White Finger

In the thread "Skipless or Skip-Free Chains", I made a comment about White Finger. Does anyone know what I was talking about?

 

Never heard of it. I have finger tips that occasionally go numb.

 

All Stihl owner's manuals warn about it. Apparently long exposure to the vibrations of the saw can be a contributing factor.

 

Raynaud's disease - Symptoms and causes ?

 

A friend of mine has it.
Wears gloves when it's under 75°

 

He likely has PAD ( peripheral arterial disease) in layman terms poor blood flow to extremities

 

Stihl 056 Mag 2 with wore out antivibe, will make you think you have white finger.

 

and carpal tunnel

 

Never heard of it. I use to know a guy who had a green finger problem.

 

So campinspector. What is it?

 

A lesser version of white hands?

 

White finger is what all the old loggers in my family called the hand problems they had as a result of the old saws without any AV.

 

Sawdust Man said it right what the old loggers called it! Vibration of the saw cause damage to the nerves and circulation! The fingers turn white and get very cold. After years of running saws, I've only got it in my throttle finger.

 

I think it's mostly not a problem these days with the newer saws, and gloves, correct?
I've spent a lotta hundreds of hours running early 90's and later saws with no ill effects yet.

 

Heated handle bar helps. My time running saws were 60's,70's & 80's . Have probably done 400 cords for fun since then .