Big Log

[Jed]

Amazing. I'm curious about the hinge. I've seen that a handful of times in the old-timer books. Seems like they wld cut up to the corners, then straighten out the saw and dig through the gut, then cut up closer to the corner again, etc., until it fell over or had to be wedged. Man... if I were a tougher dude, I'd gladly go back in time. Might still prefer to go back anyway, for the pure pleasure of having a tree kick my ass!

 

[Al Smith]

From what I hear they had massive electric chainsaw back then,'48 because there really were not if any gasoline saws that put out enough power to run long bars .Evidently they hauled big generaters up in the woods and plugged them in . If the info is correct those damned electric saws were upwards of a hundred pounds .It's hard to actually say what year they made a gasoline saw up to the task .

Maybe some of those Malls or other geardrives could handle it as it's said they made 12 foot bars for some .I certainly have never seen any though nor would I care to ever operate one .

 

[gf beranek]

I've only seen pictures of the old electrics. Bars lengths to 8 foot.

The few old fallers I talked to that actually run those things didn't like them because on rainy or damp days they got the sheet shocked out of them.

And so back to the cross cut and axe again.

from the horse's mouth.

 

[Al Smith]

I can well imagine after seeing big drill motors of the era that electric saws could flat light you up .

 

[Cobleskill]

I have a big old metal drill with a suicide switch on it. High rpm for a big lunker too. It has hurt or death written all over it.

 

[Al Smith]

I've got an old Black and Decker with a racheting trigger .Talk about powerfull .I've also got a 3/4" Milwaukie that could twist an arm off .

 

[squisher]

As too loading most pictures I have seen they where parbuckled onto the trailer from a road built right next to the tree where it was felled.

I figured that was the way but thought someone might have some cool old photos of some elaborate kind of crazy giant wood loading set-up.

 

[Al Smith]

I've got a ton of pictures in two books .The Time Life bok called the loggers and endless tracks in the woods .The later shows the development of crawler tractors and the glory days of tractor logging .

I've tried to scan pictures from both but they don't come out well .

Both of them show old high lines where they topped out a big spar tree and used steam donkey engines to yard in the logs ,big ones .This is high mountain PNW stuff it was never done like that in this parts on flat ground .

Around here they just used a big team or double team of big draft horses and "side hauled " the logs onto a big wagon gear and hauled them off .Keeping in mind these are 4 foot oaks not 8-12 foot Douglas firs .

 

[Ax-Man]

How long would it take to cut,buck and load those logs onto a truck assuming the loggers only used hand tools????

My father in law did some small time logging with a crosscut and ax. He told me that what we do in one day would take two men a week to do, mind you this was back when things didn't need to be so fast paced and the trees weren't all that big.

 

[Al Smith]

According to that book the fallers might take a couple days just getting those monsters on the ground .You know a lot of times because of the root flair they had to work them off of spring boards .Can you imagine swinging a razor sharp axe standing on a damned plank bouncing up and down .Lawdy clumsy as I am I'd cut my foot off .

Two axe men swinging right and left .How did they keep from cutting one anothers heads off .My bet is delimbing of the trees was not the only delimbing .My bet also as gruesome as it might be is more than one bled to death and many who didn't were maimed for life .Tough assed business and a rough way to make a living

 

[Guido Salvage]

Look at the size of the hinge on the lead long. Think he left enough?