The Trees are Fighting Back!

[Gary_C]

I am finishing cutting on a big logging job. After cutting over 600 cords with the harvester, I am cutting the Red Oak sawtimber so I carry the chainsaw on the harvester to cut the doubles and trees too large to cut with the head. I have had all the safety training and know that over 70 per cent of all logging injuries are caused by falling objects.

However, yesterday my hard hat was in the back of the pickup somewhere as I rarely need it and I just forgot it.

I was very careful to look up for limbs or other loose objects before I cut any tree down. I just cut a 22 inch red oak and it fell just where it was supposed to and I was about to walk back to the harvester when something whacked me on the forehead and down across my nose. I still do not know what hit me or where it came from. There was a 4 inch basswood that was brushed by one of the red oak limbs and it sprang back, However I did not see and pieces flying back and the red oak was on the ground. I assume the piece that hit me came from above but I looked up earlier and saw nothing and was really not under any limbs.  ???

Today I have a silver dollar sized red bump on my forehead and a very skinned up nose. Shame on me for not wearing that hard hat. I do know better.  :-[

Sometimes those trees do fight back.

[Ianab]

Yup.. I live in my forestry helmet when I'm running the chainsaw or mill. It just has the face shield, muffs and the hat all in one unit. Whether its chainsaw chips, flying debris from a tree, lumps of wood off the mill or even just walking into a low hanging branch stub it's some protection 

Cheers

Ian

[Kevin]

I still do not know what hit me or where it came from

Could it have been the wife?  :D

Lucky lesson there Gary, thanks for reminding the rest of us.

[RSteiner]

Normally once the saw has been statred my helmet does not come off until the end of the day.  There have been a couple of times I can remember being hit on the head by something from above unexpectedly long after and sometimes before felling anything.  Sometimes the wind has liberated a dead branch or it just took a long time for one that was hit by a falling tree to let go.

When that happens it really gets my attention, it is amasing how small a piece can sound like something huge.   You wonder what in the world was that and is there more following it. 

Glad to hear that you only have a little lump and scrape.

Randy

[Burlkraft]

Yeah Gary...... ya better watch out. That area of blow downs ya got there have a lot of potential widdow makes hangin' up there >:( >:( >:(

It just takes an instant........

[rebocardo]

I had a customer that wanted to help to save costs, which was okay. I would not let him help in the area while I was shooting lines because he did not have a helmet. Told him because branches might fall and the lead weight on his head might not feel too good either. The attitude was I was over doing it, but, he stood clear.

I was just standing under some trees cutting some line when he yelled "look out" so I squatted and covered my neck. 2" rotted branch landed on my helmet that the wind broke out of the tree. Hardly felt it with the helmet on.

Lesson taught  ;)

[boboak]

 Every ding and nick in my Mac-T and chaps is a reminder of what can go wrong.  When I first started working in the woods an old time bull-buck told me "It's not the things you see that get you hurt...its the things you see and ignore that'll get you"

[9shooter]

My brother-in-law was out to cruise a piece before bidding on the sale. Being that it was a chilly October day he trew on the hardhat and went for his walk. It was windy and he says next thing he knows he's getting up off the ground, and the hard hat is laying a few feet away. He said the branch hit him so hard it felt like it drove him 2 ft. into the ground. I told him the trees were just protecting themselves from his reputation. 

[beenthere]

Gary_C
How's the "nose job" coming, and the logging job?  Hope it's been going well for you.

[Gary_C]

beenthere

All done cutting. The whole site is now a real mess and I had to drive over downed trees at the end. I was done last Monday and have now started the massive forwarding work, hopefully will be done before it snows but starting this Saturday I have to hide from 17 days of twin city deer hunters!  I may have to work at night.

I am heading back tonight after two days home to get some work done here.

My nose and face are all healed up so I don't have to explain that embarassment any more.

I did have another incident that reminded me of the dangers of felling trees. I was cutting a large red oak with the harvester and had checked the top and all trees around for loose parts. With a good sharp chain I can usually cut clear through the base and then tip the tree over when I know my bar is clear. When I forced this one over, sometimes they will just stand there, I thought the tree was going down too fast and I looked up and the top 1/3 was actually broken and was falling back toward me. Lucky I was in the harvester and still had some control of that tree, but that top fell close to the stump. There was no sign of the damage before I cut that tree.

Keep looking up, but don,t get too comfortable because you looked.