# Tree Trimmer Dies In Chipper



## Bill Z (Dec 10, 2006)

Wow, this happened yesterday right in front of a home we did a lot of work on last year. Two guys working at tree trimming and feeding brush into a chipper, one guy goes across the street, comes back and can't find his partner anywhere. Looks all over, then finally looks in the back of the truck where the chips were blown. Found him. At least it was quick.

Just a reminder what can happen when you take safety for granted.

http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&ArticleID=42405


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## BACKWOODS (Sep 10, 2007)

Damn, I would hate to have been him or the investigators that had to gather the evidence!


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## Paulie (Feb 11, 2009)

O God that is one of my nightmare's. Those damn things scare the living hell out of me. 

I talked to a couple of tree trimmers awhile back while they were working and they said those kind of deaths would be avoided if the company would spring for a chipper that had a self feeder. But I'm not a tree trimmer so I really don't know.

I kid you not, my gut is in a knot right now thinking about dying like that...

www.phbconstruction.com


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## chris n (Oct 14, 2003)

[ 

I talked to a couple of tree trimmers awhile back while they were working and they said those kind of deaths would be avoided if the company would spring for a chipper that had a self feeder. But I'm not a tree trimmer so I really don't know.

QUOTE]

I used to be for many years before the invention of the self feeding chippers and would have to believe that the use of them would prevent any deaths. They make use wear seatbelts,I don't get it.


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

I hope the poor guy wasn't nick-named "chip" ... ah hell, that was callous, even for me...my bad


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## DarrenB (Aug 30, 2009)

What was the other guy doing across the street? Sounds fishy to me.:shifty:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

With all the crazy safety codes about these days you would think these things would have extremely strict rules of operation. Like harnesses on kill switches and sensors that stop the chipper when human contact is made with the machine.


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

the manufacturer of the sawstop should be considering this


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

oh wait, trees can be full of moisture...nevermind :whistling


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

J F said:


> the manufacturer of the sawstop should be considering this


Exactly. I did hear the guy was going to be making many tools that do the same thing. I also see a review that said moisture in the wood does not apply the safety measures.


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## XanadooLTD (Oct 6, 2007)

ya i heard something weird like the sawstop senses your static electricity somehow to stop. it would be a good idea.


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## JonM (Nov 1, 2007)

What a shame....sad...:sad:


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## SelfContract (Dec 6, 2007)

*Tree Chipper = Paper Shredder + Meat Blender + Trash Compactor + Leaf Blower (All-In-One design) :whistling*


First it shreds in whatever, then rotating mix, then compacts in box, and finally blow out its by-products in narrow chute!! ...(Ummm.. Yucks.. I can see its working image clearly by now... and I'm afraid there is no more POSTIVE IDENTIFICATION FLESHING REMAINS ..for dat MAFIA boss !!... :shutup:)


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

Yuck, man I would hate to witness that.


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## bert0168 (Jan 28, 2008)




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## Paulie (Feb 11, 2009)

The "self feeder" in the vid goes at 2'/sec. and the chipper had no safety stop!!!! Holy lawsuit batman. 

What gets me is the last statement to make sure the chipper has a saftey. What if their isn't quit and go to the unemployment office? 

Where's OSHA when you need them. 

www.phbconstruction.com


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## jkfox624 (Jun 20, 2009)

paulie said:


> The "self feeder" in the vid goes at 2'/sec. and the chipper had no safety stop!!!! Holy lawsuit batman.
> 
> What gets me is the last statement to make sure the chipper has a saftey. What if their isn't quit and go to the unemployment office?
> 
> Where's OSHA when you need them.


For real we get whacked for stupid chit that isnt anywhere near as dangerous as a chipper. I see these guys all over the place and never hear anyone saying they got a special visit from the OSHA man.


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## Ed the Roofer (Dec 12, 2006)

Was ir Redwood?

Ed


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## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

That had to look nasty in the back of that truck.


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

Ed the Roofer said:


> Was ir Redwood?
> 
> Ed


:w00t:

Yes, it was...even though it started out as pine.


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## bert0168 (Jan 28, 2008)




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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

That's _exactly_ what I thought about after reading the 1st post


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

That IMO would be a horrible death. But, although the "feed" bar is not for safety it is designed that when struck forward which obviously is the same direction as feed that it will either stop and/or reverse direction. So either this guy was using a machine without the bar or he was to far inside the chute to control the bar. I have used an older machine that was direct drive with no feed bar and that machine was downright dangerous, the machine would beat the crap out of yah with the wood. All the newer machines i have used were much safer and wont beat yah as much. I have been snagged in the brush before and pulled towards the chute and this will get you attention in a hurry but a simple bump of the bar will stop the feed or reverse it so you can get untangled. I would be curios of whether or not this other employee helped him in the chute.


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## allrightthen (Jan 14, 2008)

you would think a wood chipper would have a foot peddle control like pipe threading machines have.


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## Tom R (Jun 1, 2004)

How'd you like to put that puzzle together for an open casket?? :laughing: :shutup:


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

Complacency kills.

Whenever I find myself getting too relaxed with chipper or chainsaw, I take a break, get re-focused. 

I also don't wear gloves or long sleeves when I chip . Got my glove snagged once, but was ablr to hit the stop bar and reverse the feed. My chipper is small though-8 in max. I wouldn't have died though, only lost (most of) an arm.


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## Paulie (Feb 11, 2009)

There's no excuse IMO not to have a better saftey set up on those damn things.

www.phbconstruction.com


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## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

allrightthen said:


> you would think a wood chipper would have a foot peddle control like pipe threading machines have.


Good idea, Ive never ran one of these things.


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## rjconstructs (Apr 26, 2009)

Maybe this can be another reminder to work safely. If we all could take a second and rethink something before plowing ahead. It only takes a misguided moment or a lack of focus to change our lives forever.
rj


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## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

rjconstructs said:


> Maybe this can be another reminder to work safely. If we all could take a second and rethink something before plowing ahead. It only takes a misguided moment or a lack of focus to change our lives forever.
> rj


Yep, this happend to me once because I was in a hurry. I paid dearly, not I dont care if it takes 10min, I try to imagine how everything will play out before I do anything that could be dangerous.


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## bwalley (Jan 7, 2009)

paulie said:


> There's no excuse IMO not to have a better saftey set up on those damn things.


They are safe if used properly, sometimes a limb will get stuck and instead of turning it off and then clearing it, they will try to free the limb by pulling or kicking it, if you get tangled up in it, you get pulled through.


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## Sir Mixalot (Jan 6, 2008)

Holy Crap!


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## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

I wonder if the guy screamed before he went in?

That would be one hell of a way to commit suicide.


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## ChainsawCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

allrightthen said:


> you would think a wood chipper would have a foot peddle control like pipe threading machines have.


 How powerful are pipe threading machines? My chipper-considered about medium duty-has a four cylinder engine running it. 

What could a foot peddle do? Maybe controlling the feed drum, but I don't see it being very convenient/effective. Seems it would be more of a distraction than anything. Chipping is messy. You would be constantly rooting for and needing to uncover the pedal. 

Unforunately, for certain equipment, the safety feature become an impedance to operation of the equipment.

Be aware, be alert. Pay attention to what you are doing, and know your equipment.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

Exactly, :thumbsup:. The machine is only as safe as its operator, one should know the dangers of running a peice of equipment before operating it. The one i ran many yrs ago would take 16" wood, the last year i work for this place they contracted the brush/tree cutting out and they brought in a chipper that would handle 32" wood. That was an impressive monster, this was state land so there were still alot of tree's that were too big for it.


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## chris n (Oct 14, 2003)

Back in the day( late 70's) when I worked for a national tree expert co there were no safety devises at all on the chippers. You just had to stand at the side or the machine and throw the brush in. We also had in house mechanics who used to beef up the engines on the chippers to make them even more powerful. We had one with a Ford v-8,dual exhaust( forget the cubic inch,I was not a motor head) installed, you could get a whole 8 to 10 inch diameter tree into that thing and it would disappear in a wink of an eye.Osha would not know what to think about that beast and why one of us was not ever pulled through was just dumb luck. AHH the good old 70's days, smoke a J and go climb trees and chip brush all day. Actually, if you got to be a top climber, you avoided the chipper most of the time.:w00t:


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## JT Wood (Dec 17, 2007)

bert0168 said:


>


 
I fed one of those exact machines for 3 years
(vermeer 1250 i believe)

I can't see how it could happen, unless the guy was on the table for some reason.

It doesn't move that fast.

the stop/reverse bar goes around the top and sides. It must have been malfunctioning, and the operator not very well he's dead


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## Hibernia86 (Sep 16, 2009)

Same thing happened in my town a few years ago. A branch got caught when the guy was feeding it, so he climbed on top and started kicking it to get it through. The branch caught his pants and pulled him in. I talked to one of the cops who responded, he said the guy made it all the way to his chest before he stopped screaming. They pulled him out of the truck in 5 gallon buckets. The guy who was working with him (his nephew I believe) was right there and was trying to pull him out. Bad situation all around.


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## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

Hibernia86 said:


> Same thing happened in my town a few years ago. A branch got caught when the guy was feeding it, so he climbed on top and started kicking it to get it through. The branch caught his pants and pulled him in. I talked to one of the cops who responded, he said the guy made it all the way to his chest before he stopped screaming. They pulled him out of the truck in 5 gallon buckets. The guy who was working with him (his nephew I believe) was right there and was trying to pull him out. Bad situation all around.


I bet thats will stick in his nephews mind every day until he dies. 

I guess the good thing is the guy died, could you imagine getting 1/2 your body shredded and living through it. Ive seen a few people on TV who lost everything from the belly button down. There elbows are the lowest part of their body.


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## tccoggs (Dec 17, 2008)

I saw a chipper on the road the other day that had what looked like nylon straps hanging into the feed area, and they were tied to the feed bar. Sort of like those saftey releases they started putting on car trunks a few years back. I guess if you started to get pulled in, you could grab these and reverse the feed or stop the machine before you hit the blade.


Not sure if this was a custom mod, or standard feature.


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