Chainsaw excitement

[Andy Mac]

Evening all,
Just thought I'd relate something that happened to me this afternoon. I was in the firewood cutting mode, and had brought out my petrol chainsaw, a little 026 Stihl. Unfortunatley I' just found a stack of salvaged slab timber from a cattle yard was infested with termites, but no surprised.
So I was into and firewood it became:mad:, when I noticed the chain seem to be looking a bit slack. Didn't worry me too much, because it wasn't long ago I'd adjusted it, and was on the last piece. Next thing I know the bl88dy side cover fell off onto the wood, and as the thought "Doesn't that bit hold the chainbar on?!" flashed through my mind, the chainbar pitched forward and the chain slowly unravelled!!:eek:. I was amazed (and relieved) at the slowness that it all happened...I always expected the chain would whip around and get all tangled in the cut. I switched off quickly, and pulled the engine and handle, all that was left, away from the job, and what I really noticed was how long it took for the motor to come to a stop.
No damage to chain or bar that I could see. I found one of the side cover nuts in the dirt and sawdust, but have lost the other. I think there is a message in there somewhere, about not being complacent about pre-start checks.

Cheers,

[Wood Butcher]

Andy, You one really lucky man!!!

[bitingmidge]

I wish I wasn't scared of chainsaws, but I am. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Glad it worked out THIS TIME.

P

[echnidna]

A relatively safe mishap though.
Because of the way chainsaws are made you stand left of the the cover.
The chain can only come off to the right.
Unless it snaps, thats why you should never stand inline with the bar.

But it is a character building event.

[RufflyRustic]

Geez Andy! Glad you are ok.

I'm with Midge, I prefer to stay away from chainsaws too.

cheers
Wendy

[journeyman Mick]

Andy,
are you sure that it happened really slowly? Just my experience on a couple of occasions when things have gone wrong (falling through a very high shed roof, being hit by a drunkdriver causing my car to flip 3 times) the adrenalin seems to kick in really quickly and things that probably only took seconds (or fractions thereof) seem to take forever. I can still recall every fine detail of those two events and they happened over twenty years ago. Glad to hear you're safe (note to self, check bolts on bar next time I use saw )

Mick

[Groggy]

My dad worked in the forestry industry for a while, some of the stories his mates told were frightening: sliced legs, lost nadgers, severed arteries...

Your a lucky guy Andy, glad to see you safe - buy a Tatts ticket.

[Sculptured Box]

Chain saws- I gave my big Stihl and as a matter of need brought a cheap electric powered monster, like routers too noisey and dangerous for me!

[ptc]

Only one saw for me.
BANDSAW !

[Clinton1]

Yep... scary bloody things, particularly when you don't get any decent training on them.

Motor + horsepower + sharp spinny thing + no training = me not using it.

[Eddie Jones]

Agree with a previous poster. A tacket in tits is what yer need! If you win, I'll go you halves in the price of the ticket. Honest!

[Auld Bassoon]

I was getting nervous as I read through your post mate!

Things always slow down (or appear to) when the the whole cow shed is about to hit the wind farm :eek:

Glad that you're ok

[John Saxton]

Glad to hear that you're OK Andy,recall a story some years back out of a readers digest magazine about a fella in the forest somewhere in Canada who had his jugular sliced.

Apparently the saw bucked and came up and across and sliced partly thru his jugular.
Blokes still alive,drove his F100 pickup one handed with the other hand holding pressure on the wound. He was on the point of passing out when he got into the Hospital and collapsed in the hospital entrance....one lucky fella who lived to tell of the foibles of taking any machinery for granted!!

Heck when you think of all the gear we work with these days whether inside or outside the shed... Andy has raised some salient points on our need towards our own well being.

Take Care.
Cheers

[Bushmiller]

The metal tag under modern chainsaws is there for a good reason. Good to hear you can still tell the story. Always a good indicator of a sign of life.

Remember, always keep the left arm straight. Don't use the saw above shoulder level.

Regards

Paul

[Doughboy]

My old man worked in the forrestry for about 40 years, a man who could use a chainsaw! I grew up in the bush for a week at a time splitting posts and gathering rails. I learnt to respect the inherant dangers of a saw well before I was allowed to wield one.

The first saw I used, at the age of 13, was a Stihl 090. OMG what kind of sicko was my dad? Anyway he always said respect the saw and it will serve you well.

I dont own a saw now, but I have a pretty good arsenal on hand if need be. My father now does a lot of 'bush' carpentry. Chairs, stools and other furniture as well as carving animals with a modified stihl.

Ok I have rambled on long enough. Chainsaws MUST be treated with respect and used by those with adequate skills. If it is not it usually has the last word.....

Pete