Is chainsaw the top 5 dangerous power tools?
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Ole Slewfoot
Well-known member
Statistically, they are pretty much only a threat to men.
According to the CPSC, the average chain-saw injury requires 110 stitches.
According to the CPSC, the average chain-saw injury requires 110 stitches.
Bondo
Well-known member
Ayuh,.... As with most any power tools,...
The tool ain't so dangerous, it just exposes stupidity,....
The tool ain't so dangerous, it just exposes stupidity,....
ovrrdrive
Well-known member
I don't know about a chainsaw, but I've cut myself more with my 4.5" grinder than anything else in my shop. Never got a scratch from my chainsaw.
I would think a table saw or radial arm saw would rate higher too.
I would think a table saw or radial arm saw would rate higher too.
I would think so.
It's not so much about the saw, but how, when and where it's used. Cutting a tree down or up, or trimming limbs, not the same as cutting a board in half or grinding the top half of a bolt.
They are used in mud, snow and rain, flat surfaces and hills, standing on a ladder.
I had one get away for me I once. I was lucky to only lose a pair of good pants and some skin.
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It's not so much about the saw, but how, when and where it's used. Cutting a tree down or up, or trimming limbs, not the same as cutting a board in half or grinding the top half of a bolt.
They are used in mud, snow and rain, flat surfaces and hills, standing on a ladder.
I had one get away for me I once. I was lucky to only lose a pair of good pants and some skin.
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Ign
Well-known member
Ya better hope not. Next our nanny state and CPSC will target chainsaws for flesh-detecting technology.
I was amazed at how many were in favor of MANDATORY (expensive) additional safeties on table saws, and I don’t see a table saw as being any more dangerous than a hundred other tools.
It’s amazing - a particular tool falls into the spotlight, social momentum builds and all of a sudden there’s enough people convinced to protect us from us.
Is the chainsaw next? Where did the OP find his list of the top 5?
I was raised that LOTS of things are dangerous only if you don’t use the #1 tool in your head. We’re slowly removing the NEED for people to be intelligent.
I was amazed at how many were in favor of MANDATORY (expensive) additional safeties on table saws, and I don’t see a table saw as being any more dangerous than a hundred other tools.
It’s amazing - a particular tool falls into the spotlight, social momentum builds and all of a sudden there’s enough people convinced to protect us from us.
Is the chainsaw next? Where did the OP find his list of the top 5?
I was raised that LOTS of things are dangerous only if you don’t use the #1 tool in your head. We’re slowly removing the NEED for people to be intelligent.
Ign
Well-known member
Ever seen a guy twisted up in a metal lathe? Or kids in combines? But there’s just not enough of those for the pitchfork-wielding do-gooders to care (and they shouldn’t). But everyone’s got a table saw in their garage so let’s pick on that.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Chainsaw + stupidity = serious injury
I had a neighbor who was cutting down a large tree in suburbia. Really much to large for an amateur. after going over to see if I could help, I left after a fe minutes. I told the wife, "Someone over there is going to the hospital today !"
Somehow I was wrong !
I guess I'm too shallow, where I thought the "top five" would be somewhat common power tools that a consumer might use, where table base wood or metal work equipment is not really common at all. IMO
Consumers probably buy a fair number of chainsaws that home-improvement stores, to cut up a down tree in the yard, A broken limb or maybe A little firewood, with little or no experience with one, never have working under daddy's watchful eye.
And electric drill or a circular saw could do even some minor damage, if the blade or bit bound up
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Consumers probably buy a fair number of chainsaws that home-improvement stores, to cut up a down tree in the yard, A broken limb or maybe A little firewood, with little or no experience with one, never have working under daddy's watchful eye.
And electric drill or a circular saw could do even some minor damage, if the blade or bit bound up
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vavet
Well-known member
Wow, we are quick to judge, aren't we.
It's not always stupidity. It could simply be inexperience, an unexpected gust of wind, or just a moment of inattention.
I'm not experienced with a chain saw, but I have one. I don't use it often. I bought a set of chainsaw chaps, just in case. Hopefully they were a waste of money and I never have to find out how quickly they can stop a chain.
It's not always stupidity. It could simply be inexperience, an unexpected gust of wind, or just a moment of inattention.
I'm not experienced with a chain saw, but I have one. I don't use it often. I bought a set of chainsaw chaps, just in case. Hopefully they were a waste of money and I never have to find out how quickly they can stop a chain.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
These and a few other closely related tools belong on the list also.
My guess guess is if you look at the number of injuries versus the hours of operation, table is probably higher than a chainsaw just because so many inexperience people use a table saw.
Segue - My father worked in a lumber yard right after WWII. They started to teach him how to run a molder (sort of a high power, stationary router table). After a couple days, he realized that all of the workers who were using the molder had less than 10 fingers ! He quit the job.
lakeroadster
Well-known member
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
I'm 100% convinced that if the chainsaw didn't exist, and you decided to come up with the idea today...and explained it to us on this forum i.e.:
"I want to take a gasoline motor, and mount an incredibly sharp chain to it, then put a handle and a throttle on that sum-***** and cut trees down with it." We'd tell you you were completely bonkers.
They only exist because they are so much better than any other reasonable alternative. Yes I have one. And "yes" it's dangerous. The only thing more dangerous than the saw is the tree. The person I know that was killed while using a chainsaw was killed by the tree hitting him...not the saw.
Phil
"I want to take a gasoline motor, and mount an incredibly sharp chain to it, then put a handle and a throttle on that sum-***** and cut trees down with it." We'd tell you you were completely bonkers.
They only exist because they are so much better than any other reasonable alternative. Yes I have one. And "yes" it's dangerous. The only thing more dangerous than the saw is the tree. The person I know that was killed while using a chainsaw was killed by the tree hitting him...not the saw.
Phil
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Ign
Well-known member
^^^when I worked at a large corporate machine shop they made us watch a few “safety” videos. One was about substance abuse and the guy said if alcohol were submitted to the FDA today it would never be approved.
Our lives are full of things that wouldn’t pass muster with our relatively recently created alphabet soup of safety agencies. Doesn’t mean any of those things are necessarily bad.
And yeah, I went out on my land 2 days ago and dropped 7 large, live trees. Alone. It wasn’t a great idea but I was smart about it and if I got hurt it’s my fault alone.
Our lives are full of things that wouldn’t pass muster with our relatively recently created alphabet soup of safety agencies. Doesn’t mean any of those things are necessarily bad.
And yeah, I went out on my land 2 days ago and dropped 7 large, live trees. Alone. It wasn’t a great idea but I was smart about it and if I got hurt it’s my fault alone.
Ign
Well-known member
Oh hell yeah I just figured it out, I'm a genius!
I need to develop chainsaw technology that can somehow detect that no fewer than TWO people are in the vicinity when a saw is being operated. That way no one can ever cut alone (which is a cardinal rule of chainsaw work). The saw will need to somehow detect two heartbeats within a given radius perhaps? And it'll have to have a way to know those are human heartbeats and not your dog or wildlife. Or maybe it requires dual fingerprinting every 10 minutes? Or eye-following technology to assure the second person is actually watching?
YES! Once produced en masse it shouldn't add more than $400-500 to the cost of a $100 Homelite.
Look out CPSC, I'm comin' at ya with the next great idea to protect us, the consumers!!!
I'm so giddy, I'm gonna be laughin' all the way to the bank!!!!
I need to develop chainsaw technology that can somehow detect that no fewer than TWO people are in the vicinity when a saw is being operated. That way no one can ever cut alone (which is a cardinal rule of chainsaw work). The saw will need to somehow detect two heartbeats within a given radius perhaps? And it'll have to have a way to know those are human heartbeats and not your dog or wildlife. Or maybe it requires dual fingerprinting every 10 minutes? Or eye-following technology to assure the second person is actually watching?
YES! Once produced en masse it shouldn't add more than $400-500 to the cost of a $100 Homelite.
Look out CPSC, I'm comin' at ya with the next great idea to protect us, the consumers!!!
I'm so giddy, I'm gonna be laughin' all the way to the bank!!!!
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
IMHO, a hand held tool with a couple of horsepower moving a chain at more than 60 MPH in the hands of an inexperienced/inattentive person IS one of the definitions of stupidity.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
davethorik
Well-known member
I will admit I have been bitten by a contractor table saw, but that was due to inattention on my part. Luckily I had the blade protruding only 1/8" above what I was cutting, so I just had to get stitches vs cutting digits off.
When I was in the urgent care getting stitched up, I asked the Doc what was the most stitches he had ever done (I only got a whopping 6). He told me his record was 175, on the face and neck of an Amish man, from a chainsaw while climbing a tree. Apparently the Amish aren't big on safety, as he said he saw way more Amish with injuries from various types of saws, than "English".
When I was in the urgent care getting stitched up, I asked the Doc what was the most stitches he had ever done (I only got a whopping 6). He told me his record was 175, on the face and neck of an Amish man, from a chainsaw while climbing a tree. Apparently the Amish aren't big on safety, as he said he saw way more Amish with injuries from various types of saws, than "English".
bobcatdan
Well-known member
While a chainsaw can do a lot of damage, overall I don't think they are dangerous. Uses your head when cutting and you should be fine outside of freak accidents. I would think you are more likely to drop a limb on you then to cut your leg off.
ritestuff
Well-known member
derosa
Well-known member
Don't have experience with old moulders but it might have really been a shaper which is often used for moulding. I already hesitate using the router, it can grab wood faster then anything and won't go anywhere near a shaper, seems designed to remove fingers quick and IMO is one of the top 5.
kelpaso1
MEMBER EMERITUS
It amazes me when I watch those "living in Alaska" shows, where the guy cutting down a large tree and the ******* stands right there while the tree is falling with no concern that the **** end can shift sideways or back nailing him. I was taught to drop the saw and RUN back and perpendicular as the tree is falling.
APEowner
Well-known member
I don't know but I do know that they scare the **** out of me. I race cars, ride motorcycles and have been known to fly airplanes upside-down on purpose but I try really hard to not use a chainsaw. Back in the day I worked at a shop that repaired chainsaws and our professional logger customers had names like Stubby, Lefty and Van Gogh...
Roberts210
Well-known member
I hate chainsaws, exactly because the cutting edges of the chain are so close to your body, and any slip can cause major problems.
I use this to cut firewood--I restored my Pop's old buzz saw. Before you cringe, realize the blade is a good 5 feet away from the operator.
I use this to cut firewood--I restored my Pop's old buzz saw. Before you cringe, realize the blade is a good 5 feet away from the operator.
Packard V8
Well-known member
A loose definition of a molder is a complicated shaper, having multiple profiles cutting on two or three sides of a workpiece to produce a finished molding. Today, it is usually computer controlled, has a self-feeder and closely guarded. In the bad old days, men pushed wood by hand into exposed cutters and another pulled out the finished end.
The scariest thing I ever watched was the guy feeding cedar shakes by hand into a completely exposed giant bandsaw. I could probably do a couple to win a big bet, but to stand there all day, cutting them by the thousand, with one millisecond of inattention costing a hand; not so much.
jack vines
The scariest thing I ever watched was the guy feeding cedar shakes by hand into a completely exposed giant bandsaw. I could probably do a couple to win a big bet, but to stand there all day, cutting them by the thousand, with one millisecond of inattention costing a hand; not so much.
jack vines
IndyGarage
Well-known member
I think chainsaws are pretty universally dangerous - to trees.
I think the most common dangerous tool is the ladder. More people hurt on them than anything else. Using a chainsaw on a ladder has got to be really dangerous.
I've always heard the most dangerous power tool per hour of use is the powered hedge trimmer. Chainsaws are dangerous looking and sounding enough that many people stay away from them. Hedge trimmer doesn't look as dangerous.
Table saw has got to be right up there - so easy to slip or have it rip wood out of your hand.
I guess I've been lucky. The tool that has caused the most injury to me - probably the lowly wrench - I've busted knuckles so many times it isn't funny. I banged my head hard on the arm of my 2 post lift one time - sat down to recover and had blood running down my face.
I've had a few close calls with Ladders, saws and yup angle grinders, but so far no major injuries.
I think the most common dangerous tool is the ladder. More people hurt on them than anything else. Using a chainsaw on a ladder has got to be really dangerous.
I've always heard the most dangerous power tool per hour of use is the powered hedge trimmer. Chainsaws are dangerous looking and sounding enough that many people stay away from them. Hedge trimmer doesn't look as dangerous.
Table saw has got to be right up there - so easy to slip or have it rip wood out of your hand.
I guess I've been lucky. The tool that has caused the most injury to me - probably the lowly wrench - I've busted knuckles so many times it isn't funny. I banged my head hard on the arm of my 2 post lift one time - sat down to recover and had blood running down my face.
I've had a few close calls with Ladders, saws and yup angle grinders, but so far no major injuries.
Makoto
Well-known member
every tool is dangerous to an idiot.
..and there is no shortage of idiots.
I always see the weekend warriors operating a chainsaw on top of a stepladder wearing shorts and flip flops. (also no eye protection, no hearing protection, no head protection)
WittHay
Well-known member
I have never considered a chainsaw dangerous, need to use common sense when using. I think the most dangerous hand power tool found in a non-industrial setting are the 9" hand grinders without the guard. Your hand is awfully close to the grinding wheel
Packard V8
Well-known member
All the above is true, especially per hour of use.
That big noisy grinder disc is right out there in plain sight. What eats fingers is the silently spinning table saw blade, jointer knives or shaper cutters hidden by guards or workpieces. European table saws are prohibited from using dado blades which can be used as stopped cuts. What can't be seen is inherently more dangerous.
However, most of us are not good at understanding risk. Overall, the most dangerous tool used by inattentive incompetents is the POV. Cars and trucks had 5,419,000 crashes, killing 32,999 and injuring 2,239,000; most get in them several times a day and allow their untrained, inexperienced teenagers to own and operate them at high speeds while texting and YouTubing. Now that's scary.
jack vines
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Yeppers.
My sister and her husband hired a friend who supposedly was a licensed contractor (he lied) to replace their kitchen cabinets. The dude cut his thumb and a finger off with his circular saw. He collected about $150,000 from their homeowner's insurance.
The finger and thumb couldn't be re-attached.
ddawg16
Well-known member
My vote would be the hammer.....especially when left on top of a ladder.....that I'm moving.....
I built my whole garage....all 2 stories without so much as a scratch (well, maybe a small one).....
Then one sunday morning....I'm taking on the last piece of trim.....LAST piece.....
7 Stapples
I built my whole garage....all 2 stories without so much as a scratch (well, maybe a small one).....
Then one sunday morning....I'm taking on the last piece of trim.....LAST piece.....
7 Stapples
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Jon_E
Well-known member
Chainsaws are no more dangerous than any other tool, in the hands of an experienced and attentive operator. I have 30+ years of chainsaw experience and own several saws, and I am a LOT less scared of a chainsaw than I am of any other piece of powered woodworking equipment. The tree I am cutting, though - THAT can be deadly unpredictable.
The jointer, especially, I am very careful around. That spinning cutterhead can eat your hand in half a heartbeat. The worst injuries I have ever gotten from a tool, powered or otherwise, came from a utility knife that I sliced my hand open with years ago. Still have a nice scar.
All my other injuries have come from snowmobiles or motorcycles, at the point where I and the machine went separate directions at a high rate of speed.
The jointer, especially, I am very careful around. That spinning cutterhead can eat your hand in half a heartbeat. The worst injuries I have ever gotten from a tool, powered or otherwise, came from a utility knife that I sliced my hand open with years ago. Still have a nice scar.
All my other injuries have come from snowmobiles or motorcycles, at the point where I and the machine went separate directions at a high rate of speed.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
Really curious about what could possibly capture your attention away from your hand being that close to a blade that could cut it off.
When I think about it, I've probably had more injuries from knives/box cutters/etc than any other tool I've used.
I'm probably a little too careless around routers and hand planers than I should be. Ladders too I suppose. Circular saws, table saws, etc I'm usually quite careful.
Weirdly, do table saws really kick back that often? I have a little Dewalt DW745 that I use with plywood and dimensional lumber and have yet to ever have it kick back.
I'm probably a little too careless around routers and hand planers than I should be. Ladders too I suppose. Circular saws, table saws, etc I'm usually quite careful.
Weirdly, do table saws really kick back that often? I have a little Dewalt DW745 that I use with plywood and dimensional lumber and have yet to ever have it kick back.
IndyGarage
Well-known member
Really, a ladder probably is the most deadly tool.
Yeah you can cut your hand off with a table saw, and you may bleed a lot, but you probably will be able to get to the hospital. Yeah you can slice your leg open with a chainsaw, but you probably won't die unless you hit the groin artery.
But you can easily die if you fall off a ladder and hit your head on something - just a 6 foot fall can kill you - l10-20 foot fall from the top of an extension ladder is probably really deadly.
Yeah you can cut your hand off with a table saw, and you may bleed a lot, but you probably will be able to get to the hospital. Yeah you can slice your leg open with a chainsaw, but you probably won't die unless you hit the groin artery.
But you can easily die if you fall off a ladder and hit your head on something - just a 6 foot fall can kill you - l10-20 foot fall from the top of an extension ladder is probably really deadly.
Chinsaws are friggin dangerous but that's what makes them safe. You know dam well what a cut will look like if you make a mistake so you pay attention. Other tools seem less dangerous so you let your guard down and then you get bit.
davethorik
Well-known member
Really curious about what could possibly capture your attention away from your hand being that close to a blade that could cut it off.
Long story short, I was helping a friend install Pergo laminate click flooring in his house and was making a rip cut on the table saw, which was set up in driveway in front of his house.
One of his neighbors dogs ran into the street and almost got hit by a car going way faster than the posted 25mph limit, driver slammed the brakes and skidded to a halt. I got startled and looked up (this was about 25' from where I stood) and the pad of my left thumb wandered into the path of the blade, but on top of the piece of flooring, which was about midway thru the rip cut.
Like I stated in the first post, I had the blade sticking up 1/8" past the flooring, so I was not in danger of cutting my hand off. I got lucky and did not get any nerve or bone damage and only got 6 stitches. It was a mistake, you live and you learn. I now have much more respect for the table saw, and use a push stick.
Btw, the dog did not get hit.
mbshop
Well-known member
The human brain is the most dangerous. To make it worse one just needs to add alcohol.
That's something I find crazy...the number of people who drink alcohol while working on something. I never drink while working, not only is it stupidly dangerous but it also leaves me with a headache.