# biggest tree fell?



## bullbuck (May 15, 2009)

sounds like some of you guys are consistantly in large wood,wanted to hear about your biggest tree fell,(my record is 'clear'doug fir at 55"across and right at 140'full length,nothing compared to the coast)


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## wvlogger (May 15, 2009)

i have felled a 5 foot beech tree was quite a sound


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## yodayoda (May 15, 2009)

I haven't felled anything over about 40". I like the vibration in the ground when the tree hits. Man I would love to feal when one of those big old trees drop.


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## tlandrum (May 15, 2009)

my largest tree to date is about 5ft dbh hemlock


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## olyman (May 15, 2009)

52 in dbh basswood--hollow thru the center---75 foot tall. after delimbing, dropped it it one piece, no choice. when it hit, it bounced back up about two feet. left a nice furrow in the guys lawn!!!! made damn poor firewood!!!!!!


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## bullbuck (May 15, 2009)

nice!as far as the crash they have trees here that i call 'sugar pine'but officially they are called white pine,but if you geat a good 3 footer with 9 inch limbs on the downhill side,ya nice and violent


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## Humptulips (May 15, 2009)

Mostly worked the rigging but fell a few good sized one. Biggest I think a cedar about 10 foot, a few spruce in the 7 foot range. Yarded a few that were really big. Fir that was 12 foot, a couple spruce over 15 foot and a number of cedar between 14 and 16 foot. Also a couple 7 foot hemlock with one going 8 foot. That's a heavy piece of wood. I know one hemlock we yarded that was 7 foot by 32 feet long weighed in at 63,000.

There is a big doug fir on the upper east fork of the Humptulips growing on the edge of an avalanche shute. It sets on a big rock so everything slides under the limbs on one side. It has a limb that looks to be about 5 foot through. Not a sucker, a limb. It was there in 86 when I was hanging back near it.


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## bullbuck (May 15, 2009)

impressive,kinda do it all in my business now and what i do know that i as of late load our 500 cat freight at 100,000 regularly for the 35 min.decent of 3000 plus feet and it looks big!63,000 for one log one seven footer?i think that would put our truck at maybe close too 100 thats fukn heavy!


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## STLfirewood (May 15, 2009)

I did a seven foot across cottonwood. The wind force from the top coming down was awesome. It blew leaves 50ft.

Scott


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## redprospector (May 15, 2009)

Biggest I've ever cut that got scaled was in 91, right before White Sand's Forest Products laid off the woods crew. It was a Doug Fir, scaled a little over 7200 bd. ft. A little over 6' at the stump. That was in Scott Able just before the enviro's shut us down.

Andy


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## coastalfaller (May 15, 2009)

Biggest tree I've fell was a cedar that was 14 ft across the butt. Quite a few spruce around 7-10ft. We were supposed to go into a valley in 05 that apparently had consistent spruce and cedar in the 15 ft range, but of course the camp got shut down before we got to go in there!


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## bullbuck (May 15, 2009)

hey red as i remember it we took a load to bill during phase one of the sac river road project that scaled 7650 our record to date! probably 100,000gross, being mostly red fir,but it was multiple logs not one tree fukn impressive!


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## Humptulips (May 16, 2009)

We yarded a big fir just a few miles from my house that had a gross scale in the butt cut of 10,500. I saw the scale slip. Wouldn't you know it, it was at the vey back end. Fought it every inch of the way up the hill to the landing. Then had to load it with the yarder. Tree only had three logs in it as it was broken off but it must have had in the neighborhood of 25,000 in it. Seen a few with that much but taller trees with more logs.
Best stand I ever logged was a patch of hemlock north of Lake Quinault. One small setting was only 2 1/2 acres. It had 600,000 on it. I'd call BS if I hadn't seen it. Every tree seemed to be 6 foot and sound. Very unusual for hemlock.


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## bullbuck (May 16, 2009)

we dont have dense high volume stands like that here not enough rain,but we found a canyon way back on the reservation no stumps at all and i spent two days walking from five foot pondo to the next,big suckers i remember putting good notches in my limbs so they wouldnt split and clear me off the thing!we had scales on the truck back then and we one ended a 33'pondo log on the truck at 38,000


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## redprospector (May 16, 2009)

Yep, we don't have the timber they do in the PNW, that's for sure. But it's still fun to get into a few good ones here & there. 

Old Earl was there when I took that one, he laughed his azz off at me. We had been on a sale that should have been a thinning unit, and about to starve cutting by scale. When I cut that big Doug I took out 3 leave trees with it that scaled another 4000 or so ft. 
FS was a little unhappy about that. I tried to convince PJ that the tree was too big, and I just lost it. But he just looked at me and said BS.
The little slap on the wrist I got seemed worth it to have a decent check coming for a change. 

Andy


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## bullbuck (May 16, 2009)

frickin awesome!poker face wasnt quite cuttin it i guess?thats a good story im still laughin!


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## bullbuck (May 16, 2009)

short that reminds me of a story from back in 01'george said both trucks are coming back to load off of you and i had nothing at the road and about two hours to skid two loads!the pressure was on so i dove in found a good spot to deck and man i was bringing em in and about an hour in i got to thinking why are there no logs in this one area?so i get to looking around and i had dove right into a salamander area,they had marked the boundary with the same color paint as timberharvest boundary,honest mistake to me but f.s. seemed to take it personal i kid you not four trucks full of paperpushers rolled out next morning i didnt know if i was going to skid or prison?so i just kept movin they never tried to yank me out of my cage,wonder how much paperwork i created off that deal?lol:monkey:


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## Kunes (May 16, 2009)

Pictures anyone?


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## bullbuck (May 16, 2009)

just got a digital camera learning how to use it,pictures yep very vivid in my mind,much better than two dimensional digital


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## redprospector (May 16, 2009)

Kunes said:


> Pictures anyone?



Not the tree in question, but the only pic I could find from back then.







Andy


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## redprospector (May 16, 2009)

bullbuck said:


> short that reminds me of a story from back in 01'george said both trucks are coming back to load off of you and i had nothing at the road and about two hours to skid two loads!the pressure was on so i dove in found a good spot to deck and man i was bringing em in and about an hour in i got to thinking why are there no logs in this one area?so i get to looking around and i had dove right into a salamander area,they had marked the boundary with the same color paint as timberharvest boundary,honest mistake to me but f.s. seemed to take it personal i kid you not four trucks full of paperpushers rolled out next morning i didnt know if i was going to skid or prison?so i just kept movin they never tried to yank me out of my cage,wonder how much paperwork i created off that deal?lol:monkey:



Hahaha.
I bet they loved you for that.
If you had squashed any salamanders they would have let you know about it (don't ask how I know).

Andy


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## bullbuck (May 16, 2009)

oh im sure they have tracking collars on them too!beepbeep beep.......beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!lol


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## goatchin (May 16, 2009)

36" Hard maple that was lightning struck many years ago and only had 4" of live wood around the outer diameter and cat-faced to the left of my holding wood. Good thing the tree was leaning towards planned direction. have pictures and video...might upload them sometime. Felled the tree when i was 18, and still am 18 right now haha


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## mike385 (May 17, 2009)

61inch red oak.


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## 2dogs (May 17, 2009)

I haven't dropped that many big trees though tall trees are pretty common for me right now. The largest was a redwood snag the measured 9 1/2' at the cut. Most of the bigger dbh trees I work on are goose penned or at least cat faced. Some of theses trees seem to be mostly air. I drop around one tree 175' to 200' tall per week. Most of these are in the 4' dbh range. I'll post a pic in another thread later tonight of a tree I saw fall (and hang) Friday.


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## hammerlogging (May 18, 2009)

Just a couple of 48" plus red oak and poplar stumps- second growth hardwood. Nice trees though. 
2Dogs, I can't believe you were right there for that snag falling! That looks like a really nice redwood its leaned on in that second photo


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## 2dogs (May 18, 2009)

hammerlogging said:


> Just a couple of 48" plus red oak and poplar stumps- second growth hardwood. Nice trees though.
> 2Dogs, I can't believe you were right there for that snag falling! That looks like a really nice redwood its leaned on in that second photo



Even at 100 yards away across the river and the tree hanging up I could still feel the vibration. I spun around to make sure nothing else was falling.


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## slowp (May 18, 2009)

Why the willow in the yard at the Moneypit of course! A whopping 13 or 14 inches across and weeping at that!

Does this mean I have to move back east?:greenchainsaw:


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## bullbuck (May 18, 2009)

no you can stay out west ,sounds like an emotional moment though lol


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## got6ponies (May 18, 2009)

*my record*

fell a 100'+ oak that i cant buck for fire wood yet because of the ticks in the woods!......i have to wait till november!
its sister tree is snagged on another oak its about 60/80' i left the straightest one standing i was gonna put pics of the trees on a WVlogger thread but frist the rain stopped me and now its the ticks. i dont go in the woods when the :censored: ticks are out! 

i have cut a dried/dead 80ft maple in 15mins w/my 051,(and loaded on my truck). :monkey:because it wasnt on my property!


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## Ontario_Logger (May 18, 2009)

well in Ont we dont get to many big trees. The biggest ive cut is a 45" white pine with a 20" bar on kinda gets tricky to do


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## garyischofield (May 18, 2009)

*biggest tree*

Cut a 66' ash tree in Mattapan/Boston last summer.That tree was 45' straight as an arrow then huge leaders.The back cut was 2 feet high still 66' solid .Had to buck it 5' lengths to lift it with the 124 Prentice on the triaxle.Was tempted to haul it home for firewood .Too busy.Counted the rings,was only approximately 125 years old,(unobstructed Southern exposure.)First time I ever ran a 4' bar.That was a trip cause when it flopped, it was sunk in the dirt .That's a lotta chain to sharpen.Hated to haul it to the dump.I'm sure that would have split like a dream.


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## g. dunfee (May 18, 2009)

I put a maple down that measured 52". Biggest limb was 29". Never cut anything that big before and wish I would have known about the 3" hole ( full of water) in the center of it. I hit it and thought I was going to drown. It ran 40 feet up the trunk. I cut the logs at about 20"'s, quartered them and was all I could do to push them up a ramp on to my wagon ( about 12"'s off of the ground).


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## bullbuck (May 18, 2009)

actually the fattest tree i have fell was 60"piss fir at cut level but the top half or more had broken out,i was able to get a solid 27'log out of it,i had saved it for the end of the day and got to sawin first off hit the sap vein poured out like molasses 6 inch wide river jammed my saw up more than once,then hit the water vein and im guessin 20 gallons or more poured out,glad i saved it for the end of the day because i was pretty much sopped at the end of that deal


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## 056 kid (May 18, 2009)

I cut a fir that with a 28'' bar i couldent get to over a foot of heart wood even after gutting the face. It was a waiting game when i got her all backed up lots of talking!


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## bullbuck (May 18, 2009)

didnt have to gut the face on this one but i had to get every last bit with my 28 and couldnt reach the core foot and a half or so plus no head lean lucky the wedges finally busted it ,pretty hard earned three dollars and twenty cents


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## fonzie (May 19, 2009)

Consistently in 4-6ft eucalypts biggest I ever fell was about 12 ft through, majority solid bout 6 inches of wet rot in the heart,


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## 2dogs (May 20, 2009)

056 kid said:


> I cut a fir that with a 28'' bar i couldent get to over a foot of heart wood even after gutting the face. It was a waiting game when i got her all backed up lots of talking!



After you face bored the tree you still could not reach a post a foot in diameter? Wow that must mean that tree was 10' in diameter at least. Do you have any pics? Was this a Virginia fir?


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## 056 kid (May 21, 2009)

2dogs said:


> After you face bored the tree you still could not reach a post a foot in diameter? Wow that must mean that tree was 10' in diameter at least. Do you have any pics? Was this a Virginia fir?



No it was an Ironside fir and somewhere i have a disposable that has pics of my 795 with 42'' bar and me sitting on the stump. legs pointed one way and saw to my back we allmost fit on the stump without hanging off.

I also have pics on that camera of that fir that gushed gallons of sap all over my 372.

But i think you are off alittle in your math 8 feet is more closer


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## wigglesworth (May 21, 2009)

I didnt measure it, but here is a pic.


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## bullbuck (May 21, 2009)

LOL


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## Greystoke (Jun 1, 2009)

*Mine*

Coastal Redwood; Spring of 01, in Humboldt County California; 110 inches diameter inside bark; 130 foot tall stob (wish it would have had the top in it!); 33,000 bd. ft.; First two 20 foot logs off the butt had to be quarted so that they could be flown with the Boeing 234 Chinook, which has a total lift of 28,000 lb's. The third and fourth cuts had to be ripped in half. I fell it with my Modified 088, with a 60 inch bar and 404 chain. Jacked up hill using Silvey Tree Saver Jack with two rams. I worked with guys (best Fallers in the world imho) in Humboldt that had cut a lot bigger and nicer trees than this, but it is the biggest tree I ever fell. Wish I could cut timber like this every day, I would do it until I was too old and weak to run a chainsaw! It was Glorious!


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## 2dogs (Jun 1, 2009)

tarzanstree said:


> Coastal Redwood; Spring of 01, in Humboldt County California; 110 inches diameter inside bark; 130 foot tall stob (wish it would have had the top in it!); 33,000 bd. ft.; First two 20 foot logs off the butt had to be quarted so that they could be flown with the Boeing 234 Chinook, which has a total lift of 28,000 lb's. The third and fourth cuts had to be ripped in half. I fell it with my Modified 088, with a 60 inch bar and 404 chain. Jacked up hill using Silvey Tree Saver Jack with two rams. I worked with guys (best Fallers in the world imho) in Humboldt that had cut a lot bigger and nicer trees than this, but it is the biggest tree I ever fell. Wish I could cut timber like this every day, I would do it until I was too old and weak to run a chainsaw! It was Glorious!



That is a serious tree! Is that you in the pic?

BTW welcome aboard.


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## Greystoke (Jun 1, 2009)

Yes, it is me. Not a very good picture, but unfortunately I have never been good at taking the time to get good pictures or videos and now I see how unfortunate it is. I can't beleive that I didn't even take the time to pose With my chainsaw in this pic...oh well...I was bushelin!


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## Deadwood Kid (Jun 1, 2009)

biggest i fell was 38" across the cut and between 150-200 ft tall. the whole bottom log was that nice smelling red mush in the center and was worth near nothing. it definately wasnt the biggest ive felt hit the ground by a long shot, but it was fun with a 28" bar =) 

It was just a baby tree compared to the size of fir's we get in oregon.


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## Greystoke (Jun 1, 2009)

Deadwood Kid said:


> biggest i fell was 38" across the cut and between 150-200 ft tall. the whole bottom log was that nice smelling red mush in the center and was worth near nothing. it definately wasnt the biggest ive felt hit the ground by a long shot, but it was fun with a 28" bar =)
> 
> It was just a baby tree compared to the size of fir's we get in oregon.


I remember double-jackin with a guy in Humboldt when we fell a redwood that was only about 6 feet diameter, but we got 270 feet of logs; not counting trim; to a fourteen inch top that blew up about 30 feet of top. The wind was barely whispering on the ground but 300 feet in the air it was enough that it red-lined our jacks a couple of times:jawdrop:I did the scale that night and could not beleive how many logs that tree produced!


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## valleyflyfisher (Jun 1, 2009)




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## 2dogs (Jun 1, 2009)

VFF those are some monsters!


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## Humptulips (Jun 2, 2009)

OK, I got to say something,can't stand it. That top cedar sure don't look over about 6' and the bottom one don't look close to 15'. Not even close.


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## valleyflyfisher (Jun 2, 2009)

Too funny....I knew some punk would have to challenge the size...oh well, I suppose the tapes were screwed on those days. I knew some rookie assed armchair "expert" would have to open their pie hole and tell me what I know "was" .....was not. No biggie..poof... Gonzo. Carry on dude.


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## Curlycherry1 (Jun 2, 2009)

I used to cut firewood. I did it the old fashioned way by cutting down trees and blocking them in the woods. Hard way to make a buck but for a kid it was darn good money. I was working on a contract in Central NY, of an old pasture that was left fallow for about 110 years and so I was selective cutting maple, beech and a lot of ash culls out of the woods. In the center was a monster red oak that was about 10' straight across. It was the old mother tree left way back when the land was first cleared for farming. It was probably the biggest tree in the woods back then when the land was cleared, thus the reason it still stood. It was too big back ~200 years ago, and it was still too big then. The branches also exited the trunk starting about 15' above the ground and the lower branches were over 2' across. It was huge. 

I borrowed a large bar for my Stihl, about a ~48" bar if I remember correctly. It was a huge bar. I cut the wedge in the side the tree leaned towards and it took me over an hour to get it "just right." Then I started the backcut and I worked and worked and got the bar the full depth into the tree. It was then that I realized it was still too small for a full backcut. By then I did not want to stop so I kept at it doing a complete backcut all the way around the tree in hopes it would drop. I ended up going all the way around the tree with the bar at full depth the whole way around. The tree still stood.

My helper and I realised we were screwed. We needed a bigger bar. So we went over to the tractor parked about 100' away and got out the cold Pepsi and doughnuts and sat down to plan our next action. We sat there looking over at the tree still standing there mocking us. We were about 1o minutes into our planning on who would go get the bigger bar (~30 minute drive one way) and who would guard the tree so no-one passed by it when an ever so slight wind came along. All off a sudden there was a pop the likes of which I have never heard since and over she went. Because of the large branches that beast basically stopped with the trunk at about a 45 degree angle to the ground. It took us another full day and a half to get the branches and trunk onto the ground safely. The part of the trunk that held the tree up was still over 20" in diameter so I needed about another 10" of saw bar to drop that tree. The two of us spent a full 4 days cutting that thing into managable pieces to drag out on a trailer. It yielded over 35 face cords of firewood.

The most big tree fun I ever had was on a contract that was along an old dirt road. It was a contract again where the culls were being removed for timber management. The road had 75 sugar maples along the one side spaced at about 30' intervals. All of them leaned over the road and all of them had to go. Not a one was less than 3' across, and most were 4-5'. I borrowed the big bar and picked a day and with my dad watching for safety I started chopping and dropping. I cut a tree off and moved to the next one (we were trying to beat the leaf out). One after another after another they went down. Each one making a sound that was so cool. At the end of the day they were all laid down across the road. I spent the next 5+ months backing my truck up that road and with woodsplitter and chainsaw turning them into firewood on the weekends and nights.

Most of the wood I cut could be easily handled with a 20" sawbar. I cut mostly culls. I did cut timber a bunch of times but being careful not to ruin the but log with a bad cut kind of took the fun out of dropping trees. With firewood logs they just need to be on the ground and the feller still standing so he can move to the next tree. Drop-em and move on!


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## hammerlogging (Jun 2, 2009)

valleyflyfisher said:


> Too funny....I knew some punk would have to challenge the size...oh well, I suppose the tapes were screwed on those days. I knew some rookie assed armchair "expert" would have to open their pie hole and tell me what I know "was" .....was not. No biggie..poof... Gonzo. Carry on dude.



Too bad you took the pictures off, I liked them. But, from what I gather, Humptuplips with "rookie", "armchair", and "punk" don't match, at all.


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## Humptulips (Jun 2, 2009)

valleyflyfisher said:


> Too funny....I knew some punk would have to challenge the size...oh well, I suppose the tapes were screwed on those days. I knew some rookie assed armchair "expert" would have to open their pie hole and tell me what I know "was" .....was not. No biggie..poof... Gonzo. Carry on dude.



I'm sure those are acurate measurements root to root. If I'm wrong leave the pictures up and let people decide for themselves. I'll admit I'm wrong and apoligize if you can tell me why they don't look that big. 

Her I am next to an honest 12' fir circa 1980. I'd only been hooking for about four years at the time.






Similar tme frame, I was young then.


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## Nailsbeats (Jun 2, 2009)

Curlycherry1 said:


> I used to cut firewood. I did it the old fashioned way by cutting down trees and blocking them in the woods. Hard way to make a buck but for a kid it was darn good money. I was working on a contract in Central NY, of an old pasture that was left fallow for about 110 years and so I was selective cutting maple, beech and a lot of ash culls out of the woods. In the center was a monster red oak that was about 10' straight across. It was the old mother tree left way back when the land was first cleared for farming. It was probably the biggest tree in the woods back then when the land was cleared, thus the reason it still stood. It was too big back ~200 years ago, and it was still too big then. The branches also exited the trunk starting about 15' above the ground and the lower branches were over 2' across. It was huge.
> 
> I borrowed a large bar for my Stihl, about a ~48" bar if I remember correctly. It was a huge bar. I cut the wedge in the side the tree leaned towards and it took me over an hour to get it "just right." Then I started the backcut and I worked and worked and got the bar the full depth into the tree. It was then that I realized it was still too small for a full backcut. By then I did not want to stop so I kept at it doing a complete backcut all the way around the tree in hopes it would drop. I ended up going all the way around the tree with the bar at full depth the whole way around. The tree still stood.
> 
> ...



I like how you mentioned the 35 facecord on a 10' hardwood. I remember cutting down a 5' hardwood and yielding a bit over 15 facecord, sounds about right.


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## Curlycherry1 (Jun 3, 2009)

Nailsbeats said:


> I like how you mentioned the 35 facecord on a 10' hardwood. I remember cutting down a 5' hardwood and yielding a bit over 15 facecord, sounds about right.



I probably could have gotten a lot more wood out of that tree but I left alot of branches in the woods because they were a dangerous tangled mess. Also a lot of the crotches were so big, even ones in the main branches that dealing with them in order to get decent firewood out of them was not worth the effort.

In the mid 1980s my brother took over the business when I went to grad school and in the early 1990s he switched over to using a firewood processor. He has a Timberwolf processor and so now loggers bring the cull logs right to his yard and they stack them up. He plucks them off the piles and load them onto the processor and while standing in a nice weatherproof shack at the end of the processor he chops and dices wood all day long in comfort. I think he has gone soft.


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## Greystoke (Jun 3, 2009)

*Here I go...*

"I'm sure those are acurate measurements root to root. If I'm wrong leave the pictures up and let people decide for themselves. I'll admit I'm wrong and apoligize if you can tell me why they don't look that big". Humptulips...That is exactly what I was thinking. I was not going to join in on this one, and I don't want people thinking that I am getting on here to toot my own horn:rant:, but I just can't help myself sometimes:bang: I have been around professional timber fallers all of my life; some of the best, and they can be very arrogant (not me of course, them)lol. I don't know how many stories I have heard about some guy cutting a 17 foot red cedar with a 36" bar, but if I had a nickel for every time...I even have one of my own stories, here goes:chatter:...Falling timber in SE Alaska, getting paid 1 penny per square inch of stump measured straight across hinge, inside bark; Fell a 122 inch red cedar with a 32 inch bar! 122 inches across the hinge and about 40 inches perpindicular to that. No I was not manipulating my face cut to get the maximum inches out of it to make more money(shame on all you cynical people) , that is just how it worked out...I really am a stand up guy:angel:, which is why I always made it a point to remember that when I was talking about...okay, bragging about a trophy I REALLY tried to keep it REAL. I would love to say that my Redwood was REALLY Over 11 feet in diameter, because it was, outside the bark.:bringitthe bark was a foot thick in places). I just chose to measure it inside the bark because I wanted to keep it REAL, and keep all the skeptics at bay.oke: I really wish that everyone would just use westside scale to guage the size of their ego...er...I mean, trees. Anyhow, hope I don't sound too arrogant, or sound like some punk rookie a$$ed armchair expert; Just HAD to add my two cents. Peace out!

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 3, 2009)

P.S. Sorry about all the smilies...I am a :newbie: to this forum writing, and feel like a little kid again :yoyo:watching looney tunes what with all those funny little faces to play around with :check: I know I should grow up:help:. I will shut up now:taped:

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 3, 2009)

Humptulips said:


> I'm sure those are acurate measurements root to root. If I'm wrong leave the pictures up and let people decide for themselves. I'll admit I'm wrong and apoligize if you can tell me why they don't look that big.
> 
> Her I am next to an honest 12' fir circa 1980. I'd only been hooking for about four years at the time.
> 
> ...


But...Dang that is a nice fir:drool: 

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 3, 2009)

*Found It!*

My Brother-in-law fell this tree. Nice Sitka Spruce, (funny story behind the writing on this pic if anyone is interested?). I am fairly sure he said It was 11 feet? Don't want to down-play his tree, cuz it was a dandy (hell of a lot nicer than anything I cut in Alaska...add in funny story here). Can't remember how much scale, maybe around 20 bushel?, but will try to clarify later. Anyhow I know I am ranting again:rant:. I figured out how to use my scanner , so here it is. Also a couple more pics of my redwood...with my chainsaw!Yayeah! And I was off by a year...spring of 02! Breathed too many chainsaw fumes I Guess

Cody


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## Humptulips (Jun 4, 2009)

In hindsight I wish I had kept my mouth shut. They were some nice pictures of some very nice cedar. 
My foot was hurtin' and I was feeling particularly mean and grumpy. Should have kept my thoughts to myself and let the forum members think what they may think.


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## stihlkicken (Jun 4, 2009)

*nice pics tarzantree*

be prepared for "I am the one thinking about what your doing" comments or,"I am the only one who can read a strip properly and lay it accordingly".there is BIG egos here sometimes.


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## RandyMac (Jun 4, 2009)

I think the photos were gone way too soon, please post them again, I would like to see them. I don't care if they are super size trees, I just want to see a job well done.

Yo, Tarzan, a bunch of work slaying big Redwoods, isn't it.

I missed joining the 12 Foot club by a puny 4 inches, no matter how many times I measured I probably have felled 50 or so trees that went 10 feet or better, a few hundred between 8 and ten feet dia, I won't bore you-all with all the rest of it.


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## mile9socounty (Jun 4, 2009)

An old rotted 51" DBH Douglas Fir snag that was on fire. Used the only saw we had on hand too. Stihl 039 with a 28" B&C. Paint dried faster.


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

Humptulips said:


> In hindsight I wish I had kept my mouth shut. They were some nice pictures of some very nice cedar.
> My foot was hurtin' and I was feeling particularly mean and grumpy. Should have kept my thoughts to myself and let the forum members think what they may think.


I agree that they were very nice trees, and I wish they were still on here for all to see! Yes, we are mean!!:angrysoapbox:Like I said, sometimes I can't help myself:bang:I will try to be nicer from now on.But Seriously, if anyone has questions about my posts, I welcome them, Just be nice!!

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

RandyMac said:


> I think the photos were gone way too soon, please post them again, I would like to see them. I don't care if they are super size trees, I just want to see a job well done.
> 
> Yo, Tarzan, a bunch of work slaying big Redwoods, isn't it.
> 
> I missed joining the 12 Foot club by a puny 4 inches, no matter how many times I measured I probably have felled 50 or so trees that went 10 feet or better, a few hundred between 8 and ten feet dia, I won't bore you-all with all the rest of it.


Yes, that tree was a lot of work; Took me all day to fall it and buck it up, and I had a partner. Sounds like you have fell a whole lot more big timber than myself. This tree was probably twice as big as anything that I had fell before! I Just got into the game way too late in life!

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

*Keepin it real*



stihlkicken said:


> be prepared for "I am the one thinking about what your doing" comments or,"I am the only one who can read a strip properly and lay it accordingly".there is BIG egos here sometimes.


I am prepared for any comments good or bad.:bringit:As far as Big egos...you are bang on! Over the years it is has been funny when you start talking to a guy, and as soon as you tell him you are a Timber Faller, he starts in telling you about how good he is at falling timber:chatter:, and when you ask him when and where he has fell timber, he says: "Oh!...um...up______mountain in _______creek drainage". And you ask who they were working for? "Oh!...er...myself!" "O.K., what logging outfit were you contracting for"? "Oh!...well...I was logging for my father-in-law...he really needed some firewood"! "I know...I have only cut firewood...but I am good at it"! It has gotten fairly easy to pick out the [email protected]%t from reality. I have a big ego too, but my mouth does not write checks that bounce; because I only state what is real when it comes to my career as a Timber Faller. I really have had the priveledge of working with some of the best Fallers in the World, where they have no room for B.S. I wish that the individuals that I have looked up to in my career would get on this forum and share their knowledge, and pictures; all would be amazed. 

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

*More Pics...Best Timber Fallers*

Playin around with my scanner again...
I had the priviledge of double jacking with these guys.
This guy was a hell of a Timber Faller...One of the best





The Bullbuck Fell this one...Also one of the Best








Chinook Landing:drool:


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

*More nice timber*

This guy was another excellent Timber Faller that I had the priviledge of double jacking with. 




I was only bucking


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## Greystoke (Jun 4, 2009)

*This was the unit*



tarzanstree said:


> I remember double-jackin with a guy in Humboldt when we fell a redwood that was only about 6 feet diameter, but we got 270 feet of logs; not counting trim; to a fourteen inch top that blew up about 30 feet of top. The wind was barely whispering on the ground but 300 feet in the air it was enough that it red-lined our jacks a couple of times:jawdrop:I did the scale that night and could not believe how many logs that tree produced!


This was the unit we were double jacking in; Unfortunately we did not get a picture of the tall tree that red-lined our jacks...that was on a different day, Even though this tree was not as tall, it was still a dandy(22 bushel I think?)!








You can't see in the pic, but scaffolding was about 25 feet off of the ground, as this tree was out on a hell of a knob, and this was some fairly steep ground.





His Tree; His chainsaw; I was just bucking. That was the only thing I did not like about double jacking with Brad...He was stingy!(But he was still an excellent Timber Faller, and a good guy, and I was honored to work with him). Other guys I double jacked with would let me fall one once in a while, so as I could get some glory too!





Before anybody picks this one apart...no he did not cut a corner, he was bucking off the stump shot, and ran out of gas, so I had him snap a pic...remember we were busheling...no time for dinking around; like taking lot's of pics...work hard, get rich! Yayeah! Except for the get rich part!


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 5, 2009)

When did you guys cut those trees?


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## Greystoke (Jun 5, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> When did you guys cut those trees?



Post #67 was in the spring of '99. #68 an 69 were in either 2000 or 01...Can't remember exactly. 

Cody


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 5, 2009)

Good size sticks for 99'-01' nice pics


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## Greystoke (Jun 5, 2009)

Did you work in Humboldt?


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 5, 2009)

No I wish, NE PA, I'm gona work in BC within the next 2 years.


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## Greystoke (Jun 5, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> Good size sticks for 99'-01' nice pics



Yeah, I don't think they are doing too much of this in Humboldt anymore, but I have fallen out of touch with the guys that I worked with down there, so not certain. I know when I was there we felt lucky to get a job like this now and again, as we were mostly in second growth. I heard that Pacific lumber went belly up?? Randymac might know more?? 

Cody


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## Greystoke (Jun 5, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> No I wish, NE PA, I'm gona work in BC within the next 2 years.



Canada ay? They have some nice timber in B.C., especially on the coast. I lived in Southeast Alaska, Prince of Wales Island, for four years...very close to western B.C., and I know we had some nice timber there, although, most of the glory days are gone

Cody


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 5, 2009)

Yeah I'm heade there in August, I heard Tahsis is doin good.


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## coastalfaller (Jun 5, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> Yeah I'm heade there in August, I heard Tahsis is doin good.



I'd hold off for now. We're suffering pretty good up here too. Work is pretty sporadic at best right now. We're running at about 25% capacity on the Charlottes and actually just got going in Tahsis (ironically enough!) on a block that we started in Dec of 2007, got snowed out within a couple weeks and then we weren't allowed back until now. Due to markets etc, etc. Finally got going again, got 2 days in.................and got shut down for heat!! Can't win for losing! If it's not one thing it's another. Best of luck to you, I'd wait for things to settle down a bit before making the move though. There's lots of fallers sitting up here right now too.


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## hammerlogging (Jun 5, 2009)

Can you smell the timber envy or should I describe it to you?


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## 056 kid (Jun 5, 2009)

Nice shots! You are a lucky dude.


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## booboo (Jun 6, 2009)

Late jumping on this thread but...

It was an approx. 7' dbh American Elm killed by DED on the UMass Amherst campus back in 1995. If anyone is familiar with the campus, it was on the main drag by the big lawn next to the Campus Pond. It was just a flop out onto the lawn. We did first thing in the morning before there was any traffic on the road so everything was still and quiet. I'll never forget the sound of the hit echoing off the library and other buildings, it was freakin' awesome!

:greenchainsaw:


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## slowp (Jun 6, 2009)

I am trying to see the Kuliens. :greenchainsaw:


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## Tree Sling'r (Jun 6, 2009)

tarzanstree said:


> Yeah, I don't think they are doing too much of this in Humboldt anymore, but I have fallen out of touch with the guys that I worked with down there, so not certain. I know when I was there we felt lucky to get a job like this now and again, as we were mostly in second growth. I heard that Pacific lumber went belly up?? Randymac might know more??
> 
> Cody



I worked over there last year, and it was getting tight. It is just terrible right now. Nothing huge though with the exception of a few outlaws here and there.


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## Greystoke (Jun 9, 2009)

*Kuliens*



slowp said:


> I am trying to see the Kuliens. :greenchainsaw:


Here is my first pair of Kuliens. You can even see the tricounies! 






Here is my My Female Model, modeling my Third pair, with spring heels, and I think this pair had drive in caulks.





Here is my Male Model with them.





Here is my Male Model again; He is showing what it is like to wear any boots BUT Kuliens...




http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt356/papacodes/Family/scan0004.jpg?t=1244558627


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## WVwoodsman (Jun 9, 2009)

tarzanstree: thanks for sharing the pics, way cool!


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 9, 2009)

tarzanstree said:


> Here is my first pair of Kuliens. You can even see the tricounies!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



HAHA, they look a little big on your three kids.


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## slowp (Jun 9, 2009)

I bet nobody called their feet Smurf Feet! Hmmmf. Bad Columbia helicopter fallers, Bad....

I think I finally hit the right tightness to lace my new ones today. They sure are nice to have again. Despite the Smurf feature. 

I hope you have framed pictures of your models. That's cute. Maybe send to Kuliens?


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 12, 2009)

Sorry I'm not sure what "smurf feet" are? :monkey:


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## madhatte (Jun 12, 2009)

tarzanstree said:


> Here is my first pair of Kuliens.



Centralia kid here. Used to steal leather scraps from Kulien's dumpster back in the day until they started locking it. Wearing Nick's for fireline and Buffalo calks but hope to someday be able to afford Kulien's. Top quality + home town pride = aww, man, I'm envious.


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## Gologit (Jun 13, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> Sorry I'm not sure what "smurf feet" are? :monkey:



Small feet. Very, very, very small feet.


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## slowp (Jun 13, 2009)

Gologit said:


> Small feet. Very, very, very small feet.



Wrong. They are average feet but the Kuliens make them look smaller.  Feet should not be made fun of by errant fallers!:greenchainsaw:


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## Gologit (Jun 13, 2009)

slowp said:


> Wrong. They are average feet but the Kuliens make them look smaller.  Feet should not be made fun of by errant fallers!:greenchainsaw:



Wrong. The feet are tiny...the Kuliens make them look microscopic. Smurf feet...smuf feet...smurf feet.

And so we don't get busted for hijacking the thread...I cut down a 1" japenese maple with a pair of fingernail clippers. I bore snipped it with a humboldt under slice. The stump was ALAP'ed with the file part.


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## forestryworks (Jun 13, 2009)

Gologit said:


> And so we don't get busted for hijacking the thread...I cut down a 1" japenese maple with a pair of fingernail clippers. I bore snipped it with a humboldt under slice. The stump was ALAP'ed with the file part.



pretty funny there, bob


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## slowp (Jun 13, 2009)

Gologit said:


> Wrong. The feet are tiny...the Kuliens make them look microscopic. Smurf feet...smuf feet...smurf feet.
> 
> And so we don't get busted for hijacking the thread...I cut down a 1" japenese maple with a pair of fingernail clippers. I bore snipped it with a humboldt under slice. The stump was ALAP'ed with the file part.



Are NOt! 

I plan to take down a Big Leaf Maple this afternoon. I'll use the manual oiling loppers and cut straight through the hinge. Maybe I'll launch it. The Used Dog will yard it up the hill, then do some mastication. This takes care of slash and whitens his teeth.


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 14, 2009)

coastalfaller said:


> I'd hold off for now. We're suffering pretty good up here too. Work is pretty sporadic at best right now. We're running at about 25% capacity on the Charlottes and actually just got going in Tahsis (ironically enough!) on a block that we started in Dec of 2007, got snowed out within a couple weeks and then we weren't allowed back until now. Due to markets etc, etc. Finally got going again, got 2 days in.................and got shut down for heat!! Can't win for losing! If it's not one thing it's another. Best of luck to you, I'd wait for things to settle down a bit before making the move though. There's lots of fallers sitting up here right now too.



Wow that's terrible, I was told those are the two best areas workwise. :jawdrop:
Things aren't to bad for cutters around here, with all the gas leases and the exports on what's left of high quality lumber and logs.


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## coastalfaller (Jun 14, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> Wow that's terrible, I was told those are the two best areas workwise. :jawdrop:
> Things aren't to bad for cutters around here, with all the gas leases and the exports on what's left of high quality lumber and logs.



Normally they are pretty good, just with what's going on we're suffering like everyone else. Tons of people are leaving the industry all together in addition to many contractors going broke. Those that are left will have a good run again though when things pick up again. There is still lots of good quality timber left here, just need someone to buy it!


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## Gologit (Jun 15, 2009)

coastalfaller said:


> Normally they are pretty good, just with what's going on we're suffering like everyone else. Tons of people are leaving the industry all together in addition to many contractors going broke. Those that are left will have a good run again though when things pick up again. There is still lots of good quality timber left here, just need someone to buy it!



Good post. Exactly the same situation down here.


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## coastalfaller (Jun 15, 2009)

Gologit said:


> Good post. Exactly the same situation down here.



Thanks. I try to remain optimistic. Somedays I wake up though and think what the h**l am I doing!


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## bullbuck (Jun 15, 2009)

..underslice,boresnip,launch...that sh..ts funny i don't care who you are...


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## MCW (Jun 16, 2009)

Hi fellas.
I normally hang out in the chainsaw forum but like checking out some of the other forums occasionally. Biggest tree I've dropped is around 120-140' at a guess.
It was a big Radiata Pine on a mate's place in Tasmania (Australia). Trunk was about 5 foot at the ground but probably about 44-46" where I cut it (can't compete with some of the trees here! )
Didn't take any pics but my fiancee got a video. Dropped it with a 32" bar on my Husky 3120XP. Easy to fell and didn't need wedges. He had a bigger one he wanted dropped that was about a 7 foot trunk and 160' tall but his wife wouldn't let me cut it down as it was the last decent Pine on their 140 acre property and she wanted some young ones to be seeded for Christmas trees.
Youtube link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRnUuLxcNxc

The pine below was about 7 foot at the widest point I cut. I didn't drop this one but cut it up with my 60" bar so an excavator could shift it. The trunk at ground level was huge for a Radiata Pine, about 8-9 foot. I never saw these standing but they would have dwarfed the one I cut down in the video. I'm 6'3" and standing on the stump.





I got asked to drop a big Eucalypt for a guy but its a bit too risky for me. Its about 7 foot at the base, around 120' tall but near powerlines and his Citrus Orchard. The top isn't weighted very well to drop it where I want - he'll have to get the pros in with their high lift cranes/trucks. He might get a shock at the price too. Photo below with my Dolmar 7900 and 20" bar...


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## Meadow Beaver (Jun 16, 2009)

That 3120 sounds like a stocker isn't it


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## MCW (Jun 16, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> That 3120 sounds like a stocker isn't it



Yeah its bog stock but has the Aussie delivered 12,000rpm limited coil.
Bar tip was semi seized at the time too which I wasn't aware of. Saw was working a lot harder than it should have been. Front sprocket seized solid not long after this tree.


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## Mountainman (Jul 3, 2009)

I think I still have a newspaper clipping of the news story. Yes, it made the news. Again, during my dad's tenure as Superintendent at Vail, they came across a 14-foot diameter Sitka Spruce. Unfortunately, I didn't see it falled. They cut the back end off one 60-inch roller nose bar, and the tip off another, welded both bars together end to end, and wrapped a whole bunch of chain around it. They dropped the tree with an 090G. I believe they loaded the logs with the yarder mast, and somehow, they loaded the logs without ripping them, on to off-highway trucks. They put 'em on the train at the reload, and eventually they were rafted up with the rest of the logs, and towed to Mill B in Everett. Now THAT is one tree I wish I had seen fall.


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## gallegosmike (Jul 23, 2009)

redprospector said:


> Yep, we don't have the timber they do in the PNW, that's for sure. But it's still fun to get into a few good ones here & there.
> 
> Old Earl was there when I took that one, he laughed his azz off at me. We had been on a sale that should have been a thinning unit, and about to starve cutting by scale. When I cut that big Doug I took out 3 leave trees with it that scaled another 4000 or so ft.
> FS was a little unhappy about that. I tried to convince PJ that the tree was too big, and I just lost it. But he just looked at me and said BS.
> ...



Up in the Sandia mountain range. I found a 42" x 60ft white fir that the USFS cut down! That bastard was huge by new mexico standards. The largest tree for me so far is a 32" cedar on my grandfathers land in norther nm...


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## bullbuck (Jul 23, 2009)

gallegosmike said:


> Up in the Sandia mountain range. I found a 42" x 60ft white fir that the USFS cut down! That bastard was huge by new mexico standards. The largest tree for me so far is a 32" cedar on my grandfathers land in norther nm...[/QUO
> thats a big cedar!when i was a kid me and a couple friends fell an alligator juniper with a 394 w a 32"inch bar and we had to come around the other side to get the last six inches of the notch out,that tree had like i wanna say at least six cords in it,kind of a shame if i only knew what i know now!the first twelve feet where clear with no taper whatsoever,just gold if you where to run it through a mill...oh well stupid kids,we got our 120 a cord delivered haha


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## tramp bushler (Jul 24, 2009)

*Big trees , But pictures I hold in hand ..*

Some of the ones I remember , Western Red Cedar Prince of Wales is. 9'x13' Tolstoy Bay . Red Cedar 9'&x 11' Revilla Is. . Several Sitka Spruce in the 8-9' dbh . Biggest Yellow Cedar was a snag that hed had the top blown out around 245 years earlier , 96"across the stump perp. to the face . Last tree of that day . Fell it with a Madsen.s modified 044 Stihl with a 34" Sugi Hara bar and full skip 3/8 . It had about a 2 ft dia. hole in the center of it or I wouldn,t have been able to get it over . Putting in the face it kept splitting and setting on my bar .... I made 28 bucks falling it . . The next day I was dinkin around ,gettin bored as it had been a long season , so I counted rings . as near as I could tell .That tree had been standing for more than 1500 years ............Sometimes I had to use my pocket binos upside down as a magnifying glass to count the rings .... Took a while !!!!
Several Sitka Spruce were over 200 feet tall . Some Western Hemlocks close to 200 feet tall . Some 5-6 ft on the stump ........... Some nice wood ...


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## tramp bushler (Jul 24, 2009)

Both Humptulips and I have worked in Port Alice . . Tho there wern,t the huge monsters like on Tuxikan Is . there was a place called " The Spruce Patch" ... You could jump from 6'stump to 4'to 8 to 9' to 5' ...... Margarita Bay on Revilla Is had a nice patch like that ..... Katlian Bay on Baranof Is was like that 200 foot tall Sitka Spruce ,and Western Hemlock some that tall 5-10 feet on the stump , and packed tight together .............. Long Island had alot of places like that ....I know where there are some of those patchs still standing :greenchainsaw:


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## hammerlogging (Jul 25, 2009)

If you need any help with those....


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## ropensaddle (Jul 25, 2009)

I can't remember them all but the biggest I can remember was 82" Sweet gum about 100 foot tall I have done taller but this was a monster in diameter in these parts.


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## Daybagger (Jul 26, 2009)

*Hey Man*



tarzanstree said:


> My Brother-in-law fell this tree. Nice Sitka Spruce, (funny story behind the writing on this pic if anyone is interested?). I am fairly sure he said It was 11 feet? Don't want to down-play his tree, cuz it was a dandy (hell of a lot nicer than anything I cut in Alaska...add in funny story here). Can't remember how much scale, maybe around 20 bushel?, but will try to clarify later. Anyhow I know I am ranting again:rant:. I figured out how to use my scanner , so here it is. Also a couple more pics of my redwood...with my chainsaw!Yayeah! And I was off by a year...spring of 02! Breathed too many chainsaw fumes I Guess
> 
> Cody



Hey there, its me, your infamous brother in law. Guess I should not say that anymore. Have to short'n it up to Brother. Can't find the picture you where telling me about. Every time I click on the top link it tells me that I do not have access. Like my username? lol!!! Fits me dont it? You better get yourself back up here and go to cutting with me. Looks like you got way to much time on your hands.lol!!!


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## tramp bushler (Jul 26, 2009)

*Saw something pretty scary*

Big saws with short bars .... And guys back baring the back cuts in , with short bars and big saws ....... Recipe for disaster ............. IMO the saw manufactures shouldn,t sell saws over 70 cc with half wrap bars ...........If you are going to fall timber , the saw needs to be able to be used comfortably from either side of the stump and either handed .........................

Oh one large Cotton wood tree I fell was a bit over 60"
on the stump '. It was at the Alaska Aggregate, pit site in Eklutna , north of Anchorage .. Fell it with a 441 R Stihl with a 25" bar and chisel ground 3/8 ......


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## bullbuck (Jul 26, 2009)

tramp bushler said:


> Big saws with short bars .... And guys back baring the back cuts in , with short bars and big saws ....... Recipe for disaster ............. IMO the saw manufactures shouldn,t sell saws over 70 cc with half wrap bars ...........If you are going to fall timber , the saw needs to be able to be used comfortably from either side of the stump and either handed .........................
> 
> Oh one large Cotton wood tree I fell was a bit over 60
> on the stump '. It was at the Alaska Aggregate, pit site in Eklutna , north of Anchorage .. Fell it with a 441 R Stihl with a 25" bar and chisel ground 3/8 ......



me and pops took a trip to ak.a couple years back,was in anchorage for a couple days until a local showed me the way to the great alaskan bush company,i came home broke,but man thats a good time right there...:greenchainsaw:


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## Greystoke (Jul 26, 2009)

*Big trees*



Daybagger said:


> Hey there, its me, your infamous brother in law. Guess I should not say that anymore. Have to short'n it up to Brother. Can't find the picture you where telling me about. Every time I click on the top link it tells me that I do not have access. Like my username? lol!!! Fits me dont it? You better get yourself back up here and go to cutting with me. Looks like you got way to much time on your hands.lol!!!


You are Right...Brother, you will always be. I do like the username, a little ironic, considering how much fun we used to make of day-wagers huh! I would love to come up there and fall timber again, but I just can't give up on what I have going here...even though I threaten to go fall timber about once a week, especially when I have an annoying client, or I am underneath a heavy horse, and the owner is standing there telling us how great their horses are. And, I do have a lot of time on my hands, I just make more money now so I don't need to work as much Ha! I wish! No, really these forum are very invaluable, especially when trying to go it by yourself like me, and if it was not for being able to share the wisdom on here, I would be lost in the tree biz Anyhow Here is the picture, and it definitely belongs on this thread. Also I copied the accompanying story that I posted on another forum where a guy was giving me a hard time about posting pics where I was not wearing safety glasses.






Okay, so the guy on the left was the lead Bullbuck/safety guy for Columbia Helicopters Inc., the guy in the middle is my Brother(notice the safety glasses in his hand...that dog! he always had the same opinion of safety glasses as myself), and the guy on the right was the Bullbuck on that job. We were working on Dall Island in Southeast Alaska and I was informed that this tree was above me in my strip...Yayeah! The day that I was supposed to cut it (had my 088 with 54" bar and a couple of laser chains primed and ready), and the Bullbuck, and Lead Bullbuck/safety man come out to watch me fall it...dang! Columbia's policy always was to have eye protection on your person; you did not have to wear them unless you were told, so I always kept a pair tucked in my hardhat to comply. Well, when the safety guy sees me not wearing them he tells me I have to...sigh, so I put them on, but they had been tucked away in my hat and were quite caked with dirt; I tried to clean them, not to mention it was rainy(as it is most days in Southeast); put them on and it was like trying see my work while looking through a murky fish tank. Now, the ground on Dall Island is quite treacherous...sometimes deadly, one wrong step and it is a broken bone, or death! I wore them for a few minutes while clearing out all the snags around this glorious tree, and I tell him about the problem I am having with my glasses. He tells me "You are a young guy and I would hate to see you blinded", which I retort "I would rather be blind, than dead or broken", which he retorts that "you have to wear them anyway", which I retort "can't I just not wear them today because they are really hindering me, and quite frankly I am scared, and tomorrow I will gladly bring my george jetson hat to appease" he retorts "you either have to wear them or you are out of here", so I smile, throw my saw on my shoulder, and hike out...TRAMPED! The little devil in me still wishes I would have just complied right up to the point that the tree was toppling over, then I would have thrown those dirty glasses in the undercut, and then tramped. So...next day my Brother brings me this picture with a nice little thank you card(he always was a funny guy). Now, I am not saying that you should not wear safety glasses, as everybody should, they just did not work for me at that time, and that scenario. I still try to make myself wear them on occasion, but more often than not, I don't; Is that good? No; Bad? Maybe, but that is why I love being a free man, and also why I am self employed now. Later Brother, I miss ya!


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## Real1shepherd (Jul 31, 2009)

Great responses...enjoyed some of the stories!

I started loggin' in the late 70's out of Woodburn, OR and Molalla, OR. Problem there was that I was an 'outsider' and well, everything you hear about native born Oregonians is true (or was). Of course they started me as choker setter...teens have the reflexes to avoid death better than older dudes.

I wanted to learn falling....but someone has to die and you have to be standing there when it happens....or have some sort of suck that I never got figured out. One older guy who was a faller did take a shine to me and I started working with him, on 'probation'.....LOL, whatever. He was a big fan of Douglas Dent and gave me his book to absorb. So...biggest tree I was 'allowed' to fall (after my probation period was over, of course), was a second growth Doug Fir that ran 10' inside the bark. Didn't completely swamp out the lay, broke part of the top.

Anyway, never quite fit in with the Oregon crowd and I got tired of fighting in their bars and being expected to do same every weekend. So I headed out for CO. All I can tell ya there is that their best gypo shows were nothing but cowboys....even though they got into decent timber. I did all my work on the Western Slope...know nothing about Eastern Slope logging. 

I worked in their big timber for a gypo named Frasier Bros Logging (don't remember how they spelled their name anymore, or care). What a joke and they were 'the best'. They were also the best for cheating you on scale. I'd cut three loads a day and they would scale them as 1 1/2 loads. They're all dead now (most probably), so I don't care what I say. I think I was the only directional faller they had ever seen. One of the Frasier brothers had his son (Ron, I think) work for them every summer. The dude was about my age, college boy, used no wedges, let the trees fall about where they were inclined to....worked with a saw 10-12 hrs a day. He was an accident waiting to happen and I stayed clear of his lays. No hard hat, tennis shoes etc, just a virtual 'thrasher'. 

Soo...we got a contract on top of The Grand Mesa and I moved my trailer up there. This was in early Fall. We were fallin' _first_ growth Englemann Spruce. The Forest Service had marked all the trees. Basically, loggin' in CO was just tree thinning. Day in and day out I had 6-7' trees, many of them over 140'. Not spectacular by OR standards, but damn nice stuff. I only ran Husky 2100's souped up, with a six foot bar. I had a O75 once, but too much vibration and not good power to weight ratio IMHO. Last yr I did this, one of my 2100's was stolen from my trailer. Since the Frasier's were cheating me _and _starving me, I couldn't spring for another 2100. So for a backup saw, I bought a freshly rebuilt Jonsered 80. It was OK and serves me well still today in my business....although parts are well...mostly unobtainium. 

I really miss the work even after all these yrs, but ya know what, as hard as ya work, it doesn't make sense to be cheated and always running down your money with gypos. I worked for Crown Z for a little and Boise C, but it was like they lived in another world...as far as your work day-too slow of a pace for me after gypo work. I'm sure others had different experiences, but those were mine in the loggin' woods.

Kevin

PS/ Safety glasses???? HA! We weren't even required to have fire extinguishers in those days!


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## tramp bushler (Aug 1, 2009)

I Love You guys having to wear saftey glasses ... .... I,m blind as a bat , Have been since I took a header down some stairs as a kid .. There,s a reason why parents tell kids to Not play on the stairs ..........
.
.. The reason I love you guys having to wear safety glasses , is it levels the playing field .. I have had to clean my glasses 35 or more times in a 6 1/2 hr day .... ... There is a 2 part steam generator in the timber in Southeast Alaska .. . The 1st part is the hot muffler on your saw , the 2nd part is the wet moss at the base of every tree right where you have to put the face and back cut ...... I,ve cut around alot of guys who wern,t nearly as good or fast as I was , but they could see ...And sometimes they would cut more scale , because every time I turned around I was having to clean my glasses ......... I finally went to contacts and screen goggles ... ..
. Then started asking so and so who had far too high an opinion of himself what his scale was ... Get the mumbles so I start rubbin in my scale .. Mr High opinion ends up gettin tramped for long thumbin .. Seems he wasn,t nearly as good as what he wrote down , And I even beat what he wrote down .... .. 
. Tarzan , Did you stay at the Columbia Camp in View Cove on Dall Is .....


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## Greystoke (Aug 1, 2009)

tramp bushler said:


> I Love You guys having to wear saftey glasses ... .... I,m blind as a bat , Have been since I took a header down some stairs as a kid .. There,s a reason why parents tell kids to Not play on the stairs ..........
> .
> .. The reason I love you guys having to wear safety glasses , is it levels the playing field .. I have had to clean my glasses 35 or more times in a 6 1/2 hr day .... ... There is a 2 part steam generator in the timber in Southeast Alaska .. . The 1st part is the hot muffler on your saw , the 2nd part is the wet moss at the base of every tree right where you have to put the face and back cut ...... I,ve cut around alot of guys who wern,t nearly as good or fast as I was , but they could see ...And sometimes they would cut more scale , because every time I turned around I was having to clean my glasses ......... I finally went to contacts and screen goggles ... ..
> . Then started asking so and so who had far too high an opinion of himself what his scale was ... Get the mumbles so I start rubbin in my scale .. Mr High opinion ends up gettin tramped for long thumbin .. Seems he wasn,t nearly as good as what he wrote down , And I even beat what he wrote down .... ..
> ...



Yep, I stayed a grand total of two days the first time to Dall (i hate stayin in camp). The second time I drove from Thorne Bay to Hydaburg every day and caught a ride on the boat...that lasted about a week before I tramped over the safety glasses. I think that was in 04.


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## John Ellison (Aug 1, 2009)

Were any of you guys in Ak. before 94? I worked all over S.E. Maybe I know you.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 1, 2009)

.. I was in View Cove in 05 . I was cutting for Tongass Cutting in Coco Harbor ... It was the first place I cut where a cutter NEEDED a long bar EVERY day ..........I got stuck in alot of wind , and my saws were too small for good results with that size wood ... The bull buck was Gene Colbert .... Good hand . Really good cutter !! Clean Gene ........ Worst ground I,ve ever been on . And I,ve been litterly ALL OVER ALASKA ..For the past 31 years ... No place as bad as Dall Is. .........Nice big timber tho .... All I had for saws were a 372 Husky and a 460 Stihl ......... . Good place for an 84/88 or 3120 ...... Need to have at least a 395 or 660 . I really prefer the 395 .......
.
.
.
. Yes I was working in the brush from 82 on up here but in the riggin starting in 83 .... What camps did you work at ???


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## John Ellison (Aug 1, 2009)

The first one was Jim Campbells camp at Little Naukati. Mostly in southern SE. I did work for Whitestone and Larrabee which is up in your direction. Also worked for Harbour Log (sled yarder)on Dall Is. Did you see any of the sinkholes on Dall? Unbelievable.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 1, 2009)

You worked for Hawkeye .. He passed away a few years ago ...... I camp watched for him on his float camp in Windy Bay , Dall Is ... Windy bay is the right name too ... His and Rick Zog,s Cessna 185s were wrapped up in each other . . It blew so hard the staples pulled from the logs Rick had used to tie his plane down , It picked up his plane and sent it nose first down beside Don,s plane ... We had to use the A Frame to pick it up ......... It wouldn,t have taken much to get in a fista cuff match with Harbour ......... He could start an argument with himself ..................... I worked @ Port Alice , and Coffman Cove , but never @ Naukiti .......... Course I cut for Whitestone ........... Ever work for Blackwell , or Bueler ???? John , did you ever work @ Rowan Bay ???

.
.
. Tarzan ,, You drove back and forth from Thorne Bay to Hydaberg , Everyday ????????????  .. Not for me .... But then . Pheonix was pretty suck about camp , no commissary , my phone didn,t have reception , and the mail was always 2 weeks late ....


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## John Ellison (Aug 1, 2009)

Yes, and then Rick was killed in that shootout in Thorne Arm. I worked at Port Alice in 83 or 4. Are Luke and Slyvia still around the corner at Tokeen?
Never worked for Blackwell or Bueler.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 1, 2009)

What did you do in Port alice ??? I was there in 84 I think .. Was Carlisle hookin on the 208 when you were in port Alice ??


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## John Ellison (Aug 1, 2009)

I think I was chasing. Was'nt there long. I had just bought a liveaboard boat and was wanting to see some country.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 1, 2009)

Did you cut for Tri Star in Tolstoi Bay ??


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## John Ellison (Aug 1, 2009)

Yes


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## goatchin (Aug 1, 2009)

dont mean to side track you guys with this question: All of these camps and companies that yall have worked with and are talking about, are they still in operation other than the ones you have already said have closed?


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## Real1shepherd (Aug 2, 2009)

goatchin said:


> dont mean to side track you guys with this question: All of these camps and companies that yall have worked with and are talking about, are they still in operation other than the ones you have already said have closed?



Hopefully, Frasier Brothers Logging died with them and that nitwit son isn't running it to this day. Don't even remember some of the gypo shows that I worked for in OR.....hell we're talkin' like almost 30 yrs here....lol. I'll say one thing though, the worst was guys hung over from the night before and ridin' 'crummy in the crummy' as we used to call it-nobody was doing dope or pills that I knew of and we all watched each others' backs....for the most part. 

Kevin


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## tramp bushler (Aug 2, 2009)

John Ellison said:


> Yes


..

.

. Had to go to work this morning , sorry about that ...... We cut next to each other , but I,m trying to remember what strip .. Did you also cut @ Polk Inlet ?? 
I left a couple /few weeks before Steve got killed ...


I remember the strip .. It was the one with that nice patch of Spruce on it . I was stressin about .. I was having problems with my place in Sitka at the time so had to tramp to fix some BIG problems at home ..... That was a nice strip , I just didn,t have my head screwed on straight at that time ...


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## tramp bushler (Aug 2, 2009)

goatchin said:


> dont mean to side track you guys with this question: All of these camps and companies that yall have worked with and are talking about, are they still in operation other than the ones you have already said have closed?


.

.

. Ya sorry about that ..... No , almost all the Alaska camps are gone .. I think Phoenix Logging is still in Cocoa Harbor , but I,m not sure ...SEALASKA is a hard corporation to deal with , they have run off most of the logging contractors .....
. I don,t know what their plan is , bringing in slave labor to do the rest of their logging ................??????????????????????????????????????
.
. If they were still in operation , I would still be fallin timber and would probably be computer illiterate ............ But I would be putting 15-40 k b f , net scale on the ground every day ...............


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## tramp bushler (Aug 3, 2009)

John , what kind of dog did you have there ???


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## John Ellison (Aug 3, 2009)

That was Trapper, a Blackmouth Cur. We brought him here to Arkansas and he lived till 2004.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 3, 2009)

. Yup !-----------------------------------------------------------------------, . One of the other cutters for Tri Star was named John , he had a float house over @ Naukiti somewhere .. He was bull buckin @ Polk Inlet for them ....
. . Alot of the Tri Star crew is dead . 
. Russ Howard died in a skiff incident , to Hydaberg or somewhere from what I heard ..... I sold that brute of a 2101 to him .. That was a good saw !!!
. John Clark , got killed in Washington cuttin timber 
John Handel got all busted up ,doin something , I forget what ............
.Then of course Steve Crooks .....
. What are you doin now ??
. I remember talkin about runnin bears with dogs ....... I found the perfect dog for fightin bears , brown bears ,,,and them , the dogs stayin alive ........ I,ve gained ALOT of experience with that starting in 94 .........


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## Greystoke (Aug 5, 2009)

*Logging camps*



tramp bushler said:


> You worked for Hawkeye .. He passed away a few years ago ...... I camp watched for him on his float camp in Windy Bay , Dall Is ... Windy bay is the right name too ... His and Rick Zog,s Cessna 185s were wrapped up in each other . . It blew so hard the staples pulled from the logs Rick had used to tie his plane down , It picked up his plane and sent it nose first down beside Don,s plane ... We had to use the A Frame to pick it up ......... It wouldn,t have taken much to get in a fista cuff match with Harbour ......... He could start an argument with himself ..................... I worked @ Port Alice , and Coffman Cove , but never @ Naukiti .......... Course I cut for Whitestone ........... Ever work for Blackwell , or Bueler ???? John , did you ever work @ Rowan Bay ???
> 
> .
> .
> ...


 
Yep, I drove only drove for short time though...I think I might have a grand total of 6 or 8 days falling timber on Dall Is. I chose to drive because I hate camps! Last time I went to Dall was spring of 06, to work for Tongass cutting. Was goin through a divorce...definitely did not have my wits about me, decided to go anyway, so I loaded my tools on the boat, and made it to camp. Unloaded my tools and carried them into the bunkhouse...took a look around and said f### this! Loaded my tools back on the boat before they left and said get me the hell outa here! First job I ever took and quit without even cuttin a tree. Now that I look back, it was the best decision I ever made, as I would probably would not have made it off that island(alive anyhow).


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## Greystoke (Aug 5, 2009)

John Ellison said:


> Were any of you guys in Ak. before 94? I worked all over S.E. Maybe I know you.


My first year in Ak. was in '96...I was an eighteen year old greenhorn punk timberfaller.


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## tramp bushler (Aug 5, 2009)

.. Tongass Cutting ,, Not really my favorite outfit . However , Dall Is is without a doubt the worst ground I have ever fell timber on ....... They did I think as good a job as any outfit could have there .........But It,s Dall Is.....


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## oregoncutter (Aug 5, 2009)

Real1shepherd said:


> Great responses...enjoyed some of the stories!
> 
> I started loggin' in the late 70's out of Woodburn, OR and Molalla, OR. Problem there was that I was an 'outsider' and well, everything you hear about native born Oregonians is true (or was). Of course they started me as choker setter...teens have the reflexes to avoid death better than older dudes.
> 
> ...



Hey now easy on the native Oregonians! And not much has changed since You left most of our loggers that are worth a damn average about 30-50 years old, still a few young guys that are good but they are few and far between. For the most part the stereo typical rowdy oregon logger has calmed down quite a bit the last several years with age. As I recall about the biggest I fell diameter wise was a 9' foot doug in the Elliot, other than that most of the wood anymore I cut averages about 30'' or so and some jobs more like 24'', every so often though I''ll run onto some nice 6'-8' old growth leave trees that are mixed in with the second growth we are cutting that they want to take now or an occasional big cedar that was left. Been into some jobs where the oldgrowth stumps are cut for jacks, luckilly have'nt had to do too much of that myself. Who were You working for in Oregon? that was before my time, but my dad, and uncle spent alot of time cutting from Northern california up into the Northern Oregon coast during the late 1950- 1970s.


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## Real1shepherd (Aug 16, 2009)

oregoncutter said:


> Hey now easy on the native Oregonians! And not much has changed since You left most of our loggers that are worth a damn average about 30-50 years old, still a few young guys that are good but they are few and far between. For the most part the stereo typical rowdy oregon logger has calmed down quite a bit the last several years with age. As I recall about the biggest I fell diameter wise was a 9' foot doug in the Elliot, other than that most of the wood anymore I cut averages about 30'' or so and some jobs more like 24'', every so often though I''ll run onto some nice 6'-8' old growth leave trees that are mixed in with the second growth we are cutting that they want to take now or an occasional big cedar that was left. Been into some jobs where the oldgrowth stumps are cut for jacks, luckilly have'nt had to do too much of that myself. Who were You working for in Oregon? that was before my time, but my dad, and uncle spent alot of time cutting from Northern california up into the Northern Oregon coast during the late 1950- 1970s.



Let's see...worked for an old logger named Curtis....then a show where the boss was Dale something or other. Some other guy named Pittman....that's all I can remember. God...re-cutting old growth stumps....that's crap work, gotta be. That's like the shake rats hauling big pieces of cedar out on their shoulders. I always wanted to cut on the coast and maybe some Reds in CA...just went to Colorado instead. I bet your dad and uncle told some REAL stories on coastal logging. Did they high top?

I came back into OR about 1980 or so to visit a friend for the summer...but not for logging. I did notice that things were starting to settle down and more younger guys were married with responsibility. So I guess that was the beginning of some change. A 9 ft Doug is a decent tree and one to be proud of. If people are claiming they're falling those routinely in the States, they're lying. Or it's some unusual, private sale. Did you ever clear cut any right-o-ways? I heard that was some serious money in daily scale.

Kevin


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## goatchin (Aug 18, 2009)

Sorry bout not gettin back to reply to your answers-been away from the puter the last week.

I guess at some time or another all things have to come to an end, for better or worse. now for the land that these timber companies and camps worked on, who has this land now? other companies, FS land, state land? 

Reading into some of the responses i get the idea that some camps/companies went out because of management issues, did the rest go out because of market conditions at the time or just that the harvestable timber was cut?

just curious, thanks


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## tramp bushler (Aug 19, 2009)

*Southeast Alaskan Logging Camps .*

The camps closed because they were done logging the sales .. Mostly USFS land .. Some Native Corporation camps , like Long Island ,Point McCartny or Hobart Bay , Big Salt , Polk Inlet , ect.ect.ect. ...... If you can get ahold of an Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer . you will see clumps of little red roads out in the middle of nowhere in Southeast ....And P.W.S... Those were timber sales ,either Federal or Corporation land ..


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## goatchin (Aug 19, 2009)

ok thanks. makes sense, but was just wondering


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## Real1shepherd (Aug 19, 2009)

goatchin said:


> Sorry bout not gettin back to reply to your answers-been away from the puter the last week.
> 
> I guess at some time or another all things have to come to an end, for better or worse. now for the land that these timber companies and camps worked on, who has this land now? other companies, FS land, state land?
> 
> ...



Depends...some of the shows I worked on were private timber sales. Some were through the Forest Service and some were leased land...or contracted to clear. The big houses like CrownZ, BoiseC, Weyerhaeuser etc, used to own a lot of the land they logged on. And then again, some of that was leased from the FS and/or they had contracts with the FS. In Colorado, everything is through the FS or BLM. You bid on the timber scale from the FS marked trees in a sale lot and the FS takes the lowest bid. Some of the sales were so poorly logged out, that Fraiser Brothers would go back in to clean them up. I worked one sale for a kid that was my age and had a log truck & skidder....that was it. Two yrs later, I was back in that same sale with Frasier Brothers, cleaning up from the kid's show. I even recognized my old stumps! The kid had us cream the best trees in the lot and then went tits up. The FS let him get away with murder, because they thought he was hard working and legit....we all found out otherwise.

I did a google search on login' companies in Oregon-873!!! You'd think it was a thriving enterprise still!

Kevin

Kevin


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## 333.okh (May 4, 2013)

I am but a novice...largest I have taken was 57 inches of Sitka spruce...but I work with the Pacific Lumber Company northern California. I saw a couple 17 footers and one just over 18 feet come down. One tree took 22 truckloads to haul out [Elk River, Eureka, Calif].


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## 333.okh (May 4, 2013)

Greystoke said:


> Coastal Redwood; Spring of 01, in Humboldt County California; 110 inches diameter inside bark; 130 foot tall stob (wish it would have had the top in it!); 33,000 bd. ft.; First two 20 foot logs off the butt had to be quarted so that they could be flown with the Boeing 234 Chinook, which has a total lift of 28,000 lb's. The third and fourth cuts had to be ripped in half. I fell it with my Modified 088, with a 60 inch bar and 404 chain. Jacked up hill using Silvey Tree Saver Jack with two rams. I worked with guys (best Fallers in the world imho) in Humboldt that had cut a lot bigger and nicer trees than this, but it is the biggest tree I ever fell. Wish I could cut timber like this every day, I would do it until I was too old and weak to run a chainsaw! It was Glorious!



If you were cutting for Columbia on PALCO lands I was the bio there trying to help get that cut out...Man I miss that place.


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## 333.okh (May 4, 2013)

Greystoke said:


> Yeah, I don't think they are doing too much of this in Humboldt anymore, but I have fallen out of touch with the guys that I worked with down there, so not certain. I know when I was there we felt lucky to get a job like this now and again, as we were mostly in second growth. I heard that Pacific lumber went belly up?? Randymac might know more??
> 
> Cody



I was at PALCO when she died at 139 years old. Making money left and right but the parent TX company needed the 535 million from the land in its value. I was 5th generation there...still sad. Now I work for the Forest Service and fight daily to cut sticks.

Jut proves you can never go back. New company owning those lands does it all different. I quit cause it didn't agree.


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## Real1shepherd (May 4, 2013)

The money these days in Humboldt county is in weed. Actually for a couple of generations now. Talk about never going back.:msp_ohmy:

Kevin


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