Chipper carnage

The one time I had metal go thru a chipper it sounded like tanks battling and destructing. The chipper was bouncing. I basically hit the dirt til I figured out what was happening...then shut it down.
 
Stig, do tub grinders handle trash better than the large horizontal grinders? Or will they not eat the longer stuff?
 
Chipper ate our winch line karabiner today... can't blame the new guy, another crewmember set it on top of the chipper and it vibrated down and fell into the feed wheels. I turned around to see the rope whipping and immediately reversed the wheels -- saved the rope but it was too late, sent the karabiner through. Too bad, we had literally just flipped the knives 2 days ago. Time to order a new set from TreeStuff. We're getting back to basic rules: always return the karabiner to the winch line hook after every pull!
 
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New boots always get messed up the first day...
 
Or the new stump grinder teeth that within a week found the hidden, buried remains of a huge utility pole metal guy wire anchor.
About to put new pockets and teeth on now... Sigh!
 
2 Weeks Later... The Carnage Continues

Same operator made the chipper eat the winch rope again. $275 mistake, plus time to change the knives and tie on a new carabiner. Should we give it 3 strikes you're out? Maybe I'll gently shove him aside and run the controls full time from here on out. Tell him to go climb a tree... :/:
 
So what all happens? Does the tension of the winch anchored rope cause it to snap, or does the winch get ripped out? $275 sounds like just a rope, carabiner, and knives, so I guess the winch is fine.
 
After two times in two weeks, I'd leave the winch rope off for a while and let him drag the shit by hand until he decides he can run the winch without feeding the rope into the chipper. Then warn him ahead of time that the next one comes out of his pay. And then stick to your promise! Idle threats just make them not believe you, sort of like misbehaving kids. Third time you take it out of his pay and then replace him.
 
Nutball, log & large carabiner go into the knives, knives get chewed up on the metal but still cut the rope, rope goes slack. We lose the knives and carabiner, and now the winch rope's about done for since it's now far shorter than 150', making it far less useful.

Boss, not really in a position to do that -- too valuable as the 2nd climber, longstanding crewmember, etc. I'm sure the $550 price tag hits home, and he's the one having to change out the knives on maintenance day... I'll give him a bye on this one anyway -- we were on a dam, winching up a log from a lakeshore, pulling up a muddy sunken log, so I think the rope blended into the mud & log. Pics coming to the Working thread, momentarily.
 
Can't charge an employee for unintended damage.

A chook might help.

Sounds like that might have, possibly, coulda instead paid the cost of Coolvests for the crew. Wore ours today. Feel good. We're in a heat spell.


Further, its an opportunity to sit down with the guy, say, "hey, here's the repair bills, plus production loss costs, plus whatever other costs, with a grand total of X. But, you know what, $2-3K is NOTHING compared to an injury! We're happy nobody got hurt, most importantly.
A safety oversight like this can't happen again. You're valuable to us, and the next time a safety issue occurs, you'll be terminated.

Is there something we need to fix? Is there something we can help you fix (needs time off for ailing parent, new baby, sister in trouble, substance abuse, sleeping issues like a lack of AC at home and its a million degrees ...)?

Is there a medical issue that needs attention? Rx glasses?

Is it Coolvests and generic pedialyte on ice that the crew needs because it just way, way hot, day after day after day?"
 
When I had the 1800 on my crew we just tied a bowline in the end and used marls to lock off what was winched. The bowline was just in there to reattach the line to the chipper safety switch. A marl or two with a long tail will drag almost anything to the chipper. I honestly don’t know how someone can’t see the winch line. It should never be anywhere near the feed rollers.
 
When I had the 1800 on my crew we just tied a bowline in the end and used marls to lock off what was winched. The bowline was just in there to reattach the line to the chipper safety switch. A marl or two with a long tail will drag almost anything to the chipper. I honestly don’t know how someone can’t see the winch line. It should never be anywhere near the feed rollers.

Genius, Rich!
 
Same story, different fella at least. Right after we flipped the knives one week ago! One slight consolation was it wasn't the $60 carabiner; been using a sub $10 forged hook recently:
1276947.jpeg
 
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