Chain Saw - Safety

[Beltzington]

Having used a chainsaw unprofessionally for the last 30-years I am at a loss on the purpose of chaps. I have climbed, trimmed, felled and cut up hundreds of trees and have never been close to cutting any part of my leg which would be protected by chaps. Hardhat, face shield, gloves, safety boots all serve a purpose I can understand with but chaps? TIA

 

[whistlepig]

I don't wear the gear either but I can see the need. A friend of mine that knew better let a saw kick back on him and hit him in the chest. The blade went through his coat and ripped a 8" gash in his sternum. Nothing serious. The doctor just cleaned the wound and put a bandage over it. But it cut the end of all the muscles in his chest where they connected to the sternum. For six months I have never seen such a miserable human in so much pain. It only takes a second.

 

[MikeInEburg]

I have also been using a chainsaw for over 30 years - and never wore chaps until last year. Not because I had an "incident" - but rather because I'm not as quick as in earlier years. $50 save my leg = cheap insurance.
Mike

 

[whistlepig]

I have also been using a chainsaw for over 30 years - and never wore chaps until last year. Not because I had an "incident" - but rather because I'm not as quick as in earlier years. $50 save my leg = cheap insurance.
Mike

I have to agree. I am not as good as I once was. I'm old enough to have proven my endurance of pain. And I don't have the time for the healing anymore. Healing takes a whole lot longer for us old folks.

 

[beenthere]

I sawed for 20 years, and then started wearing chaps. Three years later (and the day before I was leaving for a 12 day elk hunt) the saw caught just right and the running chain hit me just above the knee cap. Instantly ripped out the kevlar, stopped the chain, and saved all those tendons just above the knee from being severed. And saved my elk hunting trip.
A buddy of mine wasn't so lucky. He wasn't wearing them, and worked for a walnut buyer, cutting valuable walnut trees right at ground level. The saw caught and slid back over his leg as he kneeled on the ground. Never walked the same again, as the ligaments/tendons were shortened by the width of the chain-saw kerf (a bit over 1/4") and had to be stretched or patched to re-connect them. He was lucky the loss of blood even let him get out of the woods alive.

I wear the chaps (have a new pair to replace the damaged ones)

You can be lucky just so long. A professional chainsawyer told me once it wasn't if the chain was going to get you, it was just a matter of when.

Suit yourself, on wearing the chaps.

 

[arrow]

I sawed professionally and the difference is two fold. Professionally speaking, being a woodchuck is about production and production is about speed. Slashing quickly and stepping here and there with a large engined chainsaw, anything can happen and does when the operator gets tired at the end of the day and his arms go a bit rubbery and do not have the best control of a 20-30 pound chainsaw. Also, chaps come in handy beyond being bitten by a chainsaw. I cannot tell you how many times chaps saved my skin when simply falling between branches of a tree being slashed. The other variable is time. If you are going to do this professionally, you are doing it every day. The odds climb against you the more you do so, you are looking at every angle of protection available. The average home or farm or wood gathering hobbyist is simply playing the odds and is akin with one choosing to wear a seat belt or not when one drives. In the 50 years of using a chainsaw, I've been hit in the leg twice. Once as a professional and once as a hobbyist. Both times wore chaps making the event....well, uneventful. Different story I'm sure if not wearing them. I never chose to play the odds.

 

[eepete]

I wear chaps for my legs if I'm doing more than removing some offensive branch. Years ago when cutting trees downed in a storm I got tangled up and fell while cutting. The chain saw cut into the top layer of the chaps.

I can not tell you how nice it was to look, say golly gee, and then laugh a bit.

So, like a lot of safety things you only have to use them once to appreciate it.

And now, the anti-chaps story: I was doing some grown man weed wacking in the area of a dried up pond, and had the chaps on to protect my pants (didn't want them to get too dirty with grass bits). A felt a bite on my ankle. Said golly gee. Felt another on the back of my neck, said Golly Gee. Realized I had just opened up a yellow jacket nest, and said GOLLY GEE. I dropped the weed wacker and run, trying to remove all the clothing I could 'cause they were into me. Trying to run, unbuckle the chaps, swap bees, etc. It wasn't pretty and they tagged me about 25 times.

I still wear chaps when chain sawing a lot, but not when weed wacking.

Pete

 

[CurlyDave]

I still wear chaps when chain sawing a lot, but not when weed wacking.

How do you think they might work against a snake? I have had boots protect me against small rattlers, but a big one is going to strike higher.

Now I am only an amateur with a chain saw, but I wear chaps all the time I use one. One of the advantages of a forum like this is that I can read about guys who have been protected by chaps instead of having to wish I had put them on.

 

[Egon]

Forty some years ago I saw a young fellows thigh almost cut to the bone with a chain saw. This was about a hundred miles out in the bush with a three to four hour drive to a hospital. That impressed me!

 

[eepete]

I think the chaps might help with a snake. I've only been nailed once, by a copperhead on my calf. I dug a trench for a propane line to my generator, and the next morning walked it with shorts on. I though the biggest bee on the planet had tagged me, but then a day later things swelled up, turned into a purple spot 2" x 3", my foot swelled up, and I saw a 3/8" deep hole at the strike site.
If I was wearing chaps, there would have been no problem.

So yeah, I'd wear them if I was in an overgrown area where I couldn't see the ground well. Then again I don't mind snakes but bees terrify me. The only snake I don't really care for is a cottonmouth. They are aggressive, mean, and have some good sized fangs. Most everything else around here will move away if you stomp a bit. Then there's the time I was lying in a trench and a copperhead dropped in on me... but that's another story.

Pete

 

[Ridgewalker]

They have saved me once already from getting nicked...

Plus, they are great for picking blackberries! You can just bull right in the patch with no worries!

 

[Oleozz]

I was cutting with a large group of men on a church project, not one fella had chaps on. I had mine in the tractor but didn't need them since I was running the log splitter. Very few people in this area seem to use them and that's sad!

 

[turnkey4099]

I admit I am getting a bit lax about wearing them when working with the saw. Been cutting 10 plus cord year for over 30 years and only got the chaps about 8 years ago. Only cut myself once - through the boot and just scratched the side of my toe. Steel toes didn't help, the cut was behind them.

"It isn't if, but when" is true. Most cuts are minor but the bad ones are a 'will you survive it'.

I can't think of one good reason _not_ to wear them.

I also wear them working around the splitter or manually splitting. My old legs are scarred from ankles to knees from using them as backstops for dopped, flying chunks and tools. The chaps do a good job of protection.

They are also nice when tending my brush pile fires. Can work right up next to the pile without getting that 'hot pants leg against skin'.

Once I have them on, I never notice them at all.

Harry K

 

[WayneB]

Regarding safety gear I have always said I should but in most cases I didn't, now I am a prime candidate for hearing aids. I had a hearing test last month and there is no doubt that my lose of hearing is due to the loud equipment that I have operated over the years without any ear protection. As for chain saw safety I do wear glasses, helment and now hearing protection. A little protection just a little too late.

 

[Beltzington]

Appreciate your experiences, looks like I have been beating statistics for the last several years. More likely my 8lb. Echo with 16 blade is easy to control in most situations. Great saw by the way, it has lasted 22 years and still going strong. The reason I started to consider chaps is I recently purchased a 20 used Stihl 310 for cleaning-up some large downed trees on my property the Echo isn稚 up for. Having started the Stihl after cleaning and tuning it was apparent this was a completely different animal then my old trusty Echo.

Any recommendations as to the brand and wearing of safety chaps?

Soap Box - For any younger readers who are not wearing hearing protection I can tell that having a constant ringing in your ears after 40 is something you want to avoid if possible. Since I never work professionally around noisy equipment without hearing protection the only logical assumption has the damage was caused by my off-time hobbies. Wear earplugs!

 

[RobertN]

I'll second that. Tinnitus SUCKS!

Soap Box - For any younger readers who are not wearing hearing protection I can tell that having a constant ringing in your ears after 40 is something you want to avoid if possible. Since I never work professionally around noisy equipment without hearing protection the only logical assumption has the damage was caused by my off-time hobbies. Wear earplugs!

 

[beenthere]

I get my chaps from Forestry Suppliers
http://www.forestry-suppliers (dot) com/

 

[Arky217]

Please do yourself and your family a BIG favor and never, I repeat, NEVER, operate a chainsaw without not only chaps, but all safety equipment.

When I was young, I never heard of chaps. I once nicked my shin a little; still have the scar. I can hardly believe how lucky I have been during all those years that I didn't use safety equipment (started 50 years ago).

Now, even if I have to make a quick cut that I forgot, I still put on the safety stuff first.

It only takes a split second for something to go wrong. A hidden limb kickback, a stumble, a log or limb suddenly relieving it's stress in a surprised way.

Sure, chaps are uncomfortable, especially in summer, but compared with the agony of an injury, weeks in a hospital, big financial loss, and what about your family if it's a fatal injury ?

You may be the best in the business, have the most experience, think you're strong enough to control the saw in any circumstances, but accidents do happen and even though you may think these things may make you immune, an accident CAN happen to you !

Be safe,
Arky

 

[mbohuntr]

Only one accident, I was triming out a new fence line, and my saw would stall if I let it idle, so I would gently rev it while using the other hand moving thru brush. Yep, swung it behind me, and lifted my leg to step over a branch...Luckily, all I did was catch my jeans, and put a small scratch on my calf... Lesson learned. I have been lucky, and now seldom use a saw. I would think hard now before doing some things I used to do without the right gear.

 

[dmccarty]

When I bought a saw I bought chaps and a helmet with face shield and hearing protection. Already had eye protection and gloves.

Not really sure HOW I knew to buy this stuff since this was before TBN.

I have a nick about 4 inches long in the chaps from the saw. It did not cut through the outer layer of the chaps just nicked it. Not sure how this happened.

In two cases I have had the chain pulled off the running saw by branches under tension. In both cases the chain whacked me in my thigh which stung a bit. It would have hurt quite a bit without the chaps. I might have been cut. The first time this happened I was cutting some branches in a downed tree top. One of the smaller branches was under tension and when cut it just pulled the chain off the bar.

The second time I was cutting up a downed tree and Russian Olive bush was in the way. These are very invasive and have lots of branches growing from the "stump." This one was kinds big and had a few large stems that might have been and inch in diameter. I just lean over and gave the whole bunch of the a quick cut so I would have room to work. Somehow the stems pulled the chain off the bar and my leg got whacked.

I keep the chain tight per the manual too.

The chaps are very helpful in wading into brush as has been mentioned. Before I had a DR Mower I would wear the chaps when brush cutting with the Stihl weed wacker when using a saw blade.

Chaps, helmet, gloves and eye protection are cheap insurance.

Later,
Dan