Well... I did it.

[Blinky]

Today I was snap cutting pieces out of a pine leaning over a carport. I was making the second cut on a piece right in front of me when I noticed it starting to break prematurely... I caught it with my left hand and somewhere in there the saw (spinning down) jumped out of the cut and caught my left leg on the inside of my knee... ruined my favorite climbing pants.

I knew I was cut but it didn't hurt so I considered finishing the tree because I was almost done. I checked it again and decided to let the ground know I had a problem, my pants leg and boot were soaked. They had peroxide, gauze and towels waiting on me when I got down and were insisting I go to the ER... which for me was a non-starter.

Hell, I figured some betadine and bunch of steri-strips and then I'd go back up and finish the tree. It really wasn't a bad cut, it was just bloody and they were freaking out because it was a CHAINSAW cut. A Sugoi could've done a lot worse.

Long story short, I cleaned it, bandaged it up, ate lunch and went to see my buddy who is and ER doc and also happens to be a wood turner who I've supplied with some really nice hunks of wood. He irrigated it and sewed me up in his bathroom... hurt a lot worse than the saw did. Only six stitches... in his words, "That's not a chainsaw cut, that's a chainsaw kiss."

The only thing I think I could've done differently to avoid the cut would've been to rig the piece instead of snap cutting and chucking. I'd already made a dozen identical snap cuts, this piece was apparently just angled enough to make the cut break before it was supposed to. I wasn't in a rush, I had both hands on the saw while cutting. Left leg, inside knee.

Just an aside, my doc friend, who's seen lots of chainsaw injuries, said it's really tough to stitch them because the tissue is usually so mangled. He says the most important thing you can do once blood loss is under control, is to irrigate the cut with tap water as quickly as possible and clean it out.

Pic below...













http://www.arborcarolina.com/_Images/SawCut.jpg

[rumination]

Thanks for sharing that Blinky. I'm glad it was only a kiss and wasn't any worse.

[JonnyHart]

Glad you're ok. You're lucky. A bad cut on the knee could haunt you for a while.

[squisher]

Nasty little bite but it looks not bad at all. I have first aided a few chainsaw cuts in my time. Worst I ever saw I never worked on, it was my uncles face through the window of a sealed door while he was being kept in a germ free sealed room because the cut was so massive they couldn't dress it at first. That was something I'll never forget.

Anyhow a good wake-up call for everyone, never forget what the saw is about. Glad you weren't hurt badly.

[JonnyHart]

Just an aside, my doc friend, who's seen lots of chainsaw injuries, said it's really tough to stitch them because the tissue is usually so mangled.














Yeah, a chainsaw doesn't so much CUT flesh as it does REMOVE flesh, and spit it out like sawdust.

[GASoline71]

Heal up mang...

Chock one up to luck, and lesson learned. :)

Gary

[Frans]

glad yer o.k. Heal up quick!

[Rotax Robert]

Glad it ain't too bad, what kind of saw was it though ?

[MasterBlaster]

Nice 'lil scratch. Be careful out there, ya'll!

[Frans]

Glad it ain't too bad, what kind of was it though ?

:?

If we were talking in the bar and you said that sentence, I would be reaching for your car keys! (and driving you home, of course)

[Blinky]

Glad it ain't too bad, what kind of was it though ?

200T

[Rotax Robert]

Gee thanks, heck I have'nt even been drinking yet. Saw, what kind of chainsaw was it ?

[Frans]

glad you understood that post, Blinky. :)

[Blinky]

Glad you're ok. You're lucky. A bad cut on the knee could haunt you for a while.

That's exactly what the doc said... joint infection could be very bad.

[sotc]

spooky, glad your ok

[MasterBlaster]

You barely knicked the skin. ;)

[Blinky]

glad you understood that post, Blinky. :)

It's been hurting, I've been drinking... it made sense.

[MasterBlaster]

Take some Ibuprofen!

[Blinky]

You barely knicked the skin. ;)

Yeah, but you shoulda seen that flap of skin when it got all mad and swollen!:O

[MasterBlaster]

That will slough off soon enough unless those stitches hold it together long enough for a blood flow to be established.

[Blinky]

Yeah... it's only a flesh wound... I've ad worse.

I'll be back at work tomorrow... mostly it's just uncomfortable when I move. The stitches are mainly to get it to heal fast. The doc figured steri-strips and betadine would've done the job.

Hey.... does this mean I'm not a rookie anymore? ... or does this mean I'm a rookie for sure.

[Old Monkey]

Warning! Picture included.



Yuck. Glad it wasn't worse for your sake and mine.

[No_Bivy]

Dang Chip, that was a close one. Keep that thing clean and you'll be in action in no time. Here is my last red badge, from a tiny stub.............I could still use it for all the important stuff. Your the man for no novicaine when getting it stitched up, I bet that really FRICKEN hurt:O

[vharrison]

200T

Great saw, but they can bite! Ouch, Blinky, glad you had a friend that could sew you up. From the picture you can tell exactly how the chain cut, those three small incisions below the larger one. OUCH. Keep it clean, and let it heal. So glad it was not worse.

:O Be safe out there guys and gals.

Oh, and FYI, we like to give Darin a heads up on pictures like that.

[treelooker]

Hey.... does this mean I'm not a rookie anymore? ... or does this mean I'm a rookie for sure.
A rookie, for sure. If you grow another eyeball you might see a way to prevent it next time. Shut the saw off sooner, finish with a handsaw, something like that...

No worries though, the hair will grow back over the knee and cover the scar.8)

Wounds are worse news for us bald-bodied boys.

[pete mctree]

Glad you only scratched the surface, I know how much those things hurt!!!

Take care folks PLEASE!

[Blinky]

Roger on the warning for Darin. A climber friend met me for lunch right after it happened... wanted to see what a saw cut looked like in person... I've never seen anybody react to a little cut like that... he turned away and sort of dry heaved.

I watched the whole procedure when my daughter was born by C-section... I thought it was pretty interesting... well, I winced at the anesthesia test.


For sure I won't let anybody stitch me without a local ever again... but it was the irrigation that REALLY hurt.

Now that I think I've thought about it, I should've just hung the whole tree from a nearby pine and dropped it from the bottom in sections.

[pantheraba]

Now that I think I've thought about it, I should've just hung the whole tree from a nearby pine and dropped it from the bottom in sections.

Hindsight...it teaches us a lot.

Glad you are OK, Blinky. Keep thinking.:thumbup:

[Old Monkey]

Darn you Gary!

[MasterBlaster]

well, I winced at the anesthesia test.

For sure I won't let anybody stitch me without a local ever again...

Why didn't you use it? He didn't have any?

And what is an anesthesia test? Why would it make you wince? The needle?

[Blinky]

He stitched me at his house, I could've waited for him to get lidocaine but figured I was macho enough to handle it.... WRONG! I whined, winced, complained, dog cussed... that sort of thing.

With the anesthesia test, the doc took some hemostats and just grabbed a nice patch of skin on her stomach... and completely closed and locked them... The 10" incision was nothing... that pinch was visceral.

[MasterBlaster]

grabbed a nice patch of skin on her stomach... and completely closed and locked them...

And then what? How is that a test?

Forgive me, I had curious biscuits for breakfast...

[treetx]

aye! Thar's a solution! http://www.gypoclimber.com/showthread.php?t=9081

The best chainsaw pants on the planet....but they are too damn hot for Texas plus I do tree work what, 8 days a year.

Heal up, take it as a reminder plus that whole tiger's eye thing.

[RIVERRAT]

He stitched me at his house, I could've waited for him to get lidocaine but figured I was macho enough to handle it.... WRONG! I whined, winced, complained, dog cussed... that sort of thing.


Getting stitched was the worse part of my saw doinking

[MasterBlaster]

Not me, ever. I don't feel nothing cuz I take the needle before!

[Paul B]

MB, I am thinking thats a test to see if the anaesthesia is working. kinda like when the dentist sticks you with a needle, waits a minute or two and then says "can you feel this?" before drilling into your tooth.

[Blinky]

Yep that's it. They gave her spinal anesthesia, then the clamp thing to see if she felt anything... she didn't even know they did it and I was supposed to stay cool so I kept quiet... but I definitely flinched.

[MasterBlaster]

Wow!

[sawinredneck]

Dang Blinky!!! Glad it wasn't any worse than that, still wish it hadn't happened to ya!! Heal up man!!!

[gf beranek]

Would it been worse to drop the piece, Blinky? I know those split second decsisions don't give a person that much time to answer that, but after the fact we sometimes say, " I should've just let it go."

Snap cuts always seem to eventually catch up to you in that respect. Well, horizontal pieces especially.

Glad to have the pleasure to meet you in Hartford. Heal, be happy and may the holidays be the best for you and the family.

[TC3]

I just love it >>> KISSED !
I call it a 'bite'. Got bit by my hedgers a month ago on my knee (fatigue ; the follow-through on my swing left it in my knee). The instant it made contact, I was already lifting it off with an, "Oh, shit !"
The pain doesn't come 'til later. At first, it's just kind of like, "Ahh, man... I f**ked up... might as well finish."
A friend to sew me up ???!!!??? No chance of that for me, but luckily I didn't need stitches.
Nice to have friends in high places, eh, Mr. Blinky ?!? LOL
Happy endings make me verklempht.

[Blinky]

Nice to have friends in high places, eh, Mr. Blinky ?!? LOL

Dr. Chris would laugh at that statement too. It's a good thing Treelooker let me scarf some Mimosa from that job we did at the arboretum... the doc's made a few bucks off of the bowls he turned from it. Otherwise he'd have me owing him forever.

Thanks for the good words Gerry, it was good to meet you and your new bride... how are you guys getting along? I heard you picked up some kind of funk at the show. You're right about that carport, I probably shoulda just let the piece go... it definitely would have bent metal though.

[ArborOmega]

Blinky, couldnt you have just let the piece fall the wrong way. Even if a piece of wood is going to take out a car, roof, etc it is better than a chainsaw hitting flesh. I had a collegue almost loose his arm over the summer from thinking he was too cool of a tree guy to put both hands on the chainsaw. Then he got over 200 stiches. You were very lucky. And like every one else I am glad your are ok, but after 5 pages of posts I dont get the feeling you take the injury very seriously. Soory, but thats the way I read it. If worng please tell me. I just reads like your more concerned about your "macho"(your words) image of being a rookie or not and your money.We just had a climber die in this area two days ago from indirect contact with a transmission line. Safety is not a game, a right of passage or a joke-it is a culture that must be practiced everyday. Dont mean to come off harsh, but you need to check yourself.

[Blinky]

I take my safety VERY seriously... it's just fun to kid around on the forum. I usually cut with both hands on the saw and actually LIKE wearing PPE.

In the moment, one doesn't think, "oh, if I grab this stick, I might cut myself". It was just an automatic response, I'd released the throttle and the saw bounced out of the cut unexpectedly, probably when it caught some tearing wood fiber. I wasn't measuring the value of the carport against my skin tissue.

Kidding beats moaning and fretting about it. I posted this so other people making horizontal snap cuts will be reminded of the risk... it's just an experience that's worth sharing.

The fact is, there's nothing macho about cutting yourself with ANY saw... it's stupid. You ever do anything stupid?

[treelooker]

mb i think chip's talking about the birth re anaesthesia test.

"Now that I think I've thought about it, I should've just hung the whole tree from a nearby pine and dropped it from the bottom in sections."

Now you are talking. I know you know that "Inverting" method.
__________________

[NickfromWI]

The only thing I think I could've done differently to avoid the cut would've been to rig the piece instead of snap cutting and chucking. I'd already made a dozen identical snap cuts, this piece was apparently just angled enough to make the cut break before it was supposed to. I wasn't in a rush, I had both hands on the saw while cutting.

Whenever I snap cut anything that is not vertical, I know I could be pushing the envelope a little. If the piece is standing up right, you basically have about 100% control. You make your cuts, then the piece just waits there for you to put your saw away, have a cigarette, get a massage, then you can come back and snap it off and send it out. Once things are angled a bit, there are tons of variables at play (angle of the dangle, wood species, wood age/condition, weight of wood, temperature, closeness of the two cuts to eachother, how much the cut bypass eachother...just to name a few).

It's a fun game to play. A game that I am glad I win almost every time. But every once in a while... :O

Nice pic, by the way! I had a cut once that looked about identical to that. If you'd like, I could give you a fast forward to what that is going to look like in 4 years!

love
nick

[TC3]

Cool post, NickMeister.

[treelooker]

Hey Blinky there is more good turning wood at the arb so bring your big saw tuesday. The stump from that mimosa would be beautiful turned, and there is also a Paulownia stump with nice color that I cut of flast week.

Maybe if you get your doc some more nice pieces y,our next surgery will be prepaid!

[ArborOmega]

"Kidding beats moaning and fretting about it. I posted this so other people making horizontal snap cuts will be reminded of the risk... it's just an experience that's worth sharing."
- Yes all of the experiences are as we can all learn from them. I also know there are many variables which are not easily explained or understood by those who were no there. I do have to ask though, if the piece was worth grabbing with your hand to direct fall why was it not on a rope? If the piece was small enough to grab and pitch why did you not finish the cut with your hand saw? Were either of these things possible.


"The fact is, there's nothing macho about cutting yourself with ANY saw... it's stupid. You ever do anything stupid?"
- Yes I most certainly have.

[Blinky]

Sure, it was possible to finish with a handsaw or rig it out... those things are easy to see in hindsight... like I said before... the BEST thing would've been to hang it and section from the bottom... but at the time that hadn't occurred to me.

My solution to the problem was to go up and take the top apart in small pieces. It was a small tree and looked to be an easy, quick job. I was using snap cuts to good effect and had a good feel for where to make the cuts based on the size and angle of the wood. I hadn't needed the handsaw to finish up to that point as every piece was staying put till I was ready. HAndsaws aren't exactly safe either; who's to say I wouldn't have layed myself open with it? I've finished lots of cuts with a handsaw, this one didn't seem to warrant it.

Had I rigged I was still going to have to go with small pieces because the top was crowded with and ornamental garden below... I had no overhead rigging points except my TIP.

Treework is not safe. I'm climbing all day 3 to 4 days a week most of the time. My judgment isn't perfect but I do alright. No amount of hindsight is going to change what happened and you can pick it apart forever... just like any accident. I love my job, risks and all; this cut is one of the few bad experiences I've had among countless really good ones.

I'd rather die of a heart attack during sex but if I die from a tree accident that still beats dying in a car crash.

[Stumper]

Chip, What if you die in a car crash due to a heart attack on your way home from a tree accident wondering how long it will be before you ever have sex again?

I don't want to pick apart yopur accident with the neverending "what if? Personally I dislike horizontal snap cuts. If it really matters that the piece not fall I am inclined to sling it off off itself then pitch the piece out. It is often slower of course.

[Blinky]

Chip, What if you die in a car crash due to a heart attack on your way home from a tree accident wondering how long it will be before you ever have sex again?

[...]

Perish the thought! :O

Now, if I died in a car crash from having a heart attack while having sex on my way home from a tree accident... THAT would be okay. :) ... in fact, I think that almost happened once! ;)

[treelooker]

I'd rather die of a heart attack during sex Me too, but only during or post-orgasm. I'd hate to go before I came. :(
but if I die from a tree accident that still beats dying in a car crash.True enough there.

[Blinky]

Me too, but only during or post-orgasm. I'd hate to go before I came. :(

You selfish, selfish man you! ...emmm, same here. ;)