Chain saw safety

[arrow]

I have always cut them down first.

What can be dead and still stand?

 

[dougtrr2]

Red elm can be dead and still stand and does not rot very fast. Oak, ash and hickory will stand for a while but start rotting on the stump.

Doug in SW IA

 

[arrow]

Red elm can be dead and still stand and does not rot very fast. Oak, ash and hickory will stand for a while but start rotting on the stump.

Doug in SW IA

This was a riddle I asked of my 8 year old grandson. He asked for a clue and I said "they're all around you". Since we live in the woods, he looked and with a sly smile stated "a tree". He ran in the house and riddled his father who works for a large pharmaceutical company. When the father didn't know, he gave the same clue I gave my grandson. He still didn't know.

 

[slaken]

Took the Game of Logging class up through level 3. Best money ever spent. It should be mandatory for anyone with a chainsaw.

Chaps, helmet, steel toe boots are required not optional.

 

[JDgreen227]

Took the Game of Logging class up through level 3. Best money ever spent. It should be mandatory for anyone with a chainsaw.

Chaps, helmet, steel toe boots are required not optional.

OP here, I respectfully disagree....have never worn a helmet nor chaps but then I have very rarely cut STANDING trees down and what I do cut up is usually done with a 16" or 14" bar. If I did a lot of felling I would armor up more than I do, so for really extensive cutting I agree your safety precautions are common sense.

 

[dave1949]

OP here, I respectfully disagree....have never worn a helmet nor chaps but then I have very rarely cut STANDING trees down and what I do cut up is usually done with a 16" or 14" bar. If I did a lot of felling I would armor up more than I do, so for really extensive cutting I agree your safety precautions are common sense.

Bill, I think limbing and cutting up downed trees, messing with brush and saplings, is more dangerous chainsaw work than felling a tree. You have trunks that may roll or shift as you limb them, branches and limbs under tension, bent backwards, speared into the ground, etc. The footing can be dodgy with plenty of things to trip on. You are more apt to be reaching with the saw or in some other unstable footing stance. With leaves, you can't always see real clearly what is going on with the tree.

Proportionally, much more time is spent cutting up a tree than felling it. Hence your exposure to the two types of activity is greatly different.

 

[cqaigy2]

I'd have to agree with dave1949, the chaps would be some protection from the chainsaw, regardless on what you are using it for. Takes a split second for a saw to really mess you up, permanently.

 

[slaken]

OP here, I respectfully disagree....have never worn a helmet nor chaps but then I have very rarely cut STANDING trees down and what I do cut up is usually done with a 16" or 14" bar. If I did a lot of felling I would armor up more than I do, so for really extensive cutting I agree your safety precautions are common sense.

I also wear my seatbelt in a car and helmet when riding. Everyone has there opinion on risk versus reward. I guess not losing and eye us worth a $59 helmet, not needing stitches is worth $100, and keeping my toes worth $200. Taking a class from experts who discuss safety and how to be safer is worth it to me. They also say falling trees is much safer than limbing and bucking. Most injuries are caused with kickbacks when doing ground work.

Hopefully I've got 40+ years so keeping my parts is still important to me, but we all have our own lines.

 

[Deere Dude]

After reading these posts I see I see to reassess my safety concerns. I have been cutting down 12-24" trees with blue jeans and tennis shoes for about 25 years at maybe 5 chord a year. Most of the time when it is hot out I will wear shorts and tennis shoes and no shirt. I just cut down a couple trees this afternoon dressed like that. But saw chips stick to the socks so I will stick to blue jeans to cover the socks. I use 50 and 55cc saws with 20" bars for felling and limbing.

I was always careful to make sure nobody was around me, cable the trees so they can only fall one direction and have a good escape route.

I know I just need to bite the bullet and get chaps and other safety equipment because accidents aren't planned. Maybe I just dodged the bullet so far. I don't know. I did get a helmet with earmuffs for cutting shagbark hickory because those where murder on the glasses.

Good learning tips from TBN users. Thanks.

 

[Toyboy]

To each their own, myself I prefer to wear safety gear although I don't have the steel toe boots, I still wear boots. If you feel like dancing with lady luck have at it, but sooner or later you will get another partner.