Mace Canute
Elite Member
I used to work for the provincial electric utility...retired now. Back in those days we had a woodchipper like the one pictured.
You fed the trees and branches straight into the horizontal chipper spindle on it, which was driven by belts from the engine. You didn't dare be hanging onto a branch when the blades on the spindle grabbed it cause it pulled it in so fast, you could barely let go in time to not get pulled along. I hated that machine. I think it had to be the most dangerous machine I have ever operated. The utility company finally bought new ones with hydraulic controlled rollers that fed the chipper blades, and none too soon!
Back before I hired on as a Lineman, I worked in a cellulose plant on Vancouver Island...at Port Alice, BC. They said one of the chinese workers there committed suicide in the large chipper one day by jumping feet first into the chute, which angled down to the blades at about a 45 degree angle and was more than large enough to easily pass a man through it.
I never heard an official version of this story...it may just have been something the oldtimers told the newbies, so take it with the proverbial grain of salt. But...they didn't embellish it like you would expect of a made up story and it seemed like they didn't like to talk about it, and I have always believed it was true.
Back before I hired on as a Lineman, I worked in a cellulose plant on Vancouver Island...at Port Alice, BC. They said one of the chinese workers there committed suicide in the large chipper one day by jumping feet first into the chute, which angled down to the blades at about a 45 degree angle and was more than large enough to easily pass a man through it.
I never heard an official version of this story...it may just have been something the oldtimers told the newbies, so take it with the proverbial grain of salt. But...they didn't embellish it like you would expect of a made up story and it seemed like they didn't like to talk about it, and I have always believed it was true.
