The Forestry Forum

I know very few people that have never gotten hurt in the bush.

Me, I've been lucky. I'm getting around on a broken foot at the moment due to an ungracious splat jumping (not climbing) off the back of a skidder. I've had a helmet split due to flung back branch once, had my feet taken out from under me by a buttress tearing out once, had a dead head land around me, had a limb self prune when I was 30'  short of being under it because I was hitching my chaps up... but aside from the foot and some bruises and scratches I've always walked away intact. But I never kid myself it's been anymore than luck that's kept me alive... you spend enough time in the bush sooner or later random chance will get ya, even if you never do a single thing wrong.

Grandad lost two uncles, one to a barber chair, the other went down with his team of bullocks under a big log on a hill.
One of his brothers died due snakebite out felling.
Two brother in laws - one went down with a truck load of logs, another in a mill accident.
My "uncle", actually the dead brothers son, due to vehicle accident in a hurry to get to town to get parts for a machine.

According to OH&S I am 3645 % more likely to die or suffer serious injury on the job than Joe Average worker in Australia.

It's a dangerous business, and don't ever forget it.

I've been very lucky had many many close calls over the years. I did have a friend get killed in a forwarder rollover a few years back not many days goes by when I don't think of that. Big part of the reason I went mechanical. 

I selected major. I posted about it in 2011.

Quote from: Jeff on January 14, 2011, 05:37:30 PM
Do different causes.  The first one in 1989  was an accident.  We had a pin fall out on the hydralic cylinder that activates the big iron log kickers on our Debarker outfeed trough. The kickers push up through the trough, push the log up on the live deck, then return out of the trough. when they come back out of the trough and down, they just clear the wall. If you look at the video link, you will see how they work and the wall that is there.

Well, the way we should have fixed it, was locked out the machine, go find some wrenches, took the hoses off the cylinder, pulled the ram out on the cylinder so it would line up and then put the pin back in.  In the real world when we were trying to make production, You have two guys back there, have the debarker operator push the lever until the clevis lines up then put the pin back in. That's what we did. I an another guy put the pin in, then motioned for the debarker operator to put the kickers in the up position so we could walk out past them.  He did that, then lifted his hands up and to each side to show he was clear of the controls. At that point, Bob and I turned around to walk out. I took one step, and for what ever reason that possessed the guy running the debarker, we guess he was grabbing a lever to do something else, he put the kickers back down. I was now between the kicker, and a 2 by 6 T&G wall, about a foot from one of the 6 by 6 barn poles.  The kicker pushed me into the wall and I tried to resist. My arm was torn from its socket and most of the muscles torn lose with it. Bob was behind me and at the same time grabbed my belt and pulled me backwards as the kicker went on down, probably saving my life.   

Bob told me he had heard about peoples eyes turning red in anger, but never saw it until that day. I instantly spin and was going after the old fart that activated the machine, as Bob held me back.  I still didnt know how bad I was hurt.  

I had a fairly major reconstruction of the shoulder with my arm pinned to my side for 6 weeks after the operation. My wrist got to be about as big around as a kids.  It took me about a year to recover completely, but I went back to the mill after 4 months. 

Thats the shoulder that is bothering me now. I went almost 20 years with it trouble free, as the fix was quite successful.

The other shoulder was diagnozed as a repetitive stress injury. I've had 3 operations on it, and after about 4 years now, it give me very little trouble. It took a longtime for the pain to go away on it, and I lost about 15% of my range of motion.

The video below shows the debarker that got me.

debarker.mpg - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-oCi8SCs7o)

A buddy was killed by a widow maker about a week before I took one to the left side of my hard hat and shoulder. The buddy it split his head open when it happened, mine took part of my tongue front tooth and a hell of a round with the little birdies.

Only a few bumps and bruises but had the almighty scared out of me a few times. We were unloading short logs with a picker, I reached up to keep one from spinning and catching the deck just as buddy hit the lever, he couldn't see me (my fault). That log gave me a shot upside the head that sent me butt over breakfast onto the deck right where he wanted to place it.

back in he day when hardhats were layered fiber glass in WWI helmet style, I caught a widow maker square on top of the head, hat split,I woke up with my bud dumping canteen on my face, sore neck and headache for a few days.  I hated that helmet, till that day.

Tree hit me on the head.  Fractured the seventh vertebrae in my neck, separated my left shoulder and sprained my left ankle.  The hard hat suspension pushed down over my ears, when it sprang back up it ripped my right ear lobe requiring 12 twelve stitches to reattach.  Never cut timber without a lid on.  Had 28 stitches in my left hand after a chainsaw bite.  Family, friends, acquaintances have all been hurt.  Some permanently disabled.  Some have died. 

I've been pretty lucky, some stitches / staples, broken ankle, compressed 2 vertebrae in my back last yr, 9-3/4 fingers but who's counting 😂 

 Theres been 5 loggers killed here in the last 20? yrs, 3 of the accidents where very preventable, due to no ROPS / FOPS the other 2 where due to hangers / limbs coming down. Landowners ask me all the time "IF" I worry, alot of it falls down to how safe you try and be but I've been slapped a few times, happens to us all. 
 Nothing wrong here... 😂 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34634/20180329_125215.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1542504455)
 

Yes most of us have been in a pinch or two. I near lost my left eye when my saw kicked backed and took a chomp out of my forehead. Took 10 stitches to fix me up, mind you I was only 13 years old when that happened. Dad had an old saw in a box and I asked if I could have it, him thinking I wouldn't get it going let me have it. Well I guess that's where I got the talent for mechanical repairs lol.

Only close calls for me so far, all on gaffs.  One top broke the hinge and spun on the pole, about 50ft up. I threw saw and leaped right before it stepped into my belt. Luckily the right gaff caught and the top only grazed my left knee on the way by instead of hanging and tearing it off or me down.

I severed a rope lanyard and knicked my wire core once.  Had limbs swing down and wail my foot a few times. my first gaffout was completely unexpected.. Hard face plant and slid down the trunk a few feet until flipline cinched with my fingers in it.  Just small stuff. Other than my busted forearm last year from trailer backflip ive been very fortunate with trees.

I hear of around 1 logger per year dying in Western wa. I was running skidder and a log rolled off the deck while I was unhooking chokers, put me on crutches for my wedding. We were only an hour and a half from quitting for the day.

Look up before you fell a tree.  I did but didn't see a 4 inch branch break.  Got me in the head. Lucky I was wearing a helmet. I never work without one and let me tell you I had a sore neck for awhile.  

I had a skull fracture when my tractor flip over. Bad slope and very bad decision from my self. I was not stuck under the tractor so I walked for the first 50 feet and got inconscious. My angel took care of my and I woke up beside the house after walking unconscious for 3/4 of a mile ! Got 2 operations and a plastic piece stitched to my skull Absolutly no sequela  :) Still have a great joy working in the forest. I've learned from that experience that the best security is that I've got to be praranoid...the tree want to hit me . Implies top prevention, always

Like everyone I've had several close calls in the log woods, but my most severe one happened this summer. Running the knuckleboom bucking and loading logs trying to get the truck off the landing before a big rain moved in. I got a text from one of my daughters that the whole family, grandkids and all, were at the house. That got me rushing even more. 

Came off the loader to verify the cut on a nice white oak, and instead of taking the steps back up I went up the far side stepping up on an outrigger. Done it a thousand times. But this time I was in a hurry with muddy boots. I reached up to grab a hydraulic hose as I stepped up. My foot slipped just as my hand almost had a grip on the hose. lost the grip on the hose, and along with my momentum I fell completely sideways across the outrigger. Knocked the air out of me, and I was sore as the dickens, but it didn't seem to be any worse than that. Crawled back in the loader, finished loading, tied the load off, and drove the truck out to the gravel. 

Sore as heck, but made it home and was visiting with the family when I touched my side and happened to see blood on my hand. I didn't think that I had even gotten a scratch when I fell, but when I pulled my shirt up to check it out my daughter in-law almost fainted. Right at my beltline was a deep 2" gash. Not sure if the wound didn't open up until I got to moving around, or if the belt was holding everything together. 

I think the doc put in six internal stitches with six more on the outside. When he finished I asked the doc that since the wound was on my side and not in a muscle if I could go back to the log woods in the morning. Should have seen the look on the nurses face. :D He couldn't believe that I would ask him that, but he said to take it easy and you should be OK. Yeah. Next morning I was packing chainsaws.   ;)

In 2007 i was dropping trees and bushes for my teak plantations and one gnarly, curved, twisted 6" diam tree kicked back and came down over my leg, i looked down and saw the sole of my boot staring at me, my lower leg was bent 180 degrees around the log. luckily it was no open fracture. 3 month in a cast, then learn to walk again just to break the leg again after my dog run me over from behind. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif) I would a have killed the dog with my bare hands in that instant but could not walk anymore to get em. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/cheesy.gif) then i had to pay for surgery in a private hospital, they fixed it good!
One complicated hand fracture, but that was back in Switzerland when i still worked in construction, which is also dangerous.
and of course the normal uncountable bruises, sores, cuts and nasty insects bites and stings (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/cheesy.gif)

How many? To many!

You guys are making me feel very fortunate today, my dad was a faller in BC for years and has been logging and climbing for around 40 years now without breaking any bones he's had a few close calls but was never seriously injured. Thank you all for your input.
E.

My worst was an almost. I was dropping a few trees about 6-8 years ago and all went where I planned. It turned out 1 plan was bad. There was brush on the ground about 20-25' out from the tree I was felling. It wend down perfectly, but I did not know there was an old stump in that brush. The trunk landed on the stump and the butt end jumped about 8-10' in the air, as I exited 45 degrees left. Had I not exited, my widow might be typing this for others to beware. That tree was about 14" DBH. It did miss my chainsaw too.
Then last fall I was taking down 2 dangerous trees, a big sugar maple and a bigger cherry. In both cases I had to drop several other trees to give the compromised ones an opening to fall into. The sugar maple went as planned, the cherry was more exciting.
When I got to the cherry, the trunk was all rotted, leaving live wood in the shape of a BIG letter C, and the center was all missing. I had to drop it in the direction of the top of the C. The wood around there was only about 6-7" thick before it got to the rotten void in the center. I decided to use my mini excavator to help push the tree at about 10' up. With so little wood there I chose to just made a wedge cut about 2" deep. Then with the excavator putting pressure on it and with the blade down on the opposite end of the excavator, I made my plunge cut to define the hinge, then cut, backing out. As I exited the back side, the tree barber chaired at about 8' up. When the top was down, the excavator wasn't. the bucket held that end of the tracks about 30" off the ground and the blade held the other end of the tracks about 16" off the ground. It was hanging there. I thought it a bad idea to get on the excavator, so standing beside it I very slowly started to lift the bucket. As I did, the cherry moved towards the excavator. I added a little down pressure as it stopped. I then raised the blade just enough that one end of the tracks was touching the ground. I then slowly, while standing on the ground moved the excavator away. After a foot or so, the tree stopped coming towards the machine. I then very slowly again raised the bucket. This time I was able to get both tracks fully on the ground and the bucket off the trunk. I then moved it a few feet away from the trunk and got on. I then drove it to the left and approached the barber chair from that side, reached up and pushed the trunk off it's perch. Finally, my heart could slow down. I put my tools away and left for the day. One scary moment but no injuries.

This summer in the shop.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/arm.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1542562036)
 

tule peak timber, :o
Probably most of you guys have cut more wood in a week,than I have in a year. But I am out in the woods alot. Just thinning and cutting firewood.
As maple flats,a sharp knoll did that to me. And probably just about the same size,an old white birch,surpressed by the big white pines that grew over and around it. I was cutting the white birch so I could fall the white pine. That tree went up in the air and jumped over 20 feet. Good thing the 20 feet was in the other directon as I was going. Lucky I made my escape route to the left and not the right.
Seem like with me I respect the big ones,3 feet across. But the smaller ones,something seems to happen to them more often. Maybe because I cut more small ones. I had a small one hit the side of a shed on a piece of land that I bought. I gave the shed away!!! That tree sent me flying threw the air. I came to on the ground and quite the bruise and skin peeling on my shoulder and arm. :o 

Quote from: maple flats on November 18, 2018, 12:23:23 PM
My worst was an almost. I was dropping a few trees about 6-8 years ago and all went where I planned. It turned out 1 plan was bad. There was brush on the ground about 20-25' out from the tree I was felling. It wend down perfectly, but I did not know there was an old stump in that brush. The trunk landed on the stump and the butt end jumped about 8-10' in the air, as I exited 45 degrees left. Had I not exited, my widow might be typing this for others to beware. That tree was about 14" DBH. It did miss my chainsaw too.
Then last fall I was taking down 2 dangerous trees, a big sugar maple and a bigger cherry. In both cases I had to drop several other trees to give the compromised ones an opening to fall into. The sugar maple went as planned, the cherry was more exciting.
When I got to the cherry, the trunk was all rotted, leaving live wood in the shape of a BIG letter C, and the center was all missing. I had to drop it in the direction of the top of the C. The wood around there was only about 6-7" thick before it got to the rotten void in the center. I decided to use my mini excavator to help push the tree at about 10' up. With so little wood there I chose to just made a wedge cut about 2" deep. Then with the excavator putting pressure on it and with the blade down on the opposite end of the excavator, I made my plunge cut to define the hinge, then cut, backing out. As I exited the back side, the tree barber chaired at about 8' up. When the top was down, the excavator wasn't. the bucket held that end of the tracks about 30" off the ground and the blade held the other end of the tracks about 16" off the ground. It was hanging there. I thought it a bad idea to get on the excavator, so standing beside it I very slowly started to lift the bucket. As I did, the cherry moved towards the excavator. I added a little down pressure as it stopped. I then raised the blade just enough that one end of the tracks was touching the ground. I then slowly, while standing on the ground moved the excavator away. After a foot or so, the tree stopped coming towards the machine. I then very slowly again raised the bucket. This time I was able to get both tracks fully on the ground and the bucket off the trunk. I then moved it a few feet away from the trunk and got on. I then drove it to the left and approached the barber chair from that side, reached up and pushed the trunk off it's perch. Finally, my heart could slow down. I put my tools away and left for the day. One scary moment but no injuries.

Do you mind a little advice? 2" in for a face unless the tree is 6" is too small. A face should be 1/3 to 1/2 the diameter depending on the center of gravity, mistake two is bore cutting, do a standard back cut walking the bar around less chance of a chair.

Tule, what happened there? That is ugly!
I went to the Logging Congress, I guess about 15 years ago, lots of injuries apparent there. Nothing really serious for me, some reassembly required occasionally, I guess more of mine are construction related. A few broken wrists, compounded a hand bone in a shop accident. Got thrown about 20' in the air by a barberchair. That white oak was swinging for the fences, I landed a good ways from it. Broke a rib or two but mighty lucky. The biggest concern while going into orbit was thinking I've got to get rid of this saw. Sort of the same thing as Mills, I had another job going, an owner builder was coming in from 1200 miles away the next day and was helping build the roof. He was afraid of heights so I ended up on the high end setting rafters and slinging ply, that was a long weekend but we got it dried in. Broken leg 6 or 7 years ago, misstep on a leafy rocky slope. Just starting a job, I thought it was a bad twist, so wrapped it. I didn't know it was broken till I went to the doctor a year or so ago when it went lame, a ligament had finally finished tearing when I hopped off the K-boom onto a log. Smooshed the other foot under a log, we were on a job in IL so limped it off, triple E's now. A machine roller dislocated the elbow and detached the ulnar, not too bad considering, the roller weighed about a ton. 3 shoulder ops from the wear and tear, a couple of hernias from the same. Can't recall an innocent or intelligent accident. Even when a coworker shot me, I shouldn't have been there.  Happily He doesn't charge for scratchin the paint but there is one overworked angel I'll have some 'splainin to do to one day.

Not a logger, but my closest call with wood was a few months ago. I was on the boss' farm looking for a property corner on a wooded drive. He got a hit with the metal detector, so I was digging into the edge of the stone road bed. Didn't find anything. Got up, walked 30' away, and a 4' limb from a dead ash fell right where I had been digging. That's when I noticed all the dead ash around. A project for the future...

In construction I've had numerous close calls, and once got a flight to shock trauma when a 5/8" cable fell on my head. I was 12' in a hole laying out pile, and the crane operator boomed up and swung. He caught a loose cable on the ground, and it dragged over the hole, and fell on me. I was fine mostly. The helicopter ride was overkill imo.

Slipped off a bridge form, hit the ground, and caught myself with ~2" to spare of having rebar go through my neck.

Walking on the shoulder of a highway, had a semi slide by me in a cloud of tire smoke.

Runaway truck down a hill 6' away from me.

Me and my partner where standing below a fill section, with machines working above. A couple hundred pound clay lump got knocked loose, came down the slope right between us, and wiped the instrument out.

A bunch of other stuff that isn't coming to me atm, including dumb kid stuff I did. I've had a charmed life. I should be dead, but I've never even broken a bone. Blew out my back at work when I was ~25. Kinda sucked having that happen so early in life cause it's been an ongoing issue, but it could always be worse...

On my arm, I had a stack of plywood come down on top of me. The 1 inch ply was stacked vertically against a wall without a safety binder and when one piece tipped, the whole lift sort of "vacuum sucked along" behind it. On the way down the plywood sheared a solid metal chain sharpener in half ,cleaved off the front end of a work bench , and flattened two saw horses. I was in the mix and lucky to not get killed. Very weird accident.

Yeah that horse kicked you pretty good bud

My crew helped me re-stack the wood WITH a safety strap . We left the dried meat and skin visible as a reminder of what might have been a lot worse.

I think the issue with this poll is you are asking loggers and sawmill folks. We have a skewed idea of what constitutes a "Major injury''  :D
  

When I commercially fished, major injuries were dismemberment and death in many forms.Why I quit.

X2 I worked in the helicopter industry for a number of years, too many people I knew were hurt or killed. Logging was the worst.

I'm a forester, so I'm not in the same league with the loggers, but still spend a lot of time in the woods around heavy machinery.  In my 30 years, I have had a couple of eye injuries; one was a beech bud that didn't bother me much.  My eye watered a few minutes, but I didn't leave the woods.  I scared my secretary to death when I walked back into the office.  I didn't realize the white of my eye was solid red.  I would have been at home in a Stephen King flick.

The second was a total fluke.  I was walking from the office to my pickup.  It was a windy day.  A spec of sawdust got in my eye.  I went back inside and flushed it, but it remained a bit irritated.  That one ended up in the emergency room later that night.  It required some contrast dye and an eye surgeon to locate an imbedded spec.

Other than that, a nest of black hornets ruined my day.  They put me on my knees and made me sick, but no breathing issues.  Guess that one could have killed me.

I had a relative killed in the woods when a small poplar limb caught him.  It was about 2 inches in diameter and about 3 feet long.  It hit him at the base of the neck and killed him in his tracks.  He had just started the back cut on the tree.

I've had a couple of contractors hurt during Hurricane Hugo clean-up and another sawyer killed by a widow maker coming out of a poplar.  I lost a father and son in a truck accident and a skidder accident within about a year of each other.

One of my foreman was seriously hurt when he was a climber for a utility contractor.  He had the ultimate distracted worker story.  They were doing some work beside the residence of a "gentleman's club" owner.  His staff was around his pool working on their tans.  He was about 40 feet up a pine and went to tie himself off.  He leaned back, but he wasn't tied off.  He was swimming in the air and grabbing for nothing.  It broke him all to pieces, but he survived.  It ended his climbing days.

Wudman

One thing I see in the woods and I know anyone that has been in the woods see it too. Wudmen kinda mentioned it. A limb falling out of a tree stuck into the ground.Sometimes that stick will go into the ground 3-4 inches.  :o 

 Before I went into logging 1st acc I crushed my left foot clearing a house lot to build our new home after moving from Tx. I cut a 16" white birch as it fell it caught in a fork of a r/oak I was standing next to the cut stump of another tree I had dropped and the white birch slide back into the cut stump where I was standing. 2nd acc I was dragging a firewood log with a 4 wheeler and tipped it over backwards and blew a disk in my lower back which ended up with surgery.
 After going into the logging business I cut my knee after getting tired an dropped the saw into my left knee only wearing longjohns blue jeans an carhartt coveralls. The saw was almost down to an idle. Still put 4 stitches in it. That's when I learned about PPE. Also have had a close call where I cut a double stem, I cut one side and went to limbing it and marking logs I got out to the top and got laid out by the top of the second stem. Taking the first weakened the top of the second at a crotch it was a 9" limb. If I had been at the butt it would have killed me. That's when I took the Game of Logging. For the last 15 yrs I've been lucky to be clear of incidence's.
 Our police chief was killed cutting a w/pine an a big limb from a hard maple came down on him.

Cut my left left right above the knee could see tendons at the bottom of the cut so I lucked out and didn't end up with any serious damage. I was kneeling putting the saw back in a big ash tree I was wedging over bar tip hit the tip of a wedge and kicked the saw out and across my knee. Dont remember how many stitches but couldnt walk properly for a month or so. Hard hat has saved my life though been knocked over but never more then a headache.

I was hurt on Valentines day 2018. Bleeding off my injectors on a 3.9 cummins that was out of fuel in my skidder. All went downhill after I got it running and went back up to recheck the injector tightness. I slipped and my knee went in behind the fan guard, ouch. Cut the muscle complete but missed the bone and tendon by mm's. I was very lucky that day even though it was a bad cut. Shredded my cutting pants and all I did after looking at my hamburg knee is was put a compression wrap on it and tied it off with a loop of saw cord which I carry an extra in my pocket when working in the bush. It bled bad but I had a cell connection and the EMT'S where there quickly and off I went. Took about 4 months before I was really back to being able to work again. I layed on the couch and watched the Winter Olympics and tried not to go stir crazy. I don't do well sitting around. be safe all, wear your PPE and think all moves twice.




(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/29166/IMG_20180214_112647489.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1542802862)
  

I think youre lucky to be alive david. Dang. 

Quote from: mike_belben on November 21, 2018, 09:39:56 AM
I think youre lucky to be alive david. Dang.

I didnt' see God on that one but when I rolled my first skidder which was a JD 440B I did. Sold it and bought a timberjack and never looked back. Those small Deeres are nice but they can tip on the landing. I consider myself a good operator, go slow, but sometimes Logging can bite. Wouldn't want it any other way.

Well when god says buy a TJ, you buy a TJ. 

Like many non pros here, we spend many hours every week all year harvesting, clearing, volunteer trail work.
And, many many hours in training programs ( GOL, CLP, partnering with local loggers, and Wilderness Medicine ) to learn how.

Some lessons from stupid mistakes and "almosts":
Never saw when tired, cold, or overheated.
Always use FULL PPE....always.
In spite of some pros advice, I do bore cut when there's leaners, DBHs +/- 20", or just not sure of the fall. Leave a tongue, maybe some wedges for control.
Escape route planned and cleared.
Sharpened chain.
Cut at WOT.
I never want anyone nearby as a "partner". I cut solo.
No cell phone since there's no service out here; just plain careful, deliberate.
Smart to know how to use a compression wrap and blood stopping device like above....smart moves Dave ! .

I'm fortunate, since training and courses, no serious accidents. No pics.

been in the injured category several times only once seriously, knocked out by a leaner spent a few hrs in the ER.
All who work in the woods are always just one mistake away from the great beyond.

Quote from: Pulphook on November 22, 2018, 07:59:28 AM
Like many non pros here, we spend many hours every week all year harvesting, clearing, volunteer trail work.
And, many many hours in training programs ( GOL, CLP, partnering with local loggers, and Wilderness Medicine ) to learn how.

Some lessons from stupid mistakes and "almosts":
Never saw when tired, cold, or overheated.
Always use FULL PPE....always.
In spite of some pros advice, I do bore cut when there's leaners, DBHs +/- 20", or just not sure of the fall. Leave a tongue, maybe some wedges for control.
Escape route planned and cleared.
Sharpened chain.
Cut at WOT.
I never want anyone nearby as a "partner". I cut solo.
No cell phone since there's no service out here; just plain careful, deliberate.
Smart to know how to use a compression wrap and blood stopping device like above....smart moves Dave ! .

I'm fortunate, since training and courses, no serious accidents. No pics.

Cutting solo is just asking to get killed I don't care what training you have. You should carry a cell phone because even if you don't have cell service you can still get an emergency call out if you need to. One thing I've seen from boring and back strap cutting is the back chairing out at you especially with short bars large learners, look up a coos cut it works very well it's controlled and a lot safer.

Quote from: Pulphook on November 22, 2018, 07:59:28 AM
Like many non pros here, we spend many hours every week all year harvesting, clearing, volunteer trail work.
And, many many hours in training programs ( GOL, CLP, partnering with local loggers, and Wilderness Medicine ) to learn how.

Some lessons from stupid mistakes and "almosts":
Never saw when tired, cold, or overheated.
Always use FULL PPE....always.
In spite of some pros advice, I do bore cut when there's leaners, DBHs +/- 20", or just not sure of the fall. Leave a tongue, maybe some wedges for control.
Escape route planned and cleared.
Sharpened chain.
Cut at WOT.
I never want anyone nearby as a "partner". I cut solo.
No cell phone since there's no service out here; just plain careful, deliberate.
Smart to know how to use a compression wrap and blood stopping device like above....smart moves Dave ! .

I'm fortunate, since training and courses, no serious accidents. No pics.

I always have carried a good first aid kit, Clean White Towel in a big zip lock and yes that extra saw pull cord loop is more for tourniquet use. doesn't weigh anything and is always in my front pocket. I work alone and try to be prepared. That one caught me off guard though. 

One thing I would add, you can still get hurt without making a mistake. I think it's a misconception that every time someone is hurt it's because they made a mistake. I know a fellow who was walking through a stand cruising timber and a gust of wind picked up and blew a Widowmaker out that busted his shoulder.

 Whether you have a cell phone or not carry a whistle,at least you can use it to give someone looking for you an idea of where to look. I had jobs where there was neighbors close, so I'd ask them to call for help if they ever heard my whistle.

Quote from: Ed_K on November 22, 2018, 10:49:27 AM
Whether you have a cell phone or not carry a whistle,at least you can use it to give someone looking for you an idea of where to look. I had jobs where there was neighbors close, so I'd ask them to call for help if they ever heard my whistle.

Ed nailed it.
I carry a small air horn ( marine type, hand held ). If hurt, you may not be able to blow a whistle, or too cold to blow air.

There is also those rescue beacons that hikers carry. Don't need cell coverage, and work anywhere in the world. Set it off and your GPS location gets sent to the local search & rescue. They send someone out to find you.

Quote from: Ianab on November 22, 2018, 12:30:00 PM
There is also those rescue beacons that hikers carry. Don't need cell coverage, and work anywhere in the world. Set it off and your GPS location gets sent to the local search & rescue. They send someone out to find you.

Here they're called a SPOT it's an interesting idea, I know if you're on certain company grounds by yourself you're required to have one at all times.

Quote from: Skeans1 on November 22, 2018, 09:00:26 AM
Cutting solo is just asking to get killed I don't care what training you have. You should carry a cell phone because even if you don't have cell service you can still get an emergency call out if you need to. One thing I've seen from boring and back strap cutting is the back chairing out at you especially with short bars large learners, look up a coos cut it works very well it's controlled and a lot safer.

Not the same trees and woodland structures back east Skeans.
Never had chairing when boring. Never had any close calls IF I was diligent. The trees here in the northeast are not your big DBH softwoods.
I'm retired WITH plenty of training since leaving service and buying a home with a woodlot. I use the the same situational awareness used in ordinance.
And solo is what most of us do since we cut when we want, not worrying about some gibone too close to a fall. We aren't pros so need to be cautious. The 261 now down to 16" bar does great for me up to 3' DBH.
Cells work only where they access towers, 911 or not. This is rural Maine with mucho 'holes'....like where I harvest and live.
That "coos cut" for trees under +/- 2' like we have mostly here is a PITA. Open face @ 90 degrees , bore or not, wedges or not, planning first. And always always FULL PPE.
JMNSHO

I've been back to Maine and the east coast a few times, even so cutting solo is asking for trouble yes I'm a professional and I would never cut alone I know better. We have more then large softwoods out here, have you heard of alder? Do you know what a coos cut is? Not being a professional is the biggest reason you need to be careful you don't see the same situations or have an eye for what's happening, always love guys like you that come out and cut a day most of the time I have to rip you off a stump.

There are two distinctly different "rescue beacons":  Rescue Beacons (https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/personal-locator-beacons.html)

The "SPOT" system requires buying the SPOT unit and then a reoccurring yearly fee.  It sends text messages to designated cell phones and also has an OK feature.  It is satellite based so no cell service is required for the transmitted signal to be sent.  I have one of the older SPOT units but it is not currently activated.

The PLB is purchased and there is no monthly/yearly fee but it is for emergency use only.  No text nor OK messages.

Think I can hear my insurance premiums raise while reading this thread...

Maybe not

I just wrote a long post, can't see the point in posting it. All the guys from not out west knows what's up anyhow.

Skeans, I read on another forum that West coast is too fast paced for us normal guys.

EDITED BY ADMIN

Quote from: Magicman on November 22, 2018, 10:45:25 PMThe PLB is purchased and there is no monthly/yearly fee but it is for emergency use only.  No text nor OK messages.

Yup, all those do is send a SOS message with your location. Same deal if your boat sinks, or your plane crashes, or you are laying in the bush with a broken leg. Either way, someone comes to investigate ASAP. You can't tell them what the problem is, just that you have one. 

I work by myself far more then I am comfortable doing. Because I know from long experience that working in the woods by yourself wont make the slightest bit of difference if things go majorly wrong, dead is dead after all. But being by yourself can turn a minor problem into a major problem real quick. You get busted up or pinned and it might not be fatal but stick a bit of exposure on top of that and yeah.... you got a problem.

I mentioned a busted foot in the first response to this post. It's just a cracked fibula and a couple toes right, no biggun by the standards of this industry.... you pick yourself up and limp out right? Yeah well I was alone, and I tell ya that 2 hour drive back to phone service down a range in a heavily loaded truck (with about a 5 ton clutch seemed like) weren't no fun at all. Had it been a compound fracture or other serious injury it would have been a good 10 hours before I was overdue enough for someone to go looking. Then they got to get to where I was, and then they got to find me. Assuming they found me pretty quick thats still at least 13 hours lying in the bush in the tropical sun (or snow for you guys) and by then my smallest problem might just be the original injury.  At least we dont got bear and things that might eat ya here. :D

Working alone is dumb... and I do it all the time... so yeah, I'm dumb too.

Crew Im working with on my part time outside felling gig are introducing me to new things.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/32746/1541458928835.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1542954923)
 

That integrated radio with voice activated mic is good for talking to the skidder or dozer guy... but its also part of our risk mitigation plan for reduced PPE because of the risk the PPE presents in this climate. Yanno they're short range and not as good as the UHF handheld thats in my dillybag along with files and bandages and stuff.... but its kinda on my head not tossed on the ground with the fuel cans so... its a good thing, and I'll be bringing this technology into my own operation right smartly.

Quote from: so il logger on November 22, 2018, 11:58:35 PM
I just wrote a long post, can't see the point in posting it. All the guys from not out west knows what's up anyhow.

Skeans, I read on another forum that West coast is too fast paced for us normal guys.

You, sir, are an idiot.

I'm sure not in agreement that name- calling is an appropriate part of any rational discussion. I find this topic and (most of) the discussion to be beneficial. By the way, I'm one of the "Part- Timers " on this forum that definitely takes more Knowledge from here than I can possibly add, but name- calling has no place here, IMO.

What olcowhand said.
skeans by not working alone do you mean that you have someone with you watching all the time, or other cutters a safe distance away? Perhaps a skidder operator on the job  too?

We normally cut in pairs when the wood is big enough, one guy cutting one pounding wedges then he'll limb ahead of you well you clean the butt and tape. When it's smaller it'll be 2 tree lengths away from all hand falling. If near a landing one guy will cut well one is cleaning stuff up with a shovel either way you're never alone or more then a few houndred feet from each other. I don't like cutting well someone is yarding near me too easy to get hurt.

No name calling. Most of us so called "part timers", "weekend warriors", prefer to cut solo. We're retired, got the time.
My training has been extensive and intensive from professionals informal and formal. In the past 20 or so years of taking classes, working with loggers and arborists, climbing, and using my saws, ATV, brush cutters, and splitters for the 6-8 cords ( real cords ) for heating each year, volunteer trail clearing and making, boundary clearing, and helping out a few needing firewood, I've never had even a close serious call while cutting and felling. Why ? I cut solo so I need to depend on situational awareness for every fall. ( You learn about S.A. in service...ask. )
I plan. I drop where I need to. Buck up the tree, hump it into the trailer to take out to the spitter next to the woodshed.
All, not most of the dumbo moves have been away from a saw: tripping, slipping in snow or mud, getting caught in a blowdown's canopy while opening a trail, or extreme dumb: rolling the ATV into a ditch. Just dumbo moves that sometimes draw minor blood, a hill fall giving me a rotator cuff tear, a face plant that unfortunately wasn't enough for cosmetic surgery that I wanted :-[ .
Now that "coos cut" is OK for you. My cuts are usually a 90 deg. open face, again, bore or not, again, wedges or not.... DEPENDS. ( Not underwear Skeans )
Solo it is. There ain't no supervisor or bureaucrat or insurance underwriter making rules.
Each to his own....hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving !
JMNSHO

I dislike the word "professional" when it comes to chainsaws. Just do, it covers too much territory. Me, I'm a semi-retired manual production feller. I dont climb trees, I dont do yard work, I dont do tree care... I decimate stands of trees in a selective cut manner or where you cant use a mechanical harvester due to terrain or production issues. I know plenty guys that are very professional and cant do what I do... but I cant do what they do either. All of us, whether we do this full time or part time, whether we get paid or not, set out to achieve a desired outcome using a similar set of tools. Thing is those outcomes can be different depending on where you sit in the industry.

As a production feller my desired outcome looks like this:
I get paid on production and I am expected to produce. 30 ton a day is a good number, about what I average. I know guys do 50 but I dun wanna work that hard no more and at 30 I'm doing okay.
I need to present trees to the extraction equipment (dozer or skidder) in a way that enables quick and efficient removal from the forest. That involves a lot of directional felling, regardless of the lean of the tree it has to go through that narrow window there so it can be pulled out without damage to the other trees or because of terrain etc.
I am expected to present logs that dont waste wood, in terms of no big cracks running through logs etc.
I seldom get to walk away. Half rotted/ widow makers hanging out of it / half down and hung up / piped out and still on fire inside.... part of my job is to remove these hazards from the forest. A lot of what I do is classified as advanced risk, and Im paid accordingly.
I want to go home alive and have everyone working around me go home alive too.

I dont see a whole lot of difference between me and the next guy that walks into the woods. He humps a chainsaw and wedges and so do I. But my outcomes mean that my toolbox of skills is different. And how I use those skills and equipment can be different.  Give me a leaner and sometimes I do a crown cut, sometimes a bore cut, sometimes a coos... depends on the tree, the lean, the desired direction of fall in relation to the lean, the nature of the wood in terms of will it barber chair or will it hang on to the death and you got to chase it to the ground with a saw .... theres no right or wrong way to do this so far as I'm concerned. Just whats right for a given tree, and for your desired outcome.

Stick with the safety stuff guys... theres a whole lot of learning from others mistakes available in this thread and it shouldnt be personal because safety is everyones business.

WELL SAID !!

In 2002 I was touched by a guardian angel and experienced the power of prayer.  I was asked by my brother for help with a leaning tree.  My mind was where I was going to go hunting that night and I was rushing to help him, then head to the deer stand.  This leaning tree was a Tulip poplar that had about a 45 degree lean to it.  I showed him how to cut a leaning tree, notch, bore and clip.  The lean on the tree didn't give it enough momentum to hit the ground, instead it suspended and was partially held up by a forked ash. 

I cut the butt of the log off and remember looking up at the bent over forks of the ash tree, they were under the poplar top but still attached to the ash about 12' high.  I was wearing a ball cap of course and told my brother that the situation was hairy and we needed to get away from the situation.  He turned back around from listening to me and heard something and looked back to see me on the ground. 
 
The poplar top fell on its own and pulled the ash forks out.  The pressure shot one fork back about 8' where i was standing and down the side of my head.  I remember coming to in his truck with my s.i.l. telling me I was bad hurt and we were headed to ER.  She is an er nurse btw.  Next thing I remember is waking up in Methodist hospital in Indianapolis with iv's in my arm and breathing tubes in my throat. 

I got life lined via Lifeevac helicopter.  I underwent emergency brain surgery that removed a blood clot that had formed under fractured skull.  My eye socket was fractured from the corner to my ear and from bottom down to upper jaw.  I was told by doctors to expect slurred speech, blurred vision and short term memory loss.  I walked out of there in 3 days and have had a blessed and 100% recovery.  My head is a little lumpy and I'm missing a tooth, other than that I'm ok.

I was falling a large Red Oak and saw a dead limb about 30 ft. up . knocked it down and went perfect . Walked over to get the skidder and when I walked under a Maple that 5 inch oak limb fell out of that Maple . Hit right on top of my head . Out for 20 min. off to the hospital ER got real excited after the Cat scan .Brain bleed about 25 MM . Then in overnight home the next day with a baby sitter for the next 10 days . That was 9 years ago and it still didn't knock any sense in me , I'm still logging.