One Man Crew?

[Jesse snowden]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. Not trying to hijack a thread here so I can make my own but this thread is really what I want to know. How do you setup one man logging work? Can you guys that have done work solo describe your setup?

 

[Big_Wood]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. Not trying to hijack a thread here so I can make my own but this thread is really what I want to know. How do you setup one man logging work? Can you guys that have done work solo describe your setup?

i do a few jobs a year alone but those are jobs for a hack on private land really. around here no one would be able to get away with doing an industry job alone. maybe 2 on conventional but never alone. with heli they map the blocks to maximize the cut and get a crew in there to get it down fast so the next phase can come in and then onto the next job for the fallers. no time to let one guy go at it and take forever. it's really quite organized. i'm not sure how it is in the states but they don't need certification so anyone can cut really. i hear it's about making your way up the latter or knowing somebody if you want to fall down there. if you have no experience i doubt anyone with 1/16 of a brain would contract to you but you could probably score the odd jobs on private land. if you wanna do it full time your best bet is likely just find somebody already doing it and try get on with them but again, i'm not 100% sure how they roll state side. in the yukon they all work alone, use smoke signals for emergency calls, and a big red 3 wheeler as their medical evacuation vehicle lol

 

[Jesse snowden]

i do a few jobs a year alone but those are jobs for a hack on private land really. around here no one would be able to get away with doing an industry job alone. maybe 2 on conventional but never alone. with heli they map the blocks to maximize the cut and get a crew in there to get it down fast so the next phase can come in and then onto the next job for the fallers. no time to let one guy go at it and take forever. it's really quite organized. i'm not sure how it is in the states but they don't need certification so anyone can cut really. i hear it's about making your way up the latter or knowing somebody if you want to fall down there. if you have no experience i doubt anyone with 1/16 of a brain would contract to you but you could probably score the odd jobs on private land. if you wanna do it full time your best bet is likely just find somebody already doing it and try get on with them but again, i'm not 100% sure how they roll state side. in the yukon they all work alone, use smoke signals for emergency calls, and a big red 3 wheeler as their medical evacuation vehicle lol

I meant for myself. I'm buying a big lot of land with lots of trees. I intend to use the big douglas fir and hemlock for my home. I can take as long as I need. Not interested in waiting around for 2 years to save money to pay someone else to log and mill my land. I could likely get it done myself in 2 years. That's why I'm asking

 

[Big_Wood]

I meant for myself. I'm buying a big lot of land with lots of trees. I intend to use the big douglas fir and hemlock for my home. I canctake as long as I need, just don't have much interest in sitting around for 2 years to save money to pay someone else to log and mill my land. I could likely get it done myself in 2 years. That's why I'm asking

How much land? That's gonna be a sweet setup for yourself but I couldn't tell ya which way to go about it. I thought you were talking more about logging on licensee TFL's. Heck I would just call a logging company and sell them logs. Usually if you have enough they'll come pick them up. We did 6 loads out of a lot my grandfather owned a few years ago and the local licensee was stoked to come pick them up.

 

[Jesse snowden]

Not interested in selling the timber. The plot I'm looking at right now is 23 acres. All trees. I have a couple alaskan mills, and plan to buy a bandsaw mill from a local builder once I have land. The trees will provide the timbers for my shop and eventually my home

 

[Bwildered]

If you're going to work alone falling, it's just common sense to plan for the worst & hope for the best, I mostly work alone falling, have a 2 way radio & make contact before & after each tree I drop, if I don't make contact for the after sched that's the trigger to come & check on me quickly, help is a few minutes away, the worst case is I've been wiped out & there's no chance or I've been knocked out by a falling limb & my airway is blocked & I've got 3 minutes for someone to roll me into the recovery position. I've had some close calls, some with injuries & some without & I wouldn't recommend anybody doing it totally alone, unless nobody will miss you if you're not around anymore.
Thansk

 

[northmanlogging]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum. Not trying to hijack a thread here so I can make my own but this thread is really what I want to know. How do you setup one man logging work? Can you guys that have done work solo describe your setup?

I meant for myself. I'm buying a big lot of land with lots of trees. I intend to use the big douglas fir and hemlock for my home. I can take as long as I need. Not interested in waiting around for 2 years to save money to pay someone else to log and mill my land. I could likely get it done myself in 2 years. That's why I'm asking

Well, honestly there isn't much to it. Get a saw big enough to fall with, 70cc or bigger, preferably 2. And some sort of machine to move the logs, a large 60+ hp tractor will do on flat ground, otherwise look into a dozer or skidder. For what it sounds like you wanna do a dozer is dual purpose, drag logs, and level ground.

As far as building a house, you can use whole logs and thats ok but here in Snohomish county, you can not mill your own lumber, every board has to have a grade stamp on it. The inspectors will not sign off on it and will not "allow" you to occupy. Yes its ****, but thats what ya get when the 2 biggest industrys here are timber and airplanes.

While I'm at it, do you have a basic understanding of timber cutting? Cause that is going to be the biggest issue, once they are on the ground its just physics, getting them on the ground takes a good eye for lean, and a good hand on the saw, along with a few tricks and what not on the way.

Also I'm out of Granite Falls, just a hop and a skip from Ever-rot, and I'm totally ok with checking out yer timber and giving a few pionters.

And one last thing, the permit process out here is a pain in the ass... next job it took them nearly a year to get permited, and we're now on the mandatory 60 day wait peroid so the neighbors can call and bitch about it... It also takes considerable amount of money, at least for a clearing and grading permit, if you get a standard forestry permit from DNR its only $100 and a fairly easy process, but its only good for cutting and replanting timber, with minimal road work for access, anything more than that and its all county all the time... Also a DNR permit comes with a moratorium for building, and once you do start to build then you need a septic design and permit, and a building design and permit... etc etc etc. But don't worry King county is worse.

 

[northmanlogging]

And another thing...

Shouldn't take 2 years for someone else to log it, there are a number of outfits around here with only a 6 month wait, good guys too. But there are a couple that can start cutting tomorrow... they may or may not be good guys... (I don't like em cause they keep taking my work... but thats business)

 

[Jesse snowden]

Well, honestly there isn't much to it. Get a saw big enough to fall with, 70cc or bigger, preferably 2. And some sort of machine to move the logs, a large 60+ hp tractor will do on flat ground, otherwise look into a dozer or skidder. For what it sounds like you wanna do a dozer is dual purpose, drag logs, and level ground.

As far as building a house, you can use whole logs and thats ok but here in Snohomish county, you can not mill your own lumber, every board has to have a grade stamp on it. The inspectors will not sign off on it and will not "allow" you to occupy. Yes its ****, but thats what ya get when the 2 biggest industrys here are timber and airplanes.

While I'm at it, do you have a basic understanding of timber cutting? Cause that is going to be the biggest issue, once they are on the ground its just physics, getting them on the ground takes a good eye for lean, and a good hand on the saw, along with a few tricks and what not on the way.

Also I'm out of Granite Falls, just a hop and a skip from Ever-rot, and I'm totally ok with checking out yer timber and giving a few pionters.

And one last thing, the permit process out here is a pain in the ass... next job it took them nearly a year to get permited, and we're now on the mandatory 60 day wait peroid so the neighbors can call and ***** about it... It also takes considerable amount of money, at least for a clearing and grading permit, if you get a standard forestry permit from DNR its only $100 and a fairly easy process, but its only good for cutting and replanting timber, with minimal road work for access, anything more than that and its all county all the time... Also a DNR permit comes with a moratorium for building, and once you do start to build then you need a septic design and permit, and a building design and permit... etc etc etc. But don't worry King county is worse.

Now that is useful information! I say seattle because it's a land mark, but I'm in snohomish/lake stevens area. I was under the impression we COULD have a grader to come out to stamp the timber after its cut. Guess I'll have to check up on that in this county, or maybe move my search up to skagit county if the rules permit it.

If it's a possibility, I'd like to do all the work myself. If it's not, I guess I'll have to sell the timber I clear, just to turn around and buy the same stuff from a mill. They really got me by the balls!

 

[Big_Wood]

Well, honestly there isn't much to it. Get a saw big enough to fall with, 70cc or bigger, preferably 2. And some sort of machine to move the logs, a large 60+ hp tractor will do on flat ground, otherwise look into a dozer or skidder. For what it sounds like you wanna do a dozer is dual purpose, drag logs, and level ground.

As far as building a house, you can use whole logs and thats ok but here in Snohomish county, you can not mill your own lumber, every board has to have a grade stamp on it. The inspectors will not sign off on it and will not "allow" you to occupy. Yes its ****, but thats what ya get when the 2 biggest industrys here are timber and airplanes.

While I'm at it, do you have a basic understanding of timber cutting? Cause that is going to be the biggest issue, once they are on the ground its just physics, getting them on the ground takes a good eye for lean, and a good hand on the saw, along with a few tricks and what not on the way.

Also I'm out of Granite Falls, just a hop and a skip from Ever-rot, and I'm totally ok with checking out yer timber and giving a few pionters.

And one last thing, the permit process out here is a pain in the ass... next job it took them nearly a year to get permited, and we're now on the mandatory 60 day wait peroid so the neighbors can call and ***** about it... It also takes considerable amount of money, at least for a clearing and grading permit, if you get a standard forestry permit from DNR its only $100 and a fairly easy process, but its only good for cutting and replanting timber, with minimal road work for access, anything more than that and its all county all the time... Also a DNR permit comes with a moratorium for building, and once you do start to build then you need a septic design and permit, and a building design and permit... etc etc etc. But don't worry King county is worse.

Man, that seems like a lot of hoops for a guy who just wants to clear his own land and use his own wood. I mean dang if he has to sell it he has to sell it but for him to need permits just to cut that seems crazy. Around here a guy could level his land and no one would care lol unless it has some old growth the hippies were protecting on it or a wild life tree patch but then why would a guy want that land anyways. we have the stamped timber thing too but if building off grid no stamp or building permit is needed.

 

[Jesse snowden]

The area is amazingly beautiful, but apparently a pain to build. Existing structures get grandfathered in for a lot of new rules. But anything related to land development, like wet lands (which there area lot of) timber rights, where you build and what you build, take deep pockets to make it through. The timber grading rule is just one. I've heard you can have an inspector from one of the big mills come out and grade your self cut lumber, but that may be in a different county.

 

[northmanlogging]

Sno Co. is a horrible place to live Don't mover here...

The county council is a bunch of tree hugging dipshits, led by a knee jerk reactionary assface... and all they care about at the end of the day is money, and a new courthouse to replace one that is only 40 years old and perfectly adaquit... So they pass a bunch of stoopid laws and permit process crap that just slowes down any progress, and puts guys like you out of a dream... anyway getting dangerously political...

What guy can probably get away with here is to buy some decent dirt with some decent timber, but then turn around and log most of it to pay for said dirt, the market is kinda goofey right now... so grain of salt and all.

Otherwise check into building codes, I'm no lawyer or code enforcer, just passing what I've been told by builders and archetects. There are also some goofey ruler regarding pressure treated and kiln dried lumber for studs/beams

But you may be able to con a grader in to comming out and stamping yer boards, if you do, I want names and numbers.

 

[Jesse snowden]

Well here are the names and numbers of an agency that operates in snohomish county! This is my email and their response.

Hello Jesse:

I am responding to your email inquiry regarding getting your sawn lumber graded.


Our website has some information on this which you can find by following this link… http://www.plib.org/services/on-demand-inspection/


Basically there are two things that you will want to do:

1)Talk with one of our inspectors before you cut your wood. They will be able to provide some advice on how to cut your wood and what sizes to cut it to so that we can grade it and it meets the standards.

2)Set up a mutually agreeable time with our inspector to come to your site and grade the wood. We charge $75 per hour with a two hour minimum (travel time included) so the cost for the grading service will depend on how long it takes. There are several things you can do to minimize your costs with the main thing being to schedule your grading time when our inspector is near your area so that you can minimize the travel time. Most jobs can be done in two to three hours but that will also depend on how much wood you have, how the wood is stacked, the area we have to work in and how much help you can provide.


Our inspector will grade and stamp your wood with the PLIB grade stamp. Our stamp is recognized by the building code authorities and will be accepted by your code official. One thing you will want to know, however, is whether you have to have a specific grade of lumber (for example, No. 2, No. 1, Select Structural). The type of building, its design and the species of wood might all impact the grade you need, so have this conversation with your building department (or your engineer/architect if you have one) first.


The inspector that works your area is Kelly Clifford. I have copied him on this email. He will be able to provide you with some suggestions on cutting practices and get a schedule worked out. Generally we like as much lead time as possible to schedule this as our schedule can be booked out for several weeks in advance. You will want to let him know what grade of lumber your project requires so that he can have the right stamps available.


If you would provide a good phone number, I will have Kelly give you a call to discuss this in more detail.


Thanks for contacting us. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,


Jeff Fantozzi


Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau

Headquarters Canadian Division

909 S. 336th St. P.O. Box 19118

Suite 203 4th Ave. Postal Outlet

Federal Way, WA 98003 Vancouver, BC V6K 4R8

Tel: (253) 835-3344 Tel/Fax: (604) 732-1782

Fax: (253) 835-3371

www.plib.org



From: Jesse Snowden [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 9:53 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Having self cut timber graded


Hello!

Name is Jesse, I am a land owner in snohomish county. In the machias area, just east of snohomish lake stevens, snohomish address. There are several acres of what I believe to be 2nd growth timber on my property. Mostly douglas fir, with some hemlock and western red cedar as well, 2-3feet diameter at knee height. I have my own bandsaw mill available and want to begin milling large timbers to dry for a timber frame shop and later for my residence. What is the procedure for getting either large 8x8 or smaller dimensional lumber graded for construction in this area?

I've heard snohomish and king county are very strict, any guidence would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jesse snowden