Cut and hold near miss

There are so many risks we take everyday in climbing and cutting trees, and what's clear in this thread is, what may be an acceptable risk by one person is not always an acceptable risk by another. I think, Phil summed it up perfectly.

Yup,I've one handed over the years. Never negeligently, I always felt so anyway. I consiously give it a second thought before ever doing it. Check everything, if it feels right.....

It must have worked over the years, least with the saws anyway. Probably jinx's myself now. Damn!
 
I did it once.

tree-92.jpg


Or twice...

tree-83.jpg


OK one last time...

tree-03.jpg
 
yet another day without injury doin the cut and hold, thats about a year and a half now with out any problems and come tomorrow, ill do it again, and again and again and i wont have any problems then either.
 
Familytree, sure would be a shame to mess up that tattoo with a chainsaw scar.
grin.gif
Just kidin man, I do like the ink though. I'll post one of my friends tat's later.

I think Gerald said it best. Regardless of if you agree or disagree with if you should, I would think you have to admit it is a bit more of a risk to cut one handed, some of us wouldn't give it a second though, some of us wouldn't ever do it. But then if you tell the average person you expect them to use a chainsaw at all 40 feet up, they will tell you no way in h*ll, and yet here we all are.

Just my 2 cents,
Be Safe Everyone
 
10 feet tall and made of kryptonite....

I've worked with people who said "I've been doing this since you've been in diapers college boy...." They get hit, eventually. Scars to prove it. Twice in one day by my own eyes.

You have to respect what a chainsaw can do to something as hard as oak, much less something much more soft and fleshy.
 
I think it also has a lot to do with body positioning. I mean for a lot of one handed cuts the other hand is being used to brace themselves to the tree or to the rope. I think three points of attachment is usually sufficient. That being my harness and two legs. It is pretty rare that I NEED four points if ever to make a cut. setting up a backup fourth point with a lanyard is a nice touch. Backups are good habits. My hands are better used for the more intricate manual aspects of tree care like using cutting implements and managing branches and gear. Not hugging the tree. I forget what we are talking about, cutting and holding or one handing.

Here is something that I do which is probably really bad but i like it. I use my lanyard to hold branches. This is cool because then it is attached to me and can swing over to the drop zone with me. kind of like climbing with a big chainsaw.

Obviously, there is some danger presented here, maybe you could fill me in on some dangers I may not be aware of.
 
My head is spinning , it's not from the beer . C'mon Tom take it to another thread . Everyday is a near miss , using one hand on a small chain saw isn't one of them . There is a lot of team leaders today with little or no experience , that's got to suck .
 
There are different types of climber in the world.

Not to set up a false dichotomy, but many fall into the small, compact, nimble, light 'squirrel' type of climber, and the big, rangey, strong, heavy 'bear' type of climber.

Squirrels can move fast, but have trouble handling large timber and one handing the saw.

Bears generally find it harder to get up quickly and branch walk, but they can grip their 020 like the daddy and manhandle larger chunks of wood.

I'd just like to point out that, at 6'8" and 272lbs, my team leader is a bear, and he still got screwed. Go figure...
 
Whilst we are still climbing and cutting none of us can eliminate the risks, whether they are in the process of getting into the tree or in the process of completing our work when in the tree.

Every one of us assesses those risks and makes decisions based on the outcome of those assessments, we all do it in our heads all the time every day.

Choices to use one hand or two, choices to hold and cut or bypass/snap cut or rig....there are heaps of individual elements that drive the outcomes of our assessments climbing skill and experience not being the least, and production being a biggy too.

For me the dangers and the problems arise when we actually ignore the ever present risks we face, or deny them and do things in the tree (or bucket) that on reflection we should not have done (vis our safety at work) we may not admit this to anyone but we ourselves know at the end of the job or the day on reflection that little voice in our heads (for some quieter than others) telling us
"yeah mate you were lucky the tip of the bar missed your arm/leg etc....
blush.gif
"

We should always value ourselves more than the job, most especially when we are doing the job...whatever decisions you make regarding your cutting.
 
[ QUOTE ]


We should always value ourselves more than the job, most especially when we are doing the job...whatever decisions you make regarding your cutting.

[/ QUOTE ]

just to reiterate.

You're no good if your hurt!
 
Part of the reason using two hands on the saw is so safe may be that the action is slowed down.

Hurrying is the cause of many accidents, and the process of cut & tossing limbs allows the action to proceed without the chance to give another look.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Part of the reason using two hands on the saw is so safe may be that the action is slowed down.

Hurrying is the cause of many accidents, and the process of cut & tossing limbs allows the action to proceed without the chance to give another look.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting point, Oxman.

We have to think in terms of health and safety regulations, too. Your compensation payment will take a beating if it is found that you were working unsafely e.g. cutting through your main line with no back-up line to catch you, reaching over the bar to hold a falling pice. All H&S no-nos and reasons for your employer not to fork out on sick pay and your insurer not to pay up.
 
Like Tom said this is a topic that will never end. Every one should just do what there comfortable with and leave it at that. I feel I'm a pretty safe guy but I cut and pitch everyday. For me its the fastest way to get the job done. Like this morning i took a medium size white pine down maybe 70' at the tip. Nothing could be dropped, so It was ether rope hundreds of branches, or cut and throw. I cut and threw 90% and ropes the ones i could not hold. It took about 2 and half hours, if I roped everything it would have been double that. The one thing i wont do is reach over my saw to hold a branch, if I have to do that I just switch hand and cut with my left. That way there is never a chance to cut your forearm.
 
"The one thing i wont do is reach over my saw to hold a branch, if I have to do that I just switch hand and cut with my left. That way there is never a chance to cut your forearm."

Ok lets up the danger and try it left handed.
Two simple rules that I think have been mentioned maybe once in this post.
-Saws are designed to be used two handed and they are only made in a right hand version.
 
I have been one hand cuting and tossing (left and right handed) for almost two decades without an incident. It's all about using proper judgement. The saftest chainsaw is one that is not running.......and even they can get you!

Take your time, think a lot, think of everything you've got. You will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not. (Cat Stevens, 'Father and Son')
 
Jeremy9, what kind of handsaw do you have. What size were those pine limbs. I am sure that I would have cut and thrown everything out of that pine too. But pine limbs are normally two good strokes before they break over and a third stroke to cut the strap. Chainsaw is overkill on most pines I would think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom