He caught the wrong end of the chainsaw?

[Dark Psion]

Last Year's drought and heatwave really did a number on the trees on campus. I have had to cut down nine Pine trees here and we had two much larger trees die out on our farm. To make matter worse, those two trees were right next to the girl's dorm and one had a power pole on the other side.

It was decided we should get professionals for this job and have them grind all the stumps of the other trees. But the guys that were hired were far from professional. They hired them because the company had previously done work for the college. In fact we learned after the job was over that they bought the name when the previous owner retired.

First they took an entire day to "think" about it. I understand you need to plan how to take a tree down, especially one in a tight space. But taking an entire day and then doing exactly what we suggested in the first place (using a crane to lower each branch and section) is a little much. Especially when an employee must be present while a contractor is working on college property.

Day two went great, they got the tree down without any problems, but when they were cutting it up, one of their guy cut himself,
...with a chainsaw.
Tap the back of your left hand, that is what the saw did. He is damned lucky to still have a left hand and one of our employees had to drive him to the hospital.

Believe it or not, he was back at work the next day running the stump grinder. And they did get all the stumps out and without losing any limbs.

But when they took down the other tree and were cutting it up, they blew the tire on our tractor. At this point my supervisor just said, pay them and get them out of here. (and then he said he was going to put a big red X on their folder, shred it and burn it).

But there is a problem, they said they could process a credit card. They can't. We tried several things, including doing a transfer from our card to a Wal Mart Money card, but no. They want a check, they will have to wait 3 weeks for a check.


Assuming my supervisor doesn't shed it and burn it too.

[Argabarga]

But Moe, we don't know nuthin' about grinding stumps!

Shaddup! You hoid the lady, now start grindin' !!! *poke*

[BamaBabe]

But Moe, we don't know nuthin' about grinding stumps!

Shaddup! You hoid the lady, now start grindin' !!! *poke*

I actually heard that in my head as Curly and Moe! Bwahahaha!

[Seshat]

My father once cut himself severely with a chainsaw - but unlike in this story, he wasn't doing anything 'wrong'.

He was a timbercutter (lumberjack) in the Australian bush. Yes, okay. As soon as we say 'Australian bush', you just KNOW this story is going to end in tears!

Okay. This part of the bush is a part I've visited often. For the Aussies in the forum: Gold Coast hinterland; the section of the Great Dividing Range west of the Gold Coast.

For everyone else: it's a Eucalyptus-based rainforest. LOTS of Eucalypts, liana vines, cabbage tree palms, piccabeen palms, some causurina, antarctic beech, ironbark. Here's Wikipedia's page on Australian Forest; this particular forest is near Lamington National Park.

Oh, and the terrain? Rough mountainous terrain. Rugged. Lots and lots of steep up and downhill; and the ground under your feet is slick with wet eucalyptus leaves. (Eucalypts are evergreens - which means that like pine trees, they're always dropping and growing leaves.)


So. Dad had found another of the trees that the Forestry service had marked for cutting, and planned his cut. Now, if he cut it to fall in that direction, it would land among piccabeen and cabbage tree palms, and - as had always happened before - break them. Whereas the other possible directions, it would land against one of the other solid trees - a eucalypt, mountain ash, beech, ironbark, whatever. And the results of that would be totally unpredictable and dangerous.

Start up the chainsaw. Get to cutting. Rrrrrrrr. Make the lower cut, taking out the wedge that will guide the tree when it falls. Make the higher cut, that takes out the last of the tree's support.....


.... OOPS!

.... the palm trees survived - and the tree BOUNCED!

.... and drove the chainsaw back into my Dad's left leg.


Okay. It didn't do a full 'bounce'. But the palms were just springy enough that the tree pushed back against the chainsaw, and the saw hit Dad's leg while it was still running. Fortunately, it was over the shin - no muscles, no major nerves, no major blood vessels.


Then, I am told (since I was a wee tot at the time), Dad picked up his chainsaw and his toolkit - not wanting to leave them in the bush to be damaged or stolen - and HIKED back to his truck. Not that he really had much choice - timbercutters in that era worked alone. And no such thing as cell phones!


Then drove the truck to the doctor's office. Remember what I said about the terrain? Yeah, he walked, then drove, along rough logging tracks in mountain terrain.

And being my Dad, he would have laconically said something like 'I have a bit of a problem' or 'I need a bit of help here'.


He still has a scar almost the full length of his shin. I can only imagine how the receptionist at the doctor's office reacted.

[thansal]

He still has a scar almost the full length of his shin. I can only imagine how the receptionist at the doctor's office reacted.

Vomiting of fainting if they are anything like me :P

[ArcticChicken]

Tap the back of your left hand, that is what the saw did.

Do not attempt to stop with hands or genitals?

[Seshat]

Vomiting of fainting if they are anything like me :P

I'm told she went white and YELLED for the doctor to come help her.

This was a small country doctor's office, it was probably just a nurse-receptionist and a single doctor.

[dakhur]

Nah.

A real Aussie nurse would have just asked if he wanted his rum applied internally or externally. And then asked him not to bleed too much because it would make a mess.

Aussies tend to react in direct proportion to the incident. The worse it is, the more we tend to downplay it. Hence, dropping a bottle on your foot merits hopping around and yelling, while accidently driving your mates bobcat off the harbour bridge will get a simple "bugger", afetr you've jumped to safety.

[Jester]

First they took an entire day to "think" about it.

I hope (but don't have much faith in the hope) that they did not "think" about it the way I normally "think" about projects I am planning.

Perfect example: my friend Cookie and I, who both participate in cookoffs, decided for one particular chili cookoff that, in addition to making our own chilis, we would collaborate on a non-standard chili. So we got together and brain-stormed it.

Over several beers. SEVERAL beers.

To be fair, that is a great way to think up how you are going to create a culinary dish, but I believe it's probably a very bad way to plan anything that has any dangerous power tools or machinery involved.

(For the record, we ended up creating a white seafood chili, with clams, oysters, mussels, Spanish pork, and white beans. It was delicious, and placed 5th out of 15 total chilis at the cookoff.)

[Kristev]

They didn't think at all.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Good Night! Had a chainsaw incident when I was a teen . . not me, my stepdad.

See, Stepdad was cutting down the mullberry tree in the backyard after work one evening . . . with a chainsaw. And his buddy, Miller High Life.

My mom tried to talk him out of it . . . but to no avail. Next thing we knew, the chainsaw hit a knot and flipped back . . . right on his hand!

He ended up going to the ER for that one . . . and couldn't use a paintbrush for awhile until it healed. But at least he could supervise (which is what he did - he was a supervisor for a local painting company.)

Just one of many incidents involving his buddy Miller . . .but at least he didn't try to take out any more trees while he was still with us. Mom ended up having to get someone else to finish what he started.

[Seshat]

Aussies tend to react in direct proportion to the incident. The worse it is, the more we tend to downplay it. Hence, dropping a bottle on your foot merits hopping around and yelling, while accidently driving your mates bobcat off the harbour bridge will get a simple "bugger", afetr you've jumped to safety.

I did mention that my Dad hiked - with chainsaw and toolkit - to his truck, yes? In the bush back behind the Gold Coast? The area around Purlingbrook Falls.

Later on, we had a farm there. Mum wanted Dad to have a safer job, since they had me to worry about at that point.

Yeah. Farming is safer. Riiiight.

[Primer]

Nah.

A real Aussie nurse would have just asked if he wanted his rum applied internally or externally. And then asked him not to bleed too much because it would make a mess.

Aussies tend to react in direct proportion to the incident. The worse it is, the more we tend to downplay it. Hence, dropping a bottle on your foot merits hopping around and yelling, while accidently driving your mates bobcat off the harbour bridge will get a simple "bugger", afetr you've jumped to safety.

Hmm, you mean I'm actually an Aussie?? This is how I've always been. The calmer I am, the more serious it is. That's how DH knew I was in real trouble when I called him after I was rear-ended by the 18-wheeler. I was just too damned calm.

[Kal]

And being my Dad, he would have laconically said something like 'I have a bit of a problem' or 'I need a bit of help here'.

Off topic admittedly, but there's a good butcher shop near me and one of the guys serving, must be in his sixties, only has one and a half fingers on his left hand. Apparently he had, as he phrased it, "a bit of an accident" with a cleaver several decades back and sliced the others off at an angle. He went to the hospital, hand wrapped in his apron, and when the lady at the desk asked him what the matter was he just said "This" held up his hand and put the package of fingers (wrapped up like sausages but with more blood) on the desk in front of her.

If you're wondering btw, my daughter asked him why he only had a few fingers, I'm not... well, no, I am that nosy, but I'm rather more tactful than loudly enquiring "Why's he only got two fingers?". Nice shop, friendly people running it, just keep an eye out when getting sausages. :P

[the lawsmeister]

I did mention that my Dad hiked - with chainsaw and toolkit - to his truck, yes? In the bush back behind the Gold Coast? The area around Purlingbrook Falls.

Later on, we had a farm there. Mum wanted Dad to have a safer job, since they had me to worry about at that point.

Yeah. Farming is safer. Riiiight.

Seshat, I was starting to think that I was your nephew until you mentioned Purlingbrook Falls.
My grandfather had a near identical injury to your father but I believe it occurred somewhere around Tabulum or Bottle Creek (between Casino and Tenterfield.)