The Logging Thread

We'll put this one down to a American/English thing, logs are cut up trunks for firewood in the UK. Split or otherwise.
 
Interesting.


Locally we call that rounds, as in unsplit firewood rounds, contrasting split firewood.
My contracts also may say log chunks, as in non measured, non bucked, get it down and leave it for them to cut.
 
I figured it was a matter of difference between American/English,that is why i answered the way I did.
 
Logs / Sawlogs / logwood Is an old forestry term for lengths of round timber destined for sawmilling purposes. Totally different meaning to firewood logs. We also cut specific sizes for Pallet, firewood and biomass chip.
 
Ed, that container loading picture sure looks familiar.
Most of what we cut get bucked into 11,8 meters and stuffed into shipping containers.
Bucking one a foot too long is a sure way to piss the loaders off.
 
I miss logging too......so much I want to buy a small cable skidder for my tree service.
Mount a grapple clam on top of the blade to make it more arb friendly.
 
Logs / sawlogs are anything going to the mill , firewood is still long but not called logs here...cut to size for splitting we call them blocks
 
Wood grown in other countries, be it from islands or jungles or wherever, has been sent to the US and Great Britain for many many years for the furniture industry, and for other uses. Ebony, Padauk, Mahogany, Rosewood..... there are many examples. Logs included or mainly, no doubt. The reason that Cuban Mahogany, the best type, is no longer available, is it all went to Great Britain. Even if there were no trade restrictions with that country, you probably still couldn't obtain it. All the primo stuff has been taken. Aside from the black market movements that defy restrictions meant to protect the environment, as a woodworker, having the options for beautiful material is very cool. My only complaint is that so much nice wood has gone to produce lousy woodwork. English Walnut can be very nice too, my hutch is made from it.:)
 
...on the bright side locally it is not like all the mills are closed, far from it...one real big one that will buy a broad spectrum of species hard and soft though not great prices , plus a few more that specialize in either or are still buying with market variables ..now Veneer, hmmm well there is one mill up north running...mostly softwood goes to Canada so it could be worse. Over in New Hampshire as pulp mills closed it totally screwed the loggers as fuel costs made it impossible to sell low grade logs.
 
My buddy in New Hampshire is making bank on low grade with 2 cable skidders. Over in Warren. I want to say something like $47 a ton.
 
Maybe..I don't know.. Arborists loggers at heart.. or loggers Arborists at heart.. making use of a resource regardless of your specialty. Learning both skills ..interacting.
 
It's all good brother. I get heated around logging. I feel robbed of my chance to have been a real highball handfaller. The industry has changed so much here in just one generation I can't even begin to explain it. Big machines, big production. Lever pulling jobs where one man can do the work of many has replaced a lot of what I always loved about the bush. The governments and greedy asses of the world have screwed it right up, I'm sure it's happening everywhere. BC is big logging country, but it's not the same as it was.
 
How many big/fat trees are left in BC to be logged, like too big for machines to cut.
 
Logging has indeed changed so much in the last 20 years,but Steam power changed the scene just as much too.

I remember fondly my days working in a Yarder outfit,but I don´t miss having to carry around Tail Rope Blocks or dodging Stems that have slipped off the landing and are hurtling down the frontline at you.I was lucky to have worked in some of the last old growth back home and to have worked in the old growth in B.C.

Times change and all that,at least I brought my little camera to work,some guys have gone 20 years in the Bush with only a handfull of pictures to remember those years with.
 
The story of the modern world is machinery replacing men. I understand it sucks for some of us, but that's the progress of society. Its like buying a loader for your tree service. It was to mechanize and reduce the need for man power. Chainsaws reduced the need for manpower at one point. Its the story of progress, whether it suits us well or not.
 
How many big/fat trees are left in BC to be logged, like too big for machines to cut.

That would be a good question. Feller/bunchers get bigger and able to handle steeper country all the time.

Coastal camps still have plenty of hand falling for the yarder shows. Camps are no longer for me though. I worked the logging camps on the BC coast for seven years while younger. I could go hand falling tomorrow if I was willing to live away from home. I'll stick with arb work.
 
The story of the modern world is machinery replacing men. I understand it sucks for some of us, but that's the progress of society. Its like buying a loader for your tree service. It was to mechanize and reduce the need for man power. Chainsaws reduced the need for manpower at one point. Its the story of progress, whether it suits us well or not.

True enough. I still hate feller bunchers though.
 
I hate them too, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to go back to pulp logging.
It was just grueling, hars work, and the pay wasn't that good.

It served to improve my felling skills no end, but today I'm quite happy just felling the big hardwoods that the machines can't handle.
Grown old and somewhat mellow, I guess.

I ran into a guy I used to log with 36 years ago, yesterday. We had us a nice long bull session.

The private district we worked on back then had 23 fallers, one skidderdriver one forwarderdriver ( forwarders were the new hot stuff back then)
2 foresters and one ( i don't know the english word, but the guy who keeps everyone, including foresters in line, and make the big decisions).

Today: 1 faller, one skidderdrver/jack of all trades and 1 forester. But then the forest has been doubled in size, by adding that of a nearby estate.

Everything on the place is done by contractors with harvesters.
 
I'm still logging the old-fashioned way. We enter the trees armed with our saws and start clearing the deadfall and the underbrush, then lay down a mat of green twigs for the little Kubota tractor to drive over so that we don't puncture a tire when driving over the smaller, freshly cut shoots.

We avoid working under the overhead hanging deadfall, until such time as we're able to clear it safely. Trees that hang up in the canopy are removed immediately, due to safety concerns. For this we use a block and tackle with rigging ropes attached to the Kubota tractor. Trees that can be dragged out in one piece are moved to a clearing/landing for limbing and bucking. Trees suitable for the sawmill are stacked in a different area.

All of the firewood is hauled out as soon as we fill the truck and trailer.......so as to keep the area clean and safe for working. (about 5 cords at a shot) The firewood is processed each evening, then neatly stacked before we hit the trees again the next day. This year we'll be cutting the firewood into different lengths and keeping the stacks separated for customers who prefer firewood lengths that will fit perfectly into their particular stoves.

I continue to improve my plan of attack each time we enter the trees. Most importantly we have no injuries to report, other than the occasional scrapes, scratches, and bee stings.

Joel
 
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