Chainsaw question

[cowboydoc]

I agree with you Bird. I admit it's a great idea but I had never even seen anyone except the pro's using that kind of equipment before.

 

[Bird]

RobertN, I would assume firefighters are in a hurry, so all the safety equipment they can get is a good idea. When I use a chainsaw, I'm never in a hurry, try to work slowly and carefully. And while I certainly would never discourage anyone from using any kind of safety equipment, I would hope those who use it don't let it give them a false sense of security and get careless as a result.

 

[mikim]

after 20 years of running chainsaws without any protective gear --- I had some greenbriar grab my saw and jerk it into my knee --- broke the skin and required a few stitches -- but no major damage --- I'm buying chaps -- and maybe boots too--like was said earlier - the safety equipment is cheaper than the medical bills -- and less painful
mike

 

[GlennT]

I have had a Stihl 16-inch saw for a number of years and it is great. However, I must confess that my chains never have a chance to wear down from multiple sharpenings. I seem to mess them up royally before they get that far. I am gradually eliminating a bunch of "cedars"--actually junipers that have been trying to take over our place. I cut the stumps down low so I can run the shredder over them and that's the problem. I can't tell you how many times I have been cutting a stump and have run into a stone imbedded in the wood. And then there's barbed wire. Apparently, the ranchers who had our property did not want to spend money on fence posts; they attached barbwire to convenient trees. Now I come along a few decades later to clear some of these trees off and I find wire imbedded in the trunks. You should see the sparks fly!! Finally, when cutting stumps I find that I have to remove the blade frequently and run it a few seconds to allow it to cool off. I have ruined several blades and chains by allowing them to overheat. The edge of an overheated blade turns blue and the edge flattens out. An overheated chain stretches and can no longer be tightened sufficiently. Ignorance and impatience have cost me a bunch of money. However, things I feel that I have done right include: (1) I use a good grade of chain oil, and (2) I purchased an extra air filter and I put in a clean filter after each use of the saw and immediately clean the dirty one (geezers forget to do that, otherwise). I'm going to have to look into chaps; I've never heard of them before.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Safety gear is always slow on the acceptance curve. Think of ROPs, car seat belts, shoulder harnesses, etc. Even after introduction, we were all pretty slow to start using them. Chain saw only has to bite your leg once to make you wish you had the chaps. Same for falling limb - although I have a brother who got a broken back from a tree coming down - hat wouldn't have helped.



Charlie Iliff

 

[PitbullMidwest]

<font color=blue>
Safety gear is always slow on the acceptance curve</font color=blue>

Ever see the movie "Tucker"? This guy built cars in the 40's with all the modern safety features we enjoy today but was blackballed by the Big 3.The reason the Big 3 auto makers resisted offering safety devices is they believed that it would imply their product was unsafe.

I remember when OSHA mandated Lockout/Tagout, our top management resisted because they thought the employees would file claims for past injuries because they had been allowed to work in an unsafe condition. The truth is they HAD been allowed to work in an unsafe condition. Our maintenance men welcomed LO/TO and now refuse to work with any contractor or employee who doesn't want to do it.

Properly educated, I think most people readily accept safety gear. But I think the manufacturer has a responsibility to educate the end user in ALL advertising, brochures, videos and owners manuals about the need to wear it when using their product.

 

[ejb]

>>The reason the Big 3 auto makers resisted offering safety devices is they believed that it would imply their product was unsafe.

I think that is part of the problem, but the other part of the problem is lawyers. If a manufacturer of *any* product, makes improvements to it to improve safety, then lawyers jump on that as an admission that the previous version was unsafe, and thus they file a lawsuit (after finding a victim of course) and go to court and say basically: look, my client got hurt, the company has admitted that the old version of product xxx is unsafe because they added these safety enhancements...blah blah blah.

It has been a succesfully strategy. So unfortunately, companies are forced to decide if it will cost more to make the enhancements or not make the enhancements based on the lawsuits that will happen either way. Kind of an unfortunate situation for every but the lawyers...