I am stiff today, do you know the properties of fancy walnut

[magnumwheelman]

So I put myself out there in the "idiot" thread... if you want details of why I'm so stiff...

anyway I was cutting a long branch on a walnut tree... this is the one that had exceptional color & figure in a fallen branch I cut up, that I had posted in another thread a couple weeks ago... this tree's wood looks awesome, but it has already had 2 branches break off... most of the walnut on our property is dark, with tightly, even spaced rings, & tough as iron... this one is unusual to say the least...

the stupid thing I did yesterday, was put a pallet on the forks on my tractor, raise it up to the maximum height that the pallet is flat ( between 8 & 8.5 ft ) climb up with a step ladder & cut a branch off a tree while standing on the pallet ( Yep, I know it's dumb, but honestly I've done that 4-5 times before with no issues )... well this was a good sized branch, over an area I was going to install a tube bull gate under it... I was sure it would break & damage my gate sooner than later...

hind sight is 20/20, but wondering if that unusual grain is more brittle than the standard grain... as I did my base cut at the bottom of the branch, about an inch deep, to keep it from stripping bark off the trunk when it started coming down... base of the branch was 9-10" thick, I switch to the top, & got roughly half way through the branch ( at this point, every branch I've cut this way, starts to slowly lower towards the ground ) this one snapped clean off the trunk, & the wind pushed it onto the pallet, knocking me off backwards into an ugly bouncing off all the loader rigging, the brush guard on the front of the tractor, the side rail, the front tire, & then to the ground... knocking the wind out of me... yep... that guy is some kinda dumb

thinking everything through later yesterday ( oh yes... I lived ) I've never seen a live & very green branch just snap off like that curious if any of you guys that may have cut into fancier grain base woods have found that they may be more brittle than "normal" tightly grained woods???

[bula]

Am glad your at least at the keyboard this am. I wish I could get back all of the hours I've spent watching "safety movies" at work. Yet when we have an issue with something, they won't fix. The cover your a$$ type safety program. Here, a big mature poplar broke at the base and fell into a very large oak. Hung up on the lowest biggest and dead oak limb. All right above my hanging steel targets. Groan. I no longer feel it wise to play with big chainsaws or take medium sized ones up ladders. A cousin took a tumble outta a tree with a chainsaw years ago. LOTS of stitches required. Used to be you could recognize most brands of outdoor or lawn equipment by color. Now only a little color peeks out around all the of the warning labels. Be Careful. 

[Fowler]

Wisdom is gained from life experiences...

[bula]

Survival is required though..

[magnumwheelman]

my 18" Stihl chain saw pitched to the opposite side I fell to, was idling on the ground, until I could finally scrape myself off the ground, go over & shut it off after getting my wind back ( I hate getting the wind knocked out of me )... got whiplash type muscle injury to my neck, my sternum has been broken a couple times, I think it's cracked again from the backside this time, my 1st & most violent contact was a cross pipe on the loader, went across my shoulders, causing my head to wrench rearward, the rest of me progressed in front of that bar, then causing me to slide down a little, slamming my chin to my chest, & actually skinned a a good patch of skin off the top of my head... I think my hips hit the brush guard ( actually my stainless J Frame in that Simply Rugged Flap holster ) probably saved me a trip to the hospital, as that was the contact point on the brush guard... holster & revolver still look good... I've not done a function test on the revolver yet, but expect the solid deep pain I have about my right kidney area would be much worse, had I not been carrying... it was also pretty cold & windy, so I had quite a bit of padding on...

[bula]

Your favorite OTC ouchy med ? For years (lower back issue going back to 9th grade) Motrin and similar my favs. Then early in this covid thing a case was made that Tylenol might be a safer choice and I went to extra strength Tylenol/Arthritis. A skin issue that comes with the arthritis got much worse but a switch to the current favorite Advil Dual action sure knocked back the skin issue. Well, when ya wake up and nothing hurts, it means your dead or you've never done anything. 

[magnumwheelman]

took quite a few Ibuprofen yesterday... so far, at work today, I'm trying to take nothing, so I can better assess any damages... also the Ibuprofen is pretty hard on my stomach... so just food & water today, no sodas or caffeine... definitely think the neck is my biggest problem... so far no big headaches or??? just very stiff, and maybe 3-4 on the pain scale

[dougader]

I ruined my stomach with ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. Now I use tylenol, or jump up to Vicodin. Trying to avoid the opioids, I employ those Salonpas patches with aspirin, menthol and camphor. Those darn patches work better than you'd ever think. Have 3 of the small ones on my neck as we speak... arthritis, bursitis and bone spurs on the neck bones (spondylosis) make it an ongoing fight to keep my head on a swivel with a little range of motion.

[bula]

Was just gonna recommend the Salonpas patches. I regularly use the big ones on my lower back and have used the small ones on my neck. 

[bigbrowndog]

Next time, take a safety harness for a tree stand or simply a very strong belt and attach it to a rope to the tree trunk so that IF you fall the fall is arrested short of impact with the ground and hopefully short of falling off the ladder. You may swing into the tree or tractor and it’ll hurt but not like falling from 10-15 feet.

I’ve responded to several falls from ladders and trees by homeowners and even tree trimmers that would have easily been lessened or avoided with a safety line. Funniest was leaning the ladder on the eave and placing the feet on the handrail around the patio. Patio was 6 feet above ground level and handrail 4 feet above that, then 10 foot ladder.

Trapr

[Robster]

I had an old tote, took the plastic 'tote' out of it and put the cage on the forks. Ratchet strap the cage to the backing on the forks and it gives you a cage to stand in and trim trees, gutters....
here is a link to what the tote looks like.

www.ntotank.com/275gallon-nto-white-reconditioned-ibc-tote-tank-x7738445?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20-%20Primary&utm_term=4581802392219126&utm_content=products

[magnumwheelman]

I use those same totes for putting cut wood into... may need to make a man cage out of one... not sure how many of these falls I could handle

[x101airborne]

Apr 12, 2021 11:44:25 GMT -5 Robster said:

I had an old tote, took the plastic 'tote' out of it and put the cage on the forks. Ratchet strap the cage to the backing on the forks and it gives you a cage to stand in and trim trees, gutters....
here is a link to what the tote looks like.

www.ntotank.com/275gallon-nto-white-reconditioned-ibc-tote-tank-x7738445?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20-%20Primary&utm_term=4581802392219126&utm_content=products

EXACT same setup as I use. Works perfectly till Dad falls asleep in the tractor seat. 

[pleadthe2nd]

It could be that the undercut you started with caused the branch to snap, instead of bow down, like normal, walnut is very dense, and heavy timber. Take some antiflamitories, aleve, with your pain pills.

[pleadthe2nd]

Oh, you might consider a pole saw too.