Guys, don't get complacent out there!!!

[M-tooth]

Glad you are OK Brad. I wish you a speedy recovery so you can get back in the saddle again soon.

I hope that people take this thread for what it's worth and not just an excuse to badger someone for their mistake. We are only human.

 

[Husqvarna Hands]

Get Well soon Brad

 

[KodiakII]

Glad to see you are ok. Disregard anyone who gives you crap about the incident, even pros make mistakes and it takes an honest man to admit them.
Does that big "H" on your head mean you are a Husky man now?

I think a tattoo would have been the way to go!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[jropo]

Glad you are OK Brad. I wish you a speedy recovery so you can get back in the saddle again soon.

I hope that people take this thread for what it's worth and not just an excuse to badger someone for their mistake. We are only human.

+1
And Thank You Brad for risking your hide for us saw nutz that like to see these Modded saws at work.

 

[stihlrookie]

Thank you for posting this

Glad you're okay. No need to admonish, you know what was wrong and won't let it happen again. I wear a helmet ever since I took a spring pole to the head, fortunately I was just left with a nice scar above my brow and a concussion. Get well.

 

[Boleclimber]

I have the impression Brad will never pound wedges with the saw in the cut again. Pull the saw out and then pound. You can run for the hills should the hinge let go.

Bore cut, wedges inserted, cut back wood, then pound wedges. This method has your saw free and leaves you with no reason, like save my saw, to stay near the tree.

 

[Fish]

Glad you are OK.

Being Hard Headed is usually a good thing.....

 

[the westspartan]

Hey Brad,

Glad to see you're alright. I took a branch to the head last year, when a 70' or so white pine knocked a limb off of the maple next to it and the limb got flung back at me. The pine went right where I wanted it to go, just didn't notice the maple branch until it split my helmet! I was too busy showing some guys how I could hit a specific stick with the pine. Mother Nature taught me a valuable lesson about showing off! Luckily I was wearing my helmet. I don't drop anything without one.

 

[willpower]

I see alot of guys cutting firewood doing things that I try to avoid most of the time. I was lucky to have been tought to run saws by a guy who was very "safety first". For me, most of the things you mentioned in your video are second nature . My friends on the other hand, not so much. I will definatly show this video to them so they can see just how fast it happens.I think Looking up is the hardest one to constantly do. After seeing this graphic look at a bad situation i dont think i will skip it ever. Takes balls to post this. Im glad you did.

 

[Hugenpoet]

I thought you were joking when you started out saying you nearly bought the farm, but you were absolutely on the money. Pretty scary, but glad you will be OK. Thanks for the safety lesson.

 

[luneburg]

Glad your okay

Well first and foremost glad you came out of it ok and certainty learned a good lesson and it takes some nuts to share but the important thing is to share in concern for the others here . Quite righteous of you thanks .

This morning I replaced the lower handle on a brand new saw because of the same reason Complacency While the conditions were different and I chose to watch a tree squash a brand new saw it comes down to the same problem complacency . So easy to happen and it can happen to anyone from new users to pro's.

Having worked in two of the most dangerous occupations my entire life (High Rise Construction, Logging /firewood) I have seen too many people killed due to.... you got it complacency . Once again glad you only got hurt and not killed or maimed, thank God for you and your wife and children .

thanks again for sharing

 

[paccity]

im not going to beat you up on the mistakes you made on droping that tree, but i'm glad your not hurt worse brad. but i will say thats what they make lids for. wear them allways . if you don't have one BUYONE! don't be the one that says hey you all watch this. wear a lid.

 

[RVALUE]

Glad you are ok!

I had a friend killed this year in a very similar situation. According to his son, the limb that got him was pretty small.

 

[blsnelling]

Thanks for all the appreciative replies guys. I flat out was not going to share this, but then as a couple days went by, I decided to. I know how threads can go on here:msp_ohmy: I certainly hope it serves it's purpose. Thanks for not being too hard on me I'm doing that myself. As one of you said, I do need to get back on the horse soon. There's definately more than a little anxiety there. That's not really like me, but I suppose it's a good thing at this point.

I really really don't want this to get into an ugly debate, but here's my take on the lean. This was not a hard leaning tree. It had some curve to it, but was not way off balance. The direction that it went would have been held by a healthy hinge, allowing me to put it where I wanted with a wedge. Also, I should have been cutting from the opposite side. Again, as one of you pointed out, there's no reason to drive wedges while the saw's in the cut. That was my final and ultimately, most costly mistake. Had the saw not been in the cut, I would have been well clear of any danger when the tree came down. Live and learn I guess. Thanks for posting that tip. I'll be sure to put it to use in the future.

 

[blsnelling]

In case some of you missed it, I did have a CAT scan done of my entire head. I was hit in multiple places and also had a sore jaw. I have no idea how that happened, as there's no visible reason for it.

 

[ChainsawmanXX]

I really really don't want this to get into an ugly debate, but here's my take on the lean. This was not a hard leaning tree. It had some curve to it, but was not way off balance. The direction that it went would have been held by a healthy hinge, allowing me to put it where I wanted with a wedge. Also, I should have been cutting from the opposite side. Again, as one of you pointed out, there's no reason to drive wedges while the saw's in the cut. That was my final and ultimately, most costly mistake. Had the saw not been in the cut, I would have been well clear of any danger when the tree came down. Live and learn I guess. Thanks for posting that tip. I'll be sure to put it to use in the future.

No biggie brad, you were there we cant tell you what lean the tree was going.
Tree's can be very deceiving, they can lean one way then go the other.

 

[RVALUE]

Supercabs and I had a big one come over 160 degrees off. A wind ahead of a storm stood it up.

A lot of variables involved. for your nerve.

 

[gink595]

I'm glad you shared this. It is a real thing that can happen to anyone. No one goes to the woods and expects this to happen even though we need to. I've gotten in sticky situations and you learn from it and try not to do it again. It takes balls to share this but I think it is good you did! Glad you are OK, I just watched the video...WOW. Need me to send you a full brim hard hat?:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[blsnelling]

Now you guys know why I've been shopping for new bars, lol. I ended up with a nearly new 32" Tsumura light weight for the 390XP and ordered a new 36" Stihl ES Light today for the 066 that the ruined 32" came off of

 

[blsnelling]

Need me to send you a full brim hard hat?:hmm3grin2orange:

I've got a plastic one. Sounds like those with lots of experience recommend an aluminum skull bucket. I might have to look into that.