Convince me that a hard hat is necessary

[Bruce Hopf]

My Mom says that he always had brain damage No he is ok this happened in the late 70's

Do you and your Father ware helments now? Bruce.

 

[mantis]

NOPE ... Lesson learned I guess

 

[Ironbark]

I read that this was actually an electric chainsaw that had been pluged into an auto-timer plug socket. He the took some pills, switched the saw on and layed it on himself and went to sleep. When the timer went off, the saw did its thing.

 

[(WLL)]

I read that this was actually an electric chainsaw that had been pluged into an auto-timer plug socket. He the took some pills, switched the saw on and layed it on himself and went to sleep. When the timer went off, the saw did its thing.

:jawdrop:

 

[Bruce Hopf]

I read that this was actually an electric chainsaw that had been pluged into an auto-timer plug socket. He the took some pills, switched the saw on and layed it on himself and went to sleep. When the timer went off, the saw did its thing.

OK, Can Somebody Please tell the whole story here. Thanks. Bruce.

 

[jonny2bad]

This post is inspiring in that so many of you believe in protective gear. I used to ride a motorcycle with no helmet and now when I see someone not only without a helmet but lacking boots, jacket etc.. its more than just a personal choice. Its shameful stupidity on their part and like all aspects in life we have choices and make decisions. Be smat and where your gear !

 

[Bruce Hopf]

This post is inspiring in that so many of you believe in protective gear. I used to ride a motorcycle with no helmet and now when I see someone not only without a helmet but lacking boots, jacket etc.. its more than just a personal choice. Its shameful stupidity on their part and like all aspects in life we have choices and make decisions. Be smart and where your gear !

Hey jonny2bad.
What really gets my Goat, is these Bozos riding there Motor Cycles, wearing Shorts, Running Shoes, and a Tee Shirt.
A quit a few years ago, when my Parents still owned the Farm, that I'm on now, my Sister, and Brother In law, came in here on a Dirt Bike, owner of those motocross outfits, wearing a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, and running shoes.
I lit into them both for being SO STUPID. My Brother In law said that there was nothing wrong with being dressed like that. I told them both to imagine, if they had to ever lay that thing down, how much skin would get ripped off, and how many skin grafts would have to be done. After that, they sold it. I guess as I was reaming them out, I must have made sense to them.
I was a long haul trucker for 13 years, and I have seen a few wipe outs, and those guys where wearing full Leather, and Helmets. A friend of mine played his Bike over, and he was burnt, not bad through his Full Leather Out fit. If you still ride, please be safe. Bruce.

 

[Philbert]

Thanks for all the safety testimonials. Lot of good info: falling branches, saws kicking back, stuff caused by other workers.

I also was lucky for many years,and fortunately started working safer before anything happened. I know a lot of guys in the safety field, including OSHA types, and they always note the power of peer pressure. A lot of guys don't believe that things will happen to them, until they experience or witness it themselves. The OSHA guys like to point out that most of their rules are based on fatalities - not by a bunch of guys sitting around in rooms thinking about 'what if?'

We had a guy killed around here about a year or so ago who specialized in maintaining and repairing flag poles. Been doing it something like 50 years. The ball on the top fell off of one he was working on at a shopping center, and, you guessed it, hit him on the head and killed him. What are the chances?

A couple of technical points:

The suspension of the helmet is considered to be the most important part. The 'hard' part of the hard hat does prevent penetration. But the suspension provides the space between your head and the impact, and is designed to absorb the force of the impact. The suspension should be replaced if damaged or if it takes a good hit.

Safety glasses are still supposed to be worn behind the mesh shield. The mesh stops big chips, but won't protect against a lot of sticks or flying things that get around it.

Yeah, the 3-way helmet/face shield/ear muffs thing can look a little dorky, especially with the muffs raised up, but having it all together makes it easier to keep them together and to put them all on at once.

Philbert

 

[BC WetCoast]

11. Use it to try and keep a Hungry Timber Wolf busy chewing on, while trying to get clean getaway.
12. A big soup bowl.
13.Good ear plugs to help cut down thew noise when the wife is yelling at you.
Bruce.

14. To bang on a tree making lots of noise so the cougar that just snuck up on you will get bored and walk away.

 

[serial killer]

My head has been hurting like a mofo for two days now. Not because of the branch that bounced off my helmet while I was felling some deadwood that day; I walked away from that without a scratch. I injured myself later on in the afternoon while I was rearranging logs in the back of the truck, stood up and whacked my skull off the crossmember. If I hadn't been wearing a hardhat earlier, I may not have been conscious long enough to give myself this knot on my head. When I got up in the dump bed yesterday, I left my bucket on to prevent a repeat performance.

 

[Groundman One]

I never work without a helmet. I went a few years where it was a sometimes thing, but the last several years it's an all the time thing. I have the standard orange Peltor with muffs but I'm looking at the Pacific Safety kevlar helmet. It's almost four times the price of the Peltor, but I figure it's worth the cash to keep your brains within the confines of your skull.

A helmet when using the chipper is a must as well. We have a Vermeer 625 and I've taken lots of cracks on the head from branches swinging around as they're being pulled in. Had the helmet bashed right off my head more than once. The extra noise reduction with the earmuffs is a big plus. I wear ear plugs all the time, and the helmet muffs + ear plugs makes the work much more comfortable, chipper or saw.

 

[Bruce Hopf]

I never work without a helmet. I went a few years where it was a sometimes thing, but the last several years it's an all the time thing. I have the standard orange Peltor with muffs but I'm looking at the Pacific Safety kevlar helmet. It's almost four times the price of the Peltor, but I figure it's worth the cash to keep your brains within the confines of your skull.

A helmet when using the chipper is a must as well. We have a Vermeer 625 and I've taken lots of cracks on the head from branches swinging around as they're being pulled in. Had the helmet bashed right off my head more than once. The extra noise reduction with the earmuffs is a big plus. I wear ear plugs all the time, and the helmet muffs + ear plugs makes the work much more comfortable, chipper or saw.

Welcome to AS. I hav found out that it is also A Must to have on your Helment while operating a Buss Saw, with a 28" Circular Saw Blade. I had a peice of a splintered wood got lodged, in the blade, and when I finished the cut, It broke free, it flew back, and put a dent in the Mesh Visor of my Helment. If not for that, I could have lost an eye. Bruce.

 

[Groundman One]

Welcome to AS. I hav found out that it is also A Must to have on your Helment while operating a Buss Saw, with a 28" Circular Saw Blade. I had a peice of a splintered wood got lodged, in the blade, and when I finished the cut, It broke free, it flew back, and put a dent in the Mesh Visor of my Helment. If not for that, I could have lost an eye. Bruce.

Hey Bruce,

I have to tell you a short story, it fits well with this site.

Motorcycle courses and licenses are very expensive in Quebec. So, years ago, I went to Cornwall, used my buddy's adress and got one there for 1/10 the price of what I would have paid here. I'm driving around back in Quebec and a small town cop pulls me over. We end up at the cop shop and he's going over my paperwork. He starts to give me the third degree about the Ontario plates on my motorcycle.

"You're here all the time driving around but you have Ontario plates."

"Yeah"

How come you're here all the time?"

I live in Ontario and I work here."

"Why don't you work in Ontario?"

"I cut trees for a living. There are no trees in Ontario."

"Oh... ok."

He gives me back all my paperwork and sends me off. I nearly had a heart attack trying not to laugh on the way out of the police station.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome. Very happy I found this site.

 

[Wirenut2266]

True story: My buddies dad got so used to werin his hard hat, he would wear it a breakfast, lunch, dinner, out on the town, didn't matter. Maybe he wore the headband too tight or somethin, but you NEVER seen him without it. Only time i can remember, was his daughters wedding. Funny but true!!!

You should never have to think about PPE, if you have to think about it or be convinced to use it, I don't want to be around you!

 

[Farmall Guy]

I cut for a few years without a hard hat, I was falling some dead wood for my uncle and I had a bad feeling about the situation so I grabed a hard hat my father had from the power company and went to work. (if it hadnt been for reading some stuff here I doubt I would have thought twice, so thanks for waking me up ) I sized up the tree and decided where to put it, just as soon as I touched the bar to the tree a limb about 1.5" around and 15-20" long came down and hit me square in the top of the hat. If I hadnt been wearing one I dont think I would have been able to finish that job in the same day.

After that I always have the hard hat on while working in the woods. I just upgraded from the plastic hat to a full brim alluminum skull bucket from baileys this week. Cant wait to get into the woods with it so I can offer a good opinion of it but my first impression was good. Its alot lighter than I expected and seems to be real comfortable to wear, I'll know more once I've cut with it for a while.

A year ago I dint think I needed a hard hat, after all I only work in the woods a few days a month so... I'm glad I got over that lifes to short as it is, dont need to be takeing chances for something as simple as a hard hat.

 

[Philbert]

Thats using your head!

Thanks for sharing. Glad you are still with us to share the story.

Philbert

 

[windthrown]

I am not a pro logger, but I wear a brain bucket when falling trees. I usually use a plastic one for construction rather than a classic logging one, with the front brim. I have a classic one as well, but I do not wear that as much. Anyway, I wear one mainly cause the limbs can be loose up there in the canopy and when the tree starts to lean into the fall, widowmakers tends to come crashing down. They can also brush against other trees and knock each other's limbs off during falling. If the whole tree comes down on my head, I figure I am a goner anyway. But those loose limbs are just waiting to drop on your head out there.

I also got thwapped in the head pretty hard once clearing a new road with the tractor. The limb was only 2 inches thick, but it was spring loaded and bent around the bucket hook and let loose. My hard hat went flying off my head, and I had a good size bruise where the limb brushed my scalp. I figure w/o the hard hat on, I would have been knocked out at best. It missed the roll cage in a weird fluke and was just long enough to reach in and whap my head becasue I was leaning foreward over the steering wheel to look at the bucket location in the roadway and adjust the height with the lever. I was distracted, and THWHAP! :censored: what the :censored: was that?!?!

You never know when that kind of stuff will happen. It just does. Morel of the story: Darwin and Murphy are always out there waiting to remove you from the gene pool should you decide not to wear a hard hat. Be so advised.

 

[Bruce Hopf]

I cut for a few years without a hard hat, I was falling some dead wood for my uncle and I had a bad feeling about the situation so I grabed a hard hat my father had from the power company and went to work. (if it hadnt been for reading some stuff here I doubt I would have thought twice, so thanks for waking me up ) I sized up the tree and decided where to put it, just as soon as I touched the bar to the tree a limb about 1.5" around and 15-20" long came down and hit me square in the top of the hat. If I hadnt been wearing one I dont think I would have been able to finish that job in the same day.

After that I always have the hard hat on while working in the woods. I just upgraded from the plastic hat to a full brim alluminum skull bucket from baileys this week. Cant wait to get into the woods with it so I can offer a good opinion of it but my first impression was good. Its alot lighter than I expected and seems to be real comfortable to wear, I'll know more once I've cut with it for a while.

A year ago I dint think I needed a hard hat, after all I only work in the woods a few days a month so... I'm glad I got over that lifes to short as it is, dont need to be takeing chances for something as simple as a hard hat.

Farmall Guy. I'm glad to hear that you are alright. It's beter to have a Little Dong when getting you Bell Rung, instead of the loud and long DUINGGGGG when your Bell gets Rang. Bruce.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

I hit my head so often I dont know how I managed before wearing lids.

Q for you guys, related but not related

In ww1 medical personal found that as helmets were being worn more by soldiers, the injury rate of troops actually propotionally increased.

Why?

 

[belgian]

I hit my head so often I dont know how I managed before wearing lids.

Q for you guys, related but not related.

In ww1 medical personal found that as helmets were being worn more by soldiers, the injury rate of troops actually propotionally increased.

Why?

false sense of security, maybe ?
easier aiming point as target ?

:dunno: