chainsaw safety

[Kevin Jenness]

I ran into my son this evening at the volunteer fire station and asked him about a cut on his cheekbone. He replied that he had been limbing a log without face protection and managed to kick a branch stub back into his face. He's an experienced timber framer and logger with a strong emphasis on safety but he took a shortcut that could easily have cost him an eye. Be safe out there.

 

[John K Jordan]

...limbing a log without face protection...Be safe out there.

Good reminder, thanks.

So many ways to get injured with a chainsaw. When I started chainsawing I bought the small book "The Good Woodcutter's Guide"; the author cut wood for a living and described many ways he knew to get hurt or killed with a saw. Some were not obvious.

Just knowing about these helped me to think every time I pick up a chainsaw. How can you possibly protect against something you can't even imagine.

The same thing goes with any potential hazardous activity without knowledge - cutting with a circular saw, tablesaw or even a bandsaw. Using a drill press improperly. Lathe? Electrical wiring, situations while operating a tractor or big mower.

JKJ

 

[Alan Weinberg]

Good reminder.

 

[Darryl Fective]

I was just thinking about that today. We had a nice Mother's Day walk at a park at the end of our peninsula. There's an unofficial trail we like to hike, but a large multi-stemmed tree had fallen and it was tough to get around. I decided to take the dog for a walk and carry my chainsaw to take care of it. I kept thinking, don't get the saw bound up, (no spare saw) no kickbacks, (no brake anymore) and watch for built up tension. (fallen trees sometimes move/roll in strange directions) Cell service is spotty and I was a good half mile or more away from the car. (park was deserted)

It all went well and it looked like good wood to turn, but too far to carry.

 

[robo hippy]

I regularly catch some videos on You Tube about tree falling accidents. Some are Darwin Awards, some are accidents. I pretty much never fall a tree of any size. Worst injury thus far is grabbing my chainsaw when it was falling out of my van once and getting a nice slice on my finger from catching it. I have sliced my knuckles a couple of times when sharpening with a hand file, mostly from pushing too hard on the file. I don't work in the woods, only in my driveway which is pretty much flat. I am VERY careful when I use this tool.

robo hippy

 

[John K Jordan]

I pretty much never fall a tree of any size.

I quit felling trees too, except in certain cases. On our 27 acres there are a lot of "junk" trees and dead trees that need to be removed, some damaged in storms, some where I need to widen a road or trail, and some which are worthless virginia pines with shallow roots. They tend to block roads and trails and destroy fences and things if they come down in high winds when the ground is soaked.

I will take down a pine tree myself but with the excavator IF it's leaning the right way and has a good place to fall where it won't get hung up in other trees. Some pines have been over 100' tall. This one was quite large in height and diameter - I dug a trench around the roots 6' wide and 4' deep then pushed it over:

View: https://youtu.be/iTx7IDZ8sQQ


(sorry, I've posted some of these pictures before)

I hire a tree guy to take out the big hardwoods and the tricky stuff. Can save a LOT of money if I help with my equipment. For some, we fasten a long rope (3/4", 200') high in the tree, run it through a pulley fastened low on another sturdy tree with a "loopie", then I pull the end of the rope at 90-deg to the fall line with the skid steer (so I'm far out of the way) while the tree guys make the cut. (We communicate by hand-held radios.) This method is a LOT safer and puts the tree just where we want it. And since I clean up all the logs and limbs it's a lot cheaper than just hiring them for the whole job.

I usually dig out the stumps too, sometimes a challenge on big hardwoods, use all the equipment I have plus a custom tool to cut under the roots! I've had to dig holes 8' deep and drive the machine down ramps to get under the roots. Usually leave the stump long enough for leverage to help break them loose then have them cut it short later. Sometimes takes days of effort and all my wits to remove a big stump!



Sometimes there is a lot of hardwood to dispose of. For some odd reason turners I know sometimes come and help haul off wood!.
This is a red oak from a storm fall.


As for trimming limbs with chainsaws, the safest things I've found:

• For small limbs I can reach from the ground - a one-handed cordless reciprocal saw lets me hold the loose end while cutting with the other. (this type of saw is quite gentle)
• For large limbs and those out of reach, a pole chain saw is king - I use a long Stihl gasoline pole saw and, for less intense limbing, a cordless Milwaukee pole saw.
• For some trees, that I want to remove entirely, I first rip the lower limbs off with the excavator, then dig around the roots and push the tree over. So far I've taken out nearly 20 Leyland Cypress trees this way. I planted these out of stupidity with they were 5-6' tall - in little time they are well over 30' high, grow wide, and get to be a real nuisance!
• One trick when sawing in the woods is to take a second bar and chain - if the saw gets hung up, remove the engine, mount the spare bar, and cut out the stuck bar. But always use wedges if appropriate!

To cut logs up with a chainsaw, the excavator makes it so easy: lift the log off the ground to a comfortable height, and with a minimum of chainsaw skill there is no chance of binding or kickback when cutting chunks off the end. I've had lots of woodturners come here for green wood. (And I can easily gently load even big chunks into their truck or trailer.)



JKJ