Have you been naughty?

Drew62 · February 21, 2019, 07:32:36 PM

Just to say hello to all,and kudos on a great forum full of invaluable tips and experience.
Just wondering,what bad habits have you all picked up over the Years re:chainsaw use!?
I think I should start!
when I'm just doing a few cuts,I think 'nah' no need to put my safety gear on.When bucking,I tend to look along the cut instead of standing slightly to the left of the saw.In the woods I take all my gear and a tool roll to sharpen my saw-but NOT my reading glasses.I think I tend to slightly over tension my saws-added to my bad habit over standing behind my saws, I've occasionally thrown chains and I have a slight horror of having a chain hit on me.I note most people say to hold your bar up and tension from there-I tend to hold my saw between my knees and put the full nose weight on the timber I'm bucking.Phew!Thats enough for now,I fear I could think of more ...

lxskllr · February 21, 2019, 08:03:38 PM

For the most part, I'm still new enough to try to do things right, but I have a couple bad habits... Cutting vines, I sometimes don't pay close enough attention to where I'm swinging the bar, especially when I've been at it awhile, and I'm getting tired. My good winter boots have a couple nicks in them from the saw. When bucking up wood, I don't always give it the attention I should, and I end up pinching my bar. It could have easily been prevented by analyzing it before cutting.

samandothers · February 21, 2019, 09:42:19 PM

Guilty of not wearing chaps when making just a few cuts. I wear ear plugs and safety glasses but don't wear a hard hat. Have not developed that habit. Need to work on that as I'll be felling some here soon.

joe_indi · February 21, 2019, 09:46:29 PM

:D
If not wearing safety gear is a bad habit, I think nearly all my countrymen have that habit :D

AZ_builder · February 21, 2019, 10:01:42 PM

I don't even own chaps! Please don't kick me of the forum. My taboo is putting my bar in the dirt. With desert wood it's sometimes necessary but I hate doing it.

sawguy21 · February 21, 2019, 10:15:40 PM

I am left handed, got in the habit of drop starting by holding the saw with my right and pulling with my left. That is until I cut my pantleg with the moving chain, in the shop so no chaps. Never did that again. :

Air Lad · February 22, 2019, 04:24:02 AM

No pain no gain
Just be very careful

ButchC · February 22, 2019, 06:16:29 AM

Like anyone else over the age of 60 I grew up in a different safety environment than today. While I do not mean to lift it up as THE way to do things it did serve to give one respect for what he was close to and stuck his fingers in,,,or he would get a lifelong reminder. Some would say luck was on some's side while others suffered. I say luck is a small part of it and respect and using one's noggen is a much greater factor. I have watched certain people run saws while wearing a full set of safety gear on and felt they were in a whole lot more danger than the next guy whose gear consisted of a ball cap and gloves.
I have recently quit drop starting my larger saws due to me age but I must admit that it sure feels awkward doing it by the book. A recent stumbling incident while limbing and resulting close call with the chain has caused me to become diligent about applying the chain brake at all times when not cutting.

mitchstockdale · February 22, 2019, 10:12:15 AM

Last weekend I was too lazy to go outside to split kindling for the fire.. where i use a very dull hatchet...so I decided to use my Granfors Bruk mini hatchet that is razor sharp ...hatchet is not heavy enough to split anything off a piece of birch...so i decide to use another piece of hardwood as a baton and beat the razor sharp mini hatchet through the wood while knelt down beside the piece and reaching sideways. one blow to the hatchet with the baton and that sucker went right through the wood and into my leg like a pendulum ....cut right to the bone narrowly missing the ligament on the outside of my knee....I know better but did it anyway...

Complacency kills...should have had correct body positioning (work in front of me and at arms reach) and been using the right tool for the job (my usual dull hatchet).

Be careful guys accidents happen soooooo fast .

Babylon519 · February 22, 2019, 12:58:36 PM

The most unsafe thing I do is go back to the woods alone. With the ash kill-off, most of my trees get felled by the wind, so I'm working with wood that's already on the ground. Wife won't let me drop trees unless there's someone with me, and I'm okay with that. Even so, there's always something that can trip you up while bucking the log so, like the other guy said, you have to use your noggin. After a day in the woods, swinging the 440 around gets pretty tiring. Fatigue always compounds problems. That's when I tell myself to slow down, be deliberate, and hydrate more. So far, so good! - Jason

thecfarm · February 22, 2019, 02:51:08 PM

I try,to be safe in the woods. It's not worth it to try to save a minute. I made that mistake with my chaps. I should of went back and got them but that would take too long. :

Just a little nick,but a chain is wide. Now I won't even start the saw without the chaps on.
I do cut alone,but have a cell phone on me. I just hope I can call,if somethings goes wrong.
Seem like I respect the big trees,more than a couple feet across than a 4 inch one. But both can land on me and cause some damage.

Drew62 · February 22, 2019, 05:23:13 PM

Not been great over the years with safety trousers tbh, initially had the stihl chaps,then their cheapo trousers,found them heavy,hot and cumbersome.So haven't bothered for many years.After some heavy hinting to she who must be adored/humoured over Christmas,I now have the x- light stihl trousers,which feel very wearable,the sip arm guards which I really like.Plus a pair of compact little arbortec gloves with protection on both hands.Not sure whether she loves me more than I realised or is just filled with horror at the idea of arguing with insurance companies!?🤔

Magicman · February 22, 2019, 07:01:29 PM

Sometimes using older equipment/chainsaws can contribute to unforeseen accidents. These gashes on my upper arm took over 20 stitches to close.

This was caused by a kickback that happened when my old Homelite XL12 caught unseen buried fence wire. There is no chain brake on an XL12. Saying that it happened quicker than the blink of the eye would be an understatement.

My matching pair of Homelite XL12's have remained unused since that happened.

Drew62 · February 22, 2019, 07:19:10 PM

Back in the day,I was in charge of a large country estate Hotel with extensive woodlands/lawns/veg production etc.I'd have help from mostly young apprentices.One Winter we had a huge storm hit the grounds and lost probably about 40+ mature trees in a matter of hours.There was no way we could deal with the devestation so my then boss made a deal with a couple of guys to clear up and sell off the firewood.By springtime Me and a youngster were in the woods brushcutting the explosion of new growth near to the woodcutters.I was keeping an eye on the teenager ,but lost sight of him for a minute or so.Next thing,I felt a huge tremor all around me and it dawned on me what had happened. A massive root plate had dropped like a stone behind me as the woodcutters cleared back to the butt wood.Thank God the lad was ok,but it dawned on me later,he was under my care,and could have had his back to the root plate and died a horrible death,in a rural situation emergancy services would have been far too late.It taught me a huge lesson to watch each others back and respect your working environment.An odd situation too in that the outside guys were strangers and felt no huge duty of care to us employees of the Hotel.Its a lesson thats always stayed with me.

celliott · February 22, 2019, 07:55:14 PM

I've got a bad habit of leaving my helmet visor up. I'll have it down, drop a tree, put it up to look for hanging branches, etc. and not put it back down when I go to limb or buck. Or I leave it up on the skidder, and don't put it down when I buck on the landing. Usually a wood chip to the eye wakes me up and I flip
It down but jeeze. I wear contact lenses and a chip in the eye is very uncomfortable and I've lost lenses this way.

Drew62 · February 25, 2019, 03:09:11 PM

Not strictly chainsaw related but one of my worst sins is I keep stuff-old honda ohv engines/kawi hedge trimmer blades,worn out bits-old bars,clutch drums,sprockets.Parts that I dont even remember what they belong to anymore.I really need to hire a skip and let somebody objective into my workshop and let them just clear the whole place out!Trouble is,I would need to be away that day or I'd retrieving all those bits as fast as they were turfed out.On a more serious note,over the years.I've learned there's 2 classes of pretty dangerous peeps-the novice who is far too tentative and doesnt trust the machine or themselves.Also,the '' I'm too kool for school" guys-been there/done it/I'm an expert etc,etc.Stay safe all,and constantly evaluate your working practices and methods.

starmac · February 25, 2019, 04:20:31 PM

Butch C, we grew up in the same time frame, and you pretty much called it like it was/is.
I remember a guy one time saying, if a person smokes and wears gloves, they already have a full time job, and can't handle another one, there is some truth to it too.

lxskllr · February 25, 2019, 04:24:10 PM

Quote from: celliott on February 22, 2019, 07:55:14 PM
I've got a bad habit of leaving my helmet visor up. I'll have it down, drop a tree, put it up to look for hanging branches, etc. and not put it back down when I go to limb or buck. Or I leave it up on the skidder, and don't put it down when I buck on the landing. Usually a wood chip to the eye wakes me up and I flip
It down but jeeze. I wear contact lenses and a chip in the eye is very uncomfortable and I've lost lenses this way.

That's one I'm good for too. Stupid thing is that's my primary reason for wearing a helmet. I like the face shield since I *really* hate anything over my eye glasses. Goggles and such fog too easily, and are hot.

starmac · February 25, 2019, 04:34:15 PM

I am just the opposite, I hate face shields and just prefer a pair of safety glasses, which I don't really like a whole lot better.

upnut · February 25, 2019, 08:03:49 PM

I work alone most of the time, and following advice gleaned from this forum, always try to leave the ATV parked facing out toward the exit trail. If something does go wrong, at least I won't have to wrestle the rig around to leave. The mistake arises when I anchor to a tree with a stout nylon strap, dislodge a stubborn lodged snag with the winch on the trailer, and promptly buck and load the firewood....leaving my ride out tied to a tree... :(

Scott B.

lxskllr · February 25, 2019, 08:15:52 PM

Quote from: upnut on February 25, 2019, 08:03:49 PM
I work alone most of the time, and following advice gleaned from this forum, always try to leave the ATV parked facing out toward the exit trail. If something does go wrong, at least I won't have to wrestle the rig around to leave. The mistake arises when I anchor to a tree with a stout nylon strap, dislodge a stubborn lodged snag with the winch on the trailer, and promptly buck and load the firewood....leaving my ride out tied to a tree... :(

Scott B.

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Cam460 · February 26, 2019, 01:27:00 AM

I started running saws when I was 13, always wore chaps, safety glasses and ear protection now I'm down to only wearing steel toe boots. I don't like chaps because they tend to get snagged on branches which always makes me worried that I'm going to fall onto my saw. Safety glasses always fog up so I don't wear those anymore. And as far as ear protection goes I have no excuse for not wearing them and I'm sure I'll regret it one day. :D

samandothers · February 26, 2019, 10:45:16 AM

Cam460
I have to say it would be sad not to hear the animals and sounds of the woods. In the last 10 years of so I have tried to wear hearing protection more. My safety awareness has increased as I have gotten older though I am naughty on wearing chaps consistently.

wild262 · February 26, 2019, 01:46:53 PM

Guys, that's exactly what happened to me. I never used any sort of PPE when I was younger, and now I have lost all of my high frequency hearing. Cannot hear song birds, squirrels chatter, turkey gobbles, or deer grunts. And I'm a hunter, and used to re-lie on a lot of those sounds when hunting. Can't use them anymore without a Walker's game ear. Don't wait like I did before its to late. Take action now to protect what you have. While aids do help, they are no replacement for what you were born with, believe me. I wear chaps now to. If to much brush is in the road, just make a road with your chainsaw. Better than falling. Your young enough now to make the smart decision, so don't put it off. ;)

upnut · February 27, 2019, 07:49:28 PM

At the saw shop the other day the salesmen were quizzing me about safety gear. Chaps, helmet, boots, etc. and ensuing stories. Recently a couple came into their store looking for chaps. They had just left the ER, the husband was stitched up from a chainsaw incident. When the wife saw the price of the Stihl chaps she declared the insurance co-pay was less than that, and they left with no chaps... :

Cam460- The logic of abandoning your safety gear because of what a chainsaw might do to you escapes me...

Don't know if you're an athlete at all, but I always taught my boys that any game you attempt always starts with good footwork. Running chainsaw, to me, is no different. Agility, strength, balance all start with proper footwork. Pay attention to trip hazards, avoid awkward angles, keep your balance, look and think ahead. And, good luck with your firewood business! Sounds like you're a hard worker with a plan.

Scott B.