Chainsaw Chaps work!

[OGYT]

Some of you are aware that I cut my knee with a chainsaw a few months ago. I then bought some chaps from Labonville (it'll google). Today, I sawed down a Bois d'Arc tree, and I cut a limb off that didn't fall the way I thought it would (didn't see that a smaller limb entangled it).
I fell backwards, and though the chainsaw was decelerating, it hit my left thigh... and stopped dead. It cut through only the outer cover of the chaps... about a 2 1/2" slit. About 3 or 4 strands of the kevlar, 10" long, is what killed the saw.
I've been using a chainsaw, regularly, for about 15-20 years. These two accidents have happened within the last few months. Must be getting careless....
If you use a chainsaw, and don't have the chaps... you need to get some... and wear them.
I have always been too careful to get hurt... or at least I thought I was.

[dennford]

I have a friend who dropped a chainsaw going full throttle onto his thigh - he was wearing those kevlar chaps and never recieved a scratch --great things eh?

But Al, you must take more care - you may not be so lucky in the future.

Denn

[BobL]

I fell backwards, and though the chainsaw was decelerating, it hit my left thigh... and stopped dead. It cut through only the outer cover of the chaps... about a 2 1/2" slit. About 3 or 4 strands of the kevlar, 10" long, is what killed the saw.
I've been using a chainsaw, regularly, for about 15-20 years. These two accidents have happened within the last few months. Must be getting careless....

I agree chaps are fast becoming essential PPE for chainsaw use, but the last thing one needs to be around chainsaws is careless. The chaps wouldn't have been much good to you if the CS had hit your arms or other parts of your body.

I'm interested to know how/why you fell backwards, eg did the branch ricochet backwards and push you over, how high was the branch? were you using the chainsaw above your shoulder height, were you standing on a ladder ?

[NeilS]

Ditto....a professional tree lopper who did some work for me recently told me that he recently had the long avoided mishap 60 ft up a tree and that the kevlar duds had done their job. All I could see was an almost unoticeable rent about 1" long. His said that they had now paid for themselves, several times over.

Keep safe

Neil

[hughie]

Al,

Thats abit close for comfort!


I worked in the construction game for a few years. The most dangerous time for construction worker was around the 10yr mark as this was the time of most accidents. They put it down to experience+complacency = incident.

Take your time Al, theres always to morrow

[echnidna]

If you have another mishap and the bar hits exactly the same place on the chaps it could go right through

So turf the old chaps now and get new ones.

[killerbeast]

I join in the wear chaps !! i allways waer mine got them when i was somewhat heavier so they are nice and large easy to jump into just for a bit of cutting..

I also used the jacket back when i was doing weekend job cutting up timber that had fallen in one of the big storms.. its always risky when cutting into that kind of mikado logging..

[rsser]

I think there's something about getting older that makes you a bit more accident prone. The antennae dull a bit, or the reactions slow down, or something.

Think I might wear my Kevlar lined motorbike pants next time the saw gets a run.

[Stu in Tokyo]

I went years and years using a saw without them, but now, I'll not use my saw without them.

About having accidents etc. a buddy of mine explained it like this.........

"We all have a magic bag of luck, when we are young, it seems that bag is real full, and if we are unlucky and or stupid we dip into that bag often, as we get older, the bag is less full, but we should have gained some experience to help us deal with the lower level of luck in our bags"........

Or something like that, he is a motorcycle buddy, had a few HUGE crashes in his youth (broke both arms, in three places below the elbow and two place above the elbow, and both collar bones in one crash). He as been riding for a LOT of years now, is a safety instructor and a track instructor as well, he is FAST on the track, and steady on the roads.

When I think back on my youth, I'm somewhat amazed I survived it

I like the chainsaw mitts as well.

Cheers!

[BobL]

I think there's something about getting older that makes you a bit more accident prone. The antennae dull a bit, or the reactions slow down, or something.

Think I might wear my Kevlar lined motorbike pants next time the saw gets a run.

Ern, unless the kevlar lined pants have the packed fluffly polyester threads embedded in a large insert (which I doubt) they are not going to do gip to protect you. The CS will slice through that kevlar like butter. The reason CS chaps work is the chain pulls the fluffy polyester threads out of their insert and expands and chokes the chain, check this link out: http://www.labonville.com/videos/v2.htm

[OGYT]

BobL: I'm interested to know how/why you fell backwards, eg did the branch ricochet backwards and push you over, how high was the branch? were you using the chainsaw above your shoulder height, were you standing on a ladder ?

The tree was horizontal about waist high, the limb was on the top, sticking up into another tree. I cut it, the butt of the limb swung towards me, I instinctively stepped back and tripped over a limb behind me. The carelessness came to the fore when I failed to see it was caught up high...

Ern, he's right about the Kevlar pants... it's the way they're made. It took just a little bit of Kevlar to stop the saw... but it was loose Kevlar, not sewn except around the top edges. That's the only way they'll work. And you're right about gettin' older... I got tired enough that even though I had both hands tightly on the CS, I couldn't keep it from getting to my leg. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[rsser]

Ern, he's right about the Kevlar pants... it's the way they're made. It took just a little bit of Kevlar to stop the saw... but it was loose Kevlar, not sewn except around the top edges. That's the only way they'll work. And you're right about gettin' older... I got tired enough that even though I had both hands tightly on the CS, I couldn't keep it from getting to my leg. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I love that quote about gettin old ain't for sissies!

Neil's Dad said it in the film, what was it, 49up?

...

My Draggin jeans have knitted Kevlar in the knees and elsewhere, but prob. not enough cover for a CS bite back.

They say the CS is the only serious tool left on the market that doesn't need a licence.

.

[BobL]

Something else worth knowing is that electric chainsaws (CS) will cut straight through even the highest quality CS chaps. Even small electric CS motors have sufficient torque to do this - if anything needs a licence its these things.

Can you imagine this, You take two TS motors out of their housings connect them to a 2 ft bar and use them to spin a chain around the bar - and you wave it about (sometimes over your head) to cut things down. You'd have to be mad to do this but this is basically what a CS is, 5HP, 2ft blade and some people use them above their heads.

I took my CS operators ticket about a year ago mainly to keep SWMBO happy - didn't learn anything particularly useful but I still highly recommend such a course to any newbie who is worried about using a CS - anyone who is not a little concerned probably shouldn't be using one.

Cheers

[dennford]

Something else worth knowing is that electric chainsaws (CS) will cut straight through even the highest quality CS chaps. Even small electric CS motors have sufficient torque to do this - if anything needs a licence its these things.

Can you imagine this, You take two TS motors out of their housings connect them to a 2 ft bar and use them to spin a chain around the bar - and you wave it about (sometimes over your head) to cut things down. You'd have to be mad to do this but this is basically what a CS is, 6HP, ft blade and some people use them above their heads.


Cheers

Now that is a surprise to me, I always considered electric chain saws to be underpowered.

Maybe I should consider one for around the garden.

Denn

[BobL]

Now that is a surprise to me, I always considered electric chain saws to be underpowered.

Maybe I should consider one for around the garden.

Denn

Cutting speed is determined largely by chain speed, but small electric motors have limited torque at high speed compared to a petrol engine which has its maximum torque higher up the rev range. A chain on a chainsaw riding in a bar groove also does not have the rotational momentum of a free spinning circular blade so electric chains saws can easily be slowed down by pushing them too hard. All this is why they seem underpowered at high revs, and of course at low revs they cut slowly because the chain speed is slow. However, they have significant torque at low revs and that is why they are hard to completely stall and is why they will mince up chainsaw chaps.