Your worst accident.

aquacanis · April 07, 2012, 11:18:58 AM

What's your worst day with a chain saw. My worst: I was 28 and in my prime. 40 years ago. Cutting fire wood trees in 2 ft. of snow at about -5F. Would drop one take a short break by putting my right foot on the fresh stump and lay the saw on top of my leg idling, then start limbing Green wool pants and long under ware on I set the saw on my leg when it was still winding down and POW!
Looked down to see a nice gash through the pants on inside of leg and felt the warm blood at the same time. Femoral artery went through my mind. I dropped my pants immediately to apply a pressure point to the femoral if necessary. I had nice four inch gash through the fatty tissue and no real depth to the cut. Lucky boy. My buddy turned white when he came running over to me. Chaps, chaps, chaps. We didn't have em back then. And never rest a running saw on your leg.

opticsguy · April 07, 2012, 11:39:57 AM

I asked about safety gear on another post and will be adding all the necessary items in the near future. No accidents yet, but yesterday I did notice how close the saw blade often comes to my legs or at least in line when the places to step are limited. So as of today, no more sawing untill i get me some safety gear.

sparky1 · April 07, 2012, 12:09:08 PM

I was sixteen. I use to cut alot of wood with shorts and work boots on. Luckily this day I put on jeans. I was cutting a stump off at the ground. When I got through I had to kick the stump off the bar. well the saw kicked back and got all wrapped up in my jeans and actually cut my shoes a little. It never hit my leg or foot. Just ruined my pants. Got pretty lucky. Now I always wear my jeans and typically my steel toe work boots. Im not huge on all the safety gear. I need to get a little better about that!!

aquacanis · April 07, 2012, 02:27:55 PM

Opticsguy you are doing the right thing. WEAR IT ALL. I don't have a penny
invested with these companies. I am talking from 50+ years of experience when we did not have much of the saftey gear. I use it all now. The hearing protection is too late so I got aids.

sawguy21 · April 07, 2012, 04:28:28 PM

I am left handed and had gotten into the habit of holding the wrap handle with my right while drop starting the big ones so you know where the bar and chain was. The 075 started, I set it on the bench and reached for a tool I had dropped. That was when I noticed a cut in my jeans just below where a ring of keys bulged in my pocket. I shut the saw off, sat down and shook. I never did that again. Yeah, my hearing is shot too, audiologist told me the range most affected indicates prolonged exposure to loud noises.Too soon old and too late smart.

Okrafarmer · April 07, 2012, 04:29:33 PM

I was up in a tree, doing stuff beyond my pay grade. Tied a big limb off and then cut it off with the chainsaw. Unfortunately, the way I tied it off, it swung back and pinned my arm to the tree. I had flicked my saw off and dropped it on its tether so I didn't get cut at all. The guys on the ground were able to pull on the rope and I got my arm out, but it was gashed a good quarter inch deep by the pull-out stickers. I couldn't climb down and had to be rescued by the firefighters.

I had had premonitions about this job and they came true-- I knew I really wasn't experienced enough to do it, but I was hard up for money, and I went against the little voice of caution in my head. What I learned from this? I am not a climber. From that time on, there was to be no climbing and sawing in my life. I don't have the right build for it anyway.

ArborJake · April 07, 2012, 09:51:41 PM

When I was 23 I was taking down about a 60ft Colorado Spruce over a driveway,house, and garage. After lowering down the top I then arrogantly decided to rope off about a 12 ft piece of wood with a false crotch. I set up the false crotch wrong and when the log came over the rope didn't run. When that log hit the trunk I threw my arms, "saw in one hand" over the top of the trunk to hold on and got batterd around like a rag doll. Two bulging discs between my shoulder blades and could turn my head or take a full breath for six days. The one disc in my back sticks out enough to rub on my spinal cord and makes my left am go numb when I lay down. It was like hugging the top of a telephone pole while a volkswagon ran into it. Needless to say lesson learned.

Okrafarmer · April 08, 2012, 01:44:09 AM

Seems like that disc could be fixed, Jake

ArborJake · April 08, 2012, 08:40:57 AM

The doctor recommended surgery to fix it but to tell the truth I'm afraid to have it done. A doctor who I did tree work for told me of exercises I could do coupled with one of those tilting tables to strech out and take pressure off the discs. It has helped alot. I don't usually have to much trouble with it anymore as long as I'm carefull what I do with my arms above my shoulder's. I think maybe what happend to you Okra might have been from your ground men not letting the limb down fast enough. First rule of roping is to let the piece clear the climber. Also hope your back is ok after the accident.

Okrafarmer · April 08, 2012, 06:12:55 PM

My accident was about 6 years ago, and I think I recovered fairly well from it. It was all my fault, because I really didn't know what I was doing. The ground people knew even less, and I really didn't know what to tell them to do. They were amateurs and I was little better.

Mark K · April 08, 2012, 06:43:52 PM

About nine years ago I was working with my father on a clearing job. End of the day went to cut a load of firewood for the ride home out of a cull log pile. Still dont remember exactly what happened but I ended up slipping and sent the saw thru my left boot right behind the steel toe. Cut the big toe just about off, little meat holding and mangled my second toe. Toes were reattached but I wish they took them off. No feeling or movement what so ever. Doctor said they wanted to so I would walk right. Now I where kevlar boots, always wore chaps and a helmet.

aquacanis · April 09, 2012, 10:33:59 AM

What's most amazing about all of us is the willingness to wear just about any
protective AFTER we have been seriously hurt or lost our hearing.

Al_Smith · April 09, 2012, 11:13:06 AM

About the closest I ever came was nicking the toe of a work boot from not paying attention .Close enough to make me be more aware of paying attention to what I'm doing.

Ear now,don't be stupid .Head up butt last fall I ran a souped Mac through a big log at a GTG .Loud enough to waken the dead .Well I still have a little ringa ding in one ear from my stupidity of no ear plugs .It can happen that fast ,believe me .

petefrom bearswamp · April 09, 2012, 08:38:01 PM

Check out my post on cutting pants
Lessons learned are almost always too late.
Pete

Okrafarmer · April 09, 2012, 10:09:09 PM

I have worn hearing protection about 90% of the time I should have in life, including about 98% of my chainsaw time. I now have massive hearing loss. It makes me mad, because people I know seem to have done little to protect their hearing over the years and are no worse off than me.

WDH · April 09, 2012, 10:42:24 PM

I was felling a big dead scarlet oak in a dense stand. In the past, I have had some trees hang up because of the density of trees when felling only the odd one, so I carefully planned where to throw the tree. I only had a very small gap to hit, otherwise the tree would hang up and be a major pain in the butt log. I made the front cut, made the back cut, perfect hinge, the tree began to fall, and I retreated about 20 feet away on my safety route. Tree fell perfectly. There was that satisfying crash of the tree hitting the ground, and a shower of leaves was falling to the ground. I was so pleased to have made such a fine cut. I walked over to the stump to look at the hinge when I was struck on the head by a heavy blow. It was a 3" diameter dead limb about 10' long that had temporarily hung up in the surrounding branches, then fell after I walked over to the stump.

The branch hit me on the left side of the hard hat, glanced off, and hit me on the left shoulder. The resulting bruise was about the size of a saucer and had every color in the rainbow.....black, blue, green, red. It did not break my shoulder, but I thought at the time that it had.

So, always look up to check for a widow maker before and after felling. And ALWAYS wear a hard hat with face shield and ear muffs. The hard hat either saved my life or prevented a serious head injury. It is not only the cutting chain that will hurt you. The wood will hurt you, too. Or, even kill you.

aquacanis · April 10, 2012, 12:39:38 PM

The hard had story says it all WHD. A friend of mine spent 6 months in hospital and three skull surgeries from a very similar widow maker like yours. He is a professional logger with no hard hat on at the time. He wears one now. Your planned escape route is something for all to note too.

opticsguy · April 10, 2012, 12:46:40 PM

My first "accident" was yesterday.
I had just purchased my new chaps and head protection and used my steel toed boots for cutting down a nice maple tree, cut into the proper sizes, cut the remains into firewood, cut up the limbs and a big job for an old single guy.

Got one of the logs on the mill, cut into lumber and prepared for stickering and stacking.

Took some stickers to the chop saw and cut about 6 or 7 at one time (not my normal proceedure). There was a sudden explosion and i was looking at my hand with blood and wondering where is my thumb??

Well my thumb was still there, attached and OK but in the confusion of the explosion, it was a little confusing. Luckily my left hand was about 16" from the saw and now think the stickers had cut my hand despite being thrown towards the saw blade.

My mistake was being in a slight hurry and cutting too many stickers too fast and probably not against the back stop.

This all happened in less than one billionth of a second. Actually it was faster than that.

My lesson, never hurry (my norm), dont try to do too much at one time (2 stickers against the fence) and stop BEFORE I am tired.

Ward Barnes · April 10, 2012, 06:44:52 PM

Howdy:

Mine was yesterday too. I cut a couple of trailer loads (small trailer) and decided to dress up the chain. After sharpening the chain I removed my glove to test the sharpness with my thumb. Yep, it was sharp. ??? I am glad I was smart enough to obey rule number one in chain sharpening. Make sure the motor is not running.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

thecfarm · April 11, 2012, 09:41:53 AM

I drove the tractor up to a log with the bucket down,about 3 feet away to hook a chain to it to pick it up and carry it to the mill. Was up against an old stump. Went to put the chain around it, there was a small dead broken limb under the log. I was between the log and bucket. I kicked the dead limb out of the way and that log started rolling towards me!!! Lucky it stopped before pinning me against the bucket or broken my leg. Thought I was going to have to call the wife to get me out of a mess.

Okrafarmer · April 11, 2012, 06:57:31 PM

Wow, cfarm, Murphy took a nap that day!

thecfarm · April 12, 2012, 09:27:32 AM

I was some lucky. If someone would of told me that little dead stick was holding that log I would of bet a bowl of grits it wasn't. I was some shocked when it started to roll towards me,or I should say scared.

WDH · April 12, 2012, 09:12:16 PM

Don't be betting your grits or your farm

.

Bert · April 13, 2012, 10:09:07 AM

I've been fortunate to never have a major chainsaw accident. A few nipped boots, coats, jeans etc but never real bloodshed. I do have a chainsaw story though that helps me keep my head on straight when using one. I have a friend that has a small farm. His parents own a retail store. Work was slow at the store so they sent one of store employees out to the farm to cut up some brush. I have no idea why they thought he was qualified. Me and the friend were out hunting and he gets a phone call the this store employee cut his foot with the saw. When we got there the ambulance was already onsite. The kid put his foot under a branch to keep the saw out of the dirt when cutting. He cut through the branch, through the top of his shoe, through his foot, and back into the dirt. The ambulance crew was tending to him when i found the half shoe with toes still inside.

aquacanis · April 14, 2012, 09:30:38 AM

I am told this actually happened at a nearby forestry school in the 1960's. Students were learning to run chain saws and the day to fell their first tree was at hand.
The first kid was a nervous wreck and got about half into the tree when the instructor went up on his right hand side to try to calm him. The instructor tapped him on the right shoulder the kid spun around frantically and cut the instructors stomach wide open. His inwards fell to the ground and he died several hours later in the hospital. I don't go up behind anybody running a saw after hearing that.