Chainsaw Helmet

[Syncop8r]

Up until now I have been using a pair of earmuffs and safety glasses whilst chainsawing. Although my earmuffs are good (Grade 5) I dislike the safety glasses. I always intended buying a helmet/earmuffs/mesh visor combo one day. I'm mostly cutting wood on the ground so I don't really have much need for the helmet but they can help protect your forehead if there's kickback.

 A few years ago this chainsaw helmet (probably not the correct term) was left behind in a friend's garage by an ex-tenant of theirs.





The helmet itself isn't in great shape but the earmuffs are also Grade 5.
I gave it a good clean and removed whatever this glue was.



Fast forward to now and I finally bought a 3M mesh visor that fits it.




I find it so much better than what I was using before. One day I may see if I can solder up the crack, although new helmets are pretty cheap.

[SteveC]

I would get a new helmet, that one is compromised and could send a sharp piece into your forehead if it took an impact. I have a scar above my nose from a shattered hard hat.... it's a long story .

[Grant Lamontagne]

I would get a new helmet, that one is compromised and could send a sharp piece into your forehead if it took an impact. I have a scar above my nose from a shattered hard hat.... it's a long story .

My thoughts exactly.... minus the scar on the nose thing.

Used safety equipment should be avoided whenever possible.  I suppose it beats none.... but not by as much as you'd like!

Def

[Juan el Boricua]

As frugal and cheap as I am, when safety (particularly mine is concerned) is involved I do not gamble; I concur with Steve and Grant. Perhaps buy another helmet and adapt the earmuffs and your visor?

[Tasky]

Hard hats should be replaced routinely every 5 years, regardless of whether it's suffered damage or not... and those known to have suffered damage should be replaced immediately.

[zoidberg]

I always wear glasses under the mesh.

We have a strong wind warning for 36hrs from tonight.
I will be mixing some fuel and throwing the saw in the truck this arvo.

[Farmer X]

 I once heard the following applied to motorcycle helmets: "if you don't know the history of a helmet, it needs to be history." I would apply the same to a hard hat. Maybe it's fine. But there is no way I would trust my safety to "maybe." You're best off getting a new hard hat that's compatible with the ear and face protection.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Last year I was working on a bridge project that was supposed to take 3 nights.  Six weeks later we were as done as we could be.   

During the process, one of the guys accidentally dropped his hard hat off the side of the bridge, into the traffic lanes below- fortunately it was the middle of the night and traffic was so sparse that he had time to go and get it.

As he was doing so, I mentioned to the Foreman that we should probably get the guy a new hat for the next night, which the Foreman agreed.

I saw that same guy a couple of months ago on another job, a d guess what?  Still wearing the same hard hat.   

Some companies need to learn these lessons as well.

Def

[Chako]

For motorcycle helmets...you should not put decales on the helmet as some of the adhesives can damage the integrity of the helmet.

Like everyone here...do not wear it as part of your personal safety gear.

[Farmer X]

For motorcycle helmets...you should not put decales on the helmet as some of the adhesives can damage the integrity of the helmet.

I've awlso heard that. Now the big question: it is "dee-cal" or "dek-ul?"

About nine or ten years ago, I was helping to turn a Vons (a grocery store chain in California) into a Burlington Coat Factory. I was in a scissor lift, and while going up, my hard hat hit something. Somehow I'd managed to position the lift so that when I was taking it up, I was right under a long bolt hanging from the ceiling. Luckily I never wore that particular hard hat after that event.

[Chako]

I guess it comes down to where you are and how you learned the word.   

[pfrsantos]

I was expecting some kind of greek helmet, but with a chainsaw instead of the crest...

 

[Sea Monster]

I once heard the following applied to motorcycle helmets: "if you don't know the history of a helmet, it needs to be history." I would apply the same to a hard hat. Maybe it's fine. But there is no way I would trust my safety to "maybe." You're best off getting a new hard hat that's compatible with the ear and face protection.

A lot of this has to do with a motorcycle helmet having a large part of its function "hidden" by the slick exterior - so it is hard to inspect for any internal damage, wear, etc.

a single piece moulded plastic hard hat is probably easier to visually inspect

As far as it goes, the (Australian) standard says you should replace your hard hats if any visual damage is apparent, if it is known to have had an impact, or if it is more than 2 years old.


To a certain extent this seems like a scheme by "Big Hard Hat", as many are used simply as colour-coded markers (as in an office emergency management team), or in the case of the this one, or similar situations in landscaping etc - just as a "platform" to mount face shields, ear muffs, and maybe give a bit of sun protection.

I'd be curious, if you walked into any given safety equipment store, how old the hard hats already on the shelf would be - if it's 6 months old, do I get a 25% discount?

[Syncop8r]

Thank you all for your concerns. Let me clarify: I do not need a safety helmet for my chainsawing tasks. There is nothing above me that could fall and hurt me.

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except aircraft, space debris, bird droppings...

This is mostly a handy way to wear ear muffs and a mesh visor together (you can get a set where they both basically hang off a headband). I do not need to wear a helmet, so wearing a compromised helmet is not an issue.

If I ever need to cut down trees I will then replace the helmet, and it will be yellow (my chainsaws are yellow and black  ).

Has everyone had their 2 cents?
Good.

[Chako]

I would like to think my advice was worth at most a penny. 

[Top-Gear-24]

A lot of this has to do with a motorcycle helmet having a large part of its function "hidden" by the slick exterior - so it is hard to inspect for any internal damage, wear, etc.

a single piece moulded plastic hard hat is probably easier to visually inspect

As far as it goes, the (Australian) standard says you should replace your hard hats if any visual damage is apparent, if it is known to have had an impact, or if it is more than 2 years old.


To a certain extent this seems like a scheme by "Big Hard Hat", as many are used simply as colour-coded markers (as in an office emergency management team), or in the case of the this one, or similar situations in landscaping etc - just as a "platform" to mount face shields, ear muffs, and maybe give a bit of sun protection.

I'd be curious, if you walked into any given safety equipment store, how old the hard hats already on the shelf would be - if it's 6 months old, do I get a 25% discount?

Exactly 👍.

A motorcycle helmet is a lot more complex, and the polystyrene on the inside is made to absorb a shock once, and only once...

After my motorcycle accident back in '96, I inspected the inside of my helmet by folding asside the inner lining, and there was a huge crack in the polystyrene running from my forehead, over the top of my head, all the way to the back.

I still have the helmet, since it had a custom paintjob, but it's for nostalgia only...

And also, the polystyrene will get hard and brittle after a couple of years, in which case it also becomes useless, since it will no longer "absorb" a shock.

So for motorcycle helmets,  it's best to get a new one every five years or so (or everytime it absorbed a shock, even the stupid kind, for example, after you placed it on the seat of your bike and it fell off).  Hard hats are different, but on the other hand, they are so cheap it might not be worth taking the risk.

But all of this is quite off topic, since in this case the helmet is only used as an easy way to wear the ear and eye protection, in which case any extra protection it might offer is a nice extra, but not a necessity.

[Tasky]

I do not need a safety helmet for my chainsawing tasks. There is nothing above me that could fall and hurt me.
I do not need to wear a helmet, so wearing a compromised helmet is not an issue.

If I had a penny for just those colleagues I personally know who asserted the same opinion, only to find out the surprisingly hard way that they were mistaken... I'd easily have enough to buy you three brand new helmets!

Plenty of other things could happen that do not even involve falling things. Powered wood cutting tools have a nasty habit of not only kicking back off the wood, but also flinging that wood around in unhappy directions. If replacement helmets are as cheap as you say, why would you risk your health on a Smurfed one?

I'll say nothing further and just be over here in the "I told you so" queue.... Best of luck with your endeavour.

[SteveC]

Thank you all for your concerns. Let me clarify: I do not need a safety helmet for my chainsawing tasks. There is nothing above me that could fall and hurt me.

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except aircraft, space debris, bird droppings...

This is mostly a handy way to wear ear muffs and a mesh visor together (you can get a set where they both basically hang off a headband). I do not need to wear a helmet, so wearing a compromised helmet is not an issue.

If I ever need to cut down trees I will then replace the helmet, and it will be yellow (my chainsaws are yellow and black  ).

Has everyone had their 2 cents?
Good.

No not quite yet   

It doesn't only protect from above but from a front blow to the face. If the helmet holding the face shield is cracked then that could be an issue if you take a heavy blow to the face. You can get a new helmet for under $20 here seems like it would be worth piece of mind.

[Sea Monster]

Everyone has strong opinions on helmets.

Where are we on chaps?

[SteveC]

Everyone has strong opinions on helmets.

Where are we on chaps?

Chaps are a very good idea as well as good boots   

[Tasky]

Everyone has strong opinions on helmets.
Where are we on chaps?

All the gear, all the time.
Seen too many accidents when people have thought they knew better, to the point where my work first aid kit includes blast bandages and tourniquets, in the event of traumatic amputation.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sadly I was having a similar conversation this morning with a foreman at work.  We were specifically discussing chainsaws and how we only really adhere to safety equipment requirements when we have to, are on the clock, or someone is watching.  I am very guilty of this myself, often operating my whipper snapper (weed whacker, lawn trimmer, whatever you want to call it) while wearing flip flops, and when I get my saw out to cut down limbs and things I will rarely put on safety boots, ear/eye protection etc, unless I have specifically have come out to do that- ie not puttering around and seeing something that needs to be done.

I actually don't have a chainsaw at the moment, and I use my reciprocating saw for cutting tree limbs, and the only safety equipment I usually grab are my work gloves.   

Of course, if anyone at work isn't doing something in a safe manner (I mean REAL safety, not the bullsmurf OSHA safety requirements) I am all over them like butter on toast, because no one gets paid enough to have an injury here.  If only I had the sense to adopt that attitude any time I was working with power tools, but I guess I won't be happy until I am a statistic. 

Def

[Farmer X]

Where are we on chaps?

For chain sawing? I didn't know there was such a thing.

Of course, I'm reading this after I grabbed a sledgehammer and smashed the smurf out of an old cell phone (my newer one awlmost met the same fate...don't ask). I was wearing safety glasses during the swinging of the sledgehammer. If there's any possibility, no matter how remote, of flying debris hitting my eye, I'm wearing safety glasses. Perhaps I should have been wearing safety toe boots as well.

[Syncop8r]

Chaps are far more important than a helmet for bucking logs on the ground.
Most people don't wear a helmet for this, perhaps if I went back to no helmet it wouldn't generate any attention?

I don't even have a spare $20 for a new helmet at the moment, but chaps or chainsaw trousers are higher on the wishlist.

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Clogger

[Syncop8r]

... in landscaping etc - just as a "platform" to mount face shields, ear muffs, and maybe give a bit of sun protection.

in this case the helmet is only used as an easy way to wear the ear and eye protection, in which case any extra protection it might offer is a nice extra, but not a necessity.

Bingo.