whew, im glad the saw made it out ok. brad you should know better. ive rode a mile into the woods and turned around and rode a mile back out just to get my hard hat. if the tree is standing then you need a hard hat....demonstration or working doesnt matter. glad your ok but a man as smart as you should know that its never just a quick easy tree drop. i know from experience that every tree could be your last no matter how much ppe you have on. when its your time ,pack your bags cause your gonna go. theres just no need in leaving on an earlier flight. i myself dont wear chaps in the woods and keep telling myself i need to start wearing them but i cant get around with them on. my ankles and knees dont work very well anymore and when i wear chaps i cant step over a beer can. it more dangerous for me to wear them than not.
Guys, don't get complacent out there!!!
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parrisw
Tree Freak
Wow Brad you're one lucky dude. I always wear a helmet whenever I'm running a saw, unless its in my backyard cutting on a test log.
It can happen to anyone, experienced or not. 2 summers ago I lost a relative, he was a faller and had many many years of experience, got hit in the head with a branch, died instantly.
It can happen to anyone, experienced or not. 2 summers ago I lost a relative, he was a faller and had many many years of experience, got hit in the head with a branch, died instantly.
my uncle that tought me the way of timber falling died in the woods. he fell timber from age 15 to age 71. he was killed by a widow maker. he was hit in the head so hard that it broke his neck. he always said hed die in the mountains and made good on his word.
alderman
Addicted to ArboristSite
An accumulation of mistakes that individually might not have been as serious but it all stairstepped up to making things serious, which seems to be the case in a lot of the scenerios I read about.
This certainly got my attention, Brad and I'm glad you came out of this relatively unhurt considering how it could have ended up.
Personally I think you did a good thing by sharing and I hope you have a speedy recovery.
On another note, a Shindaiwa saw would have put that tree right where you wanted it to go
This certainly got my attention, Brad and I'm glad you came out of this relatively unhurt considering how it could have ended up.
Personally I think you did a good thing by sharing and I hope you have a speedy recovery.
On another note, a Shindaiwa saw would have put that tree right where you wanted it to go
ChainsawmanXX
Addicted to ArboristSite
Just be glad you walked away from that situation, be sure to go to church... the good lord was watching over you!
Dang! Sorry to hear about this Brad! Glad the outcome was not way worse than it was for you. Hopefully you will have a speedy recovery my new found sawin buddy! Hopefully many people take something from this experience...
Glad your ok, Live and learn.
I don't wish harm on anyone.
I have a old logger friend that told me once if you work in the woods its only a matter of time before you get hit.
I've been hit, not fun.
Anyone who says why are you wearing a helmet? Has not been hit yet.
If you cut hardwood grade timber you cut the hinge as she starts to go over every time, so you don't pull fibers on the butt log.
I've seen what cold does to plastic so I went w/ the Skull Bucket.
Looks like you've been stamped a Husky man now, time to unload all of those Sthils.
The top blew out of this one, what remained reached out far behind me and was dead, stump rot makes for a crappy hinge.
There is a Nice 67 GTO in the garage, and I do have insurance.
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I don't wish harm on anyone.
I have a old logger friend that told me once if you work in the woods its only a matter of time before you get hit.
I've been hit, not fun.
Anyone who says why are you wearing a helmet? Has not been hit yet.
If you cut hardwood grade timber you cut the hinge as she starts to go over every time, so you don't pull fibers on the butt log.
I've seen what cold does to plastic so I went w/ the Skull Bucket.
Looks like you've been stamped a Husky man now, time to unload all of those Sthils.
The top blew out of this one, what remained reached out far behind me and was dead, stump rot makes for a crappy hinge.
There is a Nice 67 GTO in the garage, and I do have insurance.
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Chris-PA
Where the Wild Things Are
And when you're looking up at a tree a 3" branch looks like nothing, a twig maybe. But consider getting smacked by a baseball bat. The branch that fell on my daughter during our Halloween storm was maybe 8" at the base, but more like 3" at the part that hit her. Didn't fall as far as what hit you. We are so puny compared to these trees we drop, even the small bits can take us out so easily. Sometimes I think the power of the saws makes us feel more powerful than we are.
WeenerDog
ArboristSite Lurker
Thanks for the warning; it's always exciting to drop a tree, though I haven't dropped too many. But the adrenaline rush is always there -- for a reason, apparently!
The last tree I took care of a couple of weeks ago was leaning over on another tree, probably 45 degrees or more. I looked at it for several weeks (thinking it through) before I finally got after it and used a pole saw up high right where it touched the other tree to get it started while keeping my distance. Fortunately, it was small enough that the 8 or 10" polesaw would cut enough to make it break, otherwise, not sure how to tackle it. Hopefully, I would have asked for help?
Best wishes!
The last tree I took care of a couple of weeks ago was leaning over on another tree, probably 45 degrees or more. I looked at it for several weeks (thinking it through) before I finally got after it and used a pole saw up high right where it touched the other tree to get it started while keeping my distance. Fortunately, it was small enough that the 8 or 10" polesaw would cut enough to make it break, otherwise, not sure how to tackle it. Hopefully, I would have asked for help?
Best wishes!
KodiakII
ArboristSite Member
Very big of you to fess up and post this. Hopefully others can learn from our mistakes when shared in a forum like this.
I tried my hand at logging years ago and decided it wasn't a profession I cared to pursue so I quit while I was ahead. The guy who replaced me was killed about two months by a widow maker. No PPE and no certification. Thinking to myself that could have easily been me, I always wear my PPE, and took the provincial cutter/skidder course...I might look like a goof to my neighbors all decked out cutting firewood, but at least I know I am protected and am saving what little hearing I have left.
Probably will hear from lots more "experts" about how the tree was approached wrong...just grin and bear it.:mad2:
I tried my hand at logging years ago and decided it wasn't a profession I cared to pursue so I quit while I was ahead. The guy who replaced me was killed about two months by a widow maker. No PPE and no certification. Thinking to myself that could have easily been me, I always wear my PPE, and took the provincial cutter/skidder course...I might look like a goof to my neighbors all decked out cutting firewood, but at least I know I am protected and am saving what little hearing I have left.
Probably will hear from lots more "experts" about how the tree was approached wrong...just grin and bear it.:mad2:
half_full
ArboristSite Guru
If you have to step over a beer while you're cuttin, you're doing it all wrong.
Glad you're ok Brad. I'm much less experienced. Had one fall wrong way and they always put me very much on edge now. Even the "easy ones".
One year at deer camp, windy night, a big branch blew out of a tree above me. No warning at all and I was on my butt.
AUSSIE1
Al.
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Falling trees in amongst others is always a very risky business, even in the direction it was intended. A good pool player will look ahead. Same with falling trees in amongst others.
That wasn't a dig at you Brad, as I've been there. I dropped a huge peppermint (hardwood) in the direction I intended it to fall. A huge branch caught another tree and started to come back toward me. I was some reasonable distance back, but nevertheless I turned and bolted thinking I was well clear and yes, I should have been, also considering I had turned slightly to be behind another tree. The branch exploded on the ground and a piece about 4-5" bounced and got me on the side of the head knocking me off my feet. Well a quick dash to hospital, loss of an extreme amount of blood, plenty of stitches and thankfully I'm here writing this.
Look well further than the tree you are falling at all the possibilities for danger.
That wasn't a dig at you Brad, as I've been there. I dropped a huge peppermint (hardwood) in the direction I intended it to fall. A huge branch caught another tree and started to come back toward me. I was some reasonable distance back, but nevertheless I turned and bolted thinking I was well clear and yes, I should have been, also considering I had turned slightly to be behind another tree. The branch exploded on the ground and a piece about 4-5" bounced and got me on the side of the head knocking me off my feet. Well a quick dash to hospital, loss of an extreme amount of blood, plenty of stitches and thankfully I'm here writing this.
Look well further than the tree you are falling at all the possibilities for danger.
dingeryote
Blueberry Baron
Brad,
I just saw this and read your OP. Havn't seen the vid or read the rest but have to run, and will later.
1st. Get on your knees boy. You got some thanking to do.
2nd. Get to the doc and have your grape gone over. Brain injury isn't immediately obvious and can ntake several days.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
I just saw this and read your OP. Havn't seen the vid or read the rest but have to run, and will later.
1st. Get on your knees boy. You got some thanking to do.
2nd. Get to the doc and have your grape gone over. Brain injury isn't immediately obvious and can ntake several days.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
I've misread more trees than I care to admit...been very lucky that the worst thing so far is I had to buy a new bar for the 359.
Had some branches and even the whole damn trunk come frighteningly close to me, but never felt an impact. I wear my helmet religously, even when bucking now because I'm frequently under the canopy and there's enough dead limbs that just need a good breeze to send them my way.
Good life lesson for us all. Don't get cocky. The tree doesn't care how many of its brethren you've taken down...if its pissed off at you its not going down without a fight.
Had some branches and even the whole damn trunk come frighteningly close to me, but never felt an impact. I wear my helmet religously, even when bucking now because I'm frequently under the canopy and there's enough dead limbs that just need a good breeze to send them my way.
Good life lesson for us all. Don't get cocky. The tree doesn't care how many of its brethren you've taken down...if its pissed off at you its not going down without a fight.
Line starts in middle of tree. That's a *lot* of lean. How did you misread that brad?
That is just dumb. You cannot accurately measure lean off a picture. There is no depth perception.
Have you ever wondered why the rays of a sunset behind clouds seem to point at different directions? I hope you understand that the rays from the sun are all virtually parallel, and it is only by viewing different rays from only one position that they seem aimed at different points of the compass.
The same is true for judging lean from a picture. You just can't do it from one viewpoint. Heck, I can't even judge whether a signpost is going in straight vertical without walking around it or putting a level on two different sides.
Glad to see you are ok. Disregard anyone who gives you crap about the incident, even pros make mistakes and it takes an honest man to admit them.
Does that big "H" on your head mean you are a Husky man now?
Does that big "H" on your head mean you are a Husky man now?
Johny Utah
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oke:nick 55
ArboristSite Guru
Didn't that just happen on Axmen too? A tree went the wrong direction and crushed some guys truck. Oh wait, you said pros.
Nick
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