Had a top handle saw bind up on me yesterday in a bad way

I was trimming a big live oak in a backyard near Tampa, about 40 feet up in the saddle. Got a bit too aggressive on a limb that was under tension and the saw kicked back and pinched the bar hard. Dropped the saw and had to shimmy down to get my ground guy to hand me the wedges to free it. Took me a solid 20 minutes to get everything sorted. Anyone ever had a bind that bad and changed how you approach tension cuts after?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.andrew19d ago

Wedges are non-negotiable now even on cuts that look easy. Learned that lesson the hard way on a pecan tree where the whole thing shifted and locked my bar tighter than a drum.

ninah1019d ago

Locked my bar tighter than a drum" - come on, that sounds like you just didn't plan your cuts right. I've taken down plenty of trees without wedges and never had that happen once.