Went to buck a whole bunch of rounds today at my buddy's 50 acre lot that he's clearing. My 034 S was not oiling the bar properly so I shut it down and then used my 028. I was holding the 028 and was worried about that saw not oiling properly so I stupidly rested it on my knee to look at the chain. I had to bend over to look closer because I can't see anything anymore........ And I thought the saw was resting far enough away from my knee.......but I blipped the throttle and whammo, immediately got jammed up on the chaps. When I bent over I must have brought the saw closer and the bottom of the chain under the cover just kissed my chaps....... 2" cut on the the chaps, but it did not go through. No damage to my pants or my person......and it happened so quickly I had zero time to react at all. I stopped cutting after that and cleaned up. It doesn't matter how long you've been using a chainsaw....how experienced you are....how "fast" you think you can react.....anything can happen at any time. I won't be resting the saw on my knee any more. That was a bad decision. This was the 2nd time working on a huge pile of logs like this. First time was the pine score. Cash Larue There's my first aid kit right where I was working........ Time to order some new chaps. Those chaps did exactly what they were supposed to do. I am amazed at the simplicity of it. On the ForestryForum another guy had posted literally the same exact picture with a similar incident.
LordOfTheFlies, amazing how fast it can happen, isn't it? Thank you for sharing. Sometimes we do something that looking back we say "I shouldn't have done that", but sometimes the event just happens and we're not even sure what it was..... Chaps are too cheap and too easy...
I was a bit tired and it was towards the end of the day. I hadn't eaten all day either. All terrible excuses.......suffice to say I learned my lesson.........and was lucky enough to learn it the easy way. And yes, it happened *so* fast it took me a second or two to react and rub my eyes like in the cartoons......
Unless $ is no option, or you’re not good with a needle and thread (heavy heavy thread), you could cut a “patch” from a bottom corner, hem that area back, and apply the transplanted material to yer newly reconfigured knee. Woodwidow can share stitchin’ tips.
Yep, when i hit the chaps in Australia I didn't know it had happened... wondered what was wrong with the saw and why it wouldn't run.... It's scary and humbling. I told the instructor I was done with the saw that day...... All those "excuses"....that's usually when things happen, whether you have chaps on or not.....
Yikes!! Glad you were prepared with chaps and a quality first aid kit! I always wear chaps too. It’s ironic that we were just talking about this on my tourniquet thread
Only if you can thread those fabric strands back in the inside...which we all know the answer to that. Use those cut ones for leg/pants protection when working rounds on the splitter, or running the weedeater. A leg is not worth "saving" the cost of a new pair. Just my .02.
Year of forestry school. Not too far from leoht's stomping grounds. I recommend everyone take that trip!
There was quite a bit of the kevlar that was pulled out....there was a big ol' ball of it that I forgot to take a picture of but that was enough to convince me to get a new pair..... Literally you never know when anything can happen......and the one time you need the chaps or the first aid kit.....and you don't have it.....could be the last time.....That's why I carry a compressor and a small knife in all my vehicles. While you can't prepare for everything you can prepare a little bit. Yeah I concur! Thank you. I appreciate that. Yep my legs are worth $100 for sure. Funny you mention that....I just saw a video on IG where a guy was talking about letting kids do dangerous things carefully.......and while I like to think I am always careful........obviously one cannot always be always careful.......That said I was surprised that a) I didn't lose my composure and b) didn't have an accident in me pants. I was not rushing and wasn't even cutting at the time......and had been pretty deliberate in my movements and overall demeanor all day....... My buddy and his brother were more freaked out than me by a lot. Buddy asked me, with all due respect he said, if wearing chaps made me feel more lackadaisical about safety and I said absolutely not - quite the opposite.
One important safety feature on a saw is the chain brake. Not trying to sound preachy so please dont take it the wrong way. Whenever the saw is not in a cut, 95% of the time i engage the brake. Common sound/sight to see me give it a simple back hand to engage it. The PITA is when i forget to disengage it for the next cut! Hoard on and cut safe my friend.
Nice job on wearing the ppe! I've got a few pair with that same "nick" in them, but not a bit of damage underneath. I carry a spare set just in case. Bad stuff happens fast and ppe can turn a really bad possibility into an oh crap I gotta take a break, get a drink of water and grab my back up set kinda thing. No E R visit, no high dollar co pay and very little lost time. Even a "minor" cut from a saw chain will put you out of commission for at least a day. Worst injury I got was a snake bite kinda stab wound in the back of my leg, the chain pulled the saw into the back of my leg and the felling dawg got me with a set of 1/2 wrap chaps. Band Aid took care of that. Thank you for a good reminder and I'm so glad you suffered no injury!
