Close calls with a chainsaw?

[Razrbk89]

I don’t use a chainsaw just a ton, but probably at least crank up my small one (woodboss) once a week. Trees that are in a bind, or even downed timber that’s propped up or bound are SO dangerous. I’ve had a few close calls, enough to make me super cautious… It’ll tire you out quicker than you think if you’re cutting up a good sized pile & that’s when accidents happen.

Call me what you will but I won’t cut anything over 25-30’ without help anymore. There’s just too much that can go wrong!

Dad always said the most dangerous things on the farm are power units, saws, and screw conveyors and man is that true based on people I know that have been injured or killed.

[KBM]

Last summer clearing cedars, the sprocket broke on the chainsaw while I was cuttin just above knee height. Left a 4-5” long gash in my thigh and turned jeans into rags. Still to young and dumb to go see a doc for it

[DamonJ]

How high was that branch off the ground, 3-4 foot?

Glad no real damage was done....

[pure lefty]

Back in the day Football coach at Sam was in the woods cutting trees, this was before chaps and any other safety stuff and cell phones. Saw kicked back and cut him across the face, major bleeding, dang near died, but made it out of the woods to get help

[Chew]

I had a coworker (fellow detective at Harris County SO) get killed on duty. His neighborhood's exit was blocked by downed trees after hurricanec Ike. He cut a tree that was under tension/pressure. When he made the cut the tree sprung upwards, hitting him in the head. He was pronounced dead a few days later. A great guy. Vietnam vet, purple heart recipient. About to retire. Killed while chainsawing.

RIP Tommy.

https://www.odmp.org/officer/19574-detective-thomas-luell-keen

[glen]

Do they make chain saws for little people?

[Chew]

Do they make chain saws for little people?

Not sure. Maybe ask doug.

[hoythunter02]

I was at a breaching school taught by this wild dude that was a master breacher. He was extremely particular about chainsaw operations. A guy on my team did something that he saw was mishandling of a saw and he freaked, and kind of kicked my buddy or ripped him backwards from his cut on the door….we all laughed our asses off but this dude was dead serious and told my buddy, I see you run a saw like that again and you’re done.

Chew, you need to be extra cautious in retirement buddy.

I remember hearing about this SF guy …was a Delta operator, retired after a career of high profile operations…he was mowing on his tractor and it flipped over on him and killed him.


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[Chew]

I was at a breaching school taught by this wild dude that was a master breacher. He was extremely particular about chainsaw operations. A guy on my team did something that he saw was mishandling of a saw and he freaked, and kind of kicked my buddy or ripped him backwards from his cut on the door….we all laughed our asses off but this dude was dead serious and told my buddy, I see you run a saw like that again and you’re done.

Chew, you need to be extra cautious in retirement buddy.

I remember hearing about this SF guy …was a Delta operator, retired after a career of high profile operations…he was mowing on his tractor and it flipped over on him and killed him.


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I hear ya, bro. One of my 10 lives was used up when I rolled my kubota. I try to be careful but I ain't gonna sit in the house and worry.

[RifleBowPistol]

The night I went to the hospital, after almost bleeding to death, because I managed to stick a knife in my leg and cut the artery in my left leg. The doctor who stitched up my leg, said the guy who was in that ER right before me, almost cut his leg off with a chainsaw. No thanks, knife was bad enough.

A guy I knew got himself with his chainsaw, while cutting yaupon, clearing brush. From what I understand, it got his leg pretty good, scared the crap out of him.

The scariest chainsaw incident I personally ever had, was when I was cutting a very large live oak limb, that went over the road. It was probably 14" in diameter. There were a lot of complaints of people not being able to get under or around the limb, to get down the road we lived on. So naturally, if there was anything that might be dangerous, the job was given to me to do. I was probably 14 at the time. I got an extension ladder, put it on the limb, got the chainsaw warmed up, on the ground. Then climbed the ladder, which was sticking up above the limb, probably 15" above the limb. Well that turned out to no be enough. When the limb broke, as I was cutting it, the limb still being partially attached, swung down, did about a 180, and broke off. When the limb broke completely off, the rest of the tree shot up, probably 2 1/2' to 3'. So the ladder dropped out from under me. I was about 10' off the ground. The ladder fell on top of the large bushy part of the limb, then I fell down on top of and partially through the ladder. My groin landed on one side of the ladder. As I fell, I held the saw straight out away from me. As I landed on the ladder and tree, the saw swung in towards my leg, because I was still holding onto it. With all the limbs, and the ladder, I don't think the saw hit me. The whole incident scared the crap out of me, for about half a second. I wound up with some scratches, from falling on top of and partially through the tree limb. It was fun to get out of the ladder and off of the tree. I chunked the saw, and pulled my leg up through the ladder and then slid down the ladder to the ground.

This was pretty normal for me as a teenager, if it was dangerous, crappy job, make Ron do it. Our house back then was a two story house, with a very steep roof, parents hired a roofer, he fell off the roof and broke his arm, said he was done, was not coming back. Nobody else around town wanted the job, so me at 14 years old was given the job. I knew nothing about putting a roof on a house. But I was told to get up on the roof and reroof the house. That was a fun job also. So falling out of a tree with a chainsaw, was just another day for me.

[DamonJ]

Do they make chain saws for little people?

Found Chew's saw

[BrandonA]

I was in college and one of dads friends told me I could bow hunt his 300 acres in Round Mountain in exchange for work. I got worked like a mule and got the short end of the stick. But anyhow he wanted to build a cabin powered by solar. There was a big oak tree with a huge limbs shading the area he wanted it. So he told me to climb that tree and cut that limb. I knew it was stupid but I wanted to hunt. So I tied a rope around my waist with chainsaw attached and chimmy up this big live oak. I’m probably 30-35ft off the ground and start sawing. Limb was probably 20-30 inch in diameter. No safety harness , nothing. Halfway way through the cut I heard the cracking and groaning of the limb. I knew **** was about to go side ways. I dropped the saw and bear hugged that big limb and wrapped my legs around that sucker. When it broke free the whiplash dang near launched me. 30-40 ft fall not going to end. Yeah God takes care of fools and idiots

[Mudslinger]

Using a Ryobi battery chain saw cutting some limbs out of a tree that was damaged from the ice storm when my wife reached in to grab the limb. Fortunately the battery does not give the torque and speed of a gas powered saw. If it had, we would have been headed to the ER with some very serious hand injuries. The battery saw basically stopped when the chain hit her glove as I had taken my finger off the trigger. It scared me to death and had me screaming at my wife when I knew there were no injuries, just scared the you know what out of both of us. She now stays well back when I am usingvthe battery saw or bigger gas saw!! We were very lucky!

[hoythunter02]

I hear ya, bro. One of my 10 lives was used up when I rolled my kubota. I try to be careful but I ain't gonna sit in the house and worry.

You’re absolutely right buddy, that’s not what guys like us do! Hopefully you have some good hunts out on your place this season.


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[Burnadell]

Dammit boy! I say, DAMMIT BOY!!!