# Chainsaw Safety Advice



## Giles (Jan 25, 2010)

Many years ago, when I bought my first chainsaw, I was given some very good and simple advice.
Always keep your left arm straight with your elbow "locked":thumbup:
Many times, I have had the saw kick back and because of the locked elbow joint, the saw would go up instead of back into me!
Practice --it could save your life:thumbsup:


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## Tizzer (Jul 24, 2010)

Buy one that stops the chain after trigger release. I still have a scar on my knee from some 15 yrs ago. :whistling2:


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## meredithglnn49 (Jan 17, 2011)

*chainsaw safety and safety videos*

We use these wumbus tapes to train our men on how to use the chainsaws and it works pretty well- better than most of those other boring OSHA tapes, this one my men are interested in. So here is the site for chainsaw safety with experts perspectives: 
http://wumbus.com/Chainsaw-Safety-Basics-An-Experts-Perspective1618.html

As well as real accidents with real stories:
http://wumbus.com/Chainsaw-Safety-Real-Accidents-Real-Stories1620.html


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## A Squared (Dec 19, 2005)

Tizzer said:


> Buy one that stops the chain after trigger release.


That should be all of them. If your chain doesn't stop when you release the trigger, your idle speed is set too high.


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

There is something very wrong with this picture:

"Many times, I have had the saw kick back"

I have been chain sawing trees and cutting up my own firewood for 20 years now, and my saw has never kicked back. And no, I do not have an anti-kickback device fitted on my bar. Kickback is caused by a very specific type of operation where the nose of the saw contacts a log in an incorrect manner. So far as I can tell, it is almost always preventable, and of course is very dangerous regardless of whether your elbow is locked. If you have had "many kickbacks" over the years, you may want to rethink your technique, or their is something wrong with your equipment.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Agree--kick backs are rare and usually caused by bad technique----

One good item ----chain saw chaps----saves you from leg injuries--


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

oh'mike said:


> Agree--kick backs are rare and usually caused by bad technique----
> 
> One good item ----chain saw chaps----saves you from leg injuries--


Chaps do save the thigh and tib. But not the ankle. Should you hit the ankle, cuting about a 1/3 of the Achilles, $23,000 as of November 2010.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

fireguy said:


> Chaps do save the thigh and tib. But not the ankle. Should you hit the ankle, cuting about a 1/3 of the Achilles, $23,000 as of November 2010.



It's not a good thing for you to know---did you have a nasty slip?


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I had a bad kickback years ago and it was my fault, it ripped the side of my thumb and index finger. I was very blessed that I had just moved my hand to the left or it would have been really bad. Just like Daniel said, the tip of the blade hit and up the saw came, the right hand doesn't let go of the saw, the left one does and if there is no guard in place chances are you are mangled because a chainsaw doesn't cut, it mangles.


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

oh'mike said:


> It's not a good thing for you to know---did you have a nasty slip?


No, not a slip, though there was snow on the ground. We were in Elk Camp, the temps were dropping to -5°F at night. At those temps, we used lots of wood in the tent. My grandson and I went to drop a tree. The tree fell were it was supposed to and I was bucking the trunk and limbing as I worked to the top. I was cutting a small branch and it pushed the tip of hte bar into my ankle. I sent the boy back to the tent to get grandma, my nurse. I started crawling throught the snow towards the tent. The women showed up and helped me to the tent. We met the first ambulance on the road, and I was transported to the closest hospital. They did not have a surgeon who could repair my ankle, so I was shipped to the closest hospital with a surgeon in attendance. I was there, St Joseph in Lewiston for 3 days. I got great care, the surgeon was very well qualified, the anesteologist & I had friends in common and Paige was a great nurse. The only problem, getting the insurance company to pay up. I finally sent the insurance company a letter, with copies to the unpaid providers and the state insurnance board. Then the insurance company paid all but the anestheseologist's bill. Then they raised my monthly insurance cost by $100.00 to $600.00 per month.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Good thing you weren't alone----


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

oh'mike said:


> Good thing you weren't alone----


 
When I think of all the times I worked in the woods alone........

And my girlfriend has 30+ years as a Registered Nurse, worked in ER, charge nurse in ICU, Charge nurse in 2 Adult Living Facilities, started an ambulance service, Industrial Nurse. I met her on an ambulance transfer, and we never bothered with anyone else after that trip.


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