Well it happened

[oldfortyfive]

I was cutting up a downed tree about 10 years ago. Finished my cut and turned to move for the next cut and found myself flat on on my face. A big branch decided to roll and a limb nailed me in the back of my left shoulder. Got an x-ray to make sure nothing was broke.

 

[holeycow]

Just a few days ago a snag (dead tree) decided to fall the wrong way. Backwards. It ripped out the punky hinge and that was that. I felt it pinch, went "oh, no I'm stuck", then went "oh no, it's not stopping". So I dropped everything and left at about 90 degrees. Phew! That's the second one over many amateur years...

I should have judged that tree more better.

I've had a few little kicks, but no kickbacks. Knock on wood.

 

[tla100]

Ohfff that sucks! Glad you are still in 1 piece! How many stitches? I got one of those hardhat/earmuff/faceshield that I never use. May have to bust it out.

I cut my knee and had 10 stiches last march from a dumb move with a saw. got lucky......my stupid phone likes to screw up any posts after a software update

 

[holeycow]

Man that's a long post.

I see it is fixed.

 

[djg james]

Wow! I've been reading this and I'm glad you're OK (as much as possible). Thanks for posting this as a reminder. I try to remember to keep my head to the side of the saw when cutting. But I'm make a more conscious effort now. Especially since I've switched to 'yellow' chains. A while back, someone posted a knee injury, so now I wear my chaps.

 

[cantoo]

I posted awhile ago about a buddy of mine from work who did almost the same thing. He was cutting rounds from a pile of logs stacked by a log truck. One had a little stub of a branch on it and he swung the saw to the side loosely to cut it off. He misjudged the distance and the tip hit the log. He woke up covered in blood, good thing it was right beside the house so it was a quick trip to the hospital. Bar nailed him right across his face, again glasses saved his eye but cut the heck out of his chin, lip and eye brow. He's pretty stubborn and didn't bother doing exercises or anything. His skin was hanging down because he took bandages off away, the skin over his eye hangs down low and now his eye lid doesn't open anymore. He lost the muscle tone and can't open it. He needs cosmetic surgery but I doubt he will do it.
I pick my battles when I'm in the bush or working wood. I do physical work first when I'm fresh and then as I get tired I do les physical work and use the tractor. Sometimes your head isn't in it and things don't go right and I just call it a day and find something safer to do.

 

[SuperDuty04]

Wow no good man! Glad it wasn’t worse! Here’s to a quick recovery and a safety lesson learned.

 

[arro222]

Part of the reason I buck with a 16" bar.

 

[CDElliott]

Well this is going to leave a fn mark ...... 35 plus years of cutting .... I have had saws kick on me but today the 046 got me in the face...... Bucking a 18 inch log on the ground - nothing around it - both feet planted - text book position ----- Grabbed trigger -set saw down on log - boom on my ass. Kicked back so fast it took saw right out of my throttle Hand - hit me right in the face. Had I not been wearing glasses I would be missing an eye. My phone was in my skid loader.and I had to crawl up into it to call for help. So then next time you see me I will have chaps, logger books, traffic cones/ reflective vest/ ear protection / face guard on. hahaha Operation Safety Sally for a little while. Went to ER - and got a ton of stitches and put down as covid then sent home hahah Be careful kids if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone

Ouch, sorry to hear that. My eyeglasses have saved me on more than one occasion. I've been wearing glasses for over 60 years and they have saved my bacon more than once. From stray wires on grinders to flash fires.

I also wear wire mesh goggles over the glasses as the solid plastic ones fog up on me too much. I have also worn my earplugs when working with loud equipment for the last 40 years as hearing loss is cumulative, and creeps up on you gradually.

I appreciate your Public Safety Announcement. It serves as a reminder that the unexpected can occur at any time. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[CDElliott]

I posted awhile ago about a buddy of mine from work who did almost the same thing. He was cutting rounds from a pile of logs stacked by a log truck. One had a little stub of a branch on it and he swung the saw to the side loosely to cut it off. He misjudged the distance and the tip hit the log. He woke up covered in blood, good thing it was right beside the house so it was a quick trip to the hospital. Bar nailed him right across his face, again glasses saved his eye but cut the heck out of his chin, lip and eye brow. He's pretty stubborn and didn't bother doing exercises or anything. His skin was hanging down because he took bandages off away, the skin over his eye hangs down low and now his eye lid doesn't open anymore. He lost the muscle tone and can't open it. He needs cosmetic surgery but I doubt he will do it.
I pick my battles when I'm in the bush or working wood. I do physical work first when I'm fresh and then as I get tired I do les physical work and use the tractor. Sometimes your head isn't in it and things don't go right and I just call it a day and find something safer to do.

A mans' got to know his limitations!

 

[dsell]

Glad you made it and thanks for sharing. It happened to me on labor day. It will make you jump when you think about it. I'm a lot more aware of crap around the cutting area now. I wear my plastic combo saw helmet, but I wonder if there is anything better. Did your brake set?

 

[Jim K]

Glad you you didn't get hit worse, closest I've been to any serious injury while cutting is slipping and falling on my saw while it was idling but was just a pride injury. It's always good to know what caused the kickback because you'll looking for it more now before you make a cut.

Glad the injury was not more serious. Better your nose and not your scull. Do you think a helmet and face shield would have minimized or stopped the injury?

 

[Dcsco]

Heal quickly. What chain was on the saw?

 

[Chiefhobbs]

Man that sucks big time. I couldn’t tell from the picture what your seeing.

 

[ken morgan]

Good to hear that your eyes are safe, you can always fix a lot with enough plastic surgery I slipped and fell chest face first on my chainsaw a couple of years ago and got lucky that my winter jacket took all the abuse and left me with **** in my pants and a damaged visor/helmet set. The chain brake locked about the same time it caught my jacket so other than scaring the snot out of me and ruining a jacket I was lucky. be careful.

 

[RCamo]

I went back out to the wood pile because non of this was making any sense to me AT ALL I looked at the other rounds near the one I was cutting on and boom ! Found it. It must have been in front of the round I was cutting. and I either didnt see it or misjudged the bar sticking out of the round. Im pissed that I did this. it was getting dark out and I should have known better. Even when you think your're being safe " sh#t happens". Glad it didnt kill me and I still have my eye. Few days down and I will get back at it. This is making the purchase of a mini excavator easier in my mind. hahaha.

At least now you know what likely happened. Nasty scar AND scare, lucky it wasn't any worse. Hoping for a quick recovery for you - a good reminder we ALL need to slow down and not take anything for granted.

 

[panolo]

Glad you are ok! Heal up quick!

 

[Krusty469]

Thanks for sharing
Glad you figured out how it happened - that would have annoyed the **** out of me not know
Speedy recovery

 

[Bridgedpw]

OUCH!!! Good Riddance 2021!!!

 

[Kenlip]

As I've gotten older I find myself spending more money on more and better safety gear. That said I've also gotten a lot better about using it too.
I really appreciate these stories so we can all learn and be little safer from them.

100% correct on all fronts.

I belong to a Facebook chainsaw group aimed primarily at saw enthusiasts. Some of the guys have collections of 20, 30 or even more saws. One of the things that astounds me about that group is that discussion about PPE is discouraged. Regarding PPE, their rules say, "We all know the benefits. But the choice to use it or not is up to the individual. DO NOT ridicule a member for using or not using it. DOING SO WILL RESULT IN REMOVAL FROM THE GROUP."
My daughter was doing some minor chainsaw work when something flew under the visor of her helmet and into her eye. Reflexly she pulled away. She couldn't work out why the saw stopped. I told her to look at her chaps.