Single Stemmin'

[gavin]

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.

 

[gavin]

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.

 

[SpookHollow]

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.

 

[SpookHollow]

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.

 

[1I'dJak]

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...

 

[SpookHollow]

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

 

[1I'dJak]

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!

 

[wmthrower]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[1I'dJak]

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!

 

[hammerlogging]

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?

 

[Bushler]

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.

 

[056kid]

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!!!!

 

[1I'dJak]

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 ****....

 

[Meadow Beaver]

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

 

[056kid]

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

 

[1I'dJak]

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...

 

[Industry]

Killer video!

 

[056kid]

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






















Jack Daniels is GOOOOOOODDDDDDDD!

 

[Zackman1801]

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

 

[1I'dJak]

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....