Do you cut wood alone?

[Tar12]

I don't have a working saw. LOL

Does scavenging and splitting alone count?

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap

Nope....but you could start a wannabe thread....lol

 

[jaoneill]

I cut solo most of the time for over 50 years and have had a few scares when felling. For the last 5-6 years I have tried to have someone with me when felling, especially the bigger stuff, but I am still alone for most of the process.

 

[Sodbuster]

I don't fell alone. Not since I took a dead branch to the head. Little bit of blood that made me go light headed, but it could have been worse. Any time I'm cutting down, my dad is around. He's usually running the tractor, but is no more than a 25 minute trip away. I do most of the chainsaw work and all of the felling for he and I. He refuses to cut down (bad things happen when he tries). I won't do it alone. Any other part of the process (dragging in, cutting up, splitting) we will do ourselves. Over the last 3 years, our least productive year was 10-15 cords using the above system. That was this year; as of now, we've stacked full both of our storage areas.

It's interesting what we perceive as saftey issues. Those of you out there cutting alone would scoff at my wood cutting sneakers that I retired not long ago. And I don't wear chaps or a helmet, just ear plugs, saftey glasses, and sometimes gloves. But I refuse to cut trees down by myself. My grandfather would think us all soft. He did the whole process himself into his early 80's with just his work boots and prescription glasses. His kids and grandkids would help when they could, but he liked to be doing something while everyone else was at school/work. And he was out in the woods alone even after heart attack number 2. He may have been onto something... he died in his sleep at 96.

I wish you continued health and well being, but cutting today without a helmet, chaps,heavy leather boots and gloves is a fools errand. Sure none of these things will guarantee your safety, but they'll sure help. Just last year I was cutting some Shagbark Hickory, when a chunk of the bark ripped free and hit my face shield right where my eye was. It dented the steel mesh all the way to my face and bloodied the skin. Imagine that same strike with zero protection, not even safety glasses. I could've lost an eye. Sure everyone did things differently "back in the day" that doesn't make it smart given today's technology. I hate safety glasses when cutting wood, they fog up, and slide down my face, not so with my mesh face shield. Adding a helmet, also saved my bean from a few hard knocks like cutting a bent over sapling and having it snap straight back into my head. Yes it still hurt, and yes it gouged my helmet, and shoved it down to my nose, but better than my skull. Safety chaps, it get it, they are hot as hell in the summer, which is why I cut in the fall and winter.

Felling doesn't bother me so much, but when I encounter a hang up or snag, I don't even mess with trying to free it, I hook a 80' x 5/16" logging chain to the snag and use my 40 HP 4WD tractor to brute force the thing to pull free and fall. If mine won't do it I borrow my neighbors IH 1486, and that seems to gently nudge them loose.

 

[venator260]

I wish you continued health and well being, but cutting today without a helmet, chaps,heavy leather boots and gloves is a fools errand. Sure none of these things will guarantee your safety, but they'll sure help. Just last year I was cutting some Shagbark Hickory, when a chunk of the bark ripped free and hit my face shield right where my eye was. It dented the steel mesh all the way to my face and bloodied the skin. Imagine that same strike with zero protection, not even safety glasses. I could've lost an eye. Sure everyone did things differently "back in the day" that doesn't make it smart given today's technology. I hate safety glasses when cutting wood, they fog up, and slide down my face, not so with my mesh face shield. Adding a helmet, also saved my bean from a few hard knocks like cutting a bent over sapling and having it snap straight back into my head. Yes it still hurt, and yes it gouged my helmet, and shoved it down to my nose, but better than my skull. Safety chaps, it get it, they are hot as hell in the summer, which is why I cut in the fall and winter.

Felling doesn't bother me so much, but when I encounter a hang up or snag, I don't even mess with trying to free it, I hook a 80' x 5/16" logging chain to the snag and use my 40 HP 4WD tractor to brute force the thing to pull free and fall. If mine won't do it I borrow my neighbors IH 1486, and that seems to gently nudge them loose.

And this, I suppose, was my point. I would consider cutting alone to be a much greater risk to one's safety than cutting without chaps or a helmet. I base this upon the vast majority of logging accidents i hear about concern felling. All of the close calls ive had or witnessed had to do with cutting down. But no one has latched onto those folks for a safety lecture.

I'm not trying to start a debate, I simply find it odd what folks perceive as more dangerous, and that i have a much different perspective.

 

[Sodbuster]

And this, I suppose, was my point. I would consider cutting alone to be a much greater risk to one's safety than cutting without chaps or a helmet. I base this upon the vast majority of logging accidents i hear about concern felling. All of the close calls ive had or witnessed had to do with cutting down. But no one has latched onto those folks for a safety lecture.

I'm not trying to start a debate, I simply find it odd what folks perceive as more dangerous, and that i have a much different perspective.

And this, I suppose, was my point. I would consider cutting alone to be a much greater risk to one's safety than cutting without chaps or a helmet. I base this upon the vast majority of logging accidents i hear about concern felling. All of the close calls ive had or witnessed had to do with cutting down. But no one has latched onto those folks for a safety lecture.

I'm not trying to start a debate, I simply find it odd what folks perceive as more dangerous, and that i have a much different perspective.

I'm not trying to start a debate or lecture either; but as you state in your own post," I base this upon the vast majority of logging accidents i hear about concern felling", and "All of the close calls ive had or witnessed had to do with cutting down."

This is anecdotal evidence at best, unless you have access to all the call runs by the FD, and EMT's responding to a saw accident, and the circumstances of each call, including the ER reports.

I can counter your anecdotal with some of my own. A friend was limbing an already felled tree, when he stepped on a leaf covered rock stumbled into the saw cutting a flap on his thigh. When he got to the ER, my friend asked the nurse, "I bet you don't see this very often, to which she replied, no almost daily"

My point is, there is no completely safe method of cutting firewood. Felling requires 3 cuts, and if planned correctly should offer several escape routes. Limbing requires many cuts. most at foot to mid thigh level, over what can be slippery uneven ground. I consider limbing to be the worst part. Bucking into logs is nothing, just straight cuts on solid ground.

Try a helmet, you'll be protecting eyes, ears, and head, and not give up anything.

 

[lindnova]

For some reason I think I work safer when I am alone. That is because I can work at my own pace. I often take 5 or 10 minutes to evaluate and look at all options when making a difficult cut. If there is another person present, for some reason I seem to think that I should rush the work. Whether to keep from wasting the other persons time, whether it is some type of competitive thing, I do not know. All I know is that when cutting alone, I take all the time in the world to make each cut safe. Not so when another is present.

I agree with you 100% on this.