Springpoles

Bro. Noble · February 25, 2005, 04:21:38 PM

Devo's close call promped me to post about a close one I had about a year ago. It would have been a contender for the 'funniest video' show if I had a tape of it. It wasn't funny to me and still causes me to shudder at what could have happened ( I don't think the show is funny either as far as that goes).

Springpoles are always a problem with us and I always watch for them. Still got taken to the ER because of one, but that was a different story.

Last year We had just cut a huge sycamore along the creek and it fell in brush so thick you could barely walk. I was making my way down one side of the tree marking where it should be bucked and trimming limbs. Saw a big springpole under the sycamore. It was 6 or 8 inches in diameter but I wasn't worried about it cause the base was on the otherside of the sycamore from me. I cut the top (which was on my side) expecting it to spring up with all kinds of force. Nothing happened and I wondered why but then went on measuring and trimming. Cut the sycamore off at the end of the last log and proceded down the other side trimming limbs. Pretty soon I cut this little limb off and then realized I was in kind of a stupor. My hands were sticking out in front of me as if I were sawing, but there was no saw. My son backed up the tractor to winch the tree in and asked "where's your saw" I looked at my hands which were still in sawing position and were kinda hurting like they had been rapped and told Tom I didn't know where my saw was. Just then my 066 dropped out of the sky about 10 yards away (still running). I went over and picked it up and continued trimming. Tom shook his head and we never mentioned it-----till now. :

Paul_H · February 25, 2005, 05:05:54 PM

Wow,that was a close call

It was all over before you knew what happened.Didn't sound like Tom was too sympathetic :D

devo · February 25, 2005, 08:17:24 PM

Thanks for posting that Bro. Noble. When I started my thread I was kinda hoping some others might post some of thier own close calls too. To my way of thinking this is one of the most important and valueble sections on the forum, but yet one of the least utilized, and possibly least viewed. Its my hope that if more people post some of thier stories (yes they are hard to admit to), maybe more people will view this section, and just maybe someone will be saved a lot of pain, or worse. Any chance of hearing the other story?

Bro. Noble · February 25, 2005, 08:48:32 PM

The other time wasn't so interesting and was a lot bloodier :-\

Dropped an oak that was in a bunch of brush. Told Tom to pull it just a little so I could get to where I wanted to cut the top off a little easier. Started down one side trimming and marking the log lengths like I always do. Came to a springpole, probably 3 inches diameter. Started to cut it like the book says------cut it in the middle of the bow very lightly, slowly releasing the tension. Well, I barely toutched the DanG thing and it exploded. Flipped the saw ene- for-end instantaniously. The chain brake did work, but the saw spun so fast that the cutters were driven to the bone. It took us about 20 or 30 minutes to get back where we were cutting. Tom with the tractor and wagon and me in the old log truck. He had a torniquet on me and had me to the house in 10 minutes. Took a shortcut where a log truck had never been before :D :D Had logs strung from here to yonder ;D

Those springpoles don't behave right when they are bent over and then pulled so that they also have torque on them >:(

tnlogger · February 26, 2005, 12:12:33 PM

now Bro. Noble i can relate to that one. When we first moved to tenn i took a job falling and skidding for a man. we were cutting a track for a farmer you had three gates to open and close to get to the landing. Now i've cut timber all my life since i was old enough to hold a saw so i should have known better.
Well i cut this big hard maple way up in a hollow it just sat on it top with the butt about 2ft off the ground. I just jumped up on the trunk and started to break it down.
when i got to the crotch i turn around to get off and there was a small limb i misses yup whetnt to pop it off saw jumped right across my left boot. I knew i had cut my foot just not how bad. I got on the skidder and headed for the landing and when i got to it there was a big pool of blood on skidder and i knew it was pretty bad. i got in the pickup and had to open and close all the gates on the way out. i had to go by the house on the way to the er so i stoped and layed on the horn for pat to get out there.
the moral iis after 4hrs in the er and six wks on my tail i learned that no matter how good you think you are you can get hurt . I was lucky they saved my foot could have been a lot worse. wear safty equipment no matter how good you think you are.

sawguy21 · February 27, 2005, 08:13:14 PM

And never go out alone. The buddy should be at least two tree lengths away but in visual contact.

Kirk_Allen · March 01, 2005, 09:59:54 PM

While limbing the Spruce last week not only did I break a couple ribs, I got smacked real good in the side of the knee by a spring-limb. It was on one of the 28" Spruce. The tree was laying on flat ground and we were trimming limbs from bottom to the top. We would leave the bottom limbs and cut in a fasion that permitted the tree to roll over once we got to the top. After it rolled over we could get the rest of the bottom limbs and buck the logs to length.

One of those larger limbs still had tension from the weight of the tree. When I barely touched it the branch exploded and a 2" round section snapped up and hit me square in the side of the knee. Didnt hurt to bad compared to the ribs but you should see the knee now. I would have never guessed it would turn so black and blue.