# I never knew wood chippers were this dangerous.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 10, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409 "2012-04-10T21:34:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/1 "2012-04-10T21:34:29Z")
I’m thankful now that I didn’t buy a wood chipper a few years ago. I knew they were dangerous just like a chainsaw, but not this dangerous. The main danger I knew about was it can jam and spit the branch back at you. I nasty way to get speared.
I’m still puzzled how it could drag this kid into the machine. You’d think that it would rip the branch from your hand before it would suck you in. I can’t believe it jerked this kid right into the chipper. I wonder if the kid tried to feed something really short into the chipper? You don’t feed a 8 inch long branch into a chipper.
Horrible accident. I’m really sad for the family.
I’ll never rent or buy a wood chipper. That’s for certain.
> **[6-Year-Old Conn. Boy Gets Pulled Through Wood Chipper While Helping His Dad](https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/six-year-old-conn-boy-gets-sucked-through-wood-chipper-while-helping-his-dad/)**
>
> A 6-year-old boy was killed in an apparent wood chipper accident in southeastern Connecticut Tuesday.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/2 "2012-04-10T21:40:11Z")
Maybe a branch got snagged on his clothing or something. Adults typically only get hurt or killed by woodchippers when they do something stupid, such as using their leg to push a stubborn branch in, but kids haven’t the strength or body mass to resist just being dragged in.
Horrible.
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### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/3 "2012-04-10T21:44:28Z")
I wonder if that dad is going to be charged with negligence or manslaughter or something. I know he’s suffering already by the death of his son, but I can’t help but feel like he should be prosecuted for being so careless. Who lets their 6 year old anywhere near a woodchipper ??? Sounds awful to me.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/4 "2012-04-10T22:01:25Z")
I have a healthy respect for power tools, especially since a good friend of mine was killed while using a circular saw on a tree stump in his garden a few years ago. The thought of allowing a child to “help” with something like a wood chipper makes my blood run cold. ☹
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/5 "2012-04-10T22:14:25Z")
I once saw a one armed man feeding branches into a wood chipper. It’s sad, and it’s cruel that I can’t help but grin a little thinking about it.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/6 "2012-04-10T22:44:09Z")
A friend reminded me that those commercial chippers are much bigger and more powerful than the ones you see at home depot. Yet another reason why kids shouldn’t be anywhere near that kind of equipment.
The home depot ones are dangerous too, but they only accept a 4 inch diameter branch. You could lose an arm, but a body wouldn’t fit.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/7 "2012-04-10T22:44:44Z")
I thought that only happened in crazy movies like “Fargo”.
That happened in “Fargo”, right?
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### Author:  [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/8 "2012-04-10T22:48:35Z")
Jesus–my father wouldn’t even let my sister and I anywhere near the lawnmower, let alone a wood chipper!
Of course, he knew damn well my sister and I were complete idiots, who could break our arms trying to turn on the garden hose . . .
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/9 "2012-04-10T22:49:25Z")
> [@monstro](#):
>
> I thought that only happened in crazy movies like “Fargo”.
>
> That happened in “Fargo”, right?
I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper.
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### Author:  [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/10 "2012-04-10T22:49:34Z")
This real life murder (also in Connecticut) supposedly inspired the Coen brothers to write Fargo:
[Helle Crafts murder](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helle_Crafts)
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### Author:  [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/11 "2012-04-10T22:51:34Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#):
>
> I wonder if that dad is going to be charged with negligence or manslaughter or something. I know he’s suffering already by the death of his son, but I can’t help but feel like he should be prosecuted for being so careless. Who lets their 6 year old anywhere near a woodchipper ??? Sounds awful to me.
I think seeing your 6 year old being spit out of a machine in small chips is worse than what any court could do him. If his son decided to help out without his knowledge, I don’t see how he could possibly be charged with anything. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes people turn their back at the worst possible moment.
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### Author:  [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/12 "2012-04-10T22:52:04Z")
I have not lived an uneventful life, but I can’t remember ever going from laughing (at the title) to deep sadness (at the content) as fast as I just did.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/13 "2012-04-10T22:54:25Z")
I read about a case with a municipal wood chipper, where the guy was feeding in a larger diameter branch. Apparenty he had it under his arm, and there was a protruding branch behind him. The branch hooked him from behind, and folded his spine in half as it pulled him into the chipper.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/14 "2012-04-10T23:00:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> I read about a case with a municipal wood chipper, where the guy was feeding in a larger diameter branch. Apparenty he had it under his arm, and there was a protruding branch behind him. The branch hooked him from behind, and folded his spine in half as it pulled him into the chipper.
I’ve always said those things should have some sort of panic buttons around the perimeter of the throat/mouth so that when something like that happens it’s easier to shut off. They could be just outside the edge so that someone that’s getting pulled in can blindly grab at them, but branches won’t constantly trip them as they get pulled in.
Either that or a deadman’s switch. That is, a button that has to be held down to keep it running. Nowadays, it seems like it would be trivial (even as a retrofit with a servo) to make it wireless. So you could keep a remote in your hand and engage the blades when you’re feeding things into it, but if something goes wrong all you have to do is let go. (A lawnmower is a good example of a deadman’s switch).
Whatever they do, ISTM there’s got to be a way to shut it off from near the business end.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/15 "2012-04-10T23:09:02Z")
There was a horribly sad story about one a few years ago where a puppy’s leash evidently got tangled in a branch or something and the dog died, AND a guy died trying to save it.
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### Author:  [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/16 "2012-04-10T23:30:15Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> I have a healthy respect for power tools, especially since a good friend of mine was killed while using a circular saw on a tree stump in his garden a few years ago. The thought of allowing a child to “help” with something like a wood chipper makes my blood run cold. ☹
For me, it’s the thought of allowing a free-roaming child anywhere within half a mile of a woodchipper, running or not. They’re scary enough with just adults in the vicinity. I’m nervous enough when MR. S is out in the woods with his chain saw.
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/17 "2012-04-10T23:38:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> I’ve always said those things should have some sort of panic buttons around the perimeter of the throat/mouth so that when something like that happens it’s easier to shut off.
I read an article a couple of years ago about a man who developed a system to make table saws safer. But manufacturers didn’t want to license it because it would add too much to the price of the lower end saws.
[Sharp Edge: One Man’s Quest To Improve Saw Safety](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127780027) by Chris Arnold
(NPR, Morning Edition, 5 July 2010)
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/18 "2012-04-10T23:44:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> I’ve always said those things should have some sort of panic buttons around the perimeter of the throat/mouth so that when something like that happens it’s easier to shut off. They could be just outside the edge so that someone that’s getting pulled in can blindly grab at them, but branches won’t constantly trip them as they get pulled in.
> Either that or a deadman’s switch. That is, a button that has to be held down to keep it running. Nowadays, it seems like it would be trivial (even as a retrofit with a servo) to make it wireless. So you could keep a remote in your hand and engage the blades when you’re feeding things into it, but if something goes wrong all you have to do is let go. (A lawnmower is a good example of a deadman’s switch).
>
> Whatever they do, ISTM there’s got to be a way to shut it off from near the business end.
Perhaps an infrared sensor that shuts the machine off if anything as hot as a living body starts to enter it. That would protect children and animals as well as the user.
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### Author:  [@eldowan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eldowan)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/19 "2012-04-10T23:54:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Perhaps an infrared sensor that shuts the machine off if anything as hot as a living body starts to enter it. That would protect children and animals as well as the user.
That’s an interesting idea, but how would it determine that on a hot 100°+ summer day?
Doesn’t the wood heart to ambient air temp, which could be more than 90°, and be hotter if in the direct sunlight?
I agree with the above link talking about sawstop, it uses the inherent electrical charge of skin to immediately stop cutting.
If you hadn’t seen, here’s a video in action:
[YouTube](http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dq9OLIzMa4Oo&v=q9OLIzMa4Oo&gl=US)
[http://www.sawstop.com/](http://www.sawstop.com/)
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-knew-wood-chippers-were-this-dangerous/618409/20 "2012-04-10T23:55:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Perhaps an infrared sensor that shuts the machine off if anything as hot as a living body starts to enter it. That would protect children and animals as well as the user.
You’d have to have some sort of powerful braking system for the spinners, wouldn’t you? Even if you shut off power as soon as a person entered the danger zone, the momentum would probably be enough to grind 'em.
> [@TonySinclair](#):
>
> I have not lived an uneventful life, but I can’t remember ever going from laughing (at the title) to deep sadness (at the content) as fast as I just did.
I’m sick, I’m morbid, etc., but it was the other way for me. The title drew me in, but the realization that this time a whole person was sucked in was… undeniably more intriguing. I was hoping the video would show the remnants of the scene, not just a talking cop. (Yeah, I’m a terrible person.)
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