How dangerous are chainsaws?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article607350.ece

http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/kidz/gore/kickback.shtml

http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1484363/01142004/nugent_ted.jhtml

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-flspdolphins17sbjul17,0,6302206.story

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2827543930040702215EjwzYc

Was looking for really gory pics but this is all I could find. Last one is best and yes the chain saw is running.

laughingsmiley.gif
 
Last edited:
Take it from someone who has been their, done it & got the t-shirt chainsaws are deadly.
Even after many years of using chainsaws with different guide-bars up to 36" they are all dangerous.
1 mistake and your dead!!!

A story that was around the time after the 87 storm goes like this:
A local man went and bought a chainsaw at a local DIY store. The safety kit offered included a pair of rigger gloves & ear defenders. The bloke gets home fuels up the saw & climbs the tree to cut a branch, he got kick back (this is when the chain hits a knot or a bit of dirt) a few minutes later his wife comes out of the house to see the saw on the ground still on & what looks like a football next to it. But it's not a football.........................................................It's her husbands head!
 
Yeah, gotta go with that. To use John's words when he taught me how to use one. Always treat it with respect & never take it for granted, because this thing is lethal!
Have to admit we've never used protective trousers etc though. Just ear & eye protectors. but then, we've only had to actually bring a tree down once, some moron had planted it right up against the house, I'm sure it looked very pretty when it was 10, 20, 30 foot tall. Still looked good when we took it down. But we were fond of the house so it has to go. It was about fourty foot & less than 10 foot away from the deck (& it was an Australian Hardwood so very heavy) so once the branches were off we had to take the trunk down in sections. Not a fun time.
John's had to climb around a few trees taking branches off. That always scares the **** out of me, but then, it scares the **** out of John too so he is very careful. Mostly though we're just doing firewood. John cuts it into rounds... & when it's nice & dry I get the axe out & chop it up. Always loved chopping wood. Very satisfying job.
The chainsaw itself has a safety grip so if you let go the chain stops turning. But kick-back is your biggest risk. No warning. & it can kick HARD.
If you really want to use one then make sure you get someone who knows what they're doing to teach you how!
 
Waynos_Face said:
When i was 15-16 i used to do a bit of work over the summer for my uncle who owns a landscape gardening business in hednesford.

I only got the crap jobs, tidying up and stuff, but i did get a lesson on chainsaws as we used them frequently, he had some very skilled people working for him who could trim bushes into dinosaurs and stuff.

But one of his guys, even with the protective equipment on (its a bit like chainmail, steel mesh) and whilst he was chopping down a small tree managed to lose control of the chainsaw,(there was a metal retainer rod in the tree) it bucked and took most of his arm away. They "track" when they hit something hard like a bone and it followed that from his bicep to his wrist.

This was a small chainsaw, 18 inch blade.

In a word "lethal"
Click to expand...

They can be extremely lethal and I'll add that you also have to know what you are doing when you intend to cut down a mature tree.

It isn't just a matter of cutting through the trunk.

Condition of tree is also important. There are some so dangerously rotted that even professional fallers won't go near them but opt for other methods to deal with them.
 
Spezi said:
There are some so dangerously rotted that even professional fallers won't go near them but opt for other methods to deal with them.
Click to expand...


What other methods do they use..? Do they blow them up..? Cool, I like blowing things up..I wanna become a feller...lol
 
I am reminded of the Knight scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian...

'Tis but a fleshwound'

Or perhaps Metallica's 'One'

:)
 
Back
Top