# Single Stemmin'



## 1I'dJak (May 30, 2006)

Well I just started single stemming here on mid-vancouver island.... quite the job...man's work that's for sure! We drive to the bottom of the block...get choppered into the block...(its a heli logging show)... then we proceed to the trees flagged to be stemmed...a select few.... then we climb up 25-35m, top the tree, measure and radio in the stem top bdh and the length rappel down and onto the next...took out the biggest top yesterday i've even done... it was still 70+cm where i topped it... which is pretty big when you're cuttin' it out with your little 16" ms 200 bar! Quite the rush! and quite to way to log... after us come the conventional fallers to fall the rest, leaving the stems... then the stems are jigged... backcutting from two sides leaving some holding wood...the cuts are wedged and later a chopper comes grabs these 'jigged' stems, gives them a wiggle till they break, then off the block comes a 'high-grade undamaged from getting smashed down onto a steep grade' log...


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## clearance (May 30, 2006)

Good for you man. I want to do it, like what I'm doing now but love the rush, sounds like a big rush. How do you rappel? Do you make a V in the top or leave a couple of branches?


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## 1I'dJak (May 30, 2006)

yesterday i left stubs, but these are yellow cedars that have fairly downsloping limbs, today i used a false crotch thingys with a prussic that adjusts the choke...its pretty slick...cutting the v's is hard on the chain, i just gotta remember to tie a knot in the line so it catches on the small ring... forgot today and had to climb up the ??????? thing again...right know i'm working for ssh -single stem harvest (well contracting myself to them, which i think many of the guys are doing), which is the other half of the now defunct rem....you'd do well at it cuz you've been climbing and doing that sorta thing for awhile...the pay is pretty good...i'm a trainee so i don't quite know what my wage is yet...but top rate is 450/day...which is seven hours on the block.. but right know the days are long cuz we're driving quite a long way...


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## fishhuntcutwood (May 31, 2006)

Sounds really cool Jak. Good thread! Any pics? What helos are they using?

Jeff


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 1, 2006)

we get flown in a long ranger and they pick the logs up with the air crane... a big red chopper that;s just all enging and cockpit...once i get my mojo going i'm gonna start taking some pics...


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## fishhuntcutwood (Jun 1, 2006)

1I'dJak said:


> ...just all enging and cockpit..



One of these? Two main rotors, no tail rotor.


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 1, 2006)

no it not that one...is that a kamov? this one have one main rotor as well as a tail rotor....looks very buglike... its go no real main body to it, just a front cockpit...kinda looks tripod like with its front wheel and two rear wheels, i'll ask the fellas what kind of heli it is... problem with this heli work though is that its very weather reliant... drove all the way to the block, too much fog heli can't fly... so that's our day..turn around and go home


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## Reddog (Jun 1, 2006)

Must be a SkyCrane. Thats Logging if it isn't rain or fog it's snow or bugs. But it is still nice to be outside.

Jeff, how much will that goofy helo lift?

Wally


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## fishhuntcutwood (Jun 1, 2006)

1I'dJak said:


> no it not that one...is that a kamov?



It's a Kmax made by Kaman. Sweet helos. Weather is always a problem, or at least an issue. Most of our better SAR cases take place in the worst weather possible. One of the greatest compliments I've ever received was from an F-16 pilot who told me us Coast Guard aviators were absolutely crazy for flying in the stuff we fly in.

So is this what they use-

http://www.aviation-history.com/sikorsky/s64.htm


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## fishhuntcutwood (Jun 1, 2006)

Reddog said:


> Jeff, how much will that goofy helo lift?



Like 5,000 or 6,000 lbs, and I think that's at 4,000', which is a helluva lot for a helo. The skycrane is something like 20,000. Those are insane number from what I'm used to. My helo will sling 2,000, and that's considered alot, but we're a SAR helo, not a lifter.


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## Ekka (Jun 2, 2006)

Sounds like a way cool operation.

How long are the snap cut wedged spars left hanging around before they get choppered out?

I just wonder what would happen if one fell, like dominos maybe a whole heap would fall .... bam, bam, bam, that'd be a sight.

Pics would be really neat.

How does the helo grab the spar? and how do you guess the weight or do they have a formula? And the pay is friggin good, where do I sign?


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## clearance (Jun 2, 2006)

Ekka said:


> Sounds like a way cool operation.
> 
> How long are the snap cut wedged spars left hanging around before they get choppered out?
> 
> ...


Sometimes the trees are left, cut and standing for a while, chopper could be down, too foggy, etc. My buddy did this, he told me every once in a while when it was windy, you would hear a big booming sound, when one of the jigged up trees fell. The "jigging" up trees goes like this, two backcuts at the same level to the centre of the tree, wodden wedges (shingles) are put in. There is a fine line between the tree staying standing and the chopper being able to snap it off. The chopper has a grapple with an abort feature, the weight is calculated before hand. No one goes into the area after the trees are jigged up, I would think the cuts are put in so a domino situation would be unlikely.


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 2, 2006)

yeah the weights are calculated for sure...we are given a map of the block with all the trees selected for standing stem... they are are flagged with the dbh written on the flagging... we radio in the tree number along with the dbh... we climb and limb the tree till it gets ????ty... or if its oversize 100cm+ or so we top it at roughly 19 or so meters.... when we top it we measure the diameter at the top as well as the length.... this gives the cubic meters as well as the weight...unfortunately we're not around for the plucking of the stems, although i would like to see it..the pay is good but i'm not making that rate yet...hopefully i'll have some pix next week or so


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## BlueRidgeMark (Jun 2, 2006)

fishhuntcutwood said:


> Like 5,000 or 6,000 lbs, and I think that's at 4,000', which is a helluva lot for a helo. The skycrane is something like 20,000. Those are insane number from what I'm used to. My helo will sling 2,000, and that's considered alot, but we're a SAR helo, not a lifter.





Chopper pilot, are you? Great job, I'm sure. I wanted to go to Rotary Wing Flight School, but my eyes weren't good enough.  


Remember folks, helicopters don't fly.




_They beat the air into submission!_


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## fishhuntcutwood (Jun 3, 2006)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Chopper pilot, are you? Great job, I'm sure.



Nope. Flight mechanic/crew chief. I operate the rescue hoist, handle radios, external loads, aircraft systems and everything aft of the pilots.

And yes is it a great job.


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## Ekka (Jun 3, 2006)

This threads great, can any of you guys get footage.

Like how the spars are wedged, the limbing topping etc and finally the helo lift.

Maybe the company that does it has some promo vid or something.

Yeah Jeff, you got a good job, it's not work ... it's an adventure.


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 3, 2006)

here are a coupla articles about standing stem : 
http://www.forestnet.com/archives/Dec_Jan_04/bc_coast_logging.htm
and
http://www.forestnet.com/archives/June_00/helicopter.htm


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## smokechase II (Jun 3, 2006)

*Injury rates*

At some point reasonable stats will be available on the true bottom line.

Injuries and death.

1I'dJak:
Any idea of the injury rates, fatalities and how this compares with other helicopter operations in similar settings?
Other ground logging in similar terrain etc?

This is so unusual that one could speculate as to all sorts of reasons why it would be safer or more dangerous and none of those would have any merit.
Whatever will be, will be.

Good luck and all that safe sort of well wishing.

(Get a camera; you'll take over arborsite.com with our interest)


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## GASoline71 (Jun 4, 2006)

Helicopter logging is the coolest operation to watch. I was on the East slope of the Cascades in Washington State one year on an early season elk hunt, and there was a helo-logging "show" (well, it was to me!) on the next ridge over. I wasted more time on the ridge I was on, watching the helos (there were 3 of them) pickin' stems out through my binos. Then the "show" got even better when I noticed a huge top come out of a tree right at the ridge top. Then another, then another. That was big timber. Way cool Jr.!!!   

Gary


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## smokechase II (Jun 4, 2006)

*helicopters*

The guys that have done heli-logging mention that experience first. Or perhaps about evenly with cutting in the West side blocks (Coastal to BC folks).
It is very expensive. With the cost of fuel now there might actually be a reduction in its use.

It is much gentler on the environment.
Harder on the employees generally. 

Everybody that has been in heli operations know of a few good pilots that have died on the job.

What we notice in the wildland fire world is how great their pilots are at working with long lines and buckets.
Those are additional skills that require superb depth perception and patience.


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## gavin (Jun 5, 2006)

what company do you work for? i worked the past 2 years as a part time student engineering single stem logging in the cowichan woodlands. i know a guy that tops for AFO.


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## gavin (Jun 5, 2006)

okay my bad for not reading thoroughly. you work for SSH. is it called southcoast SSH? or is that a different company now? they (and the formerly REM) do the majority of the topping for the wood we laid out. the only machines i've done layout for are the Kaman KMAX and the S-64 aircrane. Helifor uses chinooks and vertols, they're pretty amazing machines too, but the S-64 is still top dog as far as i know.


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## SpookHollow (Jun 7, 2006)

I know most folks think of the west coast when people talk about big timber. There are several helicopter logging jobs that go on back here in the east every year, especially in the winter. I can't imagine anyone having the gonads to climb up an old red oak or poplar to single stem it. It couldn't pay me enough. Don't think that is ever practiced here.

So, how does one keep the tree from popping back and killing you when the top turns lose? Is it just the type of wood? I know these top heavy hardwoods tend to glide a little sometimes when they are cut on steep slopes. Just cutting the top off would seem like you have a death wish.


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## SpookHollow (Jun 7, 2006)

Oh, I meant to mention that one particular heli job ended when a big lifter went down just outside of Chattanooga Tennessee. From what I remember, the cable tangled in the rotor, killing three people in all. I heard it happened right by I-24 where it splits around Mont-Eagle. I think it was an s-64 or maybe a ch-53. I will try to dig that up and post a link.


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 7, 2006)

you just fall the thing as you'd fall a tree...maybe chuck in a wedge if it looks like its gonna sit back... its on steep slopes so there's usually a dominant lean.. always have the option to decide that its an unsafe tree to top... too bad i didn't bring my camera today... beautiful day... by a river and craggy mountains... in fir trees these last couple... yellow cedar b4... seems the fir trees seem to oscillate a bit more...they were a litte skinnier too... plus you gotta top em lower cuz their heavier... wild ride... saw swingin back and forth on the lanyard...had to deal with cranky fallers the last couple of days... they were itching to get onto our block... we go first then they come in after... so we ended up pulling the pin on one block and the fallers are just gonna knock the rest of it down... kinda a waste especially considering the forestry engineers walked through the whole block, marking, measuring and mapping each tree to stem...now we go windfirming for a bit so no more heli... next time i go stemming i'll bring the cam...


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## SpookHollow (Jun 8, 2006)

I love cutting large trees on slopes when it comes to makeing them all fall the same direction. It's basically impossible on flat ground or in swamps. I believe though that it'd be a deadly game in hardwoods. I topped a tree for a neighbor once. Never again though. I cut just a fork out of the top and it made the whole tree come back and it knocked me into the following week. It popped back so fast I didn't have time to blink. 

Also here is a link that describes the Heli-logging crash in Tennessee. I have worked in that area a few times. I believe the mountians there are about 2000ft verticles and top out about 2500ft. Short by most of you guys standards but steep as anything.

http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20030326X00395&ntsbno=ATL03FA065&akey=1


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## 1I'dJak (Jun 10, 2006)

here's some pix from some windfirming in the sayward area on vancouver island... for those that don't know, windfirming involves limbing or topping trees adjacent to or left in the cutblock to minimize windthrow... this series of pix of my buddy Tom topping a big old fir tree... probably close to 200 footer.. the first pic is of the tree he climbed and topped, tied into and threw his claw (grapple) into the big fir and ascended over... wouldn't want to climb it is was probably 150cents dbh... the second picture you can see the topped tree and in the bottom corner of it you can see the claw line... then the other pic is of him probably 80-90 feet into the thing... it was a pipe! the last is of the top coming off..sorry bout the size of the pix but don't have the resizing down yet...was still around 50+ cents where he took the top off!


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## wmthrower (Jun 12, 2006)

Great pics. Thanks for sharing.


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## 1I'dJak (Aug 12, 2008)

going stemming in port alberni tommorow...been almost 2 years since i been....i've been windfirming but that's a bit less stressful and as a rule you don't take as big of tops... stemming you take pretty bloody big tops...more pressure too, as helicopters are involved and time is important...wish i hadn't dropped my camera in the salt chuck....nervous and excited!


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## hammerlogging (Aug 13, 2008)

Spook- thats the ground I cut for 2 1/2 years. Diffferent territory now. The west coast timber is more prone to blowing up when it hits the ground, ours won't unless, you know, cut a forked tree wrong or don't use a bore cut. Love that steep ground.
Didn't read your link but I remember hearing that it was "transmission trouble" officially. You think 300' of rope wrapped in the rotors had anything to do with that transmissioon trouble?


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## Bushler (Aug 13, 2008)

Dang! That sounds crazy cutting up close then going back down the tree with the top crippled! Be carefull.

Must be some expensive timber to warrant the expense/time.


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## 056 kid (Aug 13, 2008)

Jesus Christ that looks and sounds like some BIG fun.
I had never herd of an operation like that but it sounds like smart buisness.
Do the choppers ever run into stems that want to slab, you know havent been cut enough??
I have been a bout a buck up an old ponderosa but never climed ay other softies of that stature. I wanna do it!!!!


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## 1I'dJak (Aug 13, 2008)

what a day...forgot about the hardest part of the job...the stumbinling around the steep ass cutblock looking for the trees that have been marked for stemming... working with 2 fallers on a heliblock today....choppered to the block...they go fall their quarters and i go look for the trees marked for stemming...usually trees along gullies and uneven ground where the tree would smash up....can be a big pain in the ass...today was kinda slow...more walking and less cutting...did some cedars, which due to their low weight i 'ran them out' which means i climb it and top it at about grade....around 25cents (cms)...stems were about 25-28 meters tall...then i hit some fir...due to their heavier weight I topped them at about 50-60 cents...fair amount of top..stems were between 20-25 meters.... to the last post, if the stems aren't cut up or "jigged' enough and the chopper can't pluck em, they just abort and someone catches some chit....


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## Meadow Beaver (Aug 19, 2008)

Cool video looks like their single stemmin' the way you described it,never seen it before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iae7xtEcJkU


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## 056 kid (Aug 19, 2008)

That is one of the best vids i have evere seen on the tube!!
4:35 he literally had a target the width of the log between standing timber and a nasty stump and he nailed it!!
GOOD STUFF


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## 1I'dJak (Aug 20, 2008)

yup there's some awesome stemming footage...you can see a bit of jigging in action where the guy's got two kerf cuts lined up with each other with just a small hinge of holding wood....amazing how little holding wood is left and the stem still stands...


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## Industry (Aug 20, 2008)

Killer video!


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## 056 kid (Aug 20, 2008)

That #### is my calling, i swear!






















Jack Daniels is GOOOOOOODDDDDDDD!


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## Zackman1801 (Aug 21, 2008)

so what do they do with the tops? thats alot of wood from the cut to the top.


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## 1I'dJak (Aug 21, 2008)

they'll buck em up and pick it out if its worth it....which on some of them hammer tops it seems like there's lots of lumber in there....


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## 2dogs (Aug 23, 2008)

1I'dJak said:


> they'll buck em up and pick it out if its worth it....which on some of them hammer tops it seems like there's lots of lumber in there....



What is a hammer top?


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## 056 kid (Aug 24, 2008)

Im guessin that its a big fat arsed top!!


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