Tree cutting accident

[groundcover]

Reminds me of grandpa's last words , " you still holding that ladder?"

 

[ArlyA]

I would not even know where to find such a class in my area!
Who offers them, the saw manufactuer?

I attended and was certified at the NFS. The university here which is MI tech have a forestry department and they do them. If that doesn't help, asking at your saw shop is the next best guess.

 

[MossRoad]

Just this summer, I topped a dead hemlock that was a hazard to nearby buildings.

That entailed climbing the shaft with irons, limbing as I went up. I'm not young, and not particularly familiar with climbing methods. But I went as high as I thought necessary to drop the upper part short of any danger.

On the final ascent, I used a double flip line, and cinched in tight in case I would be knocked off the climbing spikes.
I wore a forestry helmet, gloves, long pants and steel toed boots.
The felling cut was made with a one handed toy electric chains saw. (Makita)
The top hung on a nearby maple tree in the horizontal position. I had just enough time to express "OH! Sh-t" in consideration of having the but end of that top expel me from that lofty perch.

Then it let go, falling safely below as I waggled and swayed on that free swinging hemlock stem.
I don't feel a need to do that again... safety wise. I'm getting old.

But what a ride!

You only live ONCE!

Worth watching this video....

 

[Torvy]

.

Do note that most chaps won't stop most electric saws. Read your warning labels, know what your PPE does... and doesn't do.

I don't understand that. Why would they work on gas saws and not electric? Same chain, same bars. The electric is just easier to stop. (And compared to big saws, less powerful) I'm not an engineer, but common sense seems to indicate that chaps that will prevent harm from a gas saw would be at least as effective against an electric saw.

 

[ArlyA]

Worth watching this video....

I can't find the video... Never mind I did. You'd not find me at that job site.

 

[MossRoad]

It shows a person at the top of a 100' palm tree that's leaning over really far. He tops it, and the tree violently swings back and forth with him hanging on for the ride while people on the ground cheer him on like a rodeo rider.

 

[ruffdog]

I don't understand that. Why would they work on gas saws and not electric? Same chain, same bars. The electric is just easier to stop. (And compared to big saws, less powerful) I'm not an engineer, but common sense seems to indicate that chaps that will prevent harm from a gas saw would be at least as effective against an electric saw.

Electric saws produce 100% of available torque as soon as the trigger is pulled.

 

[ArlyA]

Electric saws produce 100% of available torque as soon as the trigger is pulled.

But the chaps are designed to stop the larger saws made running at top RPM.

 

[mikester]

I have never worn a safety device in my life outside of safety glasses maybe 50% of the time.
Been at it for 40+ years without a significant injury.

Added: I in no way condone this. My injuries have been mostly falls or a few concussions.

When you roll the dice and take your chances...once in a while you hit the jackpot!

 

[ArlyA]

While attending a "back country first-aid" course a discussion ensued of the difficulty of bringing back just one hurt person out via gurney. Even a mile in takes a huge amount of effort and many people are require to do that. I asked "what do you do when people show up you know can't make that effort?". The teacher said "you must use tough love leave them behind, if they go and have a heart attack, you made lots more problems to fix".

When you ask someone who'd like to help and bring there saw, I ask if they've had any safety training and there response might be,

My dad taught me.
See, I've still got all my digits.
I watch YouTube video's on safety.
I've got chaps!

We tell them we don't need another sawyer. We like to do trail work, not haul people out who are profoundly bleeding.

 

[TN8Man]

It shows a person at the top of a 100' palm tree that's leaning over really far. He tops it, and the tree violently swings back and forth with him hanging on for the ride while people on the ground cheer him on like a rodeo rider.

That's insanity.

 

[ernemats]

Felling trees is very dangerous as so much can happen real quick. Over the years I have had some close calls and have been lucky not to have been hurt. Now at 80 years old I am much more cautious as I am not as quick as I used to be.

 

[WinterDeere]

But the chaps are designed to stop the larger saws made running at top RPM.

Doesn't matter. All of the chaps I've shopped have the same warning, that they will NOT stop an electric saw. Gas saws only.

I can make some guesses as to why, but not being my area of expertise, I'll just take the experts at their word on this.

 

[WinterDeere]

 

[MH8675309]

I have the rare pleasure of having watched my middle-school shop teacher get nailed in the safety glasses by a knot ejected from a table saw running on the far side of the room, while he was explaining the importance of safety glasses to another student. I have honestly never seen a better-timed answer to any debate, ever.

Safety glasses are cheap and more comfortable to wear now than they ever have been. Only problem for me is they fog up on me sometimes. But I still use them

 

[Moxie 15]

I am not the safest person around or the shapest saw in the shed, but I have not killed myself yet. I have a Stihl 311 that I use relatively reagurally around the farm. Chainsaws scare me so I am more careful when using it than with many power tools, but I still get in a bind sometimes. Where I am working now the trees are so close together they often do not fall down when I cut them down. Maybe I'm unsafe or dangerous but I find a way to get done what is needed.

<shruggs> I eat when I'm hungry I drink when I'm dry If a tree don't fall on me I'll live 'till I die.

 

[bcp]

I've cut from a ladder several times, BUT...

...the ladder top was tied to the tree. If the bottom was knocked aside, I still had a ladder to use.

...I was wearing a climbing harness that was fastened to the tree.

...I had a watcher

Bruce

 

[ning]

I think the point is that the chaps will gum up the chain, yes, and the gas saw will be at 0 RPM on the chain and just spin the clutch if you keep the throttle on.
The electric saw probably doesn't have a clutch because it doesn't need to have the chain stop while idling... because it doesn't idle. So if you gum up the chain with chaps, but you still have full torque available at 0 RPM, you'll run out of chaps real quick.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

But that video contradicted your claim. There was absolutely no damage to the log on either electric chainsaw.

 

[Drstrangeglove]

Aroumd here, saws are so dangerous, that no logger is allowed to have one by the insurance co. They will use a limb saw if necessary.