Safety, safety, safety

[bharen]

Another incident makes a believer out of me!

I spent yesterday clearing a badly wooded residential lot. Lots of trimmer and some light chainsaw work. A few weeks ago I got tired of taking a lot of kicked-up material in the face from the trimmer, so I went out and bought one of the integrated helmet/earmuff/mesh faceguard setups. Works great, and I'm always amazed at the amount of stuff the faceguard stops. Later in the day I was using the chainsaw to cut some woody brush that had grown up along a fenceline. Before beginning to cut I put the helmet on and lowered the face shield. I don't normally do this when cutting light brush with a chainsaw, but my safety glasses were too fogged/clouded with sweat. First bush I attacked had a 3" trunk and I thought the bush had grown over the top of the chain link fence. I didn't look close enough to realize that the bush had actually grown into the fence, and the trunk was under tension because of some dead limbs that had fallen from a pine and bent the fence. Start the saw, drop the face shield, get behind the bush and start to cut. As I complete the cut the 3" trunk flies back up at me and smacks the faceguard dead center with enough force to cause me to fall backwards and knock the helmet off my head. I escaped injury only because of the faceshield. Had I not used it, or used only safety glasses, that trunk would have smacked me hard about upper lip/nose level.

My point? Every week I see homeowner types out running string trimmers, saws and other power tools with no safety gear other than safety glasses (maybe). Even the 'occasional lumberjack' (like me) needs to use proper safety gear (and yes, carefully evaluate the task you are about to attack). Its the difference between a creased face shield and a trip to the ER!

 

[NeTree]

You learned a valuable lesson the hard (but not hardest) way. Glad you escaped serious harm, and I think you'd agree that you now have decreased you odds of getting hurt again by a great margin.

But I have to ask... do you have saw chaps? If not, please get some. They are uncomfortable, and almost a hundred bucks, but they're cheaper and more comforable than a wooden leg. (no pun intended).

Welcome to the site! There's a ton of info here, yours for the browsing.

And don't mind out petty squabbles... it's all in good fun.

 

[bharen]

No Chaps

Erik

Thanks for the reply. Yup, I learned a big lesson - several actually:

1. Safety gear works!
2. Properly evaluate the work before starting. Look, look and look again.
3. Fatigue + complacency = potential injury (It was the end of the day, I was tired and a bit cocky. Had I shifted my position just a few feet left or right before starting the cut the trunk would have missed me entirely. I violated one of the cardinal rules of tree felling: Don't stand behind the ????ed thing as it's coming down!)
4. Safety gear works!

I don't own a pair of chainsaw chaps. Even if I did I'm not sure I'd wear them while doing the kind of work I was doing on this job. Maybe its time for me to reevaluate my opinion of them...

 

[Ryan Willock]

$100 for chaps??? Thats expensive!! I get mine for $40!!!!!

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by Ryan Willock
$100 for chaps??? Thats expensive!! I get mine for $40!!!!!

Well, not quite $100, but the good ones are more expensive...mine were $85, plus shipping. USFS w/pouch, etc.

 

[Newfie]

"Even if I did I'm not sure I'd wear them while doing the kind of work I was doing on this job. "

They are even more important when doing that type of work. Small saplings and brush can very quickly create kick-back situations. You can also very easily lose track of where the chain is in relation to your legs.

PPE is important and works but knowledge of the dangers inherent in the task is even more important.

Glad you weren't hurt. That could have just as easily been the chainsaw in your face as the tree.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Ryan, what class of chap do you have? Are they rated for the saws you use?

 

[DeanJ]

Another residential chainsaw user here. Reading this site before I got a saw really made me a believer in PPE. I was even a little nervous about using the saw without it. I have the helmet w/faceguard and earmuffs, Stihl promark chaps, and steel toe boots. Do you think I am missing anything? Also, do you usually wear safety glasses in addition to a face shield?

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by DeanJ
do you usually wear safety glasses in addition to a face shield?

Welcome to the site, Dean. To answer your question, yes... you should.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Netree ---

What's the connection with "more comfortable than a wooden leg" that makes a possible pun?

Usually I can figure out hidden messages, but not on that one.

What is secret dear old "chap"?

 

[NeTree]

Ya know, cutting wood? Wooden leg? Cutting your leg off and then having to cut yerself a wooden leg? I dunno, struck me funny.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

It would make travelling cheap. Wood legs and wooden shoes.

You could travel the world for free with a knife, an axe and a file.

Free shoes and legs in every forest.

Just avoid the sand of the deserts.

Really big shoes could be made for pontoons for water travel.