chainsaw safety-tips?

[cowgirl8]

The fire department here sees a lot of tree accidents. If you want to see what you shouldnt do or what might happen, just watch youtubes on tree accidents.
The accident my husband had, the tree was next to a house and had only one small area to fall...He hit that space on target, just did not expect a limb to ricochet up off another tree and straight up and land on him. Was totally a freak accident.
Not related to a chainsaw, but a neighbor hired a guy to split some wood at their house. The splitter was something on a tractor wheel, kind of a corkscrew type things. His pant leg brushed against it and it pulled his leg off.....oh the horror. He lived...but was one legged. My husband was pushing up brush with his skidsteer and in the pile was a tree limb that was pulled with tension, when he moved the pile, it snapped back at him in the cab and pinned his leg. Crushed the heck out of it. He was lucky it hit his leg and not his chest. Took months for him to recover, and his leg still aches. I worry any time my guys are out doing things with trees, which is almost every day.
Anything to do with trees is dangerous...

 

[ga.prime]

I was piling and burning limbs, logging debris, and pushed up stumps with a Case 1845 uniloader equipped with a grapple.. I picked up off the edge of the fire a red hot stump had to have weighed 1500 pounds minimum and lifted it high to re-stack on the fire when it fell into the cab with me. I kicked it right back out like Captain America.

 

[red angus 2010]

Always clear brush away from the tree you are cutting, you don't want to fall as you move away
Have two ways to get away from a tree you never know the twist the tree may have from growing you one path may not work if the tree is falling onto it
If you think it may be dead in the middle do a plunge cut to see the chips coming off of the saw you can tell
There are a number of ways to cut down a tree each has its benefits for a given situation
Stop when you are tired, most accidents happen when you think "I'll just do one more and call it a day"
Never cut with the saw above your head. Know one guy did chain came off hit his neck he made it to the truck before he bled out. That is what they make a pole saw for. Don't let you testicles override your brain if you are just starting out use a bar and chain designated with a green color they are safety bars and chains. If you have ever seen a 25" or 36" bar with an aggressive chain on it you should be thinking "that could kill me"
Respect the amount of energy when a tree falls I have seen a felled tree hit the branches compress and send the trunk back across the stump

 

[Dave]

I fell timber for 20 years. Real trees, the biggest Doug Fir I ever fell was 10 foot 8 inch in diameter inside the bark. The biggest cedar was over 14 foot. The tallest was a Sitka Spruce that was 320 feet to a 6 inch top. Chain saws are dangerous but trees will kill you. I have helped pack 3 dead guys out of the woods and one who was alive when we packed him out but didn't make it to the hospital. For every year I cut timber there was someone who in knew / had worked with at some point who got killed.
Don't wear leather gloves. Use a glove with better grip, rubberized cotton. Leather gets slick when it gets wet. Keep you thumb on your left hand wrapped around the handle bars of the saw. I wore bug eye goggles not safety glasses. They are a fine mesh screen and don't fog up like glasses can. We all wore chaps that fit inside your pants. The outside your pants chaps are fine for working with stuff on the ground but there are just too many ways for them to hang up on things if you need to move. Being able to move quickly is very important. I see some back yard guys so loaded down with "safety gear" that they can't move. Always work from the uphill side. About 90% of fatalities occur within 12 feet of the stump. That is only 4 quick steps. When the tree is leaving go up hill and away. Eyes up and watching for flying objects. Keep your back cut an inch or two above the under cut. That will keep the tree from slipping backwards off the stump. Never ever fall timber by yourself. Always have someone around. That said they should be two tree lengths away.

 

[lavacarancher]

Yes, all of the above. I have several hundred "widow makers" after the drought and I almost always put the FEL bucket above my head when cutting those dead trees. Rather damage the tractor than me.