FALLING VS. FELLING

[Oletrapper]

Probably from back in the days of the old school timber felling when timber was fell by means of "Misery Whips" (hand held "crosscut" felling saw) and Double Bits. When men were as hard as the steel they swung!

Witch reminds me of one of my favorite movies titled "Man From Snowy River" it was filmed and takes place in Australia. There's a good old school logging scene in that movie!

One of my favorite movies for sure Kodiak. Fantastic photography especially of the downhill ride. Good story line. A boy becoming a man. But then, it was just a movie. OT

 

[skeet88]

If you ask a tree hugger? I'm called one thing. If you ask someone fascinated by timber hitting the ground? Im called another. Call me whatever you like. Just please don't call me a logger!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

I wouldn’t care what you called me as long as you don’t forget to call me for supper or HH! Y’all Be Good!

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

We jest call ya often then.
.
To fell a tree is an action against the tree that itself falls.
Whether say feller or faller is purely semantics of perspective per the action given or returned ;
like as input given to vs. output achieved from the event by the chess player, gentlemens.
.
But, ain't none of us hear to talk that tree down, are we please?
Even a rose is a rose by any other name, and this is treewerk, much more concrete than rose.

 

[Oletrapper]

What did he say? lmao OT

 

[catbuster]

Sawyer is more of a Forest Circus/Can’t Do Fire/general term in the fire service for a hominid with a chainsaw on assignment. An idiot with a chainsaw (looks at self in mirror) does a lot more than tip trees on a crew. We slash a lot of brush & pioneer line, buck all sorts of stuff out of the way… Man I’ve even cut grass.

Again, my background is… A little different than some of you guys. Sawmills are scary.

 

[j-jock]

At one point I considered myself a competent timber faller. Also known as a sawyer, tree killer, stump manufacturer, chainsaw wielding maniac, amongst other things. According to the Forest Circus, KDF and NWCG I’m an Advanced Faller (FAL1/Faller Class 1), which was formerly a C Faller (sawyer if you were with a crew).

As a faller, I fall timber through the act of felling it. Felling is an act, a verb, mostly interchangeable with the verb to fall when discussing trees. Felling is someome taking something down. It is what someone acts on something else. David felled Goliath, if you’re a believer in that. It is not a noun, or an adjective.

In 1957, I started my working life as a logger in a logging camp, in the British Columbia interior.
We called the guys that knocked down the trees, even if they used their teeth to gnaw them down, fallers. The most common saws were all one man, IEL and Macs.
We referred to the act of sawing down trees, felling.
We referred to the guy that operated the head saw in the mill. the sawyer
The guy that loaded and flipped the logs, was the cantor, (not the other kind of cantor, I can't sing worth a crap)
The guy that ran the edger was, the edgerman
The guy that worked the green chain, and not only piled the lumber, but also had to guide the slabs to the conveyer, was the grunt.
Because I had a suitable commercial license, I ended up as a truck driver, to replace a guy that got injured. That had a good and a bad side. The roads had some long corduroy stretches, and the problem was, that snags could and did, pop up and rip the brake lines or cause other damage. They were really hard on the equipment.
I had one friend that had to bail from a truck, a 5 ton Ford, on which a driveshaft universal broke. It was on the beginning of the downside of a hill, it wasn't good for the truck, or the load. He just ended up with a bunch of superficial bangs and scratches.
My job was as a cantor, and after flipping all those logs, some up to 5 ft in diameter, ended up being pretty fit. Our mill couldn't handle larger than 5 feet, so on the odd occasion anything larger than that arrived at the mill, we stored them until the mill was out of service, and quartered them so they could go through the mill. Our timber, was all first growth, with the biggest log that we normally handled, measuring 4 ft.
It was fun, but we knew it was dangerous. Nobody killed, but lots of serious injuries.
The first mill in our area, with a carriage designed with auto loading and turning, was being built in Vernon in 58-59.
After I saw the mechanism that was going to replace me, I decided I had better continue with an education.

 

[madhatte]

Ain't had one of these threads in here in a minute. Still fun.

 

[rocketnorton]

interior bc
where bouts?

 

[j-jock]

interior bc
where bouts?

Up in the hills between Lavington and Lumby, near Aberdeen Lake. Kennet Bros, was the name of the outfit. Looking from the Vernon side of Hwy 6, the road up the hill was a couple of miles past the turnoff that a person would take to go up to the glass factory. All first growth.
It is making me remember stuff that I had long forgotten. Such as coming down the hill for the weekend in the box of a clapped out 47 Ford Pickup, the tie rod broke or separated, and we went careening toward the drop off (500 or more ft). There was no time to react, but we were saved by a monstrous stump at the side of the road. It was a long walk down the road to the yard that night, but in a way, it was a good thing because it took our mind off the accident. If I remember, there were three in the cab, and five of us in the back. That would have made the papers....
So many stories, in such a short time.

 

[CDElliott]

Up in the hills between Lavington and Lumby, near Aberdeen Lake. Kennet Bros, was the name of the outfit. Looking from the Vernon side of Hwy 6, the road up the hill was a couple of miles past the turnoff that a person would take to go up to the glass factory. All first growth.
It is making me remember stuff that I had long forgotten. Such as coming down the hill for the weekend in the box of a clapped out 47 Ford Pickup, the tie rod broke or separated, and we went careening toward the drop off (500 or more ft). There was no time to react, but we were saved by a monstrous stump at the side of the road. It was a long walk down the road to the yard that night, but in a way, it was a good thing because it took our mind off the accident. If I remember, there were three in the cab, and five of us in the back. That would have made the papers....
So many stories, in such a short time.

Sounds like the beginning of a good book on the history of that time and area! Thanks for sharing!

 

[rocketnorton]

know the area a bit
hauled outta the glass plant 20ish yr ago
young days were in merritt n kamloops

neighbor in merritt had 49 ford pu
rode in that some, front and back

 

[jolj]

Never done timber, just land clearing & fire wood.
I have fell to fall a cut'n tree before.

 

[wup-Wo-Ho-wup]

My father was a faller in western Washington starting in the forties. Nobody said feller. Fall was a verb in present tense, as in "I fall timber for a living." or (past tense) " I fell timber for Baldridge Timber Co. long ago" That might have been pronounced "fell'd" with the d swallowed. That usage continued into and past the sixties when I went to work in the woods.

 

[slowp]

In the SW part of Warshington, both fallers and cutters were used. I don't think there was any difference however, there were a few guys who were referred to as a Hell Of A Good Faller Back In The Day. They do not, by any means, mean fellow.

Falling seems to be becoming more like "dropping" as some jobs only require the trees to be felled. They are yarded up and then processed on the landing. Trees are more apt to be dumped on the ground in clearcutting. Partial cuts take more skill to work in and I've had fallers tell me they like doing partial cuts because of that.

Misunderstandings now occur when a cutter finds out later that he was supposed to also buck and limb the trees. That makes for displeasure and uncreative expletives as he stumbles back out to buck up the trees.

Also, crosscut saws are still in use on trail crews. Motorized equipment is forbidden in wilderness areas around here.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

"I'm a Cutter. I cut timber for a living."

"I'm Timber Faller. I Fall Timber for a living."

If you use either term in a conversation with another that's in the Logging or "Felling" industry? They will know exactly what your job is!

Good day Gentleman that is all!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

 

[wyk]

Here on an estate in Ireland they just call me the Woodsman.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Here on an estate in Ireland they just call me the Woodsman.

The "Woodsman"?!?! Ha! Ha! Hell Yes!!! That is Awesome! Good on ya!

 

[rwoods]

I resemble that remark. I was once pictured and called the woodsman by one of my MAC buddies. Probably should have been labeled the headless woodsman.

Brian don't do the hard work. Ron does more than I.
Here is a few pictures I took of today.

View attachment 980131
Ron cutting with my PM800



View attachment 980134
The woodsman.
Brian

Be safe,
Ron

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Yeah but if you'er a Cuttter and your job title is known as "Woodsman" through out the land?!?! I don't give a hoot! Thats hard a**! Ha ha! That's all I got to say!

 

[philip_b]

On the east coast ive always heard ´logger' , the trees we cut for lumber around here is nothing compared to those enormous fir you guys have on the west coast so most of the big logging operation are done with harvester or feller buncher