A helpful little trick while chain-sawing

[GeeWizMan]

I have been very busy lately cutting down dead trees on the property and splitting them up. I use to get a little annoyed at all the little wood chips falling down into my shoes from the chain-saw. Not any longer, I have taken to wearing "gaiters". I do a little bit of cross-country skiing in the winter and gaiters are very useful, when skiing in deep snow, at keeping the snow out of the shoes. The gaiters are made of fabric with a hook on the bottom that attaches to the shoe laces, a piece of elastic that goes under the shoes, and they tie off at the top. Since I have been wearing them I have not had a single wood chip or even any saw dust end up in my shoes. They make my days in the woods much more comfortable.


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Yes, they look a little strange, but I figure this group doesn't mind being, shall I say, a little different.

George

 

[Robbie]

Very good idea, very well needed, thanks !


Robbie

 

[littlesmokey]

Great idea, but where do you get safety shoes to cut wood? My routine is to take the steel toe, steel shank Redwings (right they are 16 years old and still doing the job) out to the shop, spend a couple of minutes with the shop vac. Take the cotton boot socks that go almost to my knees and splip those suckers on. I think there are a dozen pair of eyes to individually tighten, laced and cinched. I have rolled my ankle several times, but the boots held. I have dropped way to many rounds on the toes, and kicked more than a few. I have never had a foot problem cutting wood, as I have always over dressed.

Oh, just my own thought, never cut wood in short pants, even if you enjoy the pain, it can last for weeks.

 

[kellog]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[GeeWizMan]

[quote author="littlesmokey" date="1184648076"]Great idea, but where do you get safety shoes to cut wood?




I got a pair of steel-toed shoes a long time ago that I use around here for most of my outdoors work. My wife got them for me after I dropped a 4" x 4" x 8' on my toe from a height of about 5 feet. Now, I can't remember the last time I dropped something on my toes. It's either that I do it all the time and it doesn't hurt so it is uneventful or it is Murphy's law and I really haven't dropped anything in years and I won't until the day I forget to wear them.

George

 

[BrotherBart]

Great idea, but where do you get safety shoes to cut wood?

I got a pair of steel-toed shoes a long time ago that I use around here for most of my outdoors work. My wife got them for me after I dropped a 4" x 4" x 8' on my toe from a height of about 5 feet. Now, I can't remember the last time I dropped something on my toes. It's either that I do it all the time and it doesn't hurt so it is uneventful or it is Murphy's law and I really haven't dropped anything in years and I won't until the day I forget to wear them.

George

Agree. If you have the boots on your feet that you should have when running a chainsaw then wood chips in your shoes are not a problem.

A few wood chips pale in comparison to what happens to a foot when that chain hits it. My old retired steel toed boots have a nice gash in the toe to remind me. The new ones have not only steel toes but a steel section running up the tongue across my instep.

At the very least wear chainsaw chaps that go down over the front of your boots.

- BroBart (veteran of the emergency room over a chainsaw incident)

 

[Gooserider]

Agreed, wear the gear! I purchased a pair of Matterhorn chainsaw boots, and while I didn't like the price, the protection is well worth it. I don't get chips in my boots either, I just lace up the boots snug, and there is a "comfort collar" around the top that would keep the chips out pretty well by itself, but on top of that I just wear my pants outside my boots, any chips would have to go up my pants legs, then down my boots - not likely unless I'm cutting upside down...

I also wear chainsaw chaps, gloves, and a facemask / hearing protection combo - no hard hat (yet) and I haven't splurged on a vest, but otherwise I have (and wear!) the full body armor.

Gooserider

 

[BurningIsLove]

I have a great facemask/ear protection/hardhat combo that I picked up at a local store (as well as chainsaw chaps). Definitely worth the price for the protection.

 

[BrotherBart]

Up until this year I had cut wood for 35 years in jeans and an old pair of boots. Running shoes more often than not. Even after an unsuccessful attempt at cutting off my left leg in '86. People on here talked about PPE so much I bought the whole nine yards chaps, funny hat with muffs, gloves and Matterhorns thinking I wouldn't mess with them much.

Now I wouldn't think of firing a saw without my "body armor". It would be damned embarrassing to kill my self with all of that expensive gear sitting back in the mud room.

"Here Lies Stumpy. Didn't Put On His Boots and Chaps. Height Tuesday, 5' 11". Length Today, 4' 9""

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

Some great tips.

Along the line of gaitors, I too was getting tired of sawdust getting into my shoes and years ago, a friend showed me a little trick of ducktaping a plastic bag around my ankles and then cutting the bottom out of the bag so your shoes would look like you were wearing spats. Sure, goofy looking as all hell but we may have even invented the current "gaitors" and did'nt even know it!

I want my royalty check!, or at least a gift certificate to outback steakhouse or something!

 

[Eric Johnson]

Gaitors are great for tramping around in deep snow, but if you're cutting wood, then you should be wearing kevlar chaps and chainsaw-resistant work boots. Used in combination, they'll keep any and all chips and sawdust away from your feet, and could quite possibly save your life.

 

[Gooserider]

Gaitors are great for tramping around in deep snow, but if you're cutting wood, then you should be wearing kevlar chaps and chainsaw-resistant work boots. Used in combination, they'll keep any and all chips and sawdust away from your feet, and could quite possibly save your life.

I now wear both, and find they do keep the chips away from my feet (I don't want to find out if they could save my life! :coolgrin: ), but IMHO the fact that I wear my pants OUTSIDE my boots does more to keep the chips out of my boots than the chaps do... After I'm done sawing, I find lots of chips and dust on my jeans that has gotten past the chaps or come in via the opening on the back of the leg. If I'd been wearing my pants inside my boots the chips would still have gone down my boots.

IMHO the key to keeping the crap out of your boots is to 1. Wear tall boots - i.e. the 11" Matterhorns, and 2. Wear your pants OUTSIDE the boots.

Gooserider

 

[GeeWizMan]

All right, enough is enough - I can't take the pressure! I just ordered chaps, chainsaw boots, and a helmet-face mask-ear muff combination. Now, I will be styling in the woods and hopefully safer.

George

 

[Eric Johnson]

Styling and more importantly, looking fly.

Congratulations.

I got whacked on the head the other day with a small limb that glanced off my hardhat, but probably would have required a few stitches if I didn't have it on. And you'll find that with a good pair of logging boots, you can get around in the woods a lot easier, especially if you're trying to navigate through waist-deep slash.

 

[BrotherBart]

I got whacked on the head the other day with a small limb that glanced off my hardhat, but probably would have required a few stitches if I didn't have it on.

The answer was supposed to be "Yes dear. Whatever you say dear."

 

[Eric Johnson]

In 28 years, she's come after me with a lot more lethal weapons than a tree limb.

 

[Mr_Super-Hunky]

BTW, what's up with all the safety gear lately?. Yesterday it was raining out so I decided to fell a few small oak trees in my Speedo and flip flops!...........

What?, whats wrong?.

 

[Gooserider]

BTW, what's up with all the safety gear lately?. Yesterday it was raining out so I decided to fell a few small oak trees in my Speedo and flip flops!...........

What?, whats wrong?.

Well there is that problem - those steel toes really do dull up the chain!

Gooserider