2 3 8 



Yearboo^ of Agriculture 1949 



small timber. To be economical, it 

 requires enough timber to keep a crew 

 of three to five men busy. One-man 

 power chain saws, now on the market, 

 promise to be better suited to use on 

 small jobs in small timber. If one owner 

 of a small woodland cannot afford to 

 buy mechanized equipment, he might 

 go in with other owners and purchase 

 it jointly. Or, equipment is available 

 sometimes on a custom basis, the same 

 as threshing machines and corn pickers. 

 Another possibility is to trade labor or 

 arrange through a service type of log- 

 ging ring, operated on a fee basis not 

 unlike the spray rings employed in 

 horticulture, for some of the work. 



But even with ordinary tools, the 

 work is made easier by using one's head, 

 keeping the tools sharp and in safe 

 working condition, planning the log- 

 ging work and lay-out, and taking ad- 

 vantage of gravity. 



Three steps are involved in log- 

 ging, but the ways of doing the work 

 in the suggested steps will vary ac- 

 cording to the woodland and the prod- 

 uct harvested. The steps are : 



1. Felling (or falling) the tree and 

 preparing the products, which in- 

 cludes : 



a. Limbing the tree; 



b. Bucking it into product size; 



c. Peeling, splitting, and hewing 



the products, when required ; 



d. Slash disposal, if necessary. 

 The essential tools and equipment 



for this step are: 



Fiberboard safety helmet. 

 Ax. 

 Saw. 

 Wedge. 

 Hammer. 

 Measuring stick. 

 Coal oil. 

 Saw file. 

 Whetstone. 



The optional tools are: 

 Peavey, or cant hook. 

 Log jack. 

 Pulp hook. 

 Peeling tools. 

 Tie-making tools. 

 Wood splitters. 



2. Skidding products from stump to 

 skidway, landing, or assembly point. 



The essential tools and equipment 

 are: 



Skidding chain. 



Peavey. 



Power (animal or machine). 



Rigging. 



Ax. 



The optional tools and equipment 

 are: 



Tongs or grapple hooks. 



Skid sled. 



Skid pan, etc. 



Extra rigging. 



Wagon. 



Log cart. 



3. Loading the products on wagon 

 or truck (and perhaps unloading at 

 the destination). 



The essential tools and equipment 

 are: 



Peavey, or cant hook. 



Cross-haul line. 



Pole skids. 



Power (animal or machine). 



Rigging. 



Wagon or truck or sled. 

 The optional tools and equipment 

 are: 



Loader or jammer. 



Pulp hook. 



Block and tackle. 



One should be careful, so as to avoid 

 accidents. The most common accidents 

 in the woods are due to axes, saws, 

 suspended broken branches, and being 

 on the downhill side of rolling logs. 

 Even in lifting there is a right and 

 wrong way. Properly done, the arms 

 and back are kept straight and the legs 

 bent, so that the lifting is done with 

 the leg muscles. Wherever possible, di- 

 rect lifting should be avoided and use 

 made of a peavey or pole. A fiberboard 

 safety helmet, a part of the essential 

 equipment, protects the head from fall- 

 ing limbs, or, in woods language, the 

 widow makers. 



THE AX is probably the most impor- 

 tant of all logging tools. It is in use 

 about one-half of the woodsman's 

 working time. For that reason, if any 



