Random Ramblings, Cutting Logs

[Greystoke]

I never claimed to be the fastest busheler, but always made the best logs I could

.

Well said...Me too

Have heard it said more than once that the best bushelers are just an inch away from getting fired.

I always wanted to be this way, but I was an :angel: busheler, lol!

 

[Burvol]

Something that came to mind to me today was about taking your ear plugs out when you have a possible situation. Say you have a tree sawed up or close to all the way, and the wedges on your person are all stacked, and you head to your rigging sack for more. I always take my ear plugs out as I walk away (In a safe direction of course LOL) to get wedges, or whatever. Same thing when I have a tree that is in tight and it's getting the snot beat out of it. I hear a lot of the old hand fallers that crossed over to power saws never did care for the lack of hearing the canopy do it's thing.

 

[Greystoke]

Something that came to mind to me today was about taking your ear plugs out when you have a possible situation. Say you have a tree sawed up or close to all the way, and the wedges on your person are all stacked, and you head to your rigging sack for more. I always take my ear plugs out as I walk away (In a safe direction of course LOL) to get wedges, or whatever. Same thing when I have a tree that is in tight and it's getting the snot beat out of it. I hear a lot of the old hand fallers that crossed over to power saws never did care for the lack of hearing the canopy do it's thing.

Good point! I take my ear plugs out frequently just for the simple fact that I love hearing a nice tree go down. I still get a thrill out of it...even though I don't cut any nice trees anymore

 

[Jacob J.]

Something that came to mind to me today was about taking your ear plugs out when you have a possible situation. Say you have a tree sawed up or close to all the way, and the wedges on your person are all stacked, and you head to your rigging sack for more. I always take my ear plugs out as I walk away (In a safe direction of course LOL) to get wedges, or whatever. Same thing when I have a tree that is in tight and it's getting the snot beat out of it. I hear a lot of the old hand fallers that crossed over to power saws never did care for the lack of hearing the canopy do it's thing.

My grandpa always said there was something magical about cutting a big one down by hand. There was a greater sense of accomplishment, and closer ties to the woods. All aspects of life were a lot simpler back then.

 

[2dogs]

Something that came to mind to me today was about taking your ear plugs out when you have a possible situation. Say you have a tree sawed up or close to all the way, and the wedges on your person are all stacked, and you head to your rigging sack for more. I always take my ear plugs out as I walk away (In a safe direction of course LOL) to get wedges, or whatever. Same thing when I have a tree that is in tight and it's getting the snot beat out of it. I hear a lot of the old hand fallers that crossed over to power saws never did care for the lack of hearing the canopy do it's thing.

I agree with you on this one. I pull my ear plugs frequently on iffy trees and when the canopies are touching. I also always keep extra wedges in the truck.

 

[funky sawman]

Firewooden also makes for a better tree feller. If I fell a tree wrong, my little 1 ton pickup aint gonna pull it out very easily like a skidder with a winch on it. So my felling must be perfect (It is not always perfect) otherwise I cannot get the log out and waisted the tree and the time.

 

[RRSsawshop]

Never fill the saw boss' lunchbox with bar oil...

...don't ask me why...

Gary

NOW THATS FUNNY!!!

Back to the topic..MY logging co consists of 3 people,ME,MYSELF and I,so putting the timber on the ground,IN THE RIGHT SPOT is a necessity!! Saves me time in the long run... This is why I ask questions on here from time to time,saves a big mess alot of the time...

 

[slowp]

Here's a concern of mine. Cutting trees that have blown over and are hanging over roads. This one wasn't of any size, but would have scratched any car caught underneath. The road isn't busy this time of year either. But I still got some cones and put them up, then blocked the other side with my pickup.

Here's my stump. The alder was broken just above about 3 feet.

Lastly, I had to take this picture. The colors are at their peak right now.

Sorry, I'm still learning how to shrink photos on this new computer program thingie.

 

[RRSsawshop]

Hi Patty,
So what is the weather doing on your end?? Rain/snow here and its a plowable snow just to the north/northwest of me... I live in Bloomsburg,PA.
Rob

 

[slowp]

Hi Patty,
So what is the weather doing on your end?? Rain/snow here and its a plowable snow just to the north/northwest of me... I live in Bloomsburg,PA.
Rob

Monday was dark and stormy. The monsoon is here, but yesterday was dry and gloomy as is this morning. We're supposed to get a heavier rain storm today or tonight. The snow level has gone back up.

 

[fmaglin]

Hi Patty,
So what is the weather doing on your end?? Rain/snow here and its a plowable snow just to the north/northwest of me... I live in Bloomsburg,PA.
Rob

Here in Ohio it was spitting sleet yesterday. No snow yet, but we're expecting some tonight. Kinda early for that to be happening. I'm not sure where Bloomsburg is. Do you get alot of lake effect?

 

[RRSsawshop]

Here in Ohio it was spitting sleet yesterday. No snow yet, but we're expecting some tonight. Kinda early for that to be happening. I'm not sure where Bloomsburg is. Do you get alot of lake effect?

We are 50 miles north of Harrisburg,Pa. In the north central region..To have snow this early here is VERY RARE!!!!
Good news,they say 50 degrees again on monday...

 

[tramp bushler]

Right on Burvol, I never claimed to be the fastest busheler, but always made the best logs I could.
Have heard it said more than once that the best bushelers are just an inch away from getting fired. (Some people actually believed this) Meaing that they are taking too many shortcuts to up production.
There are shortcuts and then there are shortcuts.
If the rigging crew, skidder op. or? are continually cussing it does not matter how much you can produce in a day, it is still bad.
I worked at a camp where the top scale was always turned in by the same guy. And he always made sure everyone knew it.
When he quit I finished up his strip. Two cut up but still standing dead snags. Nothing but Russian couplings in most all of the windfall. I dont know how he was allowed to work there as long as he did. Niether here nor there but AFAIK he is still in prison for murder.
Your right, the stumps usually tell the tale. But you have to see them in general. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do to get it on the ground and the stump isnt going to look just right. The overall end results are what counts.

...

. Sounds like you were working at one of Leslie's places .. .. I did for a short while , and I cut next to this guy ,, The bull buck kept telling me to " lighten up " , I couldn,t figure out what he was talking about till I saw some of the ( Prefered Cutters strips ) ,, I tramped .!!:agree2:

 

[tramp bushler]

.. Yup , if you want to find out who does the worst cutting job , just ask the riggin crew ...... Worked for a few outfits that would gripe about my log or tree count , and brag up the guy cuttin next to me ,, I,de say oh , so were tree lengthin now ????????? NO ,WellWellWell what do ya mean , I,de say , well thats what so and so,s doin , if you don,t believe me , GO LOOK !!!! .. All but 1 time the boss or owner would come back thru my strip , and say , looks good , keep it up , the other guy would usually go down the road !!! , Many a thumbers career has been cut short by a bull buck that actually check scaled ...The 1 time , the boss was tree lengthin along with his crankin buddies , I just thot of something , . That outfit , we were cuttin in Ketchikan , that I know of 3 of those guys got their necks broke within the next 3 years .. I don,t know if one of them is still alive, .he was a quad last I knew ........... Ya know how the song goes !!!! ( that were faster and better than me )
.
.

 

[John Ellison]

...

. Sounds like you were working at one of Leslie's places .. .. I did for a short while , and I cut next to this guy ,, The bull buck kept telling me to " lighten up " , I couldn,t figure out what he was talking about till I saw some of the ( Prefered Cutters strips ) ,, I tramped .!!:agree2:

Yep, You know who I was talking about.

Hey, How did the moose hunting go?

 

[Burvol]

J- That's about the best post on log cutting on this site ever. If I were running a crew of log cutters, I'd much rather have a guy who was a bit slower but took great pride in leaving clean strips. I wasn't ever the fastest, and I had no ambitions to be the fastest. It was enough for me to get a saw and a set of jacks out on the unit and actually get wood on the ground. There was always going to be someone faster, more aggressive, or more thick-headed working the next strip over.

One of the 'fastest' guys I ever worked with ended up losing an eye because he was falling three in a set together and didn't fully assess the situation. The top broke out of one and blew some limbs back when it landed and a broken piece of limb took his eye out. He's still cutting now and is a lot more careful.

Reading this old post, your ideas are pretty close to how I feel a lot of times. I don't care what's going on in the next strip over, I got my tools and lay out here, this is where my focus is. Taking your time to save your ground and making good logs is all that matters. When your set up and peeling it back in manner that gives you some room and options, you got it made. By the end of the day when you just keep humpin' it, you got some serious scale on the ground. The key is don't screw up- mistakes cost more time than any method can produce wood quickly. It's a damn grind. Eat well and rest up, cause once you have a couple of monster days, you are now expected to produce like that, day in and day out.

I'm stoked to get my season going!

 

[Oldtimer]

One thing I know for sure is that running a small skidder made a lot better faller out of me.

Andy

Bingo. Experience in other parts of the same game will make you better at what you do.

 

[056kid]

Reading this old post, your ideas are pretty close to how I feel a lot of times. I don't care what's going on in the next strip over, I got my tools and lay out here, this is where my focus is. Taking your time to save your ground and making good logs is all that matters. When your set up and peeling it back in manner that gives you some room and options, you got it made. By the end of the day when you just keep humpin' it, you got some serious scale on the ground. The key is don't screw up- mistakes cost more time than any method can produce wood quickly. It's a damn grind. Eat well and rest up, cause once you have a couple of monster days, you are now expected to produce like that, day in and day out.

I'm stoked to get my season going!

I was wondering if there where many other bosses out there that thunk the same, my old boss was sure like that...

 

[oregoncutter]

I agree 100%

I don't know about the economic downturn filtering out good cutters here. I see some guys I know that are real meatheads (crackheads in some cases) still working and some other guys I know that are old timers and among the best of the best are struggling to get work. It seems in my area, the depressed economy is favoring slash-and-dash type cutters who are cheaper.

That's what I've been noticing alot, there are quite a few fly by night, poorly experienced, sh##t producing, underbidding, self proclaimed fallers, gathering up a decent percentage of the work in my neck of the woods. Some of them I know, and have seen the results of their work, and wouldn't let em within 5 miles if it were my timber. I don't understand how some of em get work, unless they carry a set of knee pads around. Have people lowered their standards, and expectations in order to try and save money? Or do they not realize how much money some of these guys will cost them in busted up logs, pain in the ass yarding, fines, and lawsuits when one of the many un or underinsured, and unverified so called contractors hurts or kills them self or someone else, or causes major property damage, and no insurance to back it up.
A good examle is the landscaping industry around here, a couple years ago there were only a few landscapers in the are, now every time You drive down the road there's a dozen rigs go by pulling a trailer with a couple weedeaters, and lawnmowers.
That's what I am seeing too much of!

 

[forestryworks]

That's what I've been noticing alot, there are quite a few fly by night, poorly experienced, sh##t producing, underbidding, self proclaimed fallers, gathering up a decent percentage of the work in my neck of the woods. Some of them I know, and have seen the results of their work, and wouldn't let em within 5 miles if it were my timber. I don't understand how some of em get work, unless they carry a set of knee pads around. Have people lowered their standards, and expectations in order to try and save money? Or do they not realize how much money some of these guys will cost them in busted up logs, pain in the ass yarding, fines, and lawsuits when one of the many un or underinsured, and unverified so called contractors hurts or kills them self or someone else, or causes major property damage, and no insurance to back it up.
A good examle is the landscaping industry around here, a couple years ago there were only a few landscapers in the are, now every time You drive down the road there's a dozen rigs go by pulling a trailer with a couple weedeaters, and lawnmowers.
That's what I am seeing too much of!

You got that landscaper part right. Every Tom, ####, and Harry with a truck and a trailer and yard equipment is calling themselves a landscaping outfit. Some of them couldn't edge a lawn if God told them how.

Same thing goes with the "woodcutters" around here. I see lots of china mart saw people out leaving the worst stumps in the land.