff.

Buckin' logs, buckin' bulls, buckin' broncos...they can all buckin' hurt.

 

[Jon1212]

I had about 35 feet of two foot beetle killed pine come over while knot bumping. I missed getting clear by about a foot. The tree came down on the outside of my legs resulting in separating my shin bones from each other, breaking both of them, and tearing four ligaments in my ankle. I spent about forty five minutes finishing up the section of the tree, then loaded up, and drove myself two hours to the emergency room.


The long screw is through the two pieces of my tibia. The buttons above are connected by the surgical wire that was used to pull my shin bones back together.

You can barely see the tunnel they drilled through for passing the oval shaped button, and wire.

 

[RandyMac]

I had an old Mac gear drive with a 60" bar get pinched in a bucking cut. It came back out of that log like a battering ram and one of the handle bars hit me in the chest. Two broken ribs. I had just started the cut and the saw was still above chest height. I'm lucky it didn't take my head off.
Other than that, not much. A few cuts and scrapes while handling or sharpening. The usual stuff.

Had an 895 do that in a bucker's break, pistol grip caught my right shoulder on the way by, rearranged it some, got a landingman duct tape and innertube repair. Bucked logs left handed for a couple hours until I got a truck ride to the Redwood Mem. ER.

 

[Sagetown]

I had about 35 feet of two foot beetle killed pine come over while knot bumping. I missed getting clear by about a foot. The tree came down on the outside of my legs resulting in separating my shin bones from each other, breaking both of them, and tearing four ligaments in my ankle. I spent about forty five minutes finishing up the section of the tree, then loaded up, and drove myself two hours to the emergency room.

View attachment 397812
The long screw is through the two pieces of my tibia. The buttons above are connected by the surgical wire that was used to pull my shin bones back together.
View attachment 397816
You can barely see the tunnel they drilled through for passing the oval shaped button, and wire.

Oh ; yeah; that wasn't all that long ago Jon. How's it doing now?

 

[Jon1212]

Oh ; yeah; that wasn't all that long ago Jon. How's it doing now?

It's somewhat of an internal weather station.

 

[SteveSS]

I haven't had any blood drawn, but a couple years ago I was bucking up a VERY small tree trunk while wearing tennis shoes. One of the pieces hit my big toe like a bulls-eye and the toe nail fell off a few days later. Not anything like any of the other posters, but it hurt for sure and took months to grow back.

 

[Philip Wheelock]

A couple of years ago, I missed my falling line and the top 20' of a pine snag came pinwheeling at me after hitting a tree 50' away on the way down. Tapped me on the left arm and leg & sheared the chain brake handle off the saw.

 

[Gologit]

Had an 895 do that in a bucker's break, pistol grip caught my right shoulder on the way by, rearranged it some, got a landingman duct tape and innertube repair. Bucked logs left handed for a couple hours until I got a truck ride to the Redwood Mem. ER.

LOL...First you had to survive the injury and then you had to survive Redwood Memorial. Good days those were.

 

[mark360T]

I've have two close calls in my 13 years of cutting. I was using my old 360T both times. My first incident was when my saw kicked back right across my steel toe boot. It cut right between the steel cap and leather, I ended up being able to see my sock. The second time was when I was cutting some brush. As I pulled my saw away the chain grabbed my left pant leg and tore a softball size hole in them. Since then I wear chaps. The only injury I have was when I cut the tip of my finger off with an angle grinder in metals class. 8 stitches and a numb finger tip is what I get for holding a running grinder with one hand and grabbing the cut piece with the other.

 

[Brian Carlson]

Worse things I have had happened to me was while removing a clutch on a 460. I was pushing on the wrench hard and when the clutch let go my hand was went down on one of the bucking spikes. I bled a little but it hurt for about a month. Must have been feeling all the dirt in the wound off the spike.

 

[MrGiggles]

When I was younger, whenever the splitting maul got stuck partway in a round I would grab another chunk of wood and throw it onto the maul head to drive it through. Did it a couple times without an issue, but one time I hit the maul just right and instead of driving it downward, it flipped the maul upward, and the handle smacked right into my left temple.. Had to sit down for a minute after that one.

Another time while splitting the maul (using a Fiskars this time) was pinched in a knotty chunk of Elm.. I pushed downward on the handle like I always do and the maul flew out of that round and hit me right in the face.. Surprisingly only left a small bruise on my cheek bone. The Teflon head on that Fiskars apparently makes it a little slippery.

Other than sharpening injuries I haven't had any chain-related incidents.

 

[Odog]

Making bread loaf cuts in a log for a home, NOT using the tip of the bar mind you. The saw kicked back and hit me between the eyes, eating my safety glasses, the break didn't activate so the rotating chain proceeded to eat the right half of my nose. Felt like I had been punched and bled a lot. The boss had gone back to town for lag bolts so I stopped the bleeding and went back to work. He showed up and took me to the ER. The 1st doc said he didn't even know where to start, the surgeon came in and said he couldn't fix it, I'd have to goto Butte to the plastic surgeon. I'm thinking "come on it's just a few stitches let's fix it and go back." The plastic surgeon was a little old guy with a lazy eye, kinda scared me. He cleaned it up and smiled, grabbed a mirror and showed me the mess. There was nothing there to stitch up, the right side was gone. So he drew some lines in my cheek and sent me to the OR. He ended up cutting into my cheek and folding a piece over and rebuilding my nose. Since my nose had been broken so many times as a kid the cartilage had a curve to it so he shaved a piece off and grafted it in so my nostrils has a normalish flare to it. He hid the scar on my laugh lines so it's not as noticable. 16 stitches on the outside 84 on the inside. Only downside is that my facial hair now grows on the right side of my nose. He lasered the hell out of it but it's persistant and keeps on growing so I have to shave the outside of my nose daily!

 

[Milkman31]

I was rebuilding a carb on a chainsaw. While holding the carb in one hand and pressing with all my mite to get the meetering cover screws out the screwdriver slips and through the hand it went. Now they get held with the vice!!!

 

[towingace]

Making bread loaf cuts in a log for a home, NOT using the tip of the bar mind you. The saw kicked back and hit me between the eyes, eating my safety glasses, the break didn't activate so the rotating chain proceeded to eat the right half of my nose. Felt like I had been punched and bled a lot. The boss had gone back to town for lag bolts so I stopped the bleeding and went back to work. He showed up and took me to the ER. The 1st doc said he didn't even know where to start, the surgeon came in and said he couldn't fix it, I'd have to goto Butte to the plastic surgeon. I'm thinking "come on it's just a few stitches let's fix it and go back." The plastic surgeon was a little old guy with a lazy eye, kinda scared me. He cleaned it up and smiled, grabbed a mirror and showed me the mess. There was nothing there to stitch up, the right side was gone. So he drew some lines in my cheek and sent me to the OR. He ended up cutting into my cheek and folding a piece over and rebuilding my nose. Since my nose had been broken so many times as a kid the cartilage had a curve to it so he shaved a piece off and grafted it in so my nostrils has a normalish flare to it. He hid the scar on my laugh lines so it's not as noticable. 16 stitches on the outside 84 on the inside. Only downside is that my facial hair now grows on the right side of my nose. He lasered the hell out of it but it's persistant and keeps on growing so I have to shave the outside of my nose daily!

I don't know if you read my post, but I was really lucky that something similar or worse didn't happen. Really, how do you lop your ear plumb off, without putting a mark on the rest of yer face.

As bad as your injury was, I'm sure you've thought, many times, how much worse it could have been. You were definately lucky brutha.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Odog, do you have any pic's? I though towingace had the best story, untill yours. I think I woulda bought old lazy eye a bottle of bourban after putting my face back together

 

[tree_chomper]

I once was cutting up ash in the back of my truck to stove length, one handed like an idiot (200t) and had a kick back that caught me middle finger on my left hand. How it only caught that 1 finger I'll never know? But I learned a very valuable lesson that day. Not to be in a hurry while cutting and to use both hands on the saw at all times unless I'm up in the tree and it's an absolute necessity to to use just one hand. I knew that already but the accident definitely woke me up. Went down to the bone and thank god the saw was not at full revs! I respect that little guy (200t) more than my 660!!