Blue Jeans

[Gordon Maney]

I ruined a pair of jeans today. I think I could sew the holes shut but I don’t think I could get the blood stains out. I got into my knee with my big chainsaw. Doing the wrong thing, cutting over my head, which I have done for years with my little saw, but this one is quite heavy; it is a Stihl 460 with a 24 inch bar. Pretty dumb.

I am prone to asking people, "Did we learn anything from this?" So, I need to practice that kind of analysis.

The chain hit my knee cap at the lower part of it, almost got into those important parts below the knee cap; tendons, etc. I made a series of parallel gashes in my knee and liberated a chunk of flesh, but otherwise OK. Pretty lucky.

I sat on the porch and poured hydrogen peroxide on it while the dog watched with considerable interest. I then went in the house and it started bleeding pretty good and I couldn’t get it to stop for a while, but then finally it did. Paper towels are really handy....

[Fred_M]

Glad you are OK.
Those darn old saws can eat skin and bone quickly.
Save the jeans, they will help you remember for a while longer.
Hope you have some of those butterfly bandades to put on that
to keep it held together so it can heal quicker and not scar too bad.
Neosporin(sp) on it will help to keep it soft and heal quicker
Take care
Fred

[Ron in Indiana]

Gordon We all learn from our mistakes or at least we should. I hope you got medical attention so things don't compound for you in the healing process. I have had close calls with various power tools but the chainsaw is at the top of the list for most unforgiving. My son has been trained by the DNR here in Indiana for chainsaw saftey and use, thereby allowing him to be a sawyer out west fighting wildfires. He always uses a helmet with face and ear protection and a pair of chaps. He has snagged his chaps once and they truely do their job. Although my son wasn't happy with a snag in his chaps he would have been even worse off without them. Hope your healing goes well and glad it wasn't any worse than it was.

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by Ron in Indiana
Gordon We all learn from our mistakes or at least we should. I hope you got medical attention so things don't compound for you in the healing process. I have had close calls with various power tools but the chainsaw is at the top of the list for most unforgiving. My son has been trained by the DNR here in Indiana for chainsaw saftey and use, thereby allowing him to be a sawyer out west fighting wildfires. He always uses a helmet with face and ear protection and a pair of chaps. He has snagged his chaps once and they truely do their job. Although my son wasn't happy with a snag in his chaps he would have been even worse off without them. Hope your healing goes well and glad it wasn't any worse than it was.

Actually, I always wear one of those hardhats with earmuffs and face screen. And, I have been thinking about getting a pair of the chaps, and just had not yet done so. The time is here.

I did not go to town, I am a kind of farm shop doctor, but it will be fine. It looks a little gruesome, though.

I am working on the roof of my shop today; with luck I won't fall off....

[powerwagontim]

Hi Gordon,
Sorry to hear about the accident. Like Ron, I have a healthy respect for tools which are even better at cutting flesh and bone than their intended material. Check out my left hand if we ever meet in person, fused ist joint on the pinky, missing ring finger and middle finger 1/2" shorter than god intended. all in an instant on a table saw. Even better than learning from your mistakes, is learning from others mistakes. It is fall, the chainsaws are getting lots of use, WORK SMART AND PUT ON THE SAFTY GEAR!!!!
I hope the healing goes well, thats got to hurt. Take it as easy as you can, Tim

[Cheyenne Dave]

With all my years as a sawyer, I have only scuffed the leather on my boot once. My only real accident came from a jointer. (Shooting ones self with a nail gun dosen't count) Now I can only fully flip somebody the bird with my right hand!

I have found the most dangerous situatuion with the chain saw is cutting in a pile of slash or logs...kick-back country for sure! Heal up and enjoy your new chaps!

DAB

[HWooldridge]

G,

Glad you are not hurt any worse. Familiarity does seem to breed contempt as people usually get hurt after something becomes routine and they stop paying attention. I neglected to put on a pair of safety glasses one day while using a wire wheel - a piece of wire broke loose and pierced my cheek under the right eye. Could just as easily been another inch higher and me blinded as a result. Keep your wound clean and after it heals, look at it every so often as a reminder. Everybody stay safe...H

[Bruce]

Gordon,
You said it yourself, about the over head stuff, even with the smaller saw. I have been using a chain saw for more than twenty-five years, mostly for ice carving, but it's still the same rules. Enough of the lam bastin' keep it clean, lots of neosporiin or bacatraciin ointment, even ice can help for the first 48 hours, and if you know a Doc, ask him/her for a scrip, antibiotics, it can't hurt!! I use chaps and some times a big thick rubber apron, for mulitple block carvings.
Mend Well,

[Jumper]

Gordon,
Please do not worry me that way, I would not have a life if this forum was not here, so be careful. I know from past experience that it can happen very fast about lost three fingers to one once so now I approch it very carefully and never forget gloves safety shoes eye protection ect. It is easier to replace the power wagon then it is to replace you.
Take Care
Jumper

[Joe Cimoch]

OUCH! I cringed when I read your post. Hope you are healing OK. Using a chainsaw is another good addition to to the list of things we should be able to do, like you listed in the recent PWA. I can't give you any advice on chain saws, but I hope you have a doctor take a look at your cut, just for peace of mind. Can you still drive?

[Gordon Maney]

No, I did not go to the doctor. I have habits formed in my youth when we took care of virtually everything at home.

....and yes, I am driving. It did not ruin any important parts. Just the outer layers, so to speak. It took my breath away thinking how close I came to a major disaster.

[Clint Dixon]

I was also using a chainsaw all this past weekend. It could just as easily be me with the bummed knee. My "big" saw is a Stihl 028. Not as big as your's, but big enough that I now do all of my overhead work with the wife's little electric McCullough. If the limb is too big for that saw, then the whole tree comes down! I too, wear a helmet with ear and face protection. Have been thinking about chaps a lot lately. I think you just made up my mind.

Heal quickly Gordon.

[Gordon Maney]

There are also boots that have chainsaw resistant layers in their construction....

[MoparNorm]

Gordon!
I missed this thread when I went through yesterday, I'm glad that you are OK! Take it easy for a few days and BECAREFUL!
I have a Stihl 32" bar, they are NOT toys! always keep your footing firm, the work area clear and the blade to one side.
MN

[powerwagontim]

Hi Gordon,
Just wondering how the knee was mending?
Tim

[Gordon Maney]

It is doing really well, all healed up, with a good scare to remind me of the event. Periodically I still marvel at how lucky I was...

[Gordon Maney]

My new chaps....

[Joe Cimoch]

Very chic Gordon. I hope you never have the experience of finding out how they work. A sound investment.

[MoparNorm]

My,...aren't we the dandy one! ha!ha! I still think the 1" plates can fit in there somewhere!
MN

[Bruce]

Hey Gordon,
Aren't those available in green, or are you going to do lumber retrieving during hunting season?
BTW, Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving?

[Cheyenne Dave]

Norm, they are green when they are in the "off" mode. Gordon must have turned them on for the holiday season. Best of all, they're UL Approved! That means they are unlikely to short out in case of a "hit". It's amazing what they can do with L.E.D.'s these days...How many batteries does it take to lite 'em up?

[Paul Cook]

Good News - They don't require batteries. See the extension cord.

Bad News - It will take a very long extension cord to get out into the woods.

[Gordon Maney]

Originally posted by Paul Cook
Good News - They don't require batteries. See the extension cord.

Bad News - It will take a very long extension cord to get out into the woods.

I think a small, portable generator might be the thing....

[Bruce]

Pac Pac style would be a worth while invention? I think the dynamo would weigh to much?

[Cheyenne Dave]

I think that, with minor modifications, the chainsaw's magneto could power those chaps nicely...

[712edf]

Just a bump so our lumberjacks can find this!

[rickt4498]

my dad wasn't a hunter or a fisherman, he wasn't a great mechanic, he didn't care for the shooting sports, but he was good with his hands...

he was a mechanical engineer by trade, his specialty was tool & die; machine tools.

After WWII, he made a metal shelled drill into a skilsaw. He had the aluminum frame cut from a piece of aluminum, this was before the advent of sawblade safety shields...

When my dad showed me how to operate the saw...he REPEATEDLY EMPHASIZED... BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE SWITCH, WHERE ARE YOUR HANDS AND FINGERS ???

TED passed away in 1987, to this very day, EVERY time I pick up a power tool, I hear his voice, and through me, my sons hear his voice also...

thanks, dad...

[Bob Thompson]

I ruined a pair of jeans today. I think I could sew the holes shut but I don’t think I could get the blood stains out. I got into my knee with my big chainsaw. Doing the wrong thing, cutting over my head, which I have done for years with my little saw, but this one is quite heavy; it is a Stihl 460 with a 24 inch bar. Pretty dumb.

I am prone to asking people, "Did we learn anything from this?" So, I need to practice that kind of analysis.

The chain hit my knee cap at the lower part of it, almost got into those important parts below the knee cap; tendons, etc. I made a series of parallel gashes in my knee and liberated a chunk of flesh, but otherwise OK. Pretty lucky.

I sat on the porch and poured hydrogen peroxide on it while the dog watched with considerable interest. I then went in the house and it started bleeding pretty good and I couldn’t get it to stop for a while, but then finally it did. Paper towels are really handy....

Count yourself lucky Gordon. A few weeks back we responded to a dead body call where the wound was as you described. Apparently a damaged vein opened up after the guy doctored himself and put his tools away. The coroner recognized the wound pattern and we looked around until we found the accident scene. The wound was imminently survivable had it been treated properly.
It made me think of the number of times I've been out sawing wood without anyone else around. As much as I hate cell phones, I think I'll keep mine handy when I'm working alone.

[Jonas Smith]

I just got permission to thin out 20 acres of private land. I can take the trees for firewood. This is going to be a long project for me. And I was out looking at a pair of Stihl pro wraparound chaps at the saw shop where I get my saws tuned. I balked at the $81.59 price tag. But now I'm pretty sure about going back and getting them.
I also have a pair of old Firefighting bunker pants that I could wear, but those get pretty warm outside in the summer.

[Dana Singsaas]

I have a pair of steel toe boots with a BIG OL' GASH on the one toe.

Steel toed boots 1: Chain saw 0.

I was also doing something I shouldn't have been doing with a chain saw buzzing away (and knew better), but that bad stuff only happens to other people... right?

[Doc Dave]

[QUOTE=Gordon Maney;2600]I ruined a pair of jeans today. I think I could sew the holes shut but I don’t think I could get the blood stains out. I got into my knee with my big chainsaw. Doing the wrong thing, cutting over my head, which I have done for years with my little saw, but this one is quite heavy; it is a Stihl 460 with a 24 inch bar. Pretty dumb.

Gordon,
Glad you are O.K.
Ice packing is very good for the first 48-72 hours after trauma, done three times a day for 5-10 minutes.
I cut through my nylon faced brush pants with the chainsaw over my thigh many years ago. Only scratches, but it made me go out and get the Stihl kevlar chaps.
Dave

[rickt4498]

Good News - They don't require batteries. See the extension cord.

Bad News - It will take a very long extension cord to get out into the woods.

just another bump to this OLD thread...

Gordon now utilizes a hard hat with a SOLAR powered battery pack for his safety chaps...

in order to stay abreast of the GOING GREEN frenzy gripping our country...