chainsaw safety ?
Pete Earlam
Just having got a wood burning stove, I now have all the fun of cutting down my
own firewood. This is mostly beech, about 12-14 inches in diameter. (Its a well
managed estate so don't be sad for the trees. ) However, although my 20 inch
chainsaw is not as fearsome as some I have seen, it still could inflict some
nasty damage if an accident should occur. So I was wondering, what sort of
protective gear people usually wear.
I dont have to clamber about in a harness or anything and I try to keep both
feet on the ground . Common sense suggests a few things but maybe someone has
a few tips for a novice chainsaw user.
Thanks in advance
Pete Earlam
Old Sodbury
Nr Bristol
England.
Stephen Northcutt
wear eye protection
wear thick gloves (white finger diesease)
Keep left elbow locked
Keep chain sharp
Keep body out of direct line with bar
Never walk around with the saw running
Avoid starting the saw whilst in your hands (except to impress friends)
Never bury the tip
Never bury the tip
Never bury the tip
Build up your endurance, never saw tired
Oh yeah and try not to ever bury the tip
--
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** my dream: voice, video, data, 3 services, 1 network **
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Stephen Northcutt (sno...@relay.nswc.navy.mil) Networks Program Manager
bnba...@ducvax.auburn.edu
> Use safety chain
> wear eye protection
> wear thick gloves (white finger diesease)
> Keep left elbow locked
> Keep chain sharp
> Keep body out of direct line with bar
> Never walk around with the saw running
> Avoid starting the saw whilst in your hands (except to impress friends)
> Never bury the tip
> Never bury the tip
> Never bury the tip
> Build up your endurance, never saw tired
> Oh yeah and try not to ever bury the tip
>
Some people I know (including a couple of professional tree trimmers)
wear hard plastic or thick leather shin guards.
Maintain the saw well, including replacing and oiling the chain
properly.
I know of five serious chainsaw accidents. Two involved broken chains
which did major damage to the face of one victim and the throat of
the other. The other three involved dull chains which allowed the saw
to slip sideways, doing major harm to the user's or helper's shins
(obviously, the helper was too close).
In spite of this, I cut my own wood with a Homelite Super XL.
Bliss Bailey
bnba...@ducvax.auburn.edu
Network Support Services
Jenny Ballmann
[good advice deleted]
I know a logger of ~40 years experience who recently spent a year in
a body cast from "doing something I tell all the new hires to never,
ever do". He's too embarrased to elaborate.
Be careful out there.
Jenny
--
People do not die in my tub...In this time of energy acceleration
it would behoove each and every one of you to add more oxygen to
your being. -D. Showen
Joby D. Jerrells
>I dont have to clamber about in a harness or anything and I try to keep both
>feet on the ground . Common sense suggests a few things but maybe someone has
>a few tips for a novice chainsaw user.
Start small. Try cutting a few tops if you have the chance. They are easy
to cut and that will help you get used to the saw. Definitely use gloves and
heavy boots. Goggles, protective glasses, etc are probably a good idea if
you can stand them. I can't. I would wear knee/shin pads also. Having just
buzzed my knee the other day without them, I can certainly say that they are
a good idea (I was caught in brush and lifted my leg out while the saw was
idling, I lifted my knee right into the saw. When (if) you get cut, you may
not even feel it. I didn't, but I required no stitches, just a bandage.).
Someone else said never cut tired. Absolutely the case. Even the most
--
Joby Jerrells jerr...@ucs.indiana.edu
Perry Morrison (Dr)
1. If sharpening with a file, use the same number of strokes on each
tooth. The chain cuts straighter.
2. If felling (hopefully dead) trees, look up before cutting. Branches often
fall upon one's hapless head. Another reason for head protection.
3. Plan felling very carefully. Like where it should fall. Where you
will run etc. Clear an escape route if you need to. When it starts to fall,
remove the saw, switch off and use your escape path.
4. Keep it sharp and well oiled. Dull, clogged saws make you tired,
impatient and careless.
Last tip. If you have any reasonable alternatives to using a saw- do it.
After several years of sawing, I got a couple of ton of sawmill offcuts
brought in a year before i needed them. They seasoned OK and the
convenience and lack-of-danger was well worth it.
perry morrison
David Hinz Mfg 4-6987
What is safety chain? Is this something other than the normal chain, or is all
safety these days?
Dave Hinz
David Hinz Mfg 4-6987
to not use the saw unless there is somebody within shouting distance, just
in case something does happen.
Dave
Paul Viscuso
|> wear eye protection
|> wear thick gloves (white finger diesease)
|> Keep left elbow locked
|> Keep chain sharp
|> Keep body out of direct line with bar
|> Never walk around with the saw running
|> Avoid starting the saw whilst in your hands (except to impress friends)
|> Never bury the tip
|> Never bury the tip
|> Never bury the tip
|> Build up your endurance, never saw tired
|> Oh yeah and try not to ever bury the tip
|> --
I'll add to this list:
Wear chaps. You can pick them at up at a forestry supply place for sure. Your
local chainsaw shop should carry them as well. My kevlar chaps cost about $70
and are well worth it.
Don't wear any loose clothing or hair that can get caught in the chain. That
chain has power, and moves a lot faster than you do.
Be awake. If you're getting tired, then get some rest.
A tree is heavy falling.
Trees can bounce when they fall - get out of the way! I know of people who were
killed by the bouncing butt end of a felled tree. Don't be one of them.
Plan your felling carefully. Look for "widow makers" (or widower makers). Make
sure your tree will have a clear path to fall. If it hangs, you have some work
to do, and consider that work to be dangerous. A tree is heavy falling. Also
make sure that you know which way the tree will want to fall. It's not always
obvious, and I've had instances where a tree decided to start leaning toward me
(pinning my chainsaw).
This brings up another point - don't depend solely on your chainsaw. Have a good
axe handy as well as a bowsaw or cross-cut saw if you get in trouble.
Use the right tool for the right job. Don't use your chainsaw to cut twigs off
of a log. Use an axe or hatchet. Chainsaws use oil and gas - axes don't. We
import some oil and gas, we went to war over oil and gas. I don't think that
we'd go to war over axes. (I also know that you need energy to make axes, so
they're not free either - unless you make stone axes).
Make sure when the tree starts to go, that you start to go too - in a direction
away from the fall.
Wear a hard hat. The twigs and branches that may break 50 feet over your head
may not give you a lobotomy, but they can hurt. And you never know when one of
those 3" diameter branches up there may crack and fall on you.
Wear ear protectors. A chainsaw is loud, and repeated exposure to loud noise is
not good for you ears. They're your ears, so if you like to be able to hear,
protect them. You don't get a second pair.
Wear eye protection. That chain goes pretty fast, and so do the chips when
you're cutting up logs. You don't get a second pair of eyes either.
Don't cut rotted standing trees. You don't know what's inside, so you don't know
if you have any control over how they will fall. They may fall on you and a tree
is heavy falling. You can test a tree by taking an axe to it and listening for a
hollow sound. If the axe hits hard wood all around and the tree sounds solid,
you're probably safe. There's never any guarantees.
KNOW YOUR LIMITS. Don't cut a 3-foot diameter tree unless you have experience
with cutting such monsters. For firewood, you don't need to be cutting trees
larger than 14-16" diameter, unless you want to spend a lot of time splitting
wood. Start small.
Don't rape the woods. Think about the future. Do selective thinnings if
possible, cut up the downed trees, or take out trees that are crooked or getting
diseased (e.g., beech with beech bark disease). Remember that you share the
woods with the rest of nature - don't exclude the needs of the other denizens of
the woods who have to live out there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You don't,
you're just a visitor. You spend your nights in a building (I'm only guessing)
like most other people.
A tree is heavy falling. Have a lot of respect for that - a lot of respect. The
density of hardwoods like oak and hickory when wet is about 60 pounds/cubic foot.
For softwoods like pine, about 40. When dry, the values drop to somewhere around
40 and 25, respectively. So a tree that's 12" in diameter and 40 feet tall (to
the bottom of the crown) can weigh about a ton. A 16" diameter, 50 foot tall
tree (these are hardwoods) can weigh over 2 tons. You weigh probably less than a
tenth of a ton. The tree will win.
Paul Viscuso
Cornell Theory Center
Wm. L. Ranck
I've seen a lot of good advice on chainsaw safety. But, one thing no
one has mentioned yet. Don't cut alone. Try to make sure there is
someone at least within calling distance. I usually try to find a
wood cutting buddy. This way if something happens there will be someone
to get help.
*************************************************************************
* Bill Ranck __ O DoD #0496 RA...@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU *
* // \ *
* // Lean it like you mean it! *
*************************************************************************
RXT...@waccvm.corp.mot.com
From: p...@otter.hpl.hp.com (Pete Earlam)
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1992 08:53:06 GMT
Subject: chainsaw safety ?
Message-ID: <1451...@otter.hpl.hp.com>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Path: schbbs!mothost!ftpbox!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hpscdc!hp
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Lines: 18
Hi
Just having got a wood burning stove, I now have all the fun of cutting down my
own firewood. This is mostly beech, about 12-14 inches in diameter. (Its a well
managed estate so don't be sad for the trees. ) However, although my 20 inch
chainsaw is not as fearsome as some I have seen, it still could inflict some
nasty damage if an accident should occur. So I was wondering, what sort of
protective gear people usually wear.
I dont have to clamber about in a harness or anything and I try to keep both
feet on the ground . Common sense suggests a few things but maybe someone has
a few tips for a novice chainsaw user.
Thanks in advance
Pete Earlam
Old Sodbury
Nr Bristol
England.
--------------------------------------------------
There's a combo hardhat, face screen (metal), ear covering ala airport worker
neck cover, etc. thing available in stores. about 30 bucks. keeps the dust
and shreds off your neck back, etc.,eliminates foggy glasses.orange color!
STICKS
Dan Loewus
is a shovel. You can use it as a lever to move tree trunks, as a pry when
your chain saw gets stuck because you were not watching which way the log
was going to bend before cutting. You can use it to shovel dirt onto the
small brush fire you just started because a spark flew out of the exaust
from the chain saw ( never had this problem, yet ).
As for cutting alone, I agree that one should not cut alone if possible.
However, I find I have to cut alone for lack of help available. I do
take precautions and one of them is always turning off the saw when I
have to move from one log to the next or step around branches. The biggest
danger I find being alone is over extending one's self when picking or
moving logs and rounds. I have more then once gone to bed with a much
sore back the next day. I am also very careful about the condition of
the chain and whether the saw is running smoothly.
--
"A typical half brick half wood New York house in a typical New York
suburb with ginkgo trees scattered conservatively about."
DL
Chris Lewis
>I know a logger of ~40 years experience who recently spent a year in
>a body cast from "doing something I tell all the new hires to never,
>ever do". He's too embarrased to elaborate.
Are you sure he didn't lean out of the porta-potty and it fell on him ;-)
--
Chris Lewis; cle...@ferret.ocunix.on.ca; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: psroff-...@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Ferret list: ferret-...@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Donald P Perley
With safety, or anti-kick, chain each link has a metal tab which pops
out when it goes around the tip so the next tooth doesn't take too big
a bite.
Which brings up my safety tip. The worst thing you can do is assume
that "kickback" just means that the tip hits something and is pushed
up with the same force that you normally feel pulling the bar forward.
The teeth tend to take much deeper bites when the chain is going
around the tip, and the force can be roughly a bizzilion times more.
PBS had a series on woodlot management. In one of the shows on
chainsaw safety they showed a kickback test jig. When they induced
kickback, that saw spun around faster than the eye could follow. If
you are in the wrong position, the bar will be headed for your head at
the same speed at which the chain runs (damn fast). The show included
a few blood-n-guts photos of the aftermath in the spirit of those
driver's ed movies.
-don perley
RXT...@waccvm.corp.mot.com
From: p...@otter.hpl.hp.com (Pete Earlam)
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1992 08:53:06 GMT
Subject: chainsaw safety ?
Message-ID: <1451...@otter.hpl.hp.com>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Path: schbbs!mothost!ftpbox!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hpscdc!hp
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Lines: 18
Pete Earlam
Old Sodbury
Nr Bristol
England.
beware when cutting up (don't be a cut up?).
tendency is to push knee up on bottom of saw. no guard there. owwwwwwww.
also usually involves situation where tree had the audacity to get hung up
on something. lots of pressure and will catch (or reject in your direction)
saw.
best answer is to get the tree unhung. with experience, can be successful,
sawing up, but is risky.
STICKS
RXT...@waccvm.corp.mot.com
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: schbbs!WACCVM.corp.mot.com!RXTL20
From: RXT...@WACCVM.corp.mot.com
Subject: Re: chainsaw safety ?
Organization: Motorola Inc.
Date: 13 Jul 1992 12:54:37 MST
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------------------------- Original Article -------------------------
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From: per...@trub.crd.ge.com (Donald P Perley)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: chainsaw safety ?
Message-ID: <PERLEY.92J...@trub.crd.ge.com>
Date: 12 Jul 92 03:28:34 GMT
References: <1992Jul8....@relay.nswc.navy.mil>
<1992Jul9.0...@mr.med.ge.com>
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In-Reply-To: hinz@bonfire's message of 9 Jul 92 07:42:38 GMT
Nntp-Posting-Host: trub.crd.ge.com
To:
In article <1992Jul9.0...@mr.med.ge.com> hinz@bonfire (David Hinz Mfg 4-
sno...@nswc.navy.mil (Stephen Northcutt) writes:
: Use safety chain
(and other stuff)
"kickback" (other stuff deleted - but good facts and advice from don perley)
One more kickback situation - cutting at the 'y'.
It's easy to have the saw tip hit the back side of the 'y' when cutting the
front side.
One solution is to cut the back side of the 'y' first, but that sometimes
makes you lean out dangerously.
Another solution is to cut the 'single leg' of the 'y' close to the double
side. After it drops, cut right thru the crotch. This could cause your blade
to be pinched, however.
My favorite is to begin cutting at the far (smallest) end of the tree and
work in towards the big end until the 'y' presents a kickback danger. Then
start from the big end and work up towards
the point where the second method will be feasible (I.e., you can cut thru
the crotch).
None of this is guaranteed as the only solution because of the pressure
caused by the branches and the ground, etc. You may have to take a risk
now and then.
If the risk is beyond your expertise - just leave that part alone. You don't
need every BTU from the log. Use it as a place to sit on and eat your lunch!!!
STICKS
RXT...@waccvm.corp.mot.com
Path: schbbs!mothost!ftpbox!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.
From: per...@trub.crd.ge.com (Donald P Perley)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: chainsaw safety ?
Message-ID: <PERLEY.92J...@trub.crd.ge.com>
Date: 12 Jul 92 03:28:34 GMT
References: <1992Jul8....@relay.nswc.navy.mil>
<1992Jul9.0...@mr.med.ge.com>
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In-Reply-To: hinz@bonfire's message of 9 Jul 92 07:42:38 GMT
Nntp-Posting-Host: trub.crd.ge.com
To:
In article <1992Jul9.0...@mr.med.ge.com> hinz@bonfire (David Hinz Mfg 4-
sno...@nswc.navy.mil (Stephen Northcutt) writes:
: Use safety chain
(and other stuff)
"kickback" (other stuff deleted - but good facts and advice from don perley)
One situation that we had -
We had access to a tractor and logging chains on certain weekends, but not
always. Much of our eligible wood (elm having died from Dutch elm disease)
was way down in the woods where the tractor could get out of but our trucks
couldn't.So we would spend the 'tractor days' hauling logs out and use
other days to cut into splittable lengths, and split.
We would pile up the logs, but soon realized that a real dangerous kickback
situation existed if we tried to just step onto the pile and start cutting.
Namely, the tip of the saw would hit the log behind the one we were sawing.
So we made a rule that we had to move the target log off the pile prior to
sawing.
Don't know if anyone else would have this situation, but you likely would
get one piece of wood rolling up behind another, bringing up a similar
kickback possibility.
STICKS