Of course you'll screw up, everybody does. Anybody that tells you different is lying. New guys tend to screw up more but that's to be expected. Just try to keep small mistakes from becoming major disasters. Screw ups can be learning opportunities if you let them. If you find yourself making the same mistakes more than a couple of times you better take a look at what you're doing wrong. Soon, too.
That old saying "do something, even if it's wrong" never works very well in logging. Plan your work, but be flexible too. Don't give yourself any days off at first. If you're not logging on weekends go out there anyway, while it's quiet and you can look things over without being bothered.
Walk the ground, think about ways to move your logs more efficiently. Every time you move a log it costs you money. Look for ways to eliminate excess handling. Time is your enemy.
Know your markets. Mills aren't in business to make you rich and if you fail they don't really care. Be very aware that they think you're an idiot for working like you do. Don't prove them right. Know your prices. Don't depend on their sense of fairness or even their honesty in every case. Watch your scale tickets. Get your prices set before you ever cut a stick.
Learn how to buck for grade. I don't know much about the timber in your part of the country but from all the different species, grades, and buyers it would seem that bucking is where you'd determine the best value out of every log. And every log counts.
Know your expenses and I mean every expense. Every penny. That doesn't mean you have to be a cheapskate but unless you know what it's costing you to log you might not know how much you're losing until it's too late. Logging is one of the few businesses where you can be working so hard that you don't know you're going broke until you have.
Work on your own machinery as much as possible. If that means staying in the woods all night working by pickup headlights to get something ready for the next day that's what you do. If it calls for working all weekend to be up and running for Monday that's just part of the program. If something breaks, fix it as soon as you can. Maintenance doesn't cost as much as down time and down time will just absolutely kill you.
These are just generalities but maybe they'll help. I can't advise you on everything that you'll need to be successful but some things about this business are constant no matter where you work. I don't know much about logging except the logging I've done. To me an oak or a maple, or any hardwood for that matter, is just a damn weed. I've logged a lot of oak but it was never any more than necessary to open up roads or clear landings. A lot of what I do out here doesn't really relate to what you're doing but the way I've been taught and the way I've worked has provided me with a good living for many years.
If you really want to log I think you should give it a try. If you find that it's not what you really wanted you'll at least know for sure.
, which wasn't expensive, but was a PITA waiting for the part. Regarding the truck, my property is pretty flat, and my "skidder" (old land cruiser with a cable and hook) can pull 36" ~16' without much drama.
