Being younger, I can't believe how fast you healed up! This little Cordless Stihl saw which Woodwidow gave me for Christmas 2012 has found my fallers pants twice and to the best of my memory, I've never done that with a production saw. My only regret is that we never got a picture of the damage to the pants before they went into the garbage!
Glad you didn't get it worse Scotty. I always wear chaps after my good friend bought them for me. Well almost always, I got in a hurry a couple years ago because I only had about 90 minutes of daylight and forgot to put them on. I have 2 patches on a pair of jeans where the saw grazed me but didn't get my skin. Wake up call.
I would part with it and stay with what you are comfortable with. That saw must have a balance to it that you find difficult. I gave away my big saw when it became too heavy for me. Now have a small saw that is more than adequate.
There is one piece of safety gear that never gets mentioned and I firmly believe in it. When Campinspecter went out the door to work or to play with firewood, I always made sure he got a kiss goodbye. I read somewhere a long time ago that that was very effective safety procedure. Accidents happen because of mental mistakes just as much as physical ones. Scotty mentioned his of "get thereitis" or "get her done" with him distracted by the storm moving in. When we were flying, "get thereitis" was a common error that got pilots in trouble.
Glad that you are ok Scotty. My big learning moment came when a small dead branch came out of a tree as it was going over. It barely knicked my brow and ripped my glasses off my face. It is a helmet for me all the time now when running a saw.
I wear ear muffs when I'm sawing a stack of logs now and a helmet w/ear muffs when ever I'm cutting stuff above my head.
Amen, Woodwidow! My wife always gives me those on the way out the door. That's also some of the best medicine, too!
That camp is adjacent to my grandparents property in Indiana. They knew the director that was killed. I just heard about it a few days ago when I was talking to them on the phone. That camp is beautiful property too.
Thanks for posting this... makes you think for a few minutes. Scotty, glad all worked out and you weren't hurt any worse. I've thought about them chaps several times. May have to check into them a little closer. Cant always tempt faint....
An old timer was telling me of a time he was cutting a tree down. He was making the cut and the next thing he knew he was laying on the ground with a limb beside him, a bloody head and a running chainsaw next to him. Then he went home and got chewed out by his wife. The next week I bought a Stihl forestry helmet. I am not invincible.
Great thread...as stated we can all think of that "one time" that we got lucky. Also we have to think about someone knows where we are and to have a cell phone handy (I sometimes forget it in the truck).
Still does.. Did you get the helmet so you can survive the azz chewing from your wife? Always good to properly treat a wound no matter how small. You going to the beach with that "to heal" makes me think about the occasional article that pops up in the news about how someone went to the ocean, the lake, the river etc and contracted some kind of flesh eating bacteria and either lost a limb or their life... Once the wound is stabilized, your battle might not yet be done. Vibrio enters the body through open wounds. Unlike the advice many of us received from mothers and grandmothers to "clean" cuts by wading in beach water, entering salty waters in beaches or fishing areas with cuts or wounds is not recommended. http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/health/2014/08/04/vibrio-vulnificus-flesh-eating-bacteria/13580615/
Hardhat gloves and coverals. Hearing muffs too if u gotem.. widowmakers pop up out of the blue usually dont see em comin.
Always wear eye protection, not much else. Occasionally a hard hat, mostly because I am Bald and it protects me from the sun and allows air circulation. sometimes I wear it even when I mow. My worst injury was push mowing, hit a piece of steel and it came back thru my lower leg. Wife and Neighbor totally freaked out. If I had not remained calm I probably would of bled out in my front yard. I had to sit down, pull it out and apply pressure until I was able to get to the hospital for stitches.
I have a hard time wearing chaps, they are just so loose and un-comfortable they seem to make it more dangerous to me. But I also don't like cutting without them! I would LOVE to get a pair of those pants instead, then I could wear them! So where can you get those pants???
