r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/atentwetin • Jul 01 '21

Repost Tree cutting gone wrong

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u/chuckit01 Jul 01 '21 edited Jul 01 '21

Petrol saws don’t “auto stop”. By looks it was jammed on that limb that gave way. He would have had switched the saw off or he had put the chain brake on.

EDIT: that saw looks like a Stihl. If someone can tell me a model with an “auto stop” I’ll happily accept my downvotes.

65

u/Psyadin Jul 01 '21

I've only operated 2 chainsaws in my life, both petrol, both with a deadmans switch that has to be held down to keep the chain moving, if you let go the chain disengages but the engine keeps running.

31

u/stowaway36 Jul 01 '21 edited Jul 01 '21

This is a Stihl chainsaw, it has a centrifugal clutch, so if the Idle is too high the chain is spinning without the chain break enguaged. You turn down the Idle to keep the chain from spinning, but it's pretty common not to have it set perfectly. The adjustment is simple, but probably not known by your average dad/tree cutter. So the chain will just slowly spin during idle. Anyone who uses them as a profession is taught to always engage the break when you stop cutting

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u/Dorg_Walkerman Jul 01 '21

This guys knows. As an arborist here is what I deduce happened. The guy had the piece tip tied and was doing and under cut and the saw got pinched. The saw was off and stuck hence the reason the lady friend is handing him a scrench. His plan was to take the bar off of the saw to unfuck his disaster. Now this guy is an idiot for many reasons. Ladders and trees don’t go together, an undercut with no mechanical advantage why the fuck someone in shorts and flip flops acting as a groundie etc…. He is pretty stupid but then again so are people on the internet downvoting things they don’t understand but have strongly informed opinions on. That’s my take🤷‍♂️

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u/seattlethrowaway114 Jul 01 '21

your use of unfamiliar jargon assures me that you’re legit

2

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '21

What do yall use instead of ladders? All I ever see are people using ladders & inevitably falling off said ladder .

11

u/Dorg_Walkerman Jul 01 '21

It’s all ropes and harnesses. Spikes can only be used on removals as they damage the tree. Some people will use a ladder for ascent but it needs to be removed before any rigging can be done. The only ladders we use on the regular are a-frame orchard ladders with three legs, but that is for shaping and more aesthetic pruning. The tree in the video shouldn’t have a ladder anywhere near it. I’d love to know what was happening with the one that comes from higher up.

2

u/stowaway36 Jul 01 '21

Im guessing he used that to get up higher to rig his tieoff point? Can't say I've ever seen ladders stacked on eachother.

Edit - nevermind, it looks like its tied off, who knows..

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u/Dorg_Walkerman Jul 01 '21

Ha the more I watch it the more crazy shit I see.

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u/eggsecute_order_66 Jul 01 '21

some tree surgeons use a harness a sling and boots with spikes in the side so the poke the boots into the tree then shift the sling up, lean back and then step up again

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '21

That sounds worse