Did something dumb today.

[sawguy21]

Now that it has your undivided attention! :D 

[rusticretreater]

Well if you were a young greenhorn you wouldn't have fared so well.

I did one today that still has me calling myself names.  I am doing some work in my garage and I had the usual mess of tools, cords and parts on the floor.  When I picked up the tangle of an extension cord, it brought a pair of tin snips with it.  So I go to close the tin snips and lock it shut with the little swivel arm thingy.  But the thingy is to the wrong side of the locking pin on the opposite handle.  

So I open my hand to let the snips open up, push the locking arm to the right with the thumb of my left hand and then close the snips again.  The snips do their job and nip right through 1/2 of the extension cord, causing a popping sound, an electrical arc about an inch from the palm of my left hand and made me do a skeleton dance.

Screwed up the tip of the tin snips and damaged the electrical cord.  My heart however, is pumping fine and dandy due to my improvised defibrillator. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well if I was young I probably would have doubled down and got myself really stuck, or worse. Bill has always been real good, and calm about me and his equipment, he trusts me, I don't know why, except that I fix what I break and that is apparently a new experience for him. :D
 The first time I got the Toolcat stuck and had to ask for his help, he just laughed and laughed at me. I was more than embarrassed that I had to ask for help but it was REALLY stuck, up to the running boards. It didn't help that Inga, his 6 year old came along to help and was giving me driving suggestions. But this time, when I confessed over the phone that I had backed off that mafia block before I could finish the sentence he couldn't contain himself and let go with some explicatives. I guess he was expecting that to develop into a rollover. He got hold of himself right quick when I told him I got it out with no damage, but I was hung up for a while while I figured out how to drive out of it. I think he was more worried about me than the machine, really.

[DbltreeBelgians]

Thanks Tom, you jinxed me saying "Well it's been a month and everybody has been good". Lol, not really but it sounds good anyhow.
So here we go,
It's been mentioned many many times on here and I'm guilty and very lucky.
All I can say is "WEAR YOUR CHAPS!! DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO!!" Those WERE a good pair of britches   Enough said, now I got logs to pull out of the woods. 
I'm one to talk but please be safe.



 

Brent

[beenthere]

I've seen that tear in my chaps, but never in my britches. Much too close to the leg ligaments just near the knee cap. 
Doctors have a tough time repairing those ligaments, I have been told. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I think Jill can fix those britches.  Good as new.  I've been wanting a pair of chainsaw pants.  Maybe I will get them before it gets cold.  I assume they are nice to wear when its cold.

[WV Sawmiller]

Brent,

   You were just stylizing them britches! Now you can grab your geetar and go play some country music.

   Glad you weren't hurt worse than shown in the picture. 

   (Okay - I gotta ask. Is the saw okay? ;))

[doc henderson]

could have been worse, good lesson to us all!  Thanks for sharing!

[Old Greenhorn]

Brent, you probably don't feel this way, but man, it looks like you got lucky! Wonder how you happed to get the saw in that area? Lesson learned right? If it was one of your firefighters, I know what your first question would be.

Also wondering, was that a full comp, or skip chain? :D

[firefighter ontheside]

I just ordered some Husqvarna chainsaw pants.  $169 on Amazon.

[thecfarm]

It might be in this thread.....

This was before this thread was started.

My stupid move

[DbltreeBelgians]

Brent,

  You were just stylizing them britches! Now you can grab your geetar and go play some country music.

  Glad you weren't hurt worse than shown in the picture.  

  (Okay - I gotta ask. Is the saw okay? ;))

Thanks for asking Howard,
Kept on working and cleaned the chain up real good on the next pass through the log. Saw working like new
Brent 

[DbltreeBelgians]

Brent, you probably don't feel this way, but man, it looks like you got lucky! Wonder how you happed to get the saw in that area? Lesson learned right? If it was one of your firefighters, I know what your first question would be.

Also wondering, was that a full comp, or skip chain? :D

Semi chisel Tom  ;D
Brent

[Old Greenhorn]

Maybe we should ban semi-chisel chain, or require a permit and registration fee to use it? :D
 Or you could just get some chaps or pants before you do any more cutting. You had your one close call. That's more than a lot of folks get.
 Pants are good for all day work, chaps are better for intermittent use. I use both, the back of my pants are very breathable and I actually prefer chaps in the winter, they are warmer and keep the snow from laying on my pants and melting.
 Whatever you choose, get something, then USE it. ;D

[SawyerTed]

According to the Dr who did the surgery on my left shin, the only thing worse than a chainsaw cut is being cut by oyster shells and barnacles.  

I've had both.   The chainsaw cut nicked my shin bone enough the Dr.put me on crutches, no weight bearing, for a month. That included 34 stitches and hurt bad. 

The oyster shells and barnacles required close to 60 stitches in my leg and hand and the antibiotics were very strong.  My system took weeks to recover.  

I wear chaps when the chainsaw is in use.   I don't wear chaps when loading the boat at the coast (I fell on a boat ramp and got cut up by oyster sharks and barns).  

[DbltreeBelgians]

Well Tom believe it or not my chaps were in the loader bucket. I thought I was done and I spotted a small limb that would get hung up while skidding out the log so I grabbed the saw real quick to knock it off and that's when it got me. I had the chaps but never put them back on. It was totally all on me. Wore them all day today no matter if I was on the tractor, in the bobcat or bucking logs. Not my first time getting  nailed by the saw but hope it's my last.

Brent 

[aigheadish]

FFOTS- Let me know how those chaps treat you. My pair was significantly less expensive, I wonder if it matters. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I tried them on tonight.  They are pretty comfy and fit well.  I wear size 34 normally, but I ordered 36 and they fit well.  They also seem warm, so I think they will work well this winter.  They have elastic in the waist.  I ordered kind of middle of the road as far as price goes and figured Husqy should know something about chainsaws.

[WV Sawmiller]

   My dumb move was yesterday and not up to my usual standards of dumbness.

    My new replacement flip phone from WalMart died 2 nights ago and when charging did not fix it I took it back for replacement. (The screen/monitor died). I had the receipt showing it was 9 days old but we had a hassle because I did not have the box. The store manager finally agreed to accept it and the electronics department head replaced it with the same kind.

    I took my new phone to AT&T nearby for a SIM card and activation but when I tried it I got a "Call Failed" message. The lady said, and I believed, it was still downloading. I came home and when I'd try it I got the same call failed message so I turned around and drove 25 miles back to AT&T and saw the same lady then her associate came over. I told them I was pithed mostly at myself for leaving with a non-functioning phone and them for not fixing the problem. (I was also mad I could not get customer support by phone from their company but I only speak English, and understand a little French and Arabic but no Asian dialects.) The guy checked and the SIM card number did not match what was on the box or what they'd sent in so I'd never have been able to fix it remotely even if I could speak Tagalog. They finally did get it activated and I tested out-going and in-coming before I left the store.

   No bones were broken or equipment damaged in this case - just wasted time and milage. I won't make that mistake again. (I'll go find something new and dumber to do I am sure. :)

[firefighter ontheside]

I hate dealing with activating new phones.  There is always a hassle.

 @aigheadish I wore the chainsaw pants all day yesterday.  They were not as warm as I expected them to be.  Of course they are warm in the front where the protection is, but on the back they are thin.  They were comfortable and not annoying like chaps can be.  Of course I didnt test them for their intended purpose.  I will just assume they are good at that.  They have some nice zippered pockets in the regular pants places.  I have declared war on bradford pear trees this year.  I cut down some behind my parents barn.  The biggest was about 12" diameter.  I found more of them in the woods today and cut those down today.  I have found that this is a good time of the year to cut them.  We had a really good 20 deg morning yesterday, so bugs have been reduced.  Most other leafy trees(other than pine) have dropped their leaves, but the pears are still full of green leaves, so they are easy to spot.  The war will go on for years, but this is a start.  I needed to get rid of all of the trees that will produce seed next year.  Now I will have to keep cutting down the new shoots and start spraying the cut saplings with roundup.


 

[thecfarm]

I am cutting some aspen. Cut one and 100 will try to take its place.  : 
What I do is cut a bowl in the stump. I fill it full of rock salt and water. I check on it at least weekly. If it needs salt, I add salt, or water as needed. The salt is drawn down into the roots and kills the stump. 
But most of the trees are in one area, not spread over 20 acres.
I keep a 5 gallon bucket, with a lid of salt, in this area. Water is in a bucket too. 
Much cheaper then round up too. 
But in my case, if the trees were over 20 acres, I would still do the above.
Because with aspen I would have to spray 10 acres to get rid of the aspen.
But whatever you do, keep up on it. Don't be slack and say I will do it next week. A steady diet of killer will get rid of just about any unwanted trees.

[Old Greenhorn]

I don't know how Husky makes their pants or which ones you got Bill. I have Elvex pants and I was looking for something cooler rather than warmer. The fronts are as expected and a good insulator but the backs are made of some some really thin stuff I would call spandex like, but I can't say that here, so I won't call it that, just something similar. ;D I will say, first couple of times I put them on it felt like my butt was hanging out in free air and it took some getting used to.
 But I will say, wearing them while cutting in June was not as bad as wearing chaps. I was prepared to change into pants or shorts in the woods when I was done cutting, but they weren't uncomfortable to need that and I just wore them until I got home. I am not sure what these would be like cutting in the winter because I usually wear thermals and heavier pants and put the chaps on. I should try them, but I'm afraid my butt would freeze off and I can't imagine falling or sitting in the snow. I would have to put my chaps on backwards. :D
 I will confess I bucked up some farwood yesterday from the pile and did not wear the chaps. Shame on me, they were ten feet away.
 If you were closer I'd be happy to come over and help you wage war. I cut so few decent sized green trees I am loosing my skills I fear. These mushroom trees are like 'trainers'.

[firefighter ontheside]

Interesting idea with the rock salt on the stump.  We could do that on the bigger ones.  I wonder if the deer would come around and lick on it.  These pears grow up from the roots just like aspen do, though I don't think they spread in the same way as aspen.  I could be wrong about that.  I tried to grow aspen trees here about 15 years ago.  I bought 5 saplings and they did great for several years and grew to about 20 feet tall.  Then the 14 and 17 year cicadas coincided and destroyed the aspens.  They seemed to be very attracted to those poor trees.  They have all died now.

Same Tom, I felt like it was very drafty in the back.  These are made with kind of a nylon twill fabric that is not very heavy.  

[DbltreeBelgians]

Tom Tom Tom,
I thought you would learn from my mistakes. ;D My chaps were only 20' away laying in the loader bucket. All I can say is please be safe. It happens in the blink of an eye. 
I have Husqvarna chaps and they been snagged before. They definitely served the purpose.

Brent

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I didn't cut myself so there is that. :D