Putting a chainsaw on your shoulder :/

[HS Climber]

Most of you must have never logged before. when you have to walk the mile or so back to the rig, you wont want to carry the saw the proper way. i have carried the saw over my should for years and have never cut myself.
Use common sense in situations where your on a slope of course, but i dont see how that is cocky at all, its a easy way to carry the saw.
And what about wildland firefighters who carry it over there shoulder.

 

[BarkBuster20]

Most of you must have never logged before. when you have to walk the mile or so back to the rig, you wont want to carry the saw the proper way. i have carried the saw over my should for years and have never cut myself.
Use common sense in situations where your on a slope of course, but i dont see how that is cocky at all, its a easy way to carry the saw.
And what about wildland firefighters who carry it over there shoulder.

Its true, all these guys bashing the shoulder carry method have probly been working in manicured lawns there whole life. Simply just dont understand the reality of the situation.

 

[ropensaddle]

Its true, all these guys bashing the shoulder carry method have probly been working in manicured lawns there whole life. Simply just dont understand the reality of the situation.

I have worked in many different capacities but a time I remember well was trimming west mountain here in Hot Springs. It was a two mile hike in rugged steep rocky out cropping s.
We were a five man team which I led and in order to save energy, I took apart our wooden ladder and used just the upper section to load all the gear on. Then each of the four men grabbed a ladder rail and walked. I done this for several reasons; #1 it made a safe and reasonably comfortable tote for more gear than could be carried without it.#2 it doubled as a stretcher in the event we had a serious accident and thank God we did not. Personally, I don't care how you carry your saw if it's not under my watch but if it is; we will practice proper carry or devise some realistically safe alternative but it won't be over the shoulder.

 

[tree md]

I have worked in many different capacities but a time I remember well was trimming west mountain here in Hot Springs. It was a two mile hike in rugged steep rocky out cropping s.
We were a five man team which I led and in order to save energy, I took apart our wooden ladder and used just the upper section to load all the gear on. Then each of the four men grabbed a ladder rail and walked. I done this for several reasons; #1 it made a safe and reasonably comfortable tote for more gear than could be carried without it.#2 it doubled as a stretcher in the event we had a serious accident and thank God we did not. Personally, I don't care how you carry your saw if it's not under my watch but if it is; we will practice proper carry or devise some realistically safe alternative but it won't be over the shoulder.

I spent some time cutting fire breaks and clearing wilderness trails for the state. We toted our saws in a wheel barrel.

 

[BarkBuster20]

I have worked in many different capacities but a time I remember well was trimming west mountain here in Hot Springs. It was a two mile hike in rugged steep rocky out cropping s.
We were a five man team which I led and in order to save energy, I took apart our wooden ladder and used just the upper section to load all the gear on. Then each of the four men grabbed a ladder rail and walked. I done this for several reasons; #1 it made a safe and reasonably comfortable tote for more gear than could be carried without it.#2 it doubled as a stretcher in the event we had a serious accident and thank God we did not. Personally, I don't care how you carry your saw if it's not under my watch but if it is; we will practice proper carry or devise some realistically safe alternative but it won't be over the shoulder.

sounds like it would work well, the only problem is whenever i am working in the woods, i am by myself. I do agree with you though, in your line of work there is no reason to carry a saw on your shoulder.

 

[ropensaddle]

sounds like it would work well, the only problem is whenever i am working in the woods, i am by myself. I do agree with you though, in your line of work there is no reason to carry a saw on your shoulder.

I see a need to create a lightweight back pack saw scabbard for you loggers and firejumpers. I wonder if such a idea would be marketable or utilized:monkey:

 

[ATH]

..............Personally, I don't care how you carry your saw if it's not under my watch but if it is; we will practice proper carry or devise some realistically safe alternative but it won't be over the shoulder.

Where has it been established that this is NOT a proper or safe method to carry a saw (according to industry standards)? There are a lot of things we do that might "seem unsafe", but there are mitigating practices to make them acceptable. Protecting the chain is done to make carrying the saw over your shoulder safe/acceptable. If you are uncomfortable with wrapping chaps around the bar like everybody else does, they even make a special cover for that: http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/product_info.php?products_id=1240 I have seen them in catalogs, but not being used. I think most would see it as just something else to lug around and keep track of - you always know where your chaps are when you are using the saw

I see a need to create a lightweight back pack saw scabbard for you loggers and firejumpers. I wonder if such a idea would be marketable or utilized

Already done:
http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/product_info.php?products_id=1506
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/01232334/index.htm

I have seen them in plenty of catalogs, but never on the fire lines.

I'm not saying I spend a LOT of time on wildfires, but I have been on my fair share (Nevada, California, Montana, Idaho, Ohio, plus some training while in Virginia & North Carolina). That is enough to know that the same teams go to the rest of the fires and don't change what they do. Shoulder carry is the "industry standard" practice on wildfires.

 

[ropensaddle]

Where has it been established that this is NOT a proper or safe method to carry a saw (according to industry standards)? There are a lot of things we do that might "seem unsafe", but there are mitigating practices to make them acceptable. Protecting the chain is done to make carrying the saw over your shoulder safe/acceptable. If you are uncomfortable with wrapping chaps around the bar like everybody else does, they even make a special cover for that: http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/product_info.php?products_id=1240 I have seen them in catalogs, but not being used. I think most would see it as just something else to lug around and keep track of - you always know where your chaps are when you are using the saw



Already done:
http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/product_info.php?products_id=1506
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/01232334/index.htm

I have seen them in plenty of catalogs, but never on the fire lines.

I'm not saying I spend a LOT of time on wildfires, but I have been on my fair share (Nevada, California, Montana, Idaho, Ohio, plus some training while in Virginia & North Carolina). That is enough to know that the same teams go to the rest of the fires and don't change what they do. Shoulder carry is the "industry standard" practice on wildfires.

See, they make a safe alternative lol

 

[beastmaster]

I have cut a lot of fire line back in the 80s and 90s, and lugged a big pre-plastic husky up and across many a hill in the middle of the night, slipping, falling, tripping for miles at a time with just a little head lamp. We carried a pack with 2 1/2 gal. of gas, half gal of oil, and spare chains and tools(plus lots of water)
You carried your saw on your shoulder. We would remove the dogs off the saw since you didn't need them to cut brush. We would have a piece of fire hose (4in.)and slid it over the bar. Some guys would duct tape a piece of foam on the hose(candy a- -es)
When you started cutting you'd put the fire hose in the pack. Without that fire hose on the bar you'd risk a serious injury, plus that bar would get hot after a little use.
Nice thing about that fire hose was it was free. If you did lose it no big deal. That stuff is tough too. Plenty of protection. beastmaster

 

[TreeClimber57]

See, they make a safe alternative lol

But then the same thing can be said for climbing chainsaw pants. How many of us wear chainsaw pants in the tree? Yet they do make a pair of chainsaw pants designed to be used when climbing.

Or one could say that the saw should never be used above your head.. a lot of books will tell you that! But have you ever used a saw above your head.. what about when using one in a tree?

Frankly there are a lot of things that many of us do each day that can be found to be unsafe in some book, or somebodies opinion. Yet, the task is carried on by many professionals in a relatively safe manner on a daily basis. It is all about knowing the risks, being properly trained, being aware of the risks and hazards, and acting appropriately.

 

[treesquirrel]

Then I'll carry my saw on a Cabela's freighter frame backpack.

A back pack is the best way to go. I used to get out my old frame pack from scouts to use for this. We would go out on biking trails to clear storm fall and may walk a 10 mile stretch or more sometimes.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

We have some steep ugly humps into jobs sometimes. As long as the bar is covered I see no problem in having the 66 or 88 over the shoulder. Its not strictly the best idea, but it works.

 

[ropensaddle]

But then the same thing can be said for climbing chainsaw pants. How many of us wear chainsaw pants in the tree? Yet they do make a pair of chainsaw pants designed to be used when climbing.

Or one could say that the saw should never be used above your head.. a lot of books will tell you that! But have you ever used a saw above your head.. what about when using one in a tree?

Frankly there are a lot of things that many of us do each day that can be found to be unsafe in some book, or somebodies opinion. Yet, the task is carried on by many professionals in a relatively safe manner on a daily basis. It is all about knowing the risks, being properly trained, being aware of the risks and hazards, and acting appropriately.

Agreed

 

[Greystoke]

I fell timber professionally for 13 years and myself and the rest of the guys carried their chainsaws on their shoulders. Most of us wore leather pads. Since most of my career was spent working on the rugged West Coast for a helicopter we had to cover long distances on nasty ground mostly using 660, 395 size chainsaws with 32-36" bars, with stints every now and then running 088, 3120 size saws with 36"-84" bars. The safety guys used to come around and tell us to roll the chain off and wrap it around the handlebar before we carried it on our shoulder but that can be a hassle every time you need to cover some ground, so I would not do it all the time. I admit I got a few wounds from carrying my saw on my shoulder with the chain on, but the alternative sucks! After taking a few spills with my saw on my shoulder(mostly in the beginning of my career) I started reading the ground a lot better, and when the ground got rough, or brushy, I would carry the saw at my side by the handlebar, and sometimes if the ground was consistently rugged and I had a long hike in with my saw I would roll the chain off, and wrap it around the handle. I Fell timber on some gnarly helicopter ground, so I really had to learn my footing. Also I have my own custom shoulder pad that works great for not only protecting your shoulder, but your neck too. It is just the top cut off of an old pair of cork boots(right at the ankle so you already have a natural bend where shoulder meets neck) This is not the best picture of it, but it is the best that I currently have.

Shoulder pad

 

[tree md]

Cool pic!

I'm sure there are a lot of things that most of us do which are definitely not considered "safe". The tree care and timber industry are inherently dangerous occupations. I for one will not knock the next professional for his safety practices unless it is something that I know for a fact is a bad idea due to personal experience. Each individual is responsible for his or her own safety. I believe we have enough of a "nanny" society as it is.

 

[ropensaddle]

I fell timber professionally for 13 years and myself and the rest of the guys carried their chainsaws on their shoulders. Most of us wore leather pads. Since most of my career was spent working on the rugged West Coast for a helicopter we had to cover long distances on nasty ground mostly using 660, 395 size chainsaws with 32-36" bars, with stints every now and then running 088, 3120 size saws with 36"-84" bars. The safety guys used to come around and tell us to roll the chain off and wrap it around the handlebar before we carried it on our shoulder but that can be a hassle every time you need to cover some ground, so I would not do it all the time. I admit I got a few wounds from carrying my saw on my shoulder with the chain on, but the alternative sucks! After taking a few spills with my saw on my shoulder(mostly in the beginning of my career) I started reading the ground a lot better, and when the ground got rough, or brushy, I would carry the saw at my side by the handlebar, and sometimes if the ground was consistently rugged and I had a long hike in with my saw I would roll the chain off, and wrap it around the handle. I Fell timber on some gnarly helicopter ground, so I really had to learn my footing. Also I have my own custom shoulder pad that works great for not only protecting your shoulder, but your neck too. It is just the top cut off of an old pair of cork boots(right at the ankle so you already have a natural bend where shoulder meets neck) This is not the best picture of it, but it is the best that I currently have.

Shoulder pad

That sounds reasonably safe and look alot like where I hunt here believe it or not!

 

[Greystoke]

That sounds reasonably safe and look alot like where I hunt here believe it or not!

That was just some easy conventional logging ground in Southeast Alaska. Most of the ground there is way more rugged and broke up with nasty little bluffs everywhere.

 

[ropensaddle]

That was just some easy conventional logging ground in Southeast Alaska. Most of the ground there is way more rugged and broke up with nasty little bluffs everywhere.

Yeah there is worse here too but I don't plan to hunt it. I know of a spot here that makes you think your in Alaska but I know its not quite the same

 

[Kyler Monares]

Sawguard.com

Covers the chain as well and extra leather options to cover the dogs and muffler. Extra tool bag option also. The offering from the True North company is a good cover but you almost have to use a cheap plastic bar scabbard as well to keep from tearing the fabric. These leather ones look like they will last longer if you get the leather strap option so you can really cinch the scabbard on tight and it won't slide back and forth causing extra wear... If you fall with one of these on your saw I cant imagine any serious injury other then bruises. Way better then a torn Carotid or a felling spike into the spinal cord. Thousands of wildland fire sawyers shoulder carry their saws everyday with no problems. Some even do it without a bar cover!

Anyways with either the true north offering or this one from sawguard.com it basically mitigates 95% of the hazards with shouldering a saw