Do You Wear Full PPE When You Cut?

[Trailsawyer]

I have been doing a fair amount of volunteer trail work on State and Federal lands for over 30 years...... and just yesterday went through the re-certification class for my USFS C I/E - Bucking "card" - which I have had for about 20 years. I took a couple of years to really accept the rules and regulations back in the mid 1980's, but after seeing several serious injuries avoided because someone was following the rules, I became a "believer"! I've witnessed two people have their chaps stop the chain of a 60cc Stihl saw.... and I can assure you that those two, as well as myself, don't need to be reminded to "gear up" before starting a saw!

 

[OM617YOTA]

The guy who "taught" me to use a saw didn't use any safety gear. Even then I used safety glasses, but that was it. No hearing protection or anything else. This was the same guy who thought "tuning" a saw was leaning it out as far as you dare, and when it burned up, well that was just how long a saw lasted. If a saw lasted more than one firewood season, that was a damned good saw! Very glad I've learned beyond what he knew.

What I wear depends on what I'm doing.
If I'm just starting/revving saw, only hearing protection.
If I'm cutting anything, safety glasses and hearing protection. If an electric saw, sometimes not the hearing protection, but even then that high pitched whine is loud enough to be damaging if used for a length of time.
Any.running of a saw with unsure footing, or if I'm tired, or cutting anything awkward, or if it's nasty and I want more weather protection, or if I have to kneel on anything and want more padding, out come the chaps.

I don't do any tree work, just a firewood cutter, haven't felled a tree in years, and just this week bought a hardhat for storm cleanup.

Edit: Gloves occasionally, mostly that's to protect my hands from whatever I'm handling when I'm not cutting, though they do add a level of vibration protection too.

Steel toed shoes are my standard footwear. Even my business casual office day job shoes are safety toe.

 

[5backacres]

on the ground bucking ,safety glasses and Peltor optime 105 ; best NRR available. chaps are on order bc after 30yrs cutting my luck's about to run dry... closest was recent nick in my coveralls, time for chaps!

 

[KASH]

Back in the winter of 79 my brother and I had a 300 cord black Spruce contract.I was cutting and he was running the skidder.When I cut a block of timber I like to have three open faces that way you can cut on the one which has the wind in your favor.
It was the last load of the day and I had a 8 inch spruce come back on me it hung up in another spruce .i said to myself Ill get it on the next skid and headed home.The wind was different for the next week or so and I was cutting on the other two faces.
It was early one morning still half dark and I started to cut down my load about the 6th tree and I stepped back wards as the tree started to fall the next thing I was slammed to the ground and pinned to the ground in 3 feet of snow.My brother came for the load and cut me out and as a true older brother should gave me supreme SSST as to my stupidity.
I thank God I had my hard hat with attached ear muffs on.
To this day I will never leave a hung up tree for the next day.
If you can read this thank my hard hat.
Kash

 

[pioneerguy600]

Damn, thanks Jerry. Goodness, that is unbelievable. Pretty sure I have spoken to John back and forth on here a few times. Glad he made it out alive.

My hardhat deflected the same thing that hit John, the piece of dead wood that hit me split the hard hat and busted the suspension. The force planted my face into the ground, when I managed to get up burning hot liquid was dribbling out my nose, later I learned that was the fluid that surrounds the brain. I had to walk out of the woods to the road on my own, no other guys were close by that day.

 

[homemade]

Eyes and ears mist of the time. Chaps occasionally.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Kunte]

As The Eagles sang in their hit, "Life in the fast lane" : "Everything, all the time!"

I saw a long time ago that meat is much softer than steel, and there is no second place when saw meets flesh - you lose all the way! In SA we often cut in Summer temps nearing 40 deg C (around 104F), but I'd rather sweat than bleed! Hard hat with earmuffs and screen; safety glasses; gloves; cut-resistant chainsaw pants; steel-toed boots. No exceptions.... I like my fingers and toes!

Had a small incident 20 years ago where I was cutting a palm tree out of a 2ft deep hole. When it started to move I jumped out of the hole, but could not get the brake on in time. The saw swung around be and clipped my thigh, just above where the fibres in the chainsaw pants begin. Left a shallow 3-inch cut in my left upper thigh. Very lucky. Just goes to show - if you do stupid stuff, not even the best safety gear is safe enough!

My motto - "If the pro's need PPE, then I need it all the more!"

Mike

 

[Ash_403]

For me: eye and ear protection. Chaps always on when cutting with a saw. Steel-toe shoes. I also wear thin gloves, but just for comfort and handling reasons.
I rarely fell trees, but when I do, I put on the hardhat too.

 

[Philbert]

I became a "believer"! I've witnessed two people have their chaps stop the chain of a 60cc Stihl saw....

Might be the reason that chaps are open in the back ?

 

[stihl86]

IMO, eye protection is a must, and the soap trick works for fogging as well as anything I've tried or bought.
Cant wear chaps for climbing, or you will kill yourself.
Bucking? Yeah, not a bad idea. But for limbing, where the saw is swinging, absolutely.
Hearing protection..... imagine not having to listen to dumb mfer's for a better part of your day. Or whining male customers. Or cackling women customers. Is that a bad thing? That's a choice for the individual.

 

[Timber MacFallen]

I'm a bit late to the party, but it's an important topic so I thought I'd throw my setup in:

-Always 32db earplugs or my Stihl helmet with muffs. Preferable to combine them unless I'm going to be interacting with others frequently. Saws can put out 115-120db which causes permanent damage within minutes.
-Face shield or safety glasses. This is a no brainer. You're going to take hits to the face and eyes when you're cutting.
-Steel toe work boots for saw, log and axe protection.
-Stihl 9 layer chaps. Things happen if you cut enough and these will eventually bail you out. Being careful helps, but you get caught off guard sometime. I've stepped into a hidden hole mid-cut in the woods, had a large dog hit me from behind at full speed and had a limb come down on me from above. Jeans don't do anything and are virtually useless against a spinning saw chain except for helping to soak up blood.
-An abrasion resistant long sleeve shirt. This isn't for saw protection but rather just to keep from chewing up your arms on brush and limbs when you're working for a few hours.
-In cold months I have a Husky saw jacket that has some protection from a saw but is also good for abrasion.
-Protective Husky chainsaw gloves.

At the very least you should always use some type of eye protection and ear plugs-even if it's just cutting some firewood for a few minutes. People who say they don't need them are basically in the Darwin award category from my perspective.

 

[Thumper88]

Full brim hard hat if I’m falling or bucking anything that has an overhead hazard. No ear pro falling, I wanna be able to hear what the tree is doing. Electronic muffs when I’m bucking and limbing. Mesh safety glasses anytime I’m cutting. Chaps honestly depends on the weather. I always wear double
Knee logging jeans and high top boots. Gloves if it’s cold.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Got some mesh goggles this past year, they don't fog up. I like them quite a lot but looking through them does take some getting used to.

 

[trains]

Got some mesh goggles this past year, they don't fog up. I like them quite a lot but looking through them does take some getting used to.

I was considering some of them, how do they cope when your also looking thru a mesh visor from the helmet ?
do the mesh squares phase, or is it not a problem.

have some haix and cofra chainsaw boots, really warm in winter, cook in summer here in Australia, but worth it.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Never worn the goggles and the hardhat w/ visor at the same time, will have to give that a shot.

I haven't actually worn the hardhat at all yet. I'm just a firewood guy, all my stuff is on the ground, only bought the hardhat for storm cleanup. Barely done any storm cleanup so far, other priorities.

 

[AmateurSawer]

Always wear boots,anyway. I have a pair of Labonville chaps and last year got a forestry helmet with ear muffs and face screen.
I have taken to making sure I use the helmet when felling since I cut a lot of dead trees for firewood and limbs have a bad habit of breaking off and dropping.
As someone once pointed out, you can by a lot of chaps for the price of an ER co-pay.

 

[5backacres]

I forgot to mention I always wear my Danner "quarry" steel toe boots. like the boys scouts "be prepared"

 

[5backacres]

Lost some hearing working in the cannery, using agriculture , construction tools, lawn mowers, tillers before OSHA . When Radio shack was in business bought a Decibel checking portable tool best $25 I ever spent After checking lots of tools, house vacuum cleaners, osterizer, even shop vacs you'll find there's a lot of things you use without a thought that there loud enough to cause hearing damage. We have Ear muffs (and plugs) in the shop/ barn and house on items that tested too loud with the meter. Of course once you loose your hearing nothing seems too loud !

 

[Piotr Pakula]

If I had a lot of ropes, for example, for profit, I would buy anti-cut pants and shoe spikes. And since this is not enough, I do it slower and in favorable conditions

 

[Westboastfaller]

I was considering some of them, how do they cope when your also looking thru a mesh visor from the helmet ?
do the mesh squares phase, or is it not a problem.

It's great! There becomes only half as many danger trees to cut.
The visibility with the chipper goggles ('bug eyes') aren't as good as a screen. It's terrible with both. It's worth it sometimes to keep them handy if the wind is blowing up the the hill and you are cutting lots of snags at waist height with lots of fine dust.
Just don't do what this dummy did a few times and that's wear them around your neck and flip them on not realizing then are half full of dust and chip.
Primary, I used then for north Canada winter work then it was cold enough to wear a balaclava (maybe -30) as the screen will ice up. You are constantly stopping and reving up the saw and melting it clean with the exhaust. They are closer to your face so your breath seems to pass over them.
The rules call for a full screen but it's less of the two evils in this situation.
They do come with three choices of screen size holes. Another issue is they are silver screened and not black. Maybe a black spray bomb would help better for the sun.
I get it more than most people,, you ignore pain. Hot this, cold that. Just like a Royal commando. The black foam padding gets realy hot on the face in summer. You didn't here that from me? I know guys would kick me half to death for saying that. They are definitely not West Coast BC Timber Fallers.
Actually,there was a mask available that I used in Alaska.(much better)It was like a sleeping mask shape with a screen and brown leather padding. Everybody used them. That Washington state store may have them..I personally haven't seen them for prob.. 16 yrs.