who's cut themselves with a chainsaw

[wood4heat]

#2

I was working late afternoon when the tempertures were way up there and the humidity was even higher. I wasn't thinking properly and grabbed the saw and started it before taking the blade guard off of it. To make thinks worse I didn't lock the chain up and the saw was not set right and it was spinning inside the guard. Instead of turning the saw off I grabbed the chain guard to slide it off the bar. Just at the time the guard flew off and the chain bit me. Another 1/4 of an inch and things could have been real bad. Cut me right across my lower index finger. Even better the customer was standing not 10 feet away. I felt like a total idiot. Amazing how you can do things right most of the time and then one time when not thinking you do eveything wrong.

What amazes me is how you can do everything right most of the time and the one time you dont there's always someone there to witness your mistake.

Fortunately I have yet to get myself with a chainsaw but I got myself pretty good with a utility knife a couple weeks ago. I was cutting sheetrock with one of those sheetrock T squares, I was in too much of a hurry and had my left pointer finger hanging a little over the edge of the square. Sliced 1/8" or so from the tip to the first knuckle clean off.

 

[mysawmyrules]

Does slipping off tooth while sharpening count I have permanent
scar tissue on my right index finger
I have tried gloves but not for me can not get the feel with them
on but now have a machine to sharpen and have not cut knuckle since.
I have cut the tip of my boots on different occasions climbing just a nick
no meat but boots look rough sure glad that was all!

Never thought of that I reached into the back of my truck in the dark and found that I didn't pull the guard all the way on and took it right between the fingers not to mention the sharpening woes so parked saws got me a few times

 

[Mtnman4ever]

Never been cut badly just little things from a non moving sharp chain.
I have how ever had a de querviens release surgery and had nerves in my right arm moved a nerve under muscle Usually the use fat but there is not any on my arm they can use lots of muscle and it would onlycuase problems the called it decompression . it hurts a :censored: how much , lot after . but beats not using your arm
this is from running saws . so theres lots of ways to pay a surgeons when using a saw there is a reason logging is # 2 in most dangerous professions

 

[squagg]

I've only cut myself one whilst climbing. The saw wasn't running and was attched to my harness. I slipped and made a grab for a branch that just so happend to have the bar of my saw caught on it and cut my palm.

I also bounced the bar of an 020 of my ground workers head as he walked under the step ladder I was up at the time as I drop started the saw. Left him with a 2 inch scar where his hair wont grow. He wasn't wearing his helmit.

 

[polingspig]

I have only cut myself while sharpening the saw on the job. I have nicked the left pants leg at the thigh twice though. Once when I was about 14 helping Dad clear some land, and once about 2 months ago. 14 years between close calls isn't too bad.

 

[Pitt]

As a home owner with a chainsaw, this thread really brings you back to earth. Its hard to even think about the very real possibility of hurting maiming or killing yourself or someone in the vicinity of a saw. I have had my girl make cuts on a few small pieces when making logs for the bbq. Although I would love to share my love of all things gas powered with her, I think that idea will stop here.

"I also bounced the bar of an 020 of my ground workers head as he walked under the step ladder I was up at the time as I drop started the saw. Left him with a 2 inch scar where his hair wont grow. He wasn't wearing his helmit"

The guy that took the saw to the top of his head was the kicker! WHEW! Should that not be THE MAIN STORY here? Winning story.

 

[clearance]

I also bounced the bar of an 020 of my ground workers head as he walked under the step ladder I was up at the time as I drop started the saw. Left him with a 2 inch scar where his hair wont grow. He wasn't wearing his helmit.

Thats funny. Me? Yeah, 2 and 4 many times, never got to cut any one else though, oh well, I'm not done yet.

 

[booboo]

My entry in the dumb stuff with sharp tools story is the mitre saw incident. My friend had his kitchen re-done and his wife asked me to do the trim because she was afraid he'd hurt himself doing it. So everything was smooth until the very last cut, doing a small piece of baseboard. Naturally, nothing was clamped and the piece kicked the back of my wrist into the blade. It took a moment to bleed, I looked down, saw white and thought ":censored:, I got the :censored: bone". Then it started to bleed, so I walked into the house holding my wrist up high and blood running down my arm and said that I needed to go to the hospital. We wrapped it up and his wife took me to the local walk in clinic. Ironically, they took me ahead of a guy with a chainsaw cut on his leg! 23 stitches later and a tetnus booster later and I was good to go. Amazingly, I got no bone, tendons, nerves, nothing. The white I saw was the layer of fat below the skin. His wife decided that she wasn't going to call my wife until she knew how bad it was. So we're in the car and she calls my dear sweet wife who says "You tell him he can drive his own dumb a*s home". She says "As soon as he finishes the trim"!!!

So what do I do? Go back their house, wipe the blood and meat off the saw and the piece of wood, and hang the last piece of trim. After a beverage, I drove my own dumb a*s home. What's amazing when I think about it is how lucky that cut was to do no real damage. Then I think about all the other lucky breaks that I know of. What about the ones I don't know of?!

 

[pbtree]

Right calf - probably needed stitches, but being a macho youth I refused to go. Live and learn...

 

[ArtB]

157 stitches

Remember the old external roller bars of the early 1970's. Had a Roper 21" saw with such a bar, as sold by Sears.

After felling a hundred of so 1ft dia alder and a like number of 2 ft DFir clearing the road for our new house, used the saw for trimming some of the logs being used for the house.

Anyway, cutting top off a post, bar about a foot above head, a piece of that external roller breaks at 2 rivets and off comes the chain, slaps my left hand.
157 stitches.

Knocked my glasses off with big chip in them, one cut above eyebrow.

I returned the bar to Sears customer service with a note that the design was flawed in that fatigue stress at the rivet holes (per opinion of a structral engineer at the local aircraft plant) could and would cause serious injury.

Anyway, the good news was that 2 days after I returned the bar, an underwriter shows up at my door with a blank check for all medical bills, new saw and bar (non-roller) and news that Sears would not be selling external roller bars anymore.

 

[Pitt]

Remember the old external roller bars of the early 1970's. Had a Roper 21" saw with such a bar, as sold by Sears.

After felling a hundred of so 1ft dia alder and a like number of 2 ft DFir clearing the road for our new house, used the saw for trimming some of the logs being used for the house.

Anyway, cutting top off a post, bar about a foot above head, a piece of that external roller breaks at 2 rivets and off comes the chain, slaps my left hand.
157 stitches.

Knocked my glasses off with big chip in them, one cut above eyebrow.

I returned the bar to Sears customer service with a note that the design was flawed in that fatigue stress at the rivet holes (per opinion of a structral engineer at the local aircraft plant) could and would cause serious injury.

Anyway, the good news was that 2 days after I returned the bar, an underwriter shows up at my door with a blank check for all medical bills, new saw and bar (non-roller) and news that Sears would not be selling external roller bars anymore.

Thats pretty cool. That puts Sears up my latter a few rungs. I know they where open for a lawsuit, yet these days they usually wait for legal papers and a court date before a store will even consider listing to your complaints. Sears practices great service as far as my experiences go. :monkey:

 

[kevknep]

Only time I have been cut with a chainsaw has been when it wasn't running. I was done cutting and descending down on my hitch. Saw got caught up in a sappling before I realized it and pushed the saw into my arm as I descended into it. A tooth dug into my forearm and I had to pull it out. Bled pretty good for a little bit but didn't need stitches.

 

[SWE#Kipp]

Cut me in right hand index finger when I raced an old logger in a limbing competition and was lifting a limb away, he won ,,,,,,,,
and have cut my saw pants right leg when I did a real stupid thing ,,,,
live and learn and

 

[beowulf343]

Laid my climbing saw on my leg probably ten years ago while in a tree-was slashing grape vines and got a little carried away. 48 stitches.

And about two months ago, had the chain on my 395 break and come back and wrap around my wrist. Nice little slice on my forearm. 7 stitches.

Couple pairs of chaps nicked.

 

[trimmmed]

I cut the top half of my left thumb off with a mitre saw.

Andy, what saw did you do that on? And did it have a functioning guard? And one more........what height was the saw set up? (i.e. on a bench, on the ground? )

Ok, actually it'll be 2 more.

Did you feel it as it was happening or right after?

FYI, on a tablesaw you feel it right then and there, been there twice.

 

[04ultra]

Andy, what saw did you do that on? And did it have a functioning guard? And one more........what height was the saw set up? (i.e. on a bench, on the ground? )

Ok, actually it'll be 2 more.

Did you feel it as it was happening or right after?

FYI, on a tablesaw you feel it right then and there, been there twice.

Did it hurt!!!!!



.

 

[trimmmed]

Did it hurt!!!!!



.

YES!

But it hurts more after.

 

[l2edneck]

one on the elbow.....

one on the knee.....

and got my thumb with a glance.....

all bloody but the thumb was the scariest.....

bein could have easily cut it off....:jawdrop:

 

[sawinredneck]

Andy, what saw did you do that on? And did it have a functioning guard? And one more........what height was the saw set up? (i.e. on a bench, on the ground? )

Ok, actually it'll be 2 more.

Did you feel it as it was happening or right after?

FYI, on a tablesaw you feel it right then and there, been there twice.

It was a Harbor freight special 10" compund slider.

No, I was too good for that, "I don't need no sinking saftey crap!!!" It went back on as soon as we got home from the hospital and ONLY comes of for blade changes!!

I had it setup on a "workmate" talble, about waist hieght.

I honestly didn't feel a thing!! I watched it fly across the garage and must have gone into instant shock, only thing I can figure! And yes, I squealed and screamed like a little girl!!! (Anybody that says otherwise is liar!!)

I was doing hardwood looring in our house. Bubba was 5 weeks early and I didn't have everything done. Spent two weeks with him in special care.
The following week I started. It was 3am and I was cutting 9 1/2" off of a 48" section of 12" wide flooring (Yes, I remeber the exact dimension!!!) I was holding the short piece down, got half way through the cut and thought "I don't want that long peice to fall and bust up the joiners, I'll cheat my thumb over and hold it down with my thumb until I get it cut!" Well, I loostned the pressure enough that it bound up the blade and it kicked back on me. REALLY DUMB in a lot of ways on my part!!!! Not sure the gaurd would have helped, but sure wouldn't have hurt!!

 

[arbor pro]

knee cap

4

I was tied into a large dead cottonwood. When I cut off a large limb, the tree shook enough that another large dead limb 20 or so feet above me broke off and hit me. The impact knocked my 200t into my right kneecap. I looked down at my climbing pants and saw the 3" tear in the fabric and, while I didn't feel any pain at the time, I knew it couldn't have just cut the pants.

Several stitches from the local emergency room and I was back on the job cleaning up. Like an idiot, I tore the stitches right out again! Now I have a nice 3" scar to remind me of what could have been a really nasty injury. And my knee turns to jelly every now and then so, there might have been some light nerve damage. Other than that, no other cuts to speak of in 23 years on the job!

(Now, ask me about the number of times I've thrown my back out from overlifting logs, B&B trees, sod, landscape block, etc, etc, etc!)...