[tisenberg]

Posting because the "SAFETY" Moderator told me I had too. I think he wants to make an example of me

Okay... guilty as charged. I have performed the following UNSAFE practices with my chainsaw.

1) I used it on a 12 foot ladder... did I tell you that the ladder wasn't very steady too.

2) I used it while IN a tree... don't worry, I was only about 15 feet in the air

3) I have started it WITHOUT the brake on.. horrors!

4) I think my chain tension is a little too loose... I'll get around to addressing it.

5) When I was chopping up the tree that fell a few weeks ago that was on my fence, I wasn't wearing heavy workboots and I did not hold the saw perpendicular to me or perpendicular to what I was cutting.

Ok, so I did these things and I know they are wrong but did them anyways. I did however, take extra time and did it slowly because... I had to get what I was doing done. Even though I violated the safety rules, I was extra careful doing it. THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE OKAY TO VIOLATE THE RULES TOO. YOU NEED A PERMISSION SLIP AND I HAVE ONE... uhh, now where did I put that?

 

[DeereBob]

tisenberg,
I'm the rabble rouser that caused you to get a gentle nudge about chain saw safety since I think more of us are put in harm's way with that tool than our mowing decks.

I have an even worse tree-ladder-chainsaw story than yours. The first time I used my chainsaw 12 years ago was to saw off a 12" limb on dead 36" diameter oak tree so that it could be dropped on a clear spot in my front yard. I was sawing the limb that was about 10' up and it started to fall and the chainsaw got caught and was pulled out of my hands and fortunately dropped away from me. Truely stupid stunt on my part which I never repeated again and am extremely lucky that I was not hurt. The biggest tree I have tackled since that time has been 8". Anything bigger and the tree service gets the priviledge.

I am also guilty of starting the saw without the brake on so I that's my second mea culpa.

 

[tisenberg]

When I was in the tree, the 4 inch branch I was cutting hit me in the head, not hard, but enough to make me laugh at myself even further.

Generally, I stay away from the big tree's too. I mostly focus on branches or cleanup of stuff that fell. I think the biggest thing I took down was a 10 inch diameter 20 foot tree. It had a huge lean to begin with so it was obvious where it was going to drop.

Love the saw and generally I try and be careful with it and THINK before using it.

 

[Argee]

There was a young fella (25 years old) logging in the woods about 10 miles south of here last year. It was the end of the day, they were skidding out some trees and one of the limbs got hung up. He had one of those pro Huskies. He cranked her up to cut the limb, when the tension in the bent limb grabbed his chain it kicked back and hit him in the throat. He took off running and bled out and died by the time he reached his car. He had severed his jugular.

Here was someone who worked in the woods, day in day out. Because they were in a hurry, he made one mistake and paid the ultimate price for it. I still get the willys when I think back about it.

 

[tisenberg]

Yup, sad story. There is a story like that for pretty much every power tool.

 

[slipshod]

short cuts

So just how much time do we save taking safety shortcuts? Months and months of rehab and body parts missing or never working the same again.Sometimes a long time in the ground.

 

[leolav]

I put a big addition on our house this summer and the excavator came to dig our cellar hole. While there, I had him drop 5 100+ ft ash trees that would be overhanging the new addition. this is by far the safest way to drop a tree. You take the excavator, dig a hole opposite where you want to drop it and push em right over.

My Stihl 025 must be one of the safest chainsaws on the market. I have cut many trees (over 100+ trees) into firewood and have never once had that saw kickback on me or do anything else like that. Just keep the chain in good working order and let the saw do the work.

I do wear safety goggles and ear muffs, as well as logging boots, but I still wear shorts when working outside.

 

[Cublover]

Reviving an old thread

10 years later, this is still stuff we should keep in mind.

I never cut alone unless I'm in my own yard working on stuff that is down.

Tis the firewood season! Be safe!

PS, Clean your flue, check your pipes!

 

[UncleJoe]

I've cut myself twice in the 30 years I've been in the tree care industry. The last time was back in 2000. Both times were because I was in a hurry and not paying attention to what I was doing. Neither time was life threatening but did put me out of commission for a few weeks. It happens so fast you don't even realize it till it's over. Always pay attention to what your doing when you have a chainsaw in your hands.

I'll share a quick story too.

Quite a few years ago my ex got a call from a friend of ours. Seems they lost a large limb on the Mulberry tree in their front yard but it was still hanging in the tree. "Ken" had put a ladder up the tree and was going to cut it off. His wife called mine and asked if I would be available to help since she wasn't comfortable with him up on the ladder with a chainsaw. I went over after work and could tell he wasn't very happy that she had called me. He figured it was a simple matter of just cutting the limb free and letting it fall.

I used the ladder to get up the tree and then tied myself in about 10' above the broken limb. When I cut it free it swung around, hitting the ladder and knocking it to the ground. His eyes got as big as a softball when he thought about being on that ladder and following it to the ground.


And a side note; the largest tree I've ever worked in was a 120' Tulip Poplar. About 3.5' in diameter. My longest bar (36") wouldn't cut the notch from one side.

 

[wjjones]

I learned the hard way to never cut standing on a ladder I cut a limb about 18" in diameter that split fell, and knocked the ladder right out from under me 20ft in the air. I was lucky enough to drop the saw grab on to the eve of the building, and pull myself up safely. I had to take several minutes to gather myself (on the roof) before finishing the job, and never have made that mistake again. I shortly thereafter purchased an extended reach pole saw for those jobs.

 

[Argee]

I learned the hard way to never cut standing on a ladder I cut a limb about 18" in diameter that split fell, and knocked the ladder right out from under me 20ft in the air. I was lucky enough to drop the saw grab on to the eve of the building, and pull myself up safely. I had to take several minutes to gather myself (on the roof) before finishing the job, and never have made that mistake again. I shortly thereafter purchased an extended reach pole saw for those jobs.

That identical scenario happened to see one off the fellas from work...except he had no gutter to grab onto. He also ejected the saw but the fall cost him a fractured elbow. Still lucky nonetheless as it could have been a lot worse.

 

[wjjones]

That identical scenario happened to see one off the fellas from work...except he had no gutter to grab onto. He also ejected the saw but the fall cost him a fractured elbow. Still lucky nonetheless as it could have been a lot worse.

Glad to hear he is OK the pole saw I got is worth its weight in gold. I am just glad most of us learn from our mistakes with only minor injuries, and never make them again.