Chain Flying Off Injuries?

[oldwild]

half a dozen maxi-pads, 1 large sterile cotton towel, 3 smaller cotton towels, a cotton/nylon web belt, 2 rolls of tape, and a package of mulitple sizes of band-aids! Painted the boxes that way so if my kids were out with me all I would have to saw is the red box or the white box.

 

[Chris11]

I was cutting once a rather big walthorn hedge with my 038, and got a little tired after a while. Handling this saw on shoulder height wears you out. Suddenly experienced a heavy kick back, lost control of the saw, but was luckily saved by the chain brake

Cutting a hedge at shoulder height with a chain saw does not seem to be a safe procedure anyhow. If anything goes wrong, above shoulder height are some important difficult to replace organs.

Best regards
Christian

 

[WRW]

half a dozen maxi-pads, 1 large sterile cotton towel, 3 smaller cotton towels, a cotton/nylon web belt, 2 rolls of tape, and a package of mulitple sizes of band-aids! Painted the boxes that way so if my kids were out with me all I would have to saw is the red box or the white box.

Hope that web belt is not for a tourniquet.

 

[Blowdown1]

PPE is cheap insurance. I rarely do anything without boots, chaps and helmet anymore. Someone on another site said if you feel the need for all of that then maybe you shouldn't be using a saw. I say if you feel you are so skilled that you feel there is NO need for PPE then maybe you shouldn't be using a saw.

I've had two scary moments (and I'm not a pro so I have relatively limited saw time); clearing hurricane blowdowns off the driveway so I could get out of my house I was getting tired and sloppy and put the nose into another limb or something. That kickback and the chainbrake engaging got my attention fast.

The other was the exact situation that started this thread; limbing more blowdowns using top of bar and just enough sheer from the limb threw the chain. Smacked my chaps and did no damage. I imagine with just jeans it may have cut them, but probably no damage to me. Still got my attention though. I pay a lot more attention to limbing and trying to anticipate exactly what it will do when cut.

 

[max2cam]

I wear helmet face shield and ear protection boots and protective chaps are my next purchase. My buddy just took a chain across his leg no chaps on luckily the pants were the only causality by the way where in WI are you. I am near Baldwin WI

You guys have me beat on the safety gear. All I wear are ear muffs and my regular glasses protect my eyes. Many a times chips have bounced off them. I sure watch out tho when trees come down and that flying or hanging branches aren't headed my way.

I'm up near Hayward, but I know Baldwin. Lived near Roberts when going to school at River Falls. Used to go over to Gregerson Hardware and bought a gun there once.

 

[max2cam]

I always wear chainsaw protective chaps and steel toe boots.

I've seen 3 chainsaw accidents in my life. I have tried my best to learn from them. I highly recommend buying and using good safety equipment at all times around running chainsaws. Chainsaw accidents happen so fast you won't believe it until after it happens. Safety equipment is cheap compared to going to the hospital or worse.

The 1st accident I saw took place around 1974. A group of off duty loggers were cutting firewood on a landing site one weekend and one of them just got a brand new lighter weight saw he was not use to. Not even 1/2 hour into the woodcutting we all herd a horrible scream. The guy with the new saw had it kick back hard on a knot in a big fur tree. The saw got him in the face dead center. He was a bloody mess. The guy lived but it was very close at times. To this day I think about this accident and it stops me from getting my head lined up to a chainsaw in a cut.

Accident #2 took place at home in the early 80s a roommate was just testing a highly modified big chainsaw in the backyard for the up coming logging show. Somehow he cut his foot real bad after going though a log at warp speed. He spent a week in the hospital. Hence the steel toe boots I now always wear around chainsaws even when just testing out a chainsaw.

Accident #3 was a real tragedy it also took place in the early 80s. A Friend and professional logger by trade. Was helping his neighbor take down a very large fur tree in his yard. It was in the summer when the trees were drying out somewhat. Big fur trees can splinter real bad when they go over especially in the summer months. I have seen the splinters shoot out before but had not thought about it much until this day.
To make a long sad story short. The wood splinters that shot out from this big fur when it went over, shot out with much force they also caught him in the chest and pierced his heart. Additively this was a freak fatal accident but the point of me telling this sad story is try to expect the unexpected.

Think and work safely.

Those are some scary stories.

I know it gives me the jitters when I see the bar lined up with my face and try to move out of alignment. I also know that I tend to move and work fast (probably too fast) and sometimes move down the log with the chain still turning while stumbling over branches and brush. I try and force myself to always stop the chain by grounding/stopping it against the log first before taking a step. I have imagined myself tripping and then falling onto the turning chain. Something to avoid....

Trouble is, you get so used to running the saw and "tripping" around the woods that you do start letting your mind wander and get careless unless you intentionally concentrate on every detail AT ALL TIMES.

Even then "stuff" happens.

 

[Mange]

I heard a story from a guy driving harvester in Germany.
It was after a storm and the fallen trees had roots up in the air. Normally you check before seperating the tree, but sometimes you don't.
To the point. The two finns cutting free tree for the mashine was Finns, brothers as a matter of fact. One needed to go (you know) pretty bad so he went behind a fallen tree, and the brother seperated the tree..........
He lived just barly.

 

[njforestfire]

Ouch! - I bet ya that was nasty.

 

[JimL]

Ive got some scars. one on my elbow from hitting a chain I had hanging from my rivet spinner.

Just last week I had the ????ed pawnshop bring me a 064 to check out. I checked it over and noticed the chain needed a link taken out. woudlnt adjust out. they said dont do any work just check it over. So I fire it up and it is immediately idling too fast. the chain was hanging maybe 3" off the bar on the bottom. While I was adjusting it the chain came off and wraped around my hand and the screwdrive i was holding. It jerked hard and I had a bunch of cuts and holes on the back of me hand.

First time for me...

 

[alanarbor]

I had an eye opener, limbing on a steep side hill, with one foot much higher up, and i failed to notice that my boot had come untied. Well the saw caught my boot lace, and sucked right down into my foot. Fortunately it was only a brief touch and the only damage was to my shoe.

 

[DarioMO]

I had an eye opener, limbing on a steep side hill, with one foot much higher up, and i failed to notice that my boot had come untied. Well the saw caught my boot lace, and sucked right down into my foot. Fortunately it was only a brief touch and the only damage was to my shoe.

Thanks for sharing all these experiences...some are gory but better read about it than experience it myself later.

Keep it coming guys...Newbie taking notes here.

Dario

 

[Noah]

Not a chain injury, but a burn.

A guy last fall started working for a local logging company. The guy filled up his saw and failed to screw down the cap, because the gas cap came off while he was felling. Gas poured all over his pants. Not much later, he took a smoke break. You guessed it. He lit up his cigarette, and that's not the only thing that lit up. From what I was told, he tried to beat out the flames w/his hands and the gas stuck to his hands and burned. Someone ran to the truck and got a floor mat, blanket, or something and tried to beat out the flames. The poor guy ended up in the emergency room with the bones of his hands expossed and needless to say, third degree all over his legs. I've never heard of this happening before, but can see that terrible things happen when people get tired, careless and quit thinking.

They say he looked like the flesh melted off his bones like wax.

 

[belgian]

Cutting a hedge at shoulder height with a chain saw does not seem to be a safe procedure anyhow. If anything goes wrong, above shoulder height are some important difficult to replace organs.

Best regards
Christian

Christian,

you are right, but we have a lot of those hedges over here in Belgium, and if you do not prune them regularly, the branches get too thick. I don't know what other method you can use to get the job done.
All farmers I know of use the chainsaw for that job. I still continue to to it, but use a smaller saw, and with greaaaaat care.

 

[Mange]

Above shoulder height are some important difficult to replace organs.

Best regards
Christian

Sometimes I wonder if I actually will miss it if it was gone

There seem to be some that go their entire lives without any wear on the old potato.....

 

[SawTroll]

..........we have a lot of those hedges over here in Belgium, and if you do not prune them regularly, the branches get too thick. I don't know what other method you can use to get the job done.
All farmers I know of use the chainsaw for that job. I still continue to to it, but use a smaller saw, and with greaaaaat care.

Have you considered the HS 246 hedging attachment for chainsaws (024 and 026/260)?
That should make a real powerful hedge cutter(?), or......

 

[Chris11]

Christian,

you are right, but we have a lot of those hedges over here in Belgium, and if you do not prune them regularly, the branches get too thick. I don't know what other method you can use to get the job done.
All farmers I know of use the chainsaw for that job. I still continue to to it, but use a smaller saw, and with greaaaaat care.

Would it not be much safer to stand of a flat top which is moved if you are done this the part? Then you could cut in a height where your PPE is much more effective if the saw gets out of control.

my 2 cents.

Best regards
Christian

 

[belgian]

Have you considered the HS 246 hedging attachment for chainsaws (024 and 026/260)?
That should make a real powerful hedge cutter(?), or......

I have a Stihl HS 75 hedge trimmer, but it's way too light for such heavy hedges. To my knowledge, the hedging attachment exists only for the 026, and this is a too expensive solution, and also still a heavy tool to handle. Don't know its performance either.

And standing on a platform is indeed a safer way, but not very practical in a field environment with bumbs, barbed wire, cows, sticky branches, etc.

I realise I compromise a little on safety here, but one needs to get the job done.

 

[Mange]

What about a pole saw?

 

[belgian]

What about a pole saw?

I'll try to post a pic soon about the kind a hedge I mean. You will understand better.

 

[Mange]

I know there is pole saws that is up to 6 meters in length, and use bars that is up to 13". There is very powerfull engins to get if the wallet is big enough.