I'm not a professional logger but I have been cutting for around 30+ years. Mostly firewood and clearing jobs here and there. I've had some formal training as well. I always wear my helmet and this weekend made it clear why I should.
We have a cost-share program with NCRS going to remove invasive species from our farm/forest land. In the process, I have been thinning trees in the area we are reclaiming. Many trees were killed by vines, storm damaged, etc. I was cutting a small storm damaged maple next to a very large one that was also damaged and covered in vines.
The tree I was cutting was bent over almost touching the ground and was only about 8" in diameter. This was going to be salvaged as firewood and the stump pulled so I didn't notch it and just cut the back side. As it was slowly falling I stayed at the stump continuing to cut. It must have caught some of the vines in the tree next to it which dislodged a large dead maple branch. 5" at the thick end and 4' long, it fell and hit me on my helmet near my temple. It tore off the face shield and ear protection on that side as well as ripping my glasses off (never found them either). It knocked me to the ground.
Thankfully, I wasn't seriously injured. My neck is stiff today and my head is tender to touch but I never got nauseous, etc. so I think I escaped a concussion. The helmet showed signs of stress damage (white lines in the orange helmet) besides the afore-mentioned damage so it took a serious hit. I spent the rest of the day using my old semi-retired Husqvarna helmet (I retired it for the fact that it had only a 4 point suspension system).
Coincidentally, I recently had my friend in Germany buy me a new style Husqvarna helmet which a fellow colleague (my big boss) will bring to me at the end of this month when he visits for an R&D summit at our location. Now I really can't wait to get it!
It's been right at 5 years since i made the post "Nearly went to the show room today ". i had almost the same thing happen to me except I didnt have a helmet on. I haven't cut one since without a hard hat on. There is a picture in my gallery showing my bloody head. A reminder ever now and again might help someone. Banjo
Banjo
How many pics in your gallery do we need to look through to find it? ;)
I found the thread; LINK (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,46180.msg664839.html#msg664839)
Beenthere its under the album Tims favorite stuff and the picture is named bonk on the head. I thought the picture was in the post, but maybe was offensive and got took out. Its been 5years i might not have put it in there. Thanks for the link Lynn...i need to learn how to do that. Banjo
I wish that I had not looked. :o :-\
That was after Deb had done a little clean up and I had made it to the house. Banjo
I do remember seeing the picture so it was posted somewhere.
Happened to me too, once. Hard hat probably saved my life.
Helmets have saved my noggin' on more than one occasion.
I wear a hardhat when cutting wood. Wife has one too. She does not help me in the woods,but will come visit me for a while when I am cutting. I have not had a few small branches hit the hard hat. But looking around I see some good size branches that have fallen when I am not there. I keep a small section of wood cleaned up by the house. I pick up some that have stuck into the ground.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN1175.JPG)
This whack made me realize that I needed this.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN1339.JPG)
That picture reminds me of a blind mule...it don't look good. Banjo
Here is the new helmet I bought. I should get it in a couple of weeks...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1n3btD49jw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1n3btD49jw)
It is good to see manufacturers being innovative and making improvements. 8)
Looks like a nice helmet, and addresses some of the issues I have with my current helmet: too hot, and weight aggravates an old neck injury. My old helmet is likely well past it's 5 year recommended replacement date (though I don't log full time, so has not had as much UV exposure as a pro's helmet may see), so I'm nosing around for a new one anyway.
Do any of our forum sponsors carry this model?
Wow! MSRP of $130 on the Husqvarna Technical Forest Helmet.
Quote from: John Mc on October 07, 2015, 11:41:09 AM
Wow! MSRP of $130 on the Husqvarna Technical Forest Helmet.
Yup, pricey. I got mine for $80 U.S. on German ebay, brand new in the box. Sometimes it pays to work for a German owned business and have friends there.... ;)
Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on October 07, 2015, 11:55:44 AM
Yup, pricey. I got mine for $80 U.S. on German ebay, brand new in the box. Sometimes it pays to work for a German owned business and have friends there.... ;)
Local dealer wants $145 to order me one... they do not stock it. If I had a shot at one for $80, I make the jump. For $145, I'm not in so much of a rush.
BTW DeerMeadowFarm, where in Central MA are you? I have a brother in Shutesbury, and my Mother grew up in Worcester.
Hi John - I'm in Warren, MA. About halfway between Worcester and Springfield. I grew up in Fiskdale which is a small part of Sturbridge.
Yes, $145 was too much for me as well. But a lot of forestry stuff comes out in Europe first it seems so I looked at Germany seeing as how I have friends and colleagues there. $80 was a buy-it-now price so my buddy jumped on it for me. My boss's boss (Uwe) is from Germany and is coming out here at the end of the month so he offered to mule it to me. It's not a problem for them because they usually want us to buy things in the US for them to take back with them so we always help each other out.
What I learned when I asked Uwe to bring it back for me is that his friend is the local Husqvarna dealer in his village so when he is here to visit I plan to see what else he can get me with his friend's discount! ;D
At age nearly 78 ( on Friday) i have worked in the woods most of my adult life, not logging per se but doing a lot of woodlot improvement in my younger years.
I have been smacked 3 times that i can remember always with a hard hat on.
The last and most serious was in 1995 when I got hit on the head,glancing off on the right side of my hard hat ripping the ear muff off and driving my left leg into the ground, stunning me pretty good.
I was working only about 3/4 mile from my home so called my wife thank the lord for cell phones, and she came home and took me to the hospital.
The upshot was I had a severe concussion and my left ACL was ruptured.
After surgery and recovery from the concussion I still cut my ow firewood and do a bit of Hemlock logging near my home for the sawmill.
I consider myself to be a safe worker, but stuff happens to the best of us.
I am not sure I should include myself in the best category.
You really don't even have to be doing anything in the bush to be hurt. My friend was floored by a falling branch from a tree behind him on the other side of a farm road. His tree could not touch it and unless the vibration of the chainsaw managed to cause it to fall it came down just because. When you think of the amount of crap that falls from the sky in the woods even hikers should wear helmets.
Hunters too!!! There have been many times that we hear a crash when we are outside and hear a branch fall. Sometimes we even get to see it fall.
Once we heard something and saw a pileated woodpecker take off and than we saw the branch hit the ground.
I have a ~30"+ Red Oak to drop tomorrow. Helmet, chaps, and everything else that I can think of.
Since joining this forum I now always wear my helmet when I cut a tree. I never used one before but have done other dumb things too. Also I find myself cutting some bigger trees to mill and I am scared of every one I cut on our steep hill sides and don't ever want to become complacent about them.
Right now I need to wear my hard hat in the yard till the walnuts and butternuts quit falling. We seem to have a record crop this year.
Just heard that a local person was killed yesterday afternoon here in Wexford County when a tree fell on him while he was cutting firewood. Friends went out to search for him when he didn't return home and found him dead on site. Don't know any of the details yet.
Remember that woods-working is still the "most dangerous" job out there.
News release today.
WPBN/WGTU — WEXFORD CO.-- A man was killed after a tree fell on top of him while he was cutting firewood.
The incident happened Saturday around 5 p.m. in the woods near the intersection of W 44 1/2 Rd and S 7 1/2 Rd.
According to the Wexford County Sheriff's Office, 64-year-old Robert Cieslak was in the woods cutting multiple trees at a time for firewood when one of the trees fell on him.
Deputies say friends of Cieslak went to search for him because he was late returning home when they found him in the woods.
Cieslak was pronounced dead at the scene.
That is so very sad. :-\
"Cutting multiple trees at a time"?
I would think felling multiple trees before skidding/bucking. Probably had a hangup.
There is a technique called domino falling, which is incredibly dangerous. You notch and back-cut one tree, then do the same to a tree behind it, then repeat. Finally you wedge over the tree at the back of the row and it (in theory) takes down the others like a row of dominoes.
Usually you end up with a dangerous mess on the ground. That's if things go well.
I'd heard of domino falling. I didn't think anyone actually did it (other than a couple of candidates for a Darwin Award on YouTube)
Many years ago an experienced professional tree faller told me he would do it if he had two or three trees to fall, with their branches all tangled together. He said it was a last resort and if he had a choice he'd just walk away and leave them.
I bought my current helmet from Chainsawyer for $45, works great.
Well my new helmet was hand-delivered to me from Germany yesterday. I like it a lot!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/002~4.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/001~5.JPG)
8) How is it for weight and comfort?
Very light and fits great!
One thing I really like is the screen is so fine, it's like I'm not wearing one. I find myself trying to pull my screen down and it already is down. BIG improvement over my last helmet that made everything seem darker when it was down!
Someday I need to invest in a new "name brand" helmet (something I can get replacement parts for easily). My old helmet lacks hearing protection thanks to a mouse who confused the ear muffs for an outhouse. >:(
I haven't been in a huge rush as I usually to flip up the hearing protection when felling but it does leave me tramping around the woods in just ear muffs and safety glasses during the time spent limbing out the log. I spend a lot of time looking up for hangers after the tree hits the ground. ::)