Tree cutting accident

   / Tree cutting accident #211  
Approximately 40 percent of all chainsaw accidents occur to the legs and well over 35 percent occur to the left hand and wrist.Oct 16, 2014
Thank you. Those are the numbers I was trying to recall earlier.
 
   / Tree cutting accident #212  
Dead trees scare me. If anyone knows a great (safe) way to get them down I would like to know about it. I won’t stand under one and cut it. I have envisioned a saw with a long handle supported on a turn pole. Allowing one to stand far off and get the widow maker down.
I've got a big dead hardwood tree I'm just waiting to come down. Fortunately it's not near my house.

I thought tannerite might be the answer. Attach it to the trunk and sit back (behind something solid) a couple hundred yds and shoot it.
 
   / Tree cutting accident #213  
After being trained by my employer on chainsaws for use at work, and having gone through the fireline saw training, I can’t help but wear chaps and some sort of eye, ear, and head protection. I now find it somewhat embarrassing to use a saw without putting that stuff on first. Habit yes, but we also point and comment about the homeowners in jeans waving a running saw around like it’s a toy. My dad cut without that stuff for many years, even after I told him not to, until he finally cut his leg and needed stitches.

Good points. Also I find a sharp, tight, and clean chain makes a safer saw. I use two saws and after using clean, sharpen and tighten the chain for the next use.
 
   / Tree cutting accident #214  
IF I ever take up motorcycle riding again, I'll definitely take a class. I have friends that still ride and from what I've been told, the classes are well worth it.

I recall one year when I put the bike away for the winter, got it out in the spring, took off on a curvy road I liked to push it on, and found that my skills had diminished greatly in just the 4-5 months, and ended up hopping a curb into the grass before I could stop. Fortunately, there was a driveway cut in the curb that I managed to go through, or I'd have lost it.

A good lesson in keeping your skills up. Use it or lose it. Etc.
Amen to motorcycle skill enhancement. I started riding motorcycles at 43 with virtually no training, but also flew airplanes, and was cautious & level-headed. Rode until age 58, never dropped a bike, no accidents. Quit riding due to work obligations & travel. 17 years later at age 75 I decided to start riding again, now a Texas resident, where the MSF course is mandatory before receiving the motorcycle endorsement. My mindset to riding was still at age 58, but I insta try realized I needed the I tense two day course. Balance, strength & coordination were greatly compromised. It took several months riding to regain balance & control that I once had, and I practice & work at my skills each ride. NEVER stop learning or become complacent, be cautious, realize your skill level & practice each ride.
 
   / Tree cutting accident #216  
It's much harder to be safe when you're left-handed. I've never seen a left-handed chainsaw yet. Cutting cross handed like I do makes the saw much more dangerous. My left hand is on the throttle and my right holds the bar by the brake. Lefties are 5X more likely to die in industrial accidents, usually because the tools they use aren't designed with their safety in mind!
 
   / Tree cutting accident #217  
Ive got TWO broken limbs hanging 50 feet up 100 foot tall maples. The aftermath of this past late winter storm. The broken branches are about the size of my calf. Hundreds of pounds just held by a split or two. Every time the wind blows I look up with hope that one or the other might have come down. Not yet though. I am getting to feel it's going to take another heavy wet/icey snow storm to bring them down.
In the meanwhile, I look up and hurry past whenever I need to be out in that part of the yard.

I've quit mowing there. It's so shady, grass doesn't really grow, weeds and moss mostly, not worth the risk.

Sending good vibes to the injured fellow!

Widowmakers.... Labels don't get applied for no good reason.
We had a very nice and very old (150+ years based on rings we could count later) sugar maple not 30 ft from our back door. It was the center of attraction for both our children and all of their friends due to a swing from one of its branches high up.
One nice summer morning long after our children grown up and left home we woke to find one of the other branches (approximately 10" in diameter) that looked very healthy had broken in the middle of the night and was laying on the lawn not far from the swing. Turns out the branch was rotten in the middle where the heartwood should have been.
Fortunately for us it happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt or killed by it. Not long after that I had about 2.5 cord of firewood all cut, split, and stacked. We still miss the tree to this day.
Moral of my story is "you can't always tell how good/safe something is by its looks". Guess that could apply to a lot situations in life.
 
   / Tree cutting accident #218  
We had a very nice and very old (150+ years based on rings we could count later) sugar maple not 30 ft from our back door. It was the center of attraction for both our children and all of their friends due to a swing from one of its branches high up.
One nice summer morning long after our children grown up and left home we woke to find one of the other branches (approximately 10" in diameter) that looked very healthy had broken in the middle of the night and was laying on the lawn not far from the swing. Turns out the branch was rotten in the middle where the heartwood should have been.
Fortunately for us it happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt or killed by it. Not long after that I had about 2.5 cord of firewood all cut, split, and stacked. We still miss the tree to this day.
Moral of my story is "you can't always tell how good/safe something is by its looks". Guess that could apply to a lot situations in life.
I've got no fewer than 3 standing sugar maples (100 years old) 80 feet tall , 18in abh) that have seriously compromised trunks due to defects. They need to come down before they break off in a breeze. They are far enough from any structure, but will foul other trees in the area. There are no clear fall paths. I'm a bit afraid of them.

The pick below is how I dealt with a recently dead hemlock. At 71 years old, I really shouldn't be climbing.
 

Attachments

  • treework.jpg
    treework.jpg
    4.1 MB · Views: 113
   / Tree cutting accident #219  
I've got no fewer than 3 standing sugar maples (100 years old) 80 feet tall , 18in abh) that have seriously compromised trunks due to defects. They need to come down before they break off in a breeze. They are far enough from any structure, but will foul other trees in the area. There are no clear fall paths. I'm a bit afraid of them.

The pick below is how I dealt with a recently dead hemlock. At 71 years old, I really shouldn't be climbing.
Yes you absolutely should be climbing if your still capable and able, it helps keep you young, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days following a day of climbing and cutting to re-cuperate. 😀
 
   / Tree cutting accident #220  
Yes you absolutely should be climbing if your still capable and able, it helps keep you young, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days following a day of climbing and cutting to re-cuperate. 😀
It took me no less than five climbs over a weeks time to clear the low branches and get to the position to make the topping cut. Sweaty work... ;-)

Like they say about riding motorbikes...

"You don't quit riding because you got old, You get old because you quit riding"

I'm looking forward to another winter snow skiing as well. Rescue services as a ski patrol member at a nearby hill.
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

1987 FORD 2110 TRACTOR (A51222)
1987 FORD 2110...
1984 Trailmobile Enclosed Van Trailer (A51039)
1984 Trailmobile...
2017 Ford F-450 Crew Cab Mason Dump Truck (A50323)
2017 Ford F-450...
2007 Peterbilt 335 Mickey AO-A Battery Truck (A50323)
2007 Peterbilt 335...
2021 Ver-Mac PCMS-3812 Solar S/A Towable Trailer Message Board (A49461)
2021 Ver-Mac...
2014 Freightliner Ambulance (A50323)
2014 Freightliner...
 
Top