Tell me something stupid you did!
- Thread starter Toomuchsawdust
- Start date
Toomuchsawdust
Participating member
- Location
- Chesapeake
Kris Anderson
Participating member
- Location
- Kelowna,BC
Unclipped my lanyard to send my 201 down to get gas. Got it back , finished my cuts let the saw go and it kept going all the way to the ground. Forgot to clip it back on to my harness
123Craig
Participating member
Was natural crotching a Poplar then a Spruce - eventually we decided to use a sling and steel biner - neither the boss (who was on the rope on the ground) nor I at the time countered on the lack of friction in changing the rigging point... After the spuce top that I sent down went 'a little faster than all the other pieces...' - the boss whimpered slightly as the top zoomed to the ground, then quietly scurried out of sight around the house to stick his hands in the snow and try and pick the melted gloves from his skin...
macswan
Been here a while
- Location
- Champlain Valley, VT
Yeah I melted the skin on my left hand a different time trying to slow a rapidly accelerating oak chunk. Very unpleasant.
Daniel
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
or the "take half a wrap and hold tight" when you want it to run and don't trust the groundies..
frashdog
Branched out member
- Location
- Champlain valley, adirondack coast
Some times I just cut shit when I should rope it and I just imagine nothing bad is gonna happen. More then not, nothing really bad has happened. Maybe a hole in the asphalt, smashed mailbox, dent on the rain gutter, limbs ripped off nearby ornamentals, fence rail bent, you know nothing that can be fixed. Those lessons of fixing shit will make you think twice about, just cutting it. So, you'd better get better at just cutting it, to another level when I dialed in darting tops with big saws. You know, planting a top a few feet from the base of the tree, one cut at a super steep angle started on the side till half way then aim it down and cut it loose. Some times I'll set an undercut that will meet my back cut. I had some tops come pretty close to me. If not done properly you could have the top fall on you, or lay out. I do stuff I would never want to be responsible for teaching some one to do. I teach my crew the safest way to do things and have in depth conversation about why I do the things the way I do. I have seen it too many times an inexperienced person just sees some one do something and they believe it was as easy as that person made it look. Then the person goes and eats shit or almost does.
Often I free climb to get into a tree.
Part of me that's not there when I free climb, thinks this behavior is kinda stupid. I have found my self saying out loud, "dude, don't be stupid" With and with out spikes. Easy fun example with spikes would be a big white cedar, hemlock or spruce where you need to get up high in for rigging and tip. Some of these trees if you passed out while climbing, you probably would not make it to the ground. If I have to prune a tree and I can free climb to where I want a tip, I go for it. I only do it when I'm not stressed about it. If I'm at all concerned I'm shooting lines and getting tied. I do not allow anyone who works for me to do it. I had a guy last summer , a 15 year Union utility clearance lineman/climber/foreman, first week I watched him unclip several times to get around stuff, instead of another lanyard or climbing line. He did it while he was panting, smoking a butt, all frustrated, cause his skills and tactics sucked. Oh his hands get all sticky from pine trees then he freaks right out. I had to give him verbal hugs to get him to be productive. When I talked to him about it he tried to say he's good at it and his spikes are sharp. He stopped doing it, at least for the few months while he worked for me.
Ok worst one. Bout 10 years ago, big white birch felled. Holding wood snapped but the butt sat in the stump. My bro/mentor looked at me and we acknowledged the stump/butt deal. I went to limbing, legit second to last limb I started to under cut and I saw the tension being released I stopped as it snapped and the whole log dropped off the butt and rotated to send that last limb over right at my face. The three inch limb made contact just above my chin , just under the bottom lip, worse then a baseball bat to the face. Picked me up off the ground and slammed me down. I lost vision, could still hear the saw next to my head on the ground. I stood up and regained sight except it was crooked like 45 degrees. I ran at my truck to see the damage in the mirror, but I took a big ark and had to cock my head to compensate for the skewed view. No missing teeth, just a big ol split below the lip gushing. The emergency room doc of the day just happen to be an accomplished plastic surgeon. 20 total stitches. 10 on the outside, 5 in the split and 5 inside the mouth. The split never made it through. A bit higher and I'd have lost some teeth, a bit lower and I'd probably gotten a crushed wind pipe. Def stupid.
Often I free climb to get into a tree.
Part of me that's not there when I free climb, thinks this behavior is kinda stupid. I have found my self saying out loud, "dude, don't be stupid" With and with out spikes. Easy fun example with spikes would be a big white cedar, hemlock or spruce where you need to get up high in for rigging and tip. Some of these trees if you passed out while climbing, you probably would not make it to the ground. If I have to prune a tree and I can free climb to where I want a tip, I go for it. I only do it when I'm not stressed about it. If I'm at all concerned I'm shooting lines and getting tied. I do not allow anyone who works for me to do it. I had a guy last summer , a 15 year Union utility clearance lineman/climber/foreman, first week I watched him unclip several times to get around stuff, instead of another lanyard or climbing line. He did it while he was panting, smoking a butt, all frustrated, cause his skills and tactics sucked. Oh his hands get all sticky from pine trees then he freaks right out. I had to give him verbal hugs to get him to be productive. When I talked to him about it he tried to say he's good at it and his spikes are sharp. He stopped doing it, at least for the few months while he worked for me.
Ok worst one. Bout 10 years ago, big white birch felled. Holding wood snapped but the butt sat in the stump. My bro/mentor looked at me and we acknowledged the stump/butt deal. I went to limbing, legit second to last limb I started to under cut and I saw the tension being released I stopped as it snapped and the whole log dropped off the butt and rotated to send that last limb over right at my face. The three inch limb made contact just above my chin , just under the bottom lip, worse then a baseball bat to the face. Picked me up off the ground and slammed me down. I lost vision, could still hear the saw next to my head on the ground. I stood up and regained sight except it was crooked like 45 degrees. I ran at my truck to see the damage in the mirror, but I took a big ark and had to cock my head to compensate for the skewed view. No missing teeth, just a big ol split below the lip gushing. The emergency room doc of the day just happen to be an accomplished plastic surgeon. 20 total stitches. 10 on the outside, 5 in the split and 5 inside the mouth. The split never made it through. A bit higher and I'd have lost some teeth, a bit lower and I'd probably gotten a crushed wind pipe. Def stupid.
Treezybreez
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Lancaster, SC
The next time the ground guy shows up on a job he has his own ultra thick welding gloves.
jmaher
Branched out member
- Location
- new brunswick, canada
I'd been having a bad day. Real bad. Bought a new top handle that morning, that oughta help, right?
Not.
That fucker would NOT idle. Stall everytime I came off the throttle.
Working on a real hairy ash. Taking twigs up the nose, up my arse, slaping me in the face.
After having stalled for the thousandth time that day, I decide "that's it. We're done here. Your flight has just been booked."
I threw that saw out of the tree as hard and as far as I could.
But....
It got about 6' away from me, and just seemed to hang in mid air for what seemed like forever. I thought to myself "what in the h... oh shit no."
That saw swung back at snapped me right between the shoulder blades. In my rage, I'd totally forgot it was lanyarded to the back of my saddle.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Not.
That fucker would NOT idle. Stall everytime I came off the throttle.
Working on a real hairy ash. Taking twigs up the nose, up my arse, slaping me in the face.
After having stalled for the thousandth time that day, I decide "that's it. We're done here. Your flight has just been booked."
I threw that saw out of the tree as hard and as far as I could.
But....
It got about 6' away from me, and just seemed to hang in mid air for what seemed like forever. I thought to myself "what in the h... oh shit no."
That saw swung back at snapped me right between the shoulder blades. In my rage, I'd totally forgot it was lanyarded to the back of my saddle.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
jmaher
Branched out member
- Location
- new brunswick, canada
Another:
Early on in my career we were removing a large maple in a tight back yard. It was fairly tall, so we had some room to let big tops run.
For whatever reason, I clove hitched my rigging line to a branch close to the piece I was taking to keep it out of the way while I cut my notch. Saw ran out of gas in the cut, sent it down to be refueled, and finished the notch with my handsaw while I waited.
Saw came back up, and I ripped through the backcut. And the gutter. And a patio set.
I never retied my rigging line.
Ugh.
Early on in my career we were removing a large maple in a tight back yard. It was fairly tall, so we had some room to let big tops run.
For whatever reason, I clove hitched my rigging line to a branch close to the piece I was taking to keep it out of the way while I cut my notch. Saw ran out of gas in the cut, sent it down to be refueled, and finished the notch with my handsaw while I waited.
Saw came back up, and I ripped through the backcut. And the gutter. And a patio set.
I never retied my rigging line.
Ugh.
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NorCalBrock
Branched out member
- Location
- Chico
This thread and from experience of rage or fear coming right back at me only to bitch-slap me or smash something expensive, solidifies the importance of my spiritual beliefs: "holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of of throwing it at someone (or something) else; you are the one who gets burned". I'm surprised I can still hold anything at all....keep calm and cut on
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JMerritt
Branched out member
- Location
- santa cruz
yup, I've forgotten to tie my rigging line a few times. every time my brain struggles so hard when the piece sails off and doesn't stop.
i think my most epic screw up happened a few years ago tho. 200' fir tree removal in a tiny front yard. hard up against the asphalt driveway, with an open carport only 10 feet away on the opposite side of the drive. there was a car parked in the carport and boss said i couldn't be moved, client was out of town. i should have called off the job right there. i don't of course. we start rigging branches. im climbing and my partner is on the ropes with our groundie dragging brush. of course the branches are 20 foot lond and awkward to maneuver. car gets scratched. takes a full day to limb the tree. go back for day two, boss says bring plywood to protect the car. ok. my partner climbs this time. we start rigging the wood. did i mention that the rope wasnt long enough? anywhoo, there is a small redwood under the tree and stubs/pie cuts are bouncing off it in random directions making us nervious about that f*#king car. partner is into 24"+ wood now and cuts a pie cut, he throws the piece AWAY from the car. what does it do? it boomerangs 180deg from 100' up and HITS THE CAR! smashes the tail light and dents the fender. F*#CK! now were two days in and haven't even finished. day three we have 50' of wood left. i climb and we rig it down to a 16' stick. i decide that's good enough and we can fell the rest. its a really nice log and i want to mill it. with thoughts of preserving as much lumber as possible, i cut a humboldt notch and we put a rope on it to pull. did i mention that it had a slight lean towards the car? yeah so... we have the skidsteer on the rope, we put a bunch of tires and plywood on the driveway for protection and my partner starts the back cut. im pulling with the tractor. stem starts to go right where we want, then all of a sudden my too shallow face cut closes and the holding wood breaks early. log immediately goes 45deg sideways and DESTROYS the rear end of the f*#king car! it also misses our crash pad and puts a huge hole in the asphalt. i also panic and back the skidsteer into our rolloff truck which is parked behind me, bending the wheel rim and blowing the tire off the rim. yeah, not a good day. first thing boss asks when i call is if i had plywood protecting the car
. oh, and the client? yeah, it was my bosses dad, and that day was my bosses birthday. that was not my finest hour.
i think my most epic screw up happened a few years ago tho. 200' fir tree removal in a tiny front yard. hard up against the asphalt driveway, with an open carport only 10 feet away on the opposite side of the drive. there was a car parked in the carport and boss said i couldn't be moved, client was out of town. i should have called off the job right there. i don't of course. we start rigging branches. im climbing and my partner is on the ropes with our groundie dragging brush. of course the branches are 20 foot lond and awkward to maneuver. car gets scratched. takes a full day to limb the tree. go back for day two, boss says bring plywood to protect the car. ok. my partner climbs this time. we start rigging the wood. did i mention that the rope wasnt long enough? anywhoo, there is a small redwood under the tree and stubs/pie cuts are bouncing off it in random directions making us nervious about that f*#king car. partner is into 24"+ wood now and cuts a pie cut, he throws the piece AWAY from the car. what does it do? it boomerangs 180deg from 100' up and HITS THE CAR! smashes the tail light and dents the fender. F*#CK! now were two days in and haven't even finished. day three we have 50' of wood left. i climb and we rig it down to a 16' stick. i decide that's good enough and we can fell the rest. its a really nice log and i want to mill it. with thoughts of preserving as much lumber as possible, i cut a humboldt notch and we put a rope on it to pull. did i mention that it had a slight lean towards the car? yeah so... we have the skidsteer on the rope, we put a bunch of tires and plywood on the driveway for protection and my partner starts the back cut. im pulling with the tractor. stem starts to go right where we want, then all of a sudden my too shallow face cut closes and the holding wood breaks early. log immediately goes 45deg sideways and DESTROYS the rear end of the f*#king car! it also misses our crash pad and puts a huge hole in the asphalt. i also panic and back the skidsteer into our rolloff truck which is parked behind me, bending the wheel rim and blowing the tire off the rim. yeah, not a good day. first thing boss asks when i call is if i had plywood protecting the car
. oh, and the client? yeah, it was my bosses dad, and that day was my bosses birthday. that was not my finest hour.
classictruckman
Participating member
- Location
- Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Canada
Well at least he wasn't worried about the scratch or broken tail light
monkeylove
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Roslyn, Pa.
Just had a small one yesterday. Nothing life or property threatening just as stupid and 100% preventable though. Many of you will know how this ends right after you read the next sentence. So I am terrible with a throwball, but yesterday on my first throw I pull off an 80ft miracle and proceed to tie my rope to the throw line......
Yep, got distracted and forgot to finish off the throw line. The sadness of watching both the line and the rope coming back to the ground on opposite sides of the crotch was painful. Never did make that shot again and had to settle on a lower tie-in and raise it after I got to the first tip.
Yep, got distracted and forgot to finish off the throw line. The sadness of watching both the line and the rope coming back to the ground on opposite sides of the crotch was painful. Never did make that shot again and had to settle on a lower tie-in and raise it after I got to the first tip.
moss
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Carlisle, Massachusetts, U.S.
Great great stories, I feel a little better now after some of the minor dumb stuff I've done that never amounted to much in the long run.
- Location
- Chardon, OH
How many did you want ?
Treezybreez
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Lancaster, SC
Posted it a while back, but it is still funny. http://www.treebuzz.com/forum/threads/sawdust.21356/
A few scary things come to mind. First was a large Tulip tree near a cabin surrounded by national forest. I decided that I had enough room to notch the tree half way up, leave a thick hinge and trip it remotely using a tag line. So I climbed to the top installed my tag line and friction saver, repelled down to the half way point, notched it and made the back cut. Then I remember the chill that went up my spine after I realized that my climbing line was still up there in the top. good thing the top didn't go until we tripped it!
A few scary things come to mind. First was a large Tulip tree near a cabin surrounded by national forest. I decided that I had enough room to notch the tree half way up, leave a thick hinge and trip it remotely using a tag line. So I climbed to the top installed my tag line and friction saver, repelled down to the half way point, notched it and made the back cut. Then I remember the chill that went up my spine after I realized that my climbing line was still up there in the top. good thing the top didn't go until we tripped it!
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Toomuchsawdust
Participating member
- Location
- Chesapeake
TimBr
Official Well Known Greeter
- Location
- Northern Virginia
Now that is a story that I find to be scary.
NE Tree
Branched out member
- Location
- fremont, Ne
We were doing a storm damage cleanup. A large limb ripped off of an ash and landed on the roof of a house pinning the powerline down to the roof but it remained intact. We get the brush off and start cutting some of the logs off and my boss decides that he'll cut the last chunk of log, so that we can lower the last piece and guide it to the ground safely. He starts cutting and BAM, rips completely through the PowerLine to the house. Didn't zap him or anything (I feel like he got extremely lucky). Called the city and told them the tree ripped the power out and that was that.
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