Man Down!!!

[Ryan Willock]

had an accident yester day. my boss had just finished putting the backcut in a 20'' pine and was walking away from the falling tree and the next thing he remembers was that he was lying in the dirt with don (one of the guys on our crew) standing over him helping him to his feet. i was felling on the other side of the woods when it happend so i didn't see it but after looking the site over carefully i believe that he was hit in the head with a widow maker. he has a 1'' long gash on his head but other than that no other obvious injuries. he is ok and just needs time to heal and rest. the doctors think that there is a possiblity that he may have some torn ligaments in his neck from the impact.

he was NOT wearing his helment so LEARN from HIS mistake, please don't repeat it!!!:angel:

 

[JimL]

Lol not to sound dumb but whats a widowmaker?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

From Dr.Alex Shigo's book "Tree Pithy Points":

#812 Before women came to forestry, we called a tree or branch that was so weak that it could fall, a widow maker. Now what should we call them?

#757 The use of sex pheromones to trap insects is not fair!

#698 Every child should have the opportunity to climb a tree.

This is a great book for inspirational thoughts.

Tom

 

[Ryan Willock]

JimL, a widow maker is a limb or other hang part of a tree that could fall at any time

 

[Dennis]

Widowmakers not only come in the form of Limbs or unstable tops, but they can also take the form of ice. Here in the PNW, we can encounter trees that have large "iceballs" up in the limbs...when wedging, they come free...An iceball weighing 50lbs or more falling from 50+ feet...will kill a man in a heartbeat..
Snow itself can be a nasty adversary when felling...and have heard of guys getting buried...

One of my good friends is a local feller..and in some places here in the winter...they have machines dig out the base of the trees, and knock off the snow before the feller goes in....

I was bucking one time and watched a buncher go through about 12 feet of snow from tree to tree taking them down...on each one...all you could see was the top of the cab each time he took down a tree...

OK,...I am rambling...I will stop...

 

[Tim Gardner]

Here in my city today a nozzle from a fuel plane fell out of the sky and landed at a construction site. They thought it could be a bomb and called the squad in from Charleston. Now that's a widow maker!

 

[JimL]

Oh I always called em deadmans.

oops!




I see alot of that, i always wear a helmet. Last place I was cutting at had vines in every tree. Youd drop one tree and rip the top out of another...

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

A deadman could also be a burried guy anchor. Guy....deadman....did our forefathers have a sence of humor?

 

[logcutter429]

We had a ice storm a few years back and theirs still widowmakers hanging in about every tree, when the wind blows hard like lately it sounds pretty scary.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Anything that has the risk of causing death to the feller.

This could also be a rotten snag that needs to be cleared from the lanes.

 

[crowe]

On the subject of widomakers. I went up into the northern part of Ohio a few years ago to cut a good piece of Red Oak. I was hired buy a Amish man or kinda amish I guess, anyway he had me spend some time with his boys trying to teach them how to cut. The one boy could not take his eyes off the butt when I, him or his brother was cutting. I kept telling him quit watching the butt keep yur head up and your eyes on that top an watch to see what it flings back at ya! I told him them widomakers were going to kill him. the boy wasn't very smart and I told the father that you need to find him something else to do. Here is the funny part the father went out and borrowed a shock collar like you would put on a dog and I swear to the lord above he put that thing on that boys neck and he wore that boy out everytime his head would go down to watch that butt...... ZAP!!!!. That boy was a glutten for punishment, I swear I tell you no lie. That was by far my strangest experience in the woods. Take care be safe and keep your head up, Wade Huggins

 

[Stumper]

I've seen a number of children I would have liked to try the collar on.

 

[Jumper]

I concur with the necessity of wearing a hardhat or helmet. I got beaned but good last year when a good sized maple branch hit me in the head while my boss was up the tree-I was pulling another branch loose with the pole pruner when this one decided to let fly. Made even more of a believer out of me!

 

[don]

In California the Dad would go to jail

Using a shock collar on a human but a court can order it put on a dog if it barks too much

 

[Greg]

I bet that Kid wanted to kick your A$$ for that collar, did you get to hold the button to zap him?? ---sorry that is just too funny. Those amish may be a little behind in some areas but not in others....Zap collars to train thier kids!!!! I thought for sure this was going to turn into some type of gay joke, him not taking his eyes off your butt and all.
Greg