WOODWORKERS' TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 83 



made from a round tree section, 6 inches in diameter and from 

 26 to 30 inches long. An 8-inch head is left on one end of the 

 section and the remainder is trimmed down to a diameter of 

 2 inches to form a handle. The head may or may not be 

 bound with iron hoops to prevent splitting. Iron sledge 

 hammers of 4 or 5 pounds' weight are sometimes used in 

 place of mauls for driving metal wedges. Wooden wedges are 

 driven either with an ax or a sledge. 



SPRING BOARDS 



These are used only in the Northwest, and serve as plat- 

 forms on which notchers and fallers stand when performing 

 their work. The spring board with the spur uppermost is 



Fig. 18. — A Spring Board used by Fallers in the Northwest. 



thrust into a notch cut into the tree and when weight is appUed 

 to the outer end of the board the spur is forced into the wood 

 and prevents the board from slipping. 



KILHIG OR SAMPSON 



This tool is used as a lever to aid in directing the fall of a tree. 

 It consists of a pole 3 or 4 inches in diameter and from 8 to 16 

 feet long, either sharpened or armed on one end with a spike. 

 In operation the pointed end of the pole is placed in a notch 

 in the tree trunk from 5 to 8 feet above ground. The free end 

 projects downward to a point 10 or 12 inches above the ground 

 where it is supported on a peavey handle or a pole the lower end 

 of which is firmly planted in the ground. A laborer grasps the 

 free end of the peavey handle and by pressing forward is able 

 to exert a very strong pressure against the bole of the tree. 

 Kilhigs are frequently made as needed by the saw crew since it 



