True Blue Sam the Travelin' Man: And There I Was, Without A Chainsaw!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

And There I Was, Without A Chainsaw!

We visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis over the weekend, and this high stump was obviously left there just to taunt old True Blue Sam. It's the butt end of a ginkgo tree, and it would have made a nice chunk of wood to take home for the collection, and I didn't have a single chainsaw with me. It just goes to show you, that you should always be properly armed.

I am sure that the Missouri Botanical Gardens has many people on their staff who know lots of intricate details about growing trees, but I am a bit bothered that their cutter does not know how to drop a tree properly. This tree was severed from the stump while standing, leaving no hinge to guide it in the right direction. If you are thinking about dropping a tree, and you haven't had instruction in falling methods, go down the left side of this page and read the posts under "Drop That Tree Where You Want It."

2 comments:

KurtP said...: It doesn't look split in the picture at all. Like it probably would if it was felled at that cut.

Maybe it was cut higher and then trimmed so people could see both the end grain and the ,,,side profile?; February 28, 2011 at 11:29 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: I was thinking it was cut here because it was almost waist high. With only this cut to go by, I was figuring that they did a front cut to open a face, then a back cut slightly higher, but kept cutting until the back cut was even with the front cut. Of course, without the matching pieces, this is only a guess, and they may even have chunked down the tree first with a man-lift; or it may not have been the felling cut... I still wish I could have brought it home!; March 1, 2011 at 6:27 AM

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Rules To Live By

Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.

Knives
1. Never cut toward yourself.
2. Always cut away from yourself.
3. Never cut yourself.

AND
If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!

Chainsaws

1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).

2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.

3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.

4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.

5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.

6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.

7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.

8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.

9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.

10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.

11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.

12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.

13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.

14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.

15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.

16. Don't cut alone.

17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.

18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.

19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.

20. Do not cut above your shoulders.

21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.

22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.

23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!

24!! Quit When You Are Tired!

25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!

Cutting dead and rotten trees is something I have had lots of practice doing, and it always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow. Don't fight side lean or back lean. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

And There I Was, Without A Chainsaw!

2 comments:

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