What's the dumbest thing you've ever done?

[MasterBlaster]

Killer post, Hemlock!

I can just see the whole thing in my mind- HAR!

 

[tony marks]

great story hemlock. u beat me to it..
blaster. hemlock i never did what u did.. but what amazes me is the dang licks and falls i took and never really even thot about missin work.. i keep trying to get that back.. wish me luck.. i was not far from it not long ago tho.. before the bottum fell out on me. pun intended..

 

[lucky]

I hate to admit this especially since it has little to do with saws. once when I was younger I was building fence and needed to cut some low limbs to clear a path for the fence. My arms were tried from working all day and the only saw I had with me was a heavy old Mac. Anyway while I was cutting a branch at about waist height and the saw cut through and proceeded to drop and glanced off my shin. This was a result of heavy saw + tired arms + not paying attention. Luckily I had let off the throttle and the chain was turning slow. It tore a hole in some old levi's and gave me a small cut on my leg. Cheap lesson. Lucky

 

[Hemlock]

What the heck, here's another one. Most of the time a faller uses his body to leverage or hold the saw whenever he can so the arms don't get too tired. In bigger stuff thats growing on steep ground that means laying the top of the powerhead against your belly (or some other sensitive body part) when you're standing on the low side of the stump.
One memorable day I was leaning into her in the pouring down rain when something tore into me but good! My nuts were clacking around probably worse than that Irish guy who does the riverdance. In fact I think I was doing a pretty good rendition myself! I couldn't see any bees around, no widow makers or bent vinemaple limbs that could have whacked me while I was'nt lookin'. I picked up the saw and tried her again, but this time I was alookin'. WHAP! right in the nuts! Now I was starting to get a little honked off and decided to sit down and think this one over.
Got to looking over the saw (Stihl 045) and found a broken boot on the sparkplug that just so happened to stick right up through the top. Didn't know how long it was like that but that day I was soaking wet. I guess I must've tossed her one too many times when I was in a hurry to get the hell outta the way of something or another.

That was the learning part. The dumb part? Force of habit, later that day..... I leaned on her again...#%^&#$*(#$@@#!!!!!

 

[MasterBlaster]

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Tree related 2 things immediately come to mind:

Clinging to a tree, inching by high voltage wires, and feeling the swaet on my back tingling from the charge.

Topping out a large pine (for here) between 2 houses, then catching the said top on the spar i just cut it from at 50' loaded with pulley sling and line; with a man controlling the rope that couldn't follow directions on the ground. The idea is to let the line 'run' the load to the ground, to catch top, and just not let it accelerate. i shoulda waited for my regular man the next day to do this, he had to take the day off. The guy, l;ocked down on thel line, slamming it against the spar i was standing on, kncoking my spurs out of the wood, and bruised my hip pretty bad as my life line held me to this pole flailing back and forth, slaming me around into it. The 5/8' Arboplex broke, then and pole thru me around some more from the sudden change in pulls as the top released when the rope broke.


But, i don't consider that nuthin'now; i gots faith i'll top that stupidity before i'm done; so i consider the hunt for the my stupidest thing to be a work in progress, with more coming attractions!

 

[tony marks]

i just hope u live thru it bbrother.
that sounds like u got real close having some singing done in your behalf..
the helper did live thru it didnt he..
hemlock u got it going on fella..lmao

 

[Menchhofer]

Cutting a limb with chainsaw and reaching OVER the bar to catch the limb. Stitches.

Using small echo saw in tree (w/o any PPE), finished cutting limb and had to hold on by wrapping my hand holding the saw, and the other around the trunk (with saw running, chain brake did not work). Chain caught 3-4 fingers. Pretty bad. More stitches.

 

[dfh]

chainsaw-wise

( Weekend Woodticks do not get to play with the really big trees luckily )


Taking my newly rebuilt 066 to a neighbor and hitting a nail on the second cut.
Using the same saw to cut a root and completely rocking out chain.

Helping friend buck a woodpile, stopped for a break and noticed one bar nut gone and the other very very loose.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Re: chainsaw-wise

Originally posted by dfh
... noticed one bar nut gone and the other very very loose.

Well hey, at least ya noticed it!

 

[stihltech]

Dumb

OK, when you fix all these saws, you learn alot.
Put in 041 crank in older case and found out it won't turn over.
Running shop by myself, had to wait on customer, and forgot to tighten flywheel nut. Experience a flywheel come loose on a 45Super at full throttle, you will never forget.
Cut my knee open with my 10-10. Dropped a small tree ofer a downed 3 foot maple and took the glasses right off my head. Brushburned my forehead, way too close!
And last but not least:
First lumberjack competiton, first event-stock saw. Warmed up saw, set it down. Hands on log, ready for action. Coutdown begins- 3,2,1, GO.
Reach down and come up to make first cut-no saw.
Really kills the time.

 

[cbfarmall]

stihltech, you reminded me of my favorite episode. Testing a clutch on my 045 to check a rattle. I stupidly left the drum off. Fired up the saw at half throttle and away the shoes went. Springs didn't have a prayer of holding the shoes together. Found one shoe right away, another the next day, the third a month later. Lesson learned.

Almost tripped onto my 075's 30" bar when stepping over a log. Learned to slow down.

Limbing with little POS saw, grabbed branch to move it, branch hit the chain and knocked it into my thumb. Couple stitches and couple hours at hospital. It's pretty hard to untangle a chain with one hand.

Chris B.

 

[ehp]

dumb

I got married dumb dumb

 

[ArtB]

1975 - Took Fops off old D2 to replace clutch plate. Snowstorm before Fops got put back on. Pulled 5 trees leaning toward house with snow loads, OK. 6th tree cable a little too short - I can dodge that if need be - trunk broke, rather than pull root ball. Woke up 2 days later in hospital with 37 bone pieces instead of a head, went home 2 weeks later. Wife said good thing it hit me where it couldn't do no hurt to nuthin' worthwhile!.

 

[Hemlock]

Art, When I was a kid I used to think it was o.k. to knock over trees with an A.C. track loader with no overhead protection, not even a hardhat. Had to back out from under many a dead top or limb coming down. Always wondered what would happen if a guy misjudged. It's all fun and games untill somebody gets hurt, huh Art. Glad you're still with us buddy.

 

[shoot501]

Undercutting a limb on downed top. top snapped kicking 1010 down into my leg[ouch]. Pushing over dead trees with a TD 9 with no rops, big tree had to get a run at it an hit it hard [ dead tree, no rops, big limp came out of top, broke nose, double ouch]. Unhook goose neck trailer on a hill but forgot to set brake on truck, replaced tailgate and front bumper. Pulling a tree away from house with truck [ wife driving truck ], when I made back cut I yelled go and she did for 25 feet then stopped, replaced tailgate again.

 

[tony marks]

i look on my trailer as emergency brakes for my truck.. on a hill it aint rolling backwords far.. it aint cool ,,but it sure did keep the thing from killing somebody..

 

[Gumneck]

New Bowed-bar saw!

Dumb thing happened today 45 ft up a pine. Was repositioning to another crotch to work on large upright leader. Unsnapped saw lanyard to hang off of limb, set saw on perch, took gloves off briefly, gloves fell tried to catch em, saw became a lawn dart.

Fortunately, only damage was to the bar.

 

[elmnut]

While logging a few years back I had a 28" white oak get hung up in another tree, rather than use the skidder to knock it down, I dropped another tree on it. The second tree was about 20 feet away, it hit the first tree right in the middle at about a 90 degree angle...perfect...except it didn't knock it to the ground. Instead the butt of the second tree flew in the air, hit me in the chest and threw me and my 056 about 15 foot. No injuries except my pride luckily.

 

[turnkey4099]

Friday. Went out to burn brush piles since there was 4" snow on the ground. Laid kindling in first one, dosed with diesel lit, off to the second one, repeat. Back to first one which was about out so I dosed with diesel again. Wait a bit and do it again. That is when I noticed a flame flickering off the can spout. Slapped a glove over it an noticed I had the wrong can! I had been pouring gas on a live fire. Had to sit down and have cup of coffee until my knees stopped shaking. Then while sitting there I found my back-up safety was no good. I had no service on the cell phone.

I had stopped to fill the diesel can on the way out and figured I might as well fill the utility gas can also. Although to two cans are identical, the spouts are very obviously different. I just grabbed the wrong can off the truck without looking.

Harry K