Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire CHAINSAW ACCIDENTS AND SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES

Have you actually done the jobs that you did safety for or were you just a safety fudd?

There's a big difference between the two types.

Tag

Effective thread for influencing those willing to think a bit. Not a pro at all, and now fairly old - avoid using the tip or top of bar.

Thats nice...

I hired my own crews and did contract work for large corporations that had teams of safety fudds monitoring our every move when at their facilities.

I have been running a chainsaw quite a bit in the last couple days, and still have a ways to go. This post was a "wake up call". I fear I was getting a little sloppy, that will change.
Thank you for the reminder.

KB

RAS nailed it. Age, agility and reaction time have nothing to do with it. I’m a professional arborist and I manage tree crews every day. The average man with a chainsaw is an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately most aren’t doing high risk work like climbing trees or rigging. Proper use of the chainsaw (good training and not being lazy or taking shortcuts) along with required PPE make operating a chainsaw pretty safe. But not understanding how to properly use a chainsaw along with no PPE can get a guy in hot water, QUICK!

Chainsaws today are as safe as ever, but only if you use them correctly.

Common mistakes include
-switching hands (saws are designed for right handlers) which vastly increases the likelihood of kickback and omits the designed chain brake kickback feature that stops the chain in the event of a kickback when the saw is held as designed (left hand in handle, right hand on trigger)

-Cutting in brush-this is a recipe for kickback

-cutting with your body in the path of the cut- forward and back… When cutting with a saw, your body should be positioned to the left of the saw and the path of travel of the bar.

-One handing saws- this again omits the chain brake feature and gives you less control of the saw. We require both hands for saw use at all times, even with top handle climbing saws.

-Walking with a running saw and chain break disengaged. If the saw is running and you are moving, put the chain brake on. If the saw is off it’s not a bad idea to have the brake disengaged. In case of a fall or trip, a freely moving chain can prevent a man from being cut if he were to fall on the saw.

-Improper start up- You should always start your saw with the chain brake engaged. A big problem is when people flood the saw and then try to start it by ripping on the starter chord while holding the throttle trigger. In this instance the person will often have the bar resting on wood or in brush. Big no-no. This could be avoided if the user knew how to properly clear the flooded engine.
-fully choke engine
-remove air filter and replace air filter housing
-switch choke to run and place ignition on off position
-pull chord 10-20 times to clear fuel
-place saw on full choke (this closed throttle body to prevent debris getting into engine) and replace filter and air filter housing
-place saw on half choke, engage chain brake, set ignition to start. Saw should start easily.

Bull!

Doing it wrong, compliancy, small saws, short bars....

Best way to get cut?
Short bar, bending over to buck. If you catch the tip, the saw only has to move
a short distance to your face. Which you placed right over it.

Sure sign of a novice or knothead, bending over the saw cutting a log.

A pro has a longbar and cuts standing up like a man.
The tip is used quite a bit.
PS. Those long bars have a fat tip. That makes kickback more possible, but it also
increases the amount of tip to safely use.

When I cut myself, I was working in a timbered edge where the other faller had my trees all brushed in with his tops.
I had to go in there and start falling, I should of moved more brush/broken tops out of the way, putting in my backcut and the top of my bar at the tip caught something and sent the saw into my shin.

Chaps only work if they are completely encircling your lower and upper leg, otherwise they will just spin and cut you anyways, the pants are the best.

In BC you will immediately fail a falling certification test if you.... use the top of your bar (pushing chain) for either cutting a backcut or any part of the undercut, you are only allowed to use the bottom of your bar (pulling chain). That is the reason for a full wrap handle bar.

Then the other part about saws people forget is what you are doing with it can be equally as dangerous, stitches in my face a couple times, a flying knot hit me....and a small sappling slapped my sweet face. Always wear a shield, or at least safety glasses.

Then there were the times when trees and tops landed beside me, but still trying to forget about those times.

Super high product liability, but not illegal. Anyone, including retarts can buy one. Whether they know how to safely use one is another story. Over confidence coupled with our " I will save money and try to do that myself" married with a healthy dose of the "hold my beer" mentality = bad outcomes all day long. A good friends brother in law was killed by a chain saw kick back. No it was not a big saw, a Stihl 028 kicked back and struck him in the forehead. Found later DRT. Even when dull chainsaws cut meat very efficiently.

There are some men who shouldn't be able to operate a pair of safety scissors much less a chainsaw. Common sense goes a long way when you have a saw in your hands.

My neighbor and friend was killed last year cutting firewood for camp. Wasn't the saw that got him, it was a large branch on the tree....

A dead branch fell?

“struck by falling objects” is one of the top co sister killers in my industry. Electricity is another. I also have a the pleasure of meeting people every year who seriously hurt themselves trying to cut trees themselves rather than hiring a professional. A really stupid way to try to save money….

Widow maker

I have had my face driven into the snow by falling debris, and know of at least 3 guys who had their necks broken in the same way, luckily, they can walk.
A small branch falling from a distance (50ft) can break you up bad, sometimes branches are broken and caught up in the canopy of the trees, they come loose when you begin to separate the trees.

Fudds do nothing but make things worse as folks know their full of schit and try to find ways around them, often times making poor choices.

52 years writing coverage and taking Workers Compensation claims. A chainsaw is one bad mother, not only does it cut, it grabs shin and clothes and pulls you into it, faster than the blink of an eye. The shape of the teeth, hooks into you.

Had a buddy show up with a track hoe after Ivan to help me clear trees down on my place. Was not use to the reverse spring action of a grabbed tree, had a tree he was holding, snap my saw back into my britches leg, caught and pulled the blade into my leg. Got a trip to the surgeon to get the Levi threads and pieces out of the cut, that was a heap of fun. 3" long 1/4" wide 1/2" deep.
I own a tree farm, have trees and limbs down continually. The chain saw is something to really respect, and plan a cut, if you do not do so, it or what you are cutting will get you.

Tell me about it,

We were installing and operation power generation in remote locations in Alaska.

Some of our power plants were generating upto 14 MW, the corporate safety teams observing my guys hadn't a clue as to what our safety risks truly were.

But that never stopped them from having all kinds of irrelevant input.

I remember a lawsuit Stihl got into over their concrete saws. A fire dept bought one of them and put a Table saw blade on it. the fireman put it up to the house to cut and it kicked back and decapitated him.

Stihl got sued but won the case, never mind that the manual warns against doing such things.