Saw an interest segement on ATOH about safety chaps for chainsaw users. Padded with ballistic (nylon? Kevlar?) cords that jam the saw blade once they get drawn into the saw. The other side of the chap was unharmed. Very effective and pretty cheap to make/own (I assume).
The also recommended full face, head and hearing protection. I definitely use a full face mask for any kind of sawing (bought a few masks to store with EVERY saw). I decided that was pretty cheap insurance after reading posts here and elsewhere about horrific eye injuries that could have been prevented by goggles or a mask. Also partly due to a rogue piece of plastic pipe that shattered as I was sawing it.
They also showed a neat anti-squeak kit that included an interesting drill guide and special screws. A depth gauge helps insert the screw so that the pre-weakened break point is level with the top of the subfloor. Then the tool turns on its side to break off the head of the screw (in this case under the carpet). Sweet. Reminds me that there's nothing quite like "the right tool for the job."
They can be hot in the summer. otoh, even if they never save you from a chainsaw they pad your knees if you're kneeling on rocks and save you from jabs by sharp branches.
That's good to know. The chaps/aprons are a little like the table saw device that won't saw your finger off. There are three differences. One, it seems far less damaging to the saw, two, it's cheap by comparison and three, it's not being shoved down our throats by the Feds - yet.
My own experience tells me that chain sawing is more dangerous than table sawing since I've rarely lost my footing with the RAS but I have when trying to saw a fallen tree into bite-sized chunks.
The Feds shoved them down my throat :) To clarify, the USFS was signing my paychecks and they're big on safety gear. Most of the chaps were well worn and had battle scars which made me think it might be a good idea. When you're cutting a trail with a Stihl some unexpected stuff can happen.
When you're limbing out a tree it's not hard to find something that wants to throw the saw back at you.
It probably doesn't matter much given how much damage a power saw of any kind can do to human flesh and bone in just milliseconds.
With a RAS or a table saw the most common injuries are sawing off some fingers. Continuing to run for a RAS or table saw probably doesn't inflict much more damage after your fingers are gone unless you're slowly feeding what's left of you into the spinning blade, a la Perils of Pauline.
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Look at the injury frequency chart above and it's clear that a chain saw inflicts a lot more potential damage than finger amputations. If you've got a strong stomach, look at some of the pictures. If I were still using a chain-saw, I'd certainly spring for the chaps based on where I'd be likely to injure myself.
FWIW, that "dead man's" switch on the chain saw probably came after some pretty gruesome accidents with a run-a-way chain saw. I imagine that it could use its blade like a half-track and drag itself along the ground looking for victims. I remember the first time a RAS walked on me and dragged the saw head over the work as it rammed its way toward me. Bad height setting on the blade - easy to do if you change heights often.
And yet some entertainers juggle running chainsaws. I'll bet at least some dumb kid out there watching such feats has tried it on his own with less than stellar results. I'd guess at least one chainsaw head injury of the
2,826 that occurred in 1999 was acquired that way.
Speaking of chain sawing I saw a neat trick on ATOH yesterday. To prevent the bark from ripping when sawing off a limb, he made a small cut on the bottom so that when the branch's weight might normally cause the limb to break off with torn bark, the reverse cut left a clean break. Kewl.
To clarify on my part, as far as I know chain saw makers aren't being forced to sell the chaps along with the saws - yet. (-; IIRC, RA and table saws have to have that saw blade stopping device installed on them at the factory.
Isn't that funny how that works? The framed display of the many exploded and shredded shotgun barrels they keep at the skeet range always reminds me to carry my weapon high and not let it get a mud plug. One of the barrels exploded into still connected bands that made it look like a beer barrel with every other stave removed. A lot of explosive power, even in those itty bitty .410 shells.
I agree. Aside from bad footing, all sorts of gotchas are lurking out there. A friend sawed into a wasp's nest once - thank god for dead man's switches. They were not happy about losing their home.
Yes. My RAS has chucked shaper bits at my head and splattered me with plastic and wood chips, but it's never "come after" me the way a chain saw can. I remember watching them fell a huge red maple in front of the house. It was very close to the structure so they had it tethered by a crane and stakes in the ground. When they made the final bottom cut on the remains of the trunk - maybe 12' long - the thing broke free and swayed perilously as the crane and the side ropes now supported the free-swinging trunk. Lots of funny things can happen as the saw finally cuts all the way through and many of them are very bad things.
When it was time to cut the huge tree in the back (on my dime, not the county's) I hired someone recommended by a neighbor. A tiny little French Candian spider monkey who climbed as high as he could go and then sawed his way to the ground. Very impressive. He kept the ground crew very busy as huge limbs crashed to the ground. When it was time to pay him, I got a close up look at very, very profoundly scarred arms. I could only imagine how banged up the rest of him was. I'll bet a USFS trained sawyer would blanche at how cavalier some lumber jacks are about safety.
As you noted, any number of angry limbs tried to swat him off the tree as the branches fell and things bounced around. His coworkers told me he falls out of trees (with the chainsaw) at least once every year. I guess that's why they get the big bucks.
Those residential guys earn it. When you're felling out in the woods and it doesn't go the way you planned, you just pretend that's exactly what you meant to do. Of course, there are the widowmakers waiting for you.
Still, it's less nerve wracking than the potential maple meets Mercedes fiasco.
Got a real problem tree to deal with this winter. Too close to both houses and taller than both. It's going to be a bitch to take it down without running into *something.* Hopefully my tree-monkey Canuck lumber jack will be able to bring it down relatively safely.
I saw the episode as well and thought it rather interesting. But didn't know about the 'squeak no more' screws, it was interesting as well. I've a few squeaks in the flooring in my 75+ year old house.
I obviously had never seen the screws (or failed to remember them) as well. I still have this horrible vision of someone cutting their foot open on a "break off" gone bad. Sort of like "breaking bad." )-: Anyway, ouch!
Not hard to do. Drop the power head, use other bar/chain on it and cut the other bar/chain free. Just did it a gain the other day but in my case it is "drop powerhead, use second saw to free up the bar/chain".
Of course the "drop power head" works best if you have a Stihl or other brand with an inboard clutch.
I got the impression you cut a *very* shallow kerf through the rough outer bark to keep from doing exactly that. I imagine if that happens you make a Y pole with a long stem using some light framing lumber and get a friend(s) to lift the branch whose weight has clamped the saw.
You don't have to worry about me pinching a blade. Gave away my CS (really crappy electric) and use a Sawzall clone with a big wood-cutting blade. If that doesn't cut it (arf arf) I summon the elvish French-Canadian spider monkey man who uses a chainsaw about 3/4's as big as he is.
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