# Injury while doing firewood.



## PaulBunyun (Oct 17, 2021)

Sitting in the ER waiting to see if my ankle is broken. Spent the day cutting up a free oak from a neighbor. I was unloading the last log out of the trailer when I rolled my ankle and heard a nice pop! Worth the free oak though lol. Let me hear some nice firewood mishaps to pass the time in the ER. Stay warm everyone.


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## Prof (Oct 17, 2021)

I was trying to "hold" a small branch with my foot about 8 yrs ago when the saw bounced down the branch to my foot. Caught my foot about 5 inches from the tip of my big toe. Destroyed a new pair of boots--guess I didn't need that $150 anyway! Called my PCP and the nurse urged me to go to the ER. I laughed and shared that I have a $200 co-pay and my foot was still attached. In reality the cut was about 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches long--it took 3 stiches. Of course, the PA at the doc in a box that I ended up at had little to no experience at stiches . In fact, she pulled the thread right through my skin on the first stich. The older nurse just shook her head and smiled and said, "Honey you need to tie a knot before you pull on that." Hope you mend quickly.


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## clancey (Oct 17, 2021)

So sorry that happened for that's a real drag--don't really have any firewood stories and all I can say is put ice on it....Sounds like you are going on vacation and taken a easy for awhile until it heals but with that snap or sound ---"that does not feel good''or even "sound good"--not optimistic here with the description of it all and I have you in my prayers.. clancey


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## PaulBunyun (Oct 17, 2021)

Prof said:


> I was trying to "hold" a small branch with my foot about 8 yrs ago when the saw bounced down the branch to my foot. Caught my foot about 5 inches from the tip of my big toe. Destroyed a new pair of boots--guess I didn't need that $150 anyway! Called my PCP and the nurse urged me to go to the ER. I laughed and shared that I have a $200 co-pay and my foot was still attached. In reality the cut was about 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches long--it took 3 stiches. Of course, the PA at the doc in a box that I ended up at had little to no experience at stiches . In fact, she pulled the thread right through my skin on the first stich. The older nurse just shook her head and smiled and said, "Honey you need to tie a knot before you pull on that." Hope you mend quickly.


Great story. I always have a healthy set of caution for chainsaws evertime I use them.


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## clancey (Oct 17, 2021)

21 Wild Injury Stories That I'm Still Laughing At
					

"There were rumors I had died."




					www.buzzfeed.com


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## bholler (Oct 17, 2021)

No firewood injuries at this point.  Lots of other injuries though


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## PaulBunyun (Oct 17, 2021)

clancey said:


> So sorry that happened for that's a real drag--don't really have any firewood stories and all I can say is put ice on it....Sounds like you are going on vacation and taken a easy for awhile until it heals but with that snap or sound ---"that does not feel good''or even "sound good"--not optimistic here with the description of it all and I have you in my prayers.. clancey


Always can use prayers. Thank you clancey.


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## Ctwoodtick (Oct 17, 2021)

Back injuries from firewood here. But I can’t blame the firewood. I blame a sedentary job and then thinking I can safety lift 100 pound rounds on the weekend.


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## Caw (Oct 17, 2021)

I just dealt with this 3 hours before work. Restacked 2 cords and tarped it. I'm beat and have to go stack boxes for 4 hrs now lol. Only a minor few scrapes on some screws but overall not bad. Stuff can easily go wrong though, always be careful. Hope you get better soon!


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## brenndatomu (Oct 17, 2021)

PaulBunyun said:


> I was unloading the last log out of the trailer when I rolled my ankle and heard a nice pop! Worth the free oak though lol


  


Caw said:


> View attachment 283477
> 
> 
> I just dealt with this 3 hours before work. Restacked 2 cords and tarped it. I'm beat and have to go stack boxes for 4 hrs now lol. Only a minor few scrapes on some screws but overall not bad. Stuff can easily go wrong though, always be careful. Hope you get better soon!


Can't quite figure what I'm looking at here...wood shed collapse? Restacking stinks no matter the reason though...


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## clancey (Oct 17, 2021)

lol That picture will get the paul bunyum thinking and take his mind off the injury---maybe caw had a tarp something on the top of it or maybe the top blew off---looks like a lot of wood and he needs a cold drink and a dog to and a few soaks in epson salts...clancey..


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## Das Jugghead (Oct 17, 2021)

PaulBunyun said:


> Sitting in the ER waiting to see if my ankle is broken. Spent the day cutting up a free oak from a neighbor. I was unloading the last log out of the trailer when I rolled my ankle and heard a nice pop! Worth the free oak though lol. Let me hear some nice firewood mishaps to pass the time in the ER. Stay warm everyone.



Roughly twelve or thirteen years ago I was dropping a tree for my Godparents.  Had the tree on the ground - small tree only about forty foot.  I was in it breaking it up when the saw caught a small branch and leaped into my leg.  The Stihl happily ate my favorite pair of shorts.  The bar, with a fresh chain, tore the everlasting phoque out of my right leg from the kneecap almost to my hip.  I wrapped it with a towel and duck tape and finished the job.  Got home and poured cayenne tincture in it and did the dance of the idiots.   Very fortunate in that there was no infection, didn't hit any tendons, and no major muscle damage.

Hope your ankle is not broken.


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## brenndatomu (Oct 17, 2021)

clancey said:


> he needs a cold drink and a dog


Maybe moose...er, dog bumped into it and knocked it over!


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## ABMax24 (Oct 17, 2021)

My uncle was cutting firewood in running shoes, like he often did, and somehow the saw met the end of his shoe and went to work, I think it cut 5 inches down his foot before he stopped. He spent most of the next year on crutches while it healed.


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## NoGoodAtScreenNames (Oct 17, 2021)

Caw said:


> View attachment 283477
> 
> 
> I just dealt with this 3 hours before work. Restacked 2 cords and tarped it. I'm beat and have to go stack boxes for 4 hrs now lol. Only a minor few scrapes on some screws but overall not bad. Stuff can easily go wrong though, always be careful. Hope you get better soon!


I know that sucks for you but all I could think of is a new series on Netflix called “Nailed It! (Wood Shed Edition)” where contestants try to make great sheds that look like this:






And end up with making ones that look like this:


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## EatenByLimestone (Oct 17, 2021)

No firewood injuries, but one of my employees lost a real good friend about a month ago.

They were clearing a tree.    It got dark, they figured it was the country and nobody would complain, so they went ahead and felled it.     They didn't notice the power line going through the tree.    Friend grabbed the power line instead of a branch.    He left a wife and 4 kids.


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## Grizzerbear (Oct 17, 2021)

No injuries here. Just nicks and bruises, lots of smashed fingers and such. My mom did take the very tip of her middle finger off with the splitter once while helping my father. When we came back the next day we grabbed the glove that was laying there soaked in blood. Yea the tip was still in there. My great uncle also had a saw buck back and hit him in the fore head als, though it must not have been too bad being there was no scar that I ever could tell.


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## PaulBunyun (Oct 17, 2021)

EatenByLimestone said:


> No firewood injuries, but one of my employees lost a real good friend about a month ago.
> 
> They were clearing a tree.    It got dark, they figured it was the country and nobody would complain, so they went ahead and felled it.     They didn't notice the power line going through the tree.    Friend grabbed the power line instead of a branch.    He left a wife and 4 kids.ery tragic. This gives me great perspective that it could always be worse.


Very sad. Gives perspective that it could be worse and be thankful for that.


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## Caw (Oct 17, 2021)

NoGoodAtScreenNames said:


> I know that sucks for you but all I could think of is a new series on Netflix called “Nailed It! (Wood Shed Edition)” where contestants try to make great sheds that look like this:
> 
> View attachment 283483
> 
> ...



Hahaha that gave me a good chuckle thanks for that. 

This wasn't a woodshed it was just a scrap sheet metal roof that I ghetto attached with some scrap wood I had laying around. It has been leaning pretty hard lately and I had been meaning to get to it...nature just kicked me in the butt to get me to do it and punish me for not doing it sooner by making me do it before work. This is about half my seasoned wood for this season and it's been wet at night lately so I had to make sure it was done/tarped before going to work. It was a good workout but boy do I HATE restacking. I tend to take my time and do a really good job so this doesn't happen but some of my supports settled a bit and caused the lean.


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## patrickk222 (Oct 17, 2021)

PaulBunyun said:


> Sitting in the ER waiting to see if my ankle is broken. Spent the day cutting up a free oak from a neighbor. I was unloading the last log out of the trailer when I rolled my ankle and heard a nice pop! Worth the free oak though lol. Let me hear some nice firewood mishaps to pass the time in the ER. Stay warm everyone.


i once did something very stupid i was cuttin up some black cherry that was sittin on a hard maple log ..... now this cherry had like 3 to 4 seperate logs connected to 1 stump so im workin on the bottom 1 and i get to the part sittin on the maple log i get through like 95 percent and see the stump start to wiggle a bit i get through the piece and it came rollin off and hit me right in the ribs and about pinned me to a tree ... needless to say ended up with more marks in my britches than a quarter mile drag strip and a few broken ribs


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## firefighterjake (Oct 18, 2021)

Wood-related, but not firewood related . . . a few years back I was on a step ladder cutting a large branch off a pine tree. Did not realize one should do an undercut first and then top cut to allow the branch to gently droop down and then snap off cleanly. Cutting away and then the next thing I knew all I saw was blackness and stars. Managed to somehow hang on to the ladder and ride it down. Hit the ground and blood was gushing everywhere from a cut on the forehead. Ended up going to the local hospital ED and got a few stitches. Never have had that problem since then . . . learned my lesson from that mistake.

Firewood-related, but no injuries . . . several years ago my Uncle was cutting wood on a piece of property the family owned in Belfast. Plenty of land and trees all around, but for some reason he decided he wanted to cut this one tree located next to a power line. Turned out it was a major power line running to a sub-station. Ended up shutting down the power to a good part of Belfast for several hours.


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## ohlongarm (Oct 18, 2021)

PaulBunyun said:


> Sitting in the ER waiting to see if my ankle is broken. Spent the day cutting up a free oak from a neighbor. I was unloading the last log out of the trailer when I rolled my ankle and heard a nice pop! Worth the free oak though lol. Let me hear some nice firewood mishaps to pass the time in the ER. Stay warm everyone.


Sorry about that, hope you'll mend fast. Cutting firewood, trees, is very dangerous work, I never cut without eye, ear, head, protection as well as steel toes and chainsaw chaps, even then injuries can happen. Hang in there .


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## gzecc (Oct 18, 2021)

More proof that there is no such thing as free wood!


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## bigealta (Oct 18, 2021)

Bummer, sports injuries mostly for me. A lot of guys roll there ankles. Don’t like that yours popped. Hope it’s ok. The guys that have ankle injuries now wear ankle braces when playing to help from rolling them again.


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## NewGuy132 (Oct 20, 2021)

Fairly certain that I broke my finger a couple (maybe 3?) weeks ago.  Was also getting some free Oak.  It's still fairly swollen.   I dropped the first round I cut on it.  Hurt like hell, but I still got a couple loads in the truck.  Nothing better than free wood.


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## stoveliker (Oct 20, 2021)

It's best to go see a Dr if you think that. If the bone does not heal exactly right (especially in a finger where there is not a lot of space) tendons and muscles now rubbing over the uneven healed place may give issues (pain) later in life.
Bone shards even more so.

Don't want to end up with not being able to chain saw wood in 10 yrs...


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## NewGuy132 (Oct 20, 2021)

stoveliker said:


> It's best to go see a Dr if you think that. If the bone does not heal exactly right (especially in a finger where there is not a lot of space) tendons and muscles now rubbing over the uneven healed place may give issues (pain) later in life.
> Bone shards even more so.
> 
> Don't want to end up with not being able to chain saw wood in 10 yrs...


I have been wearing a splint and it’s much better. It’s just the finger tip so I’m not sure what could really be done.  I’ll keep an eye on it for a couple more weeks and see what happens. If it turns black I’ll head to urgent care.


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## mar13 (Oct 20, 2021)

Do any of you smash your finger tips while stacking wood? I just can't seem to learn (for long)  that you shouldn't hold wood underhand when putting it down..


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## Caw (Oct 20, 2021)

mar13 said:


> Do any of you smash your finger tips while stacking wood? I just can't seem to learn (for long)  that you shouldn't hold wood underhand when putting it down..



Hmm no haven't had that happen more than once or twice by accident. My hands tend to get tired after a day from picking it up actively trying to avoid doing that. I'll pick up one in each hand and put them down that way. 

I also work with my hands though so I run into some over use situations during wood processing season. I try to focus on not using my phone much and taking it easy on my hands/wrists during my down time that time of year. It can be a long day when you split/stack all day then go to work and lift/move heavy chit all night lol.


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## Grizzerbear (Oct 20, 2021)

mar13 said:


> Do any of you smash your finger tips while stacking wood? I just can't seem to learn (for long)  that you shouldn't hold wood underhand when putting it down..



Mostly when running the splitter for me.  My shins take a beating to lol.


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## ChillyB (Oct 20, 2021)

Grew up splitting wood with a Gravely walk-behind tractor with unicorn splitter on a gearbox.   No idea how we kept our fingers.  Stringy oak, heavy gloves, hooded sweatshirts with dangling drawstrings...   i shouldnt be alive.


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## Caw (Oct 20, 2021)

Grizzerbear said:


> Mostly when running the splitter for me.  My shins take a beating to lol.



I definitely get more shin bruises than anywhere else. I have carbon tipped boots from work so my toes stay safe but those shin whacks hurt like a SOB and take 3 months to get better. The absolute worst is when you hit the same spot a week later...


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## ohlongarm (Oct 21, 2021)

Grizzerbear said:


> Mostly when running the splitter for me.  My shins take a beating to lol.


Catchers shin guards , as much wood as I've split they're a must have , will save those shins for sure.


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## Caw (Oct 21, 2021)

ohlongarm said:


> Catchers shin guards , as much wood as I've split they're a must have , will save those shins for sure.



Oh that's a great idea. Or maybe if you don't have those some basic soccer shin guards would be better than nothing.


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## Investmentdude (Jul 23, 2022)

Just today I was grabbing some cinderblocks for the base I need to build for my ever expanding woodpile, I was moving 15 of these blocks one by one into the bed of my truck and stepped and rolled my ankle better than I have in 10 years.  I felt it start to swell a little but counted to ten like Brad Pitt in that zombie movie to see if it was screwed , but it wasn’t. I gingerly got the rest of them in the bed.


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## Simonkenton (Jul 24, 2022)

Docs hate chainsaw cuts.  Compared to a nice clean cut from a knife, the chainsaw cut is rough and jagged, and full of dirt, oil, and sawdust.

I got 35 stitches in the left thigh one time from the Stihl,   damn nurse spent an hour cleaning the wound before doc sewed it up.


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## Dataman (Jul 24, 2022)

Not nice.   Injury is why I switched from Wood to Pellets.  Stumbled on Bucked up Wood and Hit my Shoulder on one and tore muscle in 1/2 and tore rotator cuff.  And I could have had wife push the cut up pieces out of the way easily enough with tractor.


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## Bobbob (Jul 24, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> Docs hate chainsaw cuts.  Compared to a nice clean cut from a knife, the chainsaw cut is rough and jagged, and full of dirt, oil, and sawdust.
> 
> I got 35 stitches in the left thigh one time from the Stihl,   damn nurse spent an hour cleaning the wound before doc sewed it up.


Ten years ago had nine staples in my knee, thanks to my Stihl. Would have been worse if my knee cap hadn't slowed it down. My neighbor owns a tree service and his advice was, once you start your saw never take your eye off the chain. No problems since.


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## Prof (Jul 24, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> Docs hate chainsaw cuts.  Compared to a nice clean cut from a knife, the chainsaw cut is rough and jagged, and full of dirt, oil, and sawdust.
> 
> I got 35 stitches in the left thigh one time from the Stihl,   damn nurse spent an hour cleaning the wound before doc sewed it up.


Heck, I feel lucky--I got off easy with 3 stiches. Honestly, with chainsaws, it wouldn't have surprised me to find a couple toes without homes in my boot.


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## Mutineer (Jul 25, 2022)

30 years ago I was 18 ft up a ladder against a big dead elm out front, cutting a 9-10" branch off and I miscalculated to fall path and it hit the extension ladder and put a nice bend in the ladder. Not enough to make it unusable but my wife makes fun of me when I get it out to clean the gutters or cut more branches because of the pronounced bend in it. Luckily the arc in the top half is the same as the one in the lower half so they slide together just like they were manufactured that way. Neighbors drive by with jealousy oozing out of their stares.


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## Simonkenton (Jul 25, 2022)

I have been 18 feet up a ladder, sawing with a chainsaw.  I didn't get hurt but, damn that is dangerous.


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## bigealta (Jul 25, 2022)

Bobbob said:


> Ten years ago had nine staples in my knee, thanks to my Stihl. Would have been worse if my knee cap hadn't slowed it down. My neighbor owns a tree service and his advice was, once you start your saw never take your eye off the chain. No problems since.


Yeah my buddy who went to forestry school said they taught him to treat a chainsaw like it's  a weapon. Same respect for it as a loaded gun.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 25, 2022)

It'd be way more fun to fell a tree with a gun.   Just sayin'...


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## bigealta (Jul 25, 2022)

EatenByLimestone said:


> It'd be way more fun to fell a tree with a gun.   Just sayin'...


Go for it Rambo.


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## stoveliker (Jul 25, 2022)

I don't have THAT kind of gun. And from what I have seen, it mostly makes kindling...


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## Ashful (Jul 25, 2022)

Unless I missed it, Paul never posted back to tell us what happened with his ankle.  Maybe they put him down, like a lame horse?

Those who've been on this forum more than a few years likely remember the story of my FIL cutting his finger off at my house, Black Friday ca.2012.  He was there to help me split and stack firewood, but the amputation actually happened during a lunch break, when he decided to use the table saw for a quick cupola trimwork job.

I also dropped a tree on a cutting partner's son, but already used that story once this summer.


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## ClintonH (Jul 26, 2022)

EatenByLimestone said:


> It'd be way more fun to fell a tree with a gun.   Just sayin'...


Brrrrrrrt


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## bikedennis (Jul 26, 2022)

While out cutting with my son,  I took down a 30 foot fir snag. I was so impressed with myself for getting it to drop exactly where I wanted it to go that I stood and watched it drop. It bounced with the butt glancing off my skull.  I know to get out of the way but failed to this time.  Spent the afternoon in th ER with many stitches.  Fortunate to have nothing permanent. Very lucky and grateful that it was not worse than it was.


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## Isaac Carlson (Jul 28, 2022)

I broke my thumb last fall while removing the old sidewalk so I could build a deck.
I got a stick through my foot around the end of the year while trying to load firewood for a friend who had none.  That laid me up for a month.
Then I tore a rotator cuff, and now I have a hurt rib.

Can't remember a year of getting hurt like this.  It's nuts.  I'm just trying to keep going without more damage.  I still have to cut the chunk of stick out of my foot....gonna use some tincture on that one.


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## johneh (Jul 28, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> I broke my thumb last fall while removing the old sidewalk so I could build a deck.
> I got a stick through my foot around the end of the year while trying to load firewood for a friend who had none. That laid me up for a month.
> Then I tore a rotator cuff, and now I have a hurt rib.
> 
> Can't remember a year of getting hurt like this. It's nuts. I'm just trying to keep going without more damage. I still have to cut the chunk of stick out of my foot....gonna use some tincture on that one.


You seem to be a walking disaster.


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## EbS-P (Jul 28, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> I have been 18 feet up a ladder, sawing with a chainsaw.  I didn't get hurt but, damn that is dangerous.


When I got my first chainsaw I promised my self and my family that I would never use both a ladder and a chainsaw at the same time.  I’ll keep that promise.


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## Ashful (Jul 28, 2022)

I love pole saws.  There, I said it.

I have an adrenaline-powered version with about ten segments of 6-foot wood poles and aluminum fittings on each end, and a 15-foot'ish version powered by 2-stroke.  I have even used the gas-powered variant to cut storm-blown trees under pressure, when I didn't want to stand too close to what I'm cutting.


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## bigealta (Jul 28, 2022)

Ashful said:


> I love pole saws.  There, I said it.
> 
> I have an adrenaline-powered version with about ten segments of 6-foot wood poles and aluminum fittings on each end, and a 15-foot'ish version powered by 2-stroke.  I have even used the gas-powered variant to cut storm-blown trees under pressure, when I didn't want to stand too close to what I'm cutting.


would love to see pics


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## gzecc (Jul 28, 2022)

Ashful said:


> I love pole saws.  There, I said it.
> 
> I have an adrenaline-powered version with about ten segments of 6-foot wood poles and aluminum fittings on each end, and a 15-foot'ish version powered by 2-stroke.  I have even used the gas-powered variant to cut storm-blown trees under pressure, when I didn't want to stand too close to what I'm cutting.


I have a battery powered one as a gift. No power house, but cuts smaller branches up high with no problem.  Very useful. Keep the chain sharp.


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## PaulOinMA (Jul 28, 2022)

EbS-P said:


> When I got my first chainsaw I promised my self and my family that I would never use both a ladder and a chainsaw at the same time.  I’ll keep that promise.


I always think of the person in England that fell off a ladder and put a chainsaw in his wife's neck when I hear chainsaw and ladder.  Search "Roland Pudney."

I also always keep in mind the "do not use a chainsaw above shoulder level."


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## clancey (Jul 29, 2022)

Hope your ankle feels better and I am afraid of chain saws---won't see me holding one especially going up a ladder with it-lol  clancey


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## Ashful (Jul 29, 2022)

bigealta said:


> would love to see pics


Will get some this weekend.  Which one?


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## EbS-P (Jul 29, 2022)

Ashful said:


> I love pole saws.  There, I said it.
> 
> I have an adrenaline-powered version with about ten segments of 6-foot wood poles and aluminum fittings on each end, and a 15-foot'ish version powered by 2-stroke.  I have even used the gas-powered variant to cut storm-blown trees under pressure, when I didn't want to stand too close to what I'm cutting.


Much safer than a ladder.  I want one.


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## bigealta (Jul 29, 2022)

Ashful said:


> Will get some this weekend.  Which one?


both but especially the connections u use on the pole saw sections. I'm always looking for a better version of mine. I've even taped 10ft of pvc  pipe to the end of  my 16' pole saw. Talk about wobble city!


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## blades (Jul 29, 2022)

about this time last year I was moving 4x8' skids  for another row of splits to be stacked on.  These being made out of 3x3" Oak stringers. Very heavy . wind comes up and of course pallet acts like sale twisting out of my grasp . so one of the slats slides down my leg, didn't tear any cloth or skin but one heck of Bruise down my calf stopping just above ankle.  that developed into a very large hard type scab/blood bilster ( there is a specific name  for it).  hurt like the dickens.  barely walk.  had a doc apt. to get new primary care person in a week so toughed it out. showed to new doc , ended up in  hospital for removal of same( worried about blood clots) that left me with a 3x4" hole in my leg almost all the down to the bone.   so I am hobbling around,  go to give dogs a bath in tub , the one  is a pistol ,wiggling all over ( 55# worth)  trying to get her out of tub ( deep soaker style) and pop a hernia.  not going to self correct, got that fixed Feb. So we have an ice storm day after hosp visit, hid out for week. then it warmed up enough so ice was starting to melt a bit.  Figured i get the tractor out and scrape off drive.  got to move truck first to get tractor out.  move truck to gravel area, go to get out of truck woke up about 10 ft from truck broken rib and badly banged up right shoulder, did't blow any stiches though.  now a a year later leg is 99% healed,  hernia is mostly healed, rib is healed but shoulder is still a problem.  Got to start saws with left side  apendages as the right isn't up to the task yet. rough end  to 2021 and start of 2022. Got to noodle those 18" on up rounds in half cause I can't pick them up yet. got 4 cords done so far kind of slow going though.


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## Bobbob (Jul 30, 2022)

Wow! Hope the rest of this year is better for you. I think you have had your share


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## ericm979 (Jul 30, 2022)

EatenByLimestone said:


> It'd be way more fun to fell a tree with a gun.   Just sayin'...



I've actually done that and it's one of those things that is not as cool as it sounds.

One of my jobs with the USFS involved climbing trees to pick cones or cut scion wood for grafting.  We had a lot of trees that were in a program and would be harvested repeatedly, so we climbed in a way to not damage them.  But once we were to get scion from a tree that was never going to be used again so it was ok to damage it. We used a rifle to shoot out the top of the tree for the scion.  We were both decent shots and were shooting where the trunk was about 4" and it still took so long that it got tedious and wasn't much faster than climbing it would have been.


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## Ashful (Aug 1, 2022)

bigealta said:


> would love to see pics


So, the gasser is shorter than I had realized.  Using extensions, I can adjust it from 7' to 13', shown here with a single extension at 10':





The one powered by adrenaline and elbow grease has 7 sections at 6' long each, so theoretically up to 42 feet plus implement (i.e. 44 feet).  But it starts getting real wobbly with more than 5 sections (30 feet), and raising it from the ground at that length would likely snap the section in your hands, so I play the game of getting it propped up against the tree at 4 or 5 sections, before adding the remainder.




Here are close-ups of the female and male socket ends, both aluminum.  Poles appear to be a stiff softwood, likely yellow pine or doug fir.


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## Simonkenton (Aug 1, 2022)

"A few Jotul Firelight 12's, a couple of BK Ashford 30's, some open fireplaces..."

Ashful you have 4 wood stoves.  Your house is bigger than mine.


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## blades (Aug 1, 2022)

my dad -eons a go would bring a christmas tree home from up north after deer season . shot the top off a pine tree - 8mm Mauser lead round nose slugs, no idea how many shots,  I can say that the entrance hole was about 1/2" and the exit side was about size of a football, from personal experience- missed the deer but got a pine tree dead center that was in line of fire -iron sights- back when I could see those.


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## Ashful (Aug 1, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> "A few Jotul Firelight 12's, a couple of BK Ashford 30's, some open fireplaces..."
> 
> Ashful you have 4 wood stoves.  Your house is bigger than mine.


Well, the house is too large, but it's all we could find that fit our more important criteria.  I'm heating 7800 of our total 8100 sq.ft., between main house and carriage house (currently workshop).

But I'm not actually running four stoves, only two.  I sold the three Jotul Firelight 12's shortly after buying the two Ashford 30.1's.  I still have one open fireplace, the other three either hold wood stoves or have been closed off to use.


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## Simonkenton (Aug 1, 2022)

7800 sq ft.  Good God!  I am having to get by with 2100 s ft.

Is your house real old?


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## boomfire (Aug 1, 2022)

EbS-P said:


> When I got my first chainsaw I promised my self and my family that I would never use both a ladder and a chainsaw at the same time.  I’ll keep that promise.



i am guilty of doing that with a small electric chainsaw to trim dead branches


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## Ashful (Aug 1, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> Is your house real old?


Parts of it are.  One corner, roughly 500 sq.ft. of the current structure, is believed to be 1734.  We know the main structure (4000 sq.ft.) was built atop this older building in 1775, with a date stone to confirm that.

But on the other hand, it's not the oldest or most historically significant house that I've lived in, all things being relative.


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## Simonkenton (Aug 1, 2022)

1775.  Good Lord!  Must have a great foundation and roof.  The only houses around here in 1775 were wigwams.  Post pics of your house please.


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## Ashful (Aug 1, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> 1775.  Good Lord!  Must have a great foundation and roof.  The only houses around here in 1775 were wigwams.  Post pics of your house please.


I've posted so many pics of this house over the years, that every other long-term member of this forum is already groaning.    I'll PM you some info.


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## Caw (Aug 1, 2022)

Ashful said:


> I've posted so many pics of this house over the years, that every other long-term member of this forum is already groaning.    I'll PM you some info.


I'll post some new Gordon pics and we can really take over the thread


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## Ashful (Aug 1, 2022)

boomfire said:


> i am guilty of doing that with a small electric chainsaw to trim dead branches


You could be a YouTube star, someday!  My un-scientific count seems to indicate at least half the "tree fails" videos include a ladder.

My latest favorite starts around 1:30 in this montage:


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## Simonkenton (Aug 1, 2022)

The one at 2:00 about gave me a stroke.  An older guy way up a ladder.  He had to be hurt badly, might have been killed.


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## stoveliker (Aug 2, 2022)

He's likely dead indeed. Poor folks; many people watching.
He didn't even secure himself...

What did the first (Dutch...) people try to do? It was not an axe. So a wedge? The cut he made afterwards was still rather substantial for this to be a (useful) wedging?


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## Ashful (Aug 2, 2022)

Maybe I should go back and watch it again, but to my memory, the cause of every single one of those fails was very obvious operator error or inexperience.  I don't recall one that went wrong, where I wasn't able to see the plain and simple cause of it, if not see it coming from the beginning of the clip.


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## Simonkenton (Aug 2, 2022)

Operator error.  Half the guys didn't know how to make the notch to fell a tree.

And half of the guys need to learn what a plumb bob is.  I admit it took me a few years to get one.    A steel nut* for a 1/2   inch bolt and a 4  foot long white string.  Cost  40 cents.
Value  =  Invaluable

* a .58 minie ball will also work.  Drill a 1/8 inch hole through it

That guy at 2:00.  He is maybe 60 years old.  His head is 25 feet off the ground.  Good God.


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## Ashful (Aug 2, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> Operator error.  Half the guys didn't know how to make the notch to fell a tree.
> 
> And half of the guys need to learn what a plumb bob is.


Half of those actually using a face cut / back cut managed to be so out of square between the two, that they cut thru one end of their hinge before the tree even started moving.  Those gunning sight lines are painted on your saw body for a reason, bub!


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## Simonkenton (Aug 2, 2022)

Sight lines?  What?  
Explain sight lines.


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## Ashful (Aug 2, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> Sight lines?  What?
> Explain sight lines.


Whether you're making your face cut or back cut, point those sight lines where you want the tree to fall.  Those lines are (roughly) perpendicular to the cutting edge of the bar spec'd for that saw.


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## peakbagger (Aug 2, 2022)

Did the OP Paul Bunyon ever reply on what the extent of the injury was?


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## DonTee (Aug 3, 2022)

There’s a YouTube channel I watch (guilty of treeson) where they explain the site lines. I had never heard of them before that.  Maybe if I read my chain saw owners manual I would know? 

I watch videos of people making mistakes so hopefully I don’t make the same mistake. Lol.


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## Ashful (Aug 3, 2022)

peakbagger said:


> Did the OP Paul Bunyon ever reply on what the extent of the injury was?


Not to my knowledge.  Inquiring minds, and all....


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## BKVP (Aug 7, 2022)

Chaps...buy chaps.  7 mattress sutures across the top of my left thigh in 2021. Please buy chaps.


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## Ashful (Aug 8, 2022)

... and wear them.  I was good about the buying part, and I will wear them when going out cutting all day in the woods.  But I'll admit I'm usually to warm or lazy to fetch them for the dozens of times per year I am doing "just a small job" with a chainsaw.


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## EbS-P (Aug 8, 2022)

Ashful said:


> ... and wear them.  I was good about the buying part, and I will wear them when going out cutting all day in the woods.  But I'll admit I'm usually to warm or lazy to fetch them for the dozens of times per year I am doing "just a small job" with a chainsaw.


Hang them on top of your saws!


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## Ashful (Aug 8, 2022)

EbS-P said:


> Hang them on top of your saws!


They're hanging close enough to the saws.  But if it's over 40F outside (which is any day outside December - March), or if I'm not going to be cutting all day, I honestly don't want to bother with them.  I run warm already, and hate the extra layer, which only makes me sweat even more.

I'm not advocating this attitude, I know it's not good, but I suspect I'm not alone.


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## peakbagger (Aug 8, 2022)

I wear hiking shorts under mine in warmer weather. I also installed bachelor buttons and a beefy pair of suspenders to keep them from sliding down. No nicks in mine but no plenty of others who have them.


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## Simonkenton (Aug 8, 2022)

I have never used chaps.  There was onetime when I needed them, 35 stitches on the top of the left thigh.  And the saw was idling.
That was 26 years ago, I am a slow learner.


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## bigealta (Aug 8, 2022)

DonTee said:


> There’s a YouTube channel I watch (guilty of treeson) where they explain the site lines. I had never heard of them before that.  Maybe if I read my chain saw owners manual I would know?
> 
> I watch videos of people making mistakes so hopefully I don’t make the same mistake. Lol.


Those guys are good.


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## cbscout (Oct 16, 2022)

Simonkenton said:


> The one at 2:00 about gave me a stroke.  An older guy way up a ladder.  He had to be hurt badly, might have been killed.


I saw that and cringed...holy crap. I freaked out.


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## RockyMtnGriz (Oct 18, 2022)

BKVP said:


> Chaps...buy chaps.  7 mattress sutures across the top of my left thigh in 2021. Please buy chaps.


Y'know, a couple of days ago, I finally did it.. Pushing 60 now, and having bought my first saw at 13/14 (80cc and 36" bar) when I tired of the family saws that weren't doing it for me, I've worn out a few chains in my life, but, finally...

I was bucking a log, while facing into a 20-30 deg slope.  I noticed that the heel of my right foot was rocking on a branch that was straight up and down the hill.  Having finished the buck and needing to move to the left for the next one, I unconsciously did the wise thing and got my body mass moving where I wanted to go, so I could stand on the left foot as I moved instead of lifting it, which would have left me standing on only the branch - potentially not a good thing. 

It was all working as unconsciously planned, until the moment that my slightly exaggerated shoulder movement, hillside induced slight forward bend at the hips, and slightly exaggerated lift and swing of my right leg to make it all balance, added up to the unmistakable and frightening buzz of my chaps and the still moving chain coming together.

A few seconds of saying to myself "yep, you really DID just DO THAT", and "that really DID just happen", followed by quite a few more contemplating what the damage might be, and waiting for the damp sensation and the pain, passed before I chose to look (we did all learn young that it'll hurt less, and you'll be able to get home - if you don't look at it / take the boot off / etc. - right??).

When I finally looked, I was shocked to realize that I'd completely gotten away with it!  I couldn't even discern a mark on the chaps from all the other normal battle marks on them.  Maybe the semi-chisel chain I was running at at the time helped.  Maybe a fold on the chaps contacted the side of the chain rather than the top of the cutter.  I don't know, but I got lucky. 

I can't say I'd never make a buck cut on a log on level ground without chaps (no limbing though), but I can say that my dedication to wearing chaps, which I only found very late in life, has been reinforced!

My sympathies and a speedy recovery to all of you who have sustained actual damage, and a be careful to the rest!!


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## Garbanzo62 (Oct 19, 2022)

A few years back I was cutting a tree when a vine with prickers dropped onto my face. I went to brush them away from my face and the weight of the saw dropped down towards my leg. Fortunately A) my finger was off the throttle and the chain was spinning down and B) I caught my mistake.  Walked away with a pair of ripped jeans and a deep scratch on my thigh. (still have the scar). Now that I have an insert and will be cutting more I've invested in chainsaw chaps


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## Stinkpickle (Oct 19, 2022)

My injuries usually come from more mundane activities, like... 

- picking up laundry baskets
- standing up from a chair too quickly 
- walking out to the mailbox


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## EbS-P (Oct 19, 2022)

Stinkpickle said:


> My injuries usually come from more mundane activities, like...
> 
> - picking up laundry baskets
> - standing up from a chair too quickly
> - walking out to the mailbox


I was reaching for the shampoo bottle😢


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## BKVP (Oct 19, 2022)

Sad.  Very sad you guys are being injured doing domestic chores.  Improve the unemployment picture and hire others to help you.


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## PaulBunyun (Oct 19, 2022)

Ashful said:


> Unless I missed it, Paul never posted back to tell us what happened with his ankle.  Maybe they put him down, like a lame horse?
> 
> Those who've been on this forum more than a few years likely remember the story of my FIL cutting his finger off at my house, Black Friday ca.2012.  He was there to help me split and stack firewood, but the amputation actually happened during a lunch break, when he decided to use the table saw for a quick cupola trimwork job.
> 
> I also dropped a tree on a cutting partner's son, but already used that story once this summer.


Sorry didn't see that this thread came back over the summer! I ended up tearing all the legiments in my ankle. They told me I needed a complete reconstruction or try to live with it the best you can for as long as i can. Just brought some wood in for this seasons first fire so I'll let you guess which one I chose 😜


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## Ashful (Oct 19, 2022)

BKVP said:


> Sad.  Very sad you guys are being injured doing domestic chores.  Improve the unemployment picture and hire others to help you.


I'm old enough that I hurt myself doing stupid things, but young enough that I'm not ready to admit to any of it in public.


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## stoveliker (Oct 19, 2022)

BKVP said:


> Sad.  Very sad you guys are being injured doing domestic chores.  Improve the unemployment picture and hire others to help you.


what, hiring someone to hand me the shampoo in the shower??
The WAF (wife approval factor) would be rather low on that venture, I surmise.


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## GrumpyDad (Oct 19, 2022)

stoveliker said:


> what, hiring someone to hand me the shampoo in the shower??
> The WAF (wife approval factor) would be rather low on that venture, I surmise.


I pulled a muscle in my neck reaching behind me for my coffee cup. 
Meanwhile, I've tomahawked on a snowboard going 40mph for about a hundred feet or so and gotten up with nothing wrong.  Talk about a VIOLENT crash.  Google ski tomahawk (snowboarding ones are harder to find)


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## lml999 (Nov 30, 2022)

Ashful said:


> I'm old enough that I hurt myself doing stupid things, but young enough that I'm not ready to admit to any of it in public.


I was doing something McGyverish, that could have turned out poorly... My wife was impressed with the McGyvering part and grabbed her phone, thinking she would record/post a video. Um, no. Put the phone down. I'll wait. 

(I won't go into details, but it involved using an aluminum racing floor jack and a couple of 2x4s to lift something heavy/bulky from the floor to carrying height. It went fine, but in retrospect, I should have asked the assistant in the shower who hands me my shampoo to help with this task...)


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## Isaac Carlson (Nov 30, 2022)

lml999 said:


> I was doing something McGyverish, that could have turned out poorly... My wife was impressed with the McGyvering part and grabbed her phone, thinking she would record/post a video. Um, no. Put the phone down. I'll wait.
> 
> (I won't go into details, but it involved using an aluminum racing floor jack and a couple of 2x4s to lift something heavy/bulky from the floor to carrying height. It went fine, but in retrospect, I should have asked the assistant in the shower who hands me my shampoo to help with this task...)


I don't think I want to ask what you were lifting....or if things were embellished a bit.🫣


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## ericm979 (Nov 30, 2022)

lml999 said:


> (I won't go into details, but it involved using an aluminum racing floor jack and a couple of 2x4s to lift something heavy/bulky from the floor to carrying height.



I almost lost an eye doing something similar. I was using a trolley jack with a 2x4 long ways to jack up the side of a barn I was rebuilding.  The 2x4 shot out and nailed me in the face just below my eye. Fortunately the only damage was a nasty black eye.

I always wear safety glasses when doing anything remotely risky now and don't try to extend jacks like that.


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## j7art2 (Nov 30, 2022)

I had two this year.

Elbow surgery to fix the last 10 years I've been ignoring my tennis elbow from an entire lifetime of stacking wood along with 4 bone spurs removed in early October, and 3 weeks after, while doing firewood for physical therapy, had a 150lb oak round fall on my thumb after my pickaroon slip out and crush it between the handle of the pickaroon (which is all steel and homemade) and the corner of the round.

Turns out after multiple x-rays and comparing over the years, my thumb has been actually broken for the last 8 years after sustaining another injury and technically also requires surgery to be 100%, and I simply didn't realize it. This crush injury caused the bone shard to move in my thumb and tear out of the existing scar tissue enough to require taping for a month. Once the doc determined that it wasn't a new injury and that the shard simply had become dislodged from the significant amount of scar tissue I have there, his response was "give it a month to re-encapsulate and we'll re-evaluate.

Luckily I'm good now. I never stopped doing wood since I'm a bit short this year, but splitting half a driveway full of rounds with a taped and broken thumb was exciting. No rest for the wicked, and I'm certainly not bouncing back like I was when I was 25, but work doesn't stop simply because I'm hurt.


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## lml999 (Nov 30, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> I don't think I want to ask what you were lifting....or if things were embellished a bit.🫣


Embellished? That's my middle name... 

...but seriously...I was lifting an older 12K window air conditioner (really heavy and akward sucker) from the floor to a carrying position. I had moved it from our second floor storage area with a hand truck. I probably had no business trying to do it myself, or putting it into the window without some help. I'm not *quite* as young as I used to be...

So...it went off without incident. And after the end of the season, i sold both of the 12K units and we made do with 8K units for a year or two. Then this year we chucked them all and went with a sweet multizone mini split/heat pump system. It's now November 30 and the boiler has not been used for heating yet this year. The heat pumps, according to Mitsubishi, are good for pretty much any temperature we'll get on the cape, and the stove covers a decent portion of the house...


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## lml999 (Nov 30, 2022)

ericm979 said:


> I always wear safety glasses when doing anything remotely risky now and don't try to extend jacks like that.


I keep reminding myself not to wear flip flops in the summer when I'm splitting wood. I've done it a couple of times and fortunately, have nothing to report.


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## Ashful (Nov 30, 2022)

I will saw and split in shorts, but I always go for the ultra-fashionable choice of logging boots while working firewood, even when in shorts.


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## Isaac Carlson (Nov 30, 2022)

I get hot when cutting wood, so I wear what's comfortable.  I had to wear all the safety gear when working with tree companies, and had too many close calls and heat stroke episodes.  I told the boss he could fire me if he wanted, but I would not wear it anymore.  He didn't fire me and I did a lot better.


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## Billijak (Nov 30, 2022)

1984...moved back to my hometown...new job at the local High School - music teacher.  Cousin of my mom's asked for help cutting down a large cottonwood in the front yard of his mother's. I was in the tree , sitting on a large branch, my back against the main trunk, cutting in front of me..(not behind ).  Cut through the branch, tree whipped forward and back as it dropped...and 18 ft later I was on the ground with a small branch in my side and ankle folded underneath me.  Saved the saw...it was tied off in the tree!  Waited 45 minutes for ambulance from the next town with a hospital.  Broken ankle fixed with surgery - 4 stainless steel pins - and a cast.  I was the new Band/Chorus director, so the next few weeks marching band was taught from the seat of a golf cart.

I no longer climb trees.


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## GrumpyDad (Dec 1, 2022)

lml999 said:


> Embellished? That's my middle name...
> 
> ...but seriously...I was lifting an older 12K window air conditioner (really heavy and akward sucker) from the floor to a carrying position. I had moved it from our second floor storage area with a hand truck. I probably had no business trying to do it myself, or putting it into the window without some help. I'm not *quite* as young as I used to be...
> 
> So...it went off without incident. And after the end of the season, i sold both of the 12K units and we made do with 8K units for a year or two. Then this year we chucked them all and went with a sweet multizone mini split/heat pump system. It's now November 30 and the boiler has not been used for heating yet this year. The heat pumps, according to Mitsubishi, are good for pretty much any temperature we'll get on the cape, and the stove covers a decent portion of the house...


I lifted a 20k unit out of a large window every fall and every spring.  That sucked so bad I can't begin to describe it.


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