Local man killed by chainsaw

JoelD · Dec 4, 2009

I've got chaps but don't protect my chest.

What can I wear to protect my chest??

Monkey I bet you know.

I also wear helmet and face shield every time I run the saw.

Got a mini-boss I need to be around for.

Joel

Treemonkey1000 · Dec 4, 2009

JoelD said:
I've got chaps but don't protect my chest.
What can I wear to protect my chest??Monkey I bet you know.
I also wear helmet and face shield every time I run the saw.
Got a mini-boss I need to be around for.
Joel

The best thing is a bit of precaution I think. Right sized saw for the job or operator. I don't wear anything for chest protection.. Other than bib coveralls. Now if I were Dolly Parton then that might be a issue. If you are cutting close to your chest for what ever reason then being aware of loading on the wood. I have to cut a lot of tree's at chest height when I am climbing so that I can push the top over after I start my back cut. So I don't use a lot of throttle at that time because I want to be ready for either the saw trying to get me or the top kicking back. If you look at this link that is attached looked at the graph of body hits. Very few too the chest. Mainly legs were hit and mainly the left leg.. Weird I thought because I am left handed...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/133369-interesting-but-boring-chainsaw-facts.html

The Haymaker · Dec 4, 2009

Jaylegger said:
To prevent my 6 year from rotting his brain indoors playing video games I let him use my chainsaw. And before all safety police freak out, yes I've told him how to use it safely. Live free or die!

I have found that allowing a child to play with a chainsaw, explosives, or radioactive waste is acceptable. Just don't throw a helmet on him and put him on a motorcycle!

patrick_g · Dec 4, 2009

The Haymaker said:
I have found that allowing a child to play with a chainsaw, explosives, or radioactive waste is acceptable. Just don't throw a helmet on him and put him on a motorcycle!

When I was in grade school my dad bought me a used Gilbert Chemistry Set at an auction for 25 cents. From it I learned to make (among other things such as hydrogen-oxygen bombs) black powder and from there my own fireworks with different chemicals to impart different colors. Then in the 9th grade I started making more exotic solid rocket propellants and was launching aluminum bodied rockets of my own design and construction. No Estes safe stuff remote ignition for me, just brute force and awkwardness. As an older person (25 or so, still not claiming to be an adult) I made working scale models of black powder cannons (.22 ) on carriages and mortars 0.75 bore.) Luckily I still have all my fingers and eyes. I do not claim I was as safe as I should have been only that I didn't get hurt much.

My activities were akin to walking across the street without looking carefully in both directions, although I survived my survival DOES NOT show/prove my activities to be safe. Chainsawing without proper safety gear and methods and surviving proves neither your wisdom nor your intelligence. I may toss a coin and get several heads in a row but that does not prove I can continue to do so. When your chainsaw activity comes up tails you can be maimed or killed. It will be way too late to repent and change your ways. With luck maybe those who knew you will take a hint and try to be more careful.

I was blissfully ignorant of chainsaw boots till Egon spoke up. Thanks buddy! I will be getting some. I was lucky to not cut off the toes of my left foot when I cut a gash through the toe of my boot with a little 16 inch saw. I hate to think of the damage I can do with my 32 inch bar Husky with an engine like a dirt bike..

Pat

D7E · Dec 5, 2009

I've had 15 years working for felling outfits and my own work and seen lots of bad cuts....interestingly most to the feet and ankles from sawing while trampling through heavy brush....Worst i witnessed was a 30 year seasoned cutter up in ropes and managed to get the saw accross the top of his head and ended up with a plate in his skull as it kicked up under his helmet...horrible feeling to be the rookie and the only guy with him and all you can do is hold a shirt around his head for 45mins and wait..!
I've nicked the fluff in my boots twice and once in the inner thigh..Which was a heart stopping moment till you drop the pants.20 miles off the nearest road 911 aint gonna get there in 5 minutes..!
We wear reasonable protection..boots,helmets,pants,gloves and personally i don't think the regs are'nt tight enough for the public when i see my neighours with their 24in pro saws cutting away in their runners and track pants stabbing like a sword fighter at a tree then running back looking up hoping for the best...!
But..boots....i think probably the most important safetey point yet the most ignored.....?

JoelD · Dec 5, 2009

Thanks for the safety tips and pointers.

I'll get a pair of chaps with taller bib, mine has none. Being short, I wear them with suspenders and they ride fairly high but not all the way up my chest.

Joel

patrick_g · Dec 5, 2009

I haven't seen chaps with a bib, high or low fitting. It wouldn't be a stretch of your imagination to make a bib out of a second pair of chaps. While your at it wrap the material over the top of your shoulders to protect the collar bone area.

Pat

beenthere · Dec 5, 2009

Seems the chest would be real hard to get hit, if you are keeping two hands on the saw, and sawing in front of you.

If high in a tree and tied to the tree, then sawing with arms to the side and chain/bar in front, then I can see a chest hit. But those are rare.

Others may imagine an easy chest hit....I can't.

Jaylegger · Dec 5, 2009

JoelD said:
I've got chaps but don't protect my chest.

What can I wear to protect my chest??

Monkey I bet you know.

I also wear helmet and face shield every time I run the saw.

Got a mini-boss I need to be around for.

Joel

If nothing's available in the forestry industry perhaps hockey throat protectors might fit the bill nicely. They generally encompass the chest area and are made of ballistic or perhaps more accurately anti-ballistic nylon. Here's a link, scroll down to bottom portion of page.http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Hockey_Goalie_Throat_Protectors-Neck_Guard_Bibs/catpage-GTHROAT.html