Be careful out there

[alderman]

Just thought I'd pass this on to keep you guys on your toes.


I just got word that one of the locals was using a chain saw out at his duck blind.

Apparently the log he was cutting had some tension on it and when it came loose it took out his leg. Shattered the lower leg as well as the knee joint. They put in an external rod to keep it in place until the swelling goes down enough to do surgery. They thought at one point they were going to have to open up the leg just to relieve the swelling. Doctors at this point aren't real optimistic about his mobility in the future.

Not a good deal.

 

[PaulDaisy]

Yikes!
I have a lot of respect even for small trees. They come down hard, and the bounce once they fall is so strong, I tend to stay as far away as I can...

 

[pioneerguy600]

Definitely not good news , when first read I took it as being a fellow AS member, hope not. Shure hope this turns out better than the OP`s first post indicates.
Pioneerguy600

 

[o8f150]

after my first close call i have become even more careful.. was getting ready to cut about a 3" tree that was bent over. i didn't really think it was sprung very tight.. well i cut it and that dern trunk flew by my head.. i never thought it was that tight.. if i hadn't moved fast enough it might have taken my head off. guess i was hoping it would have gone straight down

 

[tlandrum]

after my first close call i have become even more careful.. was getting ready to cut about a 3" tree that was bent over. i didn't really think it was sprung very tight.. well i cut it and that dern trunk flew by my head.. i never thought it was that tight.. if i hadn't moved fast enough it might have taken my head off. guess i was hoping it would have gone straight down

i clear cut a small tract last year that had been started by the landowner, but he got his back and neck broken by a loaded up maple. whebn he touched it with the saw it kicked him in the chin and threw him 25 ft backwards and broke his neck and back on the landing. i log for a living and when it comes to loaded saplings ii leave them alone unless i just have to cut it for some reason. you never know when one will kick you or kick your saw into you.

 

[Brian S]

I've honestly never heard of a loaded sapling, or a tree being under tension in such a way that it can come back and hit you. What causes a tree to do that, and what should I look for in the future so I can avoid them?

 

[alderman]

It seems to happen most often around here when the entire tree topples over, rootball and all and comes to rest against another tree.

I don't really like cutting anything that has tension on it and prefer cutting something that is out in the clear and detatched from the root ball.

Alder is bad because just touching it with the saw while under tension will often cause it to split and move. I think Maple is worse.

 

[gwiley]

My Dad broke his jaw and lost a tooth (other teeth were badly damaged) when a 2" cedar sprung. He thought he was clear of its path but when it finally went it had been under torsion as well as bent so it came back and hit him as hard as if someone had smashed him with a baseball bat.

He figures that 1-2" to the side and it would have struck him in the temple...

Small spring poles are so deadly because they look harmless - best to view them as a baseball bat swung by the strongest hitter in history with a rocket assist. They will mess you up - think hard and put things between you and the spring pole before you apply the saw.

Better practice, if you have the luxury, is to the clear the lay before felling (not helpful advice clearing windfall etc.).

 

[tlandrum]

in my case you come in contact with loaded limbs and sappling about every time you fall a tree.there really is no way to avoid them ,you just have to be very careful about topping and limbing your tree.the amount of force in those little sapplings is tremendous

 

[pioneerguy600]

We were out clearing after a hurricane blew through here 6 years ago now, never seen so many people hurt just running saws cleaning up their yards. No one killed that I heard of but plenty got wacked real hard from tensioned small saplings. Many were under tremendous tension from bigger trees that had toppled over on them and they do look harmless to unsuspecting sawyers.
Pioneerguy600

 

[logbutcher]

For all (yes all, both you appointed "pros" and those dreaded labeled homeowners): never too late to learn the right techniques.

Listen to the experienced, watch the real pros cut efficiently and safely. Forget the hubris machos online ( " never use PPE, don need no stinkin PPE" ).
The training we had to take to get covered legally does the SOP well. They spent a full 1/2 day on spring poles, compression, loads, etc... Well done to avoid those minefields in our woodlands.

Look for Game of Logging or CLP programs in your area. Worth it for even you old farts (me).

JMNSHO

 

[OldDeadOne]

Great and very useful thread,and I hope the OP's local's leg turns out ok with little or no loss of mobility.