Putting a chainsaw on your shoulder :/

[BarkBuster20]

I usually flip my chain brake on so the chain cant spin then put it on my shoulder, hell ill even throw my 026 on my shoulder if im going far. Today i fell twice with my 044 on my shoulder, naked chain, not a scratch. You just have to be carefull and not jerk it past your neck.

 

[TreeClimber57]

I usually flip my chain brake on so the chain cant spin then put it on my shoulder.

Hmmm.. I put chainbrake on whenever I move.. period. Matter of habit. Was taught to rotate, keeping one foot on ground.. with brake off.. but as soon as 2nd foot leaves ground brake goes on. No exceptions.. Teach all my guys to do same. But if one is not in habit of using brake, then use it for sure if shoulder carrying.

 

[BuddhaKat]

Yeah, I do the same thing. It's so easy to flip it on and so much safer if you're walking. I never have to walk great distances so I don't have to worry about that, but I still try to lock it up if I'm gonna take more than a step or two. Sometimes I do forget though, but not often.

 

[stevohut]

The brake is my best friend too. I never used to use it but ya it takes a second to throw it on. When I move in the bush now I always put it on even if the saw isn't running at the time. I am getting real anal about safety in my old age.

steve

 

[BarkBuster20]

This is rediculous, the thread is about carrying the saw on your shoulder, not about chain brake safety, i merely mentioned i put the chain brake on, it isnt like i ever put it on my shoulder while its running. Do you guys put your chain break on when taking a few steps on a clean lawn, after you shut the engine off? I work out in the woods, by myself with no one in ear shot, if something happened to me id be found prolly a day later, never had a work related injury yet.

 

[tree md]

I have seen mostly loggers and production fellers carry their saws like that. The furthest I usually travel doing residential tree care is from the front to the back yard. I have carried my big saw on my shoulder when I have had a little distance to walk but I was walking on grass. If I had to navigate steep or rough terrain I would take it off my shoulder and carry it by the wrap. Of course we are talking about a cool saw, no way I am throwing a hot saw up on my shoulder.

 

[BarkBuster20]

I have seen mostly loggers and production fellers carry their saws like that. The furthest I usually travel doing residential tree care is from the front to the back yard. I have carried my big saw on my shoulder when I have had a little distance to walk but I was walking on grass. If I had to navigate steep or rough terrain I would take it off my shoulder and carry it by the wrap. Of course we are talking about a cool saw, no way I am throwing a hot saw up on my shoulder.

nah, youd be throwing a hot saw on your shoulder in steep muddy terrain, we all do it here. drys out your shoulder too.

 

[tree md]

nah, youd be throwing a hot saw on your shoulder in steep muddy terrain, we all do it here. drys out your shoulder too.

LOL,to tell the truth, the only saw I am usually carrying around on the job is my climbing saw. When I want a big saw I usually tell one of my guys to bring it to me. Mostly I just tell them to grab the saw and cut that log when they don't show the initiative to do it on their own...

 

[ropensaddle]

(you do have chaps, right?...if not, you don't have a leg to stand on in a safety discussion.)

I have a set but they are seldom used in the hot summer. I have all my legs still
Proper carry is at your side, bar to rear, muffler to outside and that is the way I carry mine over any distance unless we are talking miles then its in the pickup:monkey:

 

[DJ4wd]

All the guys are doing it. But I like to strike a pose this way.

Thats a great picture,with the water on the lens and all..very cool!

I've never carried mine like that. Of course I don't have that big of a saw, nor do I have to lug very far. I've seen most cutter on the show do it,including Dwayne and he didn't seem like he was doing it for the camera either. I'm not condoning the safety of his actions either, just saying.

 

[stevohut]

I have a set but they are seldom used in the hot summer. I have all my legs still
Proper carry is at your side, bar to rear, muffler to outside and that is the way I carry mine over any distance unless we are talking miles then its in the pickup:monkey:

Well said, my thoughts exactly.

steve

 

[stevohut]

:agree2: has nothing to do with being cocky. if your dumb enough to put a bare chain against your neck then thier you go. carrying a saw on your shoulder is common sense just think about what your doing before you do it. everytime we gotta hike back somewhere everyone carries it on thier shoulder for the simple fact is that its the easiest way. generally the people doing this are carrying felling saws 440 660 880 size saws that weigh 20+ pounds

thiers a few companies that sell suspnder pads and various other products for use when carrying a saw on your shoulder.

That's why they call them accidents! Nobody expects to get hurt in the bush or anywhere for that matter. But it happens. I'd rather be called a ##### because I'm carefull then some college kids lab experiment because I'm dead.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Just passed this companies truck the other day.

http://www.nwtreeremoval.com/

This post reminded me of that company ad and website.

My son was riding with me, and I was describing the saw slung over the shoulder. Its almost like a fashion style.

Looks comfortable, but if someone tripped and the chain is sharp, its going to do tremendous physical damage depending on where it cuts through the skin.

As far as an ad - it looks cool.

 

[ropensaddle]

Just passed this companies truck the other day.

http://www.nwtreeremoval.com/

This post reminded me of that company ad and website.

My son was riding with me, and I was describing the saw slung over the shoulder. Its almost like a fashion style.

Looks comfortable, but if someone tripped and the chain is sharp, its going to do tremendous physical damage depending on where it cuts through the skin.

As far as an ad - it looks cool.

Ok someone needs to make a kevlar scabbard for the logger friends. So they can strap em on and walk free from worry!

 

[tree md]

I thought the guy who talked about wrapping the bar in chaps had a good idea.

Really, in residential tree care there are few situations where you would need to carry one on your shoulder unless you just wanted to look cool. I admit, that's why I do it sometimes. I'm sure carrying a 660 for a few miles is not an easy task.

About 12 years ago I was carrying a saw through a pile of logs and debris, slipped and fell, fell on my saw and came out with a nasty little scar under my jaw. And that was with the saw not even running. What can I say, I am pretty good in a tree (if I do say so myself) but get me on the ground and I am a total klutz...

 

[TreeClimber57]

Really, in residential tree care there are few situations where you would need to carry one on your shoulder unless you just wanted to look cool.

True. And I would not expect anybody in residential tree work to do it, and if they did I would think they were .. how would I say it .. perhaps missing a few sharp teeth on their chain !

I admit, that's why I do it sometimes. I'm sure carrying a 660 for a few miles is not an easy task.

Realistically.. it does not even take a 660 if travelling in rocky, hilly terrain to get heavy really fast. And if travelling in bush country, you can not simply throw it in the truck.

If one is doing it, then they better understand the risks. It has some dangerous aspects, but is not as tiring as alternatives if walking several miles. Frankly, getting tired, switching arms due to tiredness.. etc is at least as dangerous as carrying on shoulder (assuming one has a pad on shoulder to protect their shoulder and neck area).

When walking distances in rough terrain, it has a reason it is done.. and it is not the cool factor.

 

[tree md]

Hey man, to be perfectly honest, all I am carrying is my handsaw up the tree if I can get away with it... :monkey:

 

[rarefish383]

Nope, no chaps. I'm 54 and worked with a Homelite 1050, with a 36" bar, for over 20 years and still have both legs. I guess some would say I'm stupid and just lucky. Seems to me if I had to walk a long way through bush and down fall the chaps around my legs would be a hinderance. It would have nothing to do with knowing my equipment and being strong enough to handle the equipment I use.

When I need to move my big saws a long way I use UPS and let them worry about the safety, it's just there waiting for me when I'm ready for it, Joe.

 

[ropensaddle]

Nope, no chaps. I'm 54 and worked with a Homelite 1050, with a 36" bar, for over 20 years and still have both legs. I guess some would say I'm stupid and just lucky. Seems to me if I had to walk a long way through bush and down fall the chaps around my legs would be a hinderance. It would have nothing to do with knowing my equipment and being strong enough to handle the equipment I use.

When I need to move my big saws a long way I use UPS and let them worry about the safety, it's just there waiting for me when I'm ready for it, Joe.

Then them delivery drivers would be earning their money lol. That is what we need delivery of anything to anywhere service lol. I am at minute,degrees and fraction of a second bring me a cheese burger and fries lmfao. I know there have been times I would of paid well for such a service!

 

[imagineero]

Agree with most of the posters about shoulder carrying being common.

I worked a year in new zealand mainly doing pruning and thinning of furniture grade pine plantations. On a crew we might have 5 or 6 guys pruning who carry a handsaw and heavy duty industrial hand loppers. The loppers can cut anything up to the size of your forearms or a little bigger, and a good operator can easily outpace a guy on an arborists saw with neater cuts too.

We'd also have one guy thinning if it was second or third lift. most trees are pruned 3 times during their life cycle to reduce knots and encourage growth. They are overplanted and the trees with forks, splits or other problems are thinned at each pruning which happens every 7 or 8 years. Even if the trees are all good, we'll thin a certain number just to improve conditions.

Depending on what saw you were carrying and what territory you were heading through, that felling saw might be a real bastard. Most forrestry plantations in NZ are on land thats unusable for farming or grazing, so its all steep and hard to access. Even a 361 can get heavy if you're miles from the trucks and if its a 440 or 660 plus petrol, oil and water and food for yourself then you're going to get inventive about ways to carry it. Most guys vary it by handle, left hand, right hand, over the shoulder, etc but over the shoulder was the most popular way. Most guys wrap their chaps around the bar to prevent topping themselves when they inevitably slip on one of those steep slopes.

I did a few days thinning myself over the year, it doesnt pay any better than pruning but its a variation. The work was good if you didnt have to hump a big saw in over bad terrain and gorse. I have a pretty vivid memory of us hiking out one day and 2 of us had saws, reached the edge of a big scree slope covered in gravel on the way out and decided to slide down it. sort of like snowboarding without the boards. You'd be sliding down and getting buried in the slide and once up to your calfs or knees youd try to jump up out of it and keep sliding. We both carried our saws on our shoulders the whole way down (wrapped in chaps)

Shaun