94 
LOGGING 
TREE TALLER 
The tree faller or jack (Fig. 14) has been introduced on the 
Pacific Coast to enable fallers to throw trees in any direction 
regardless of lean. It consists of two lever-arms which are 
spread by means of a lever-actuated screw. The arms rest on an 
oscillating plate, which serves to increase the bearing surface. The 
From Bui. 711, U. S. Dept. of AgricuUure. 
Fig. 14. — A Patent Tree Faller, showing the Manner of Insertion in the 
Notch (left), and the Position of the Jaws when the Cut has been opened 
about Seven Inches. 
opening between jaws, when fully extended, is 7 inches. The 
weight of the tree faller is 166 pounds, and is so constructed 
that it may be separated into two loads of nearly equal weight 
for ease in moving it from one tree to another. It has proved 
of especial service in throwing timber which is heavy when it 
has been necessary to change the normal direction of fall because 
of danger of excessive breakage due to bad ground conditions. 
GUN STICK 
Fallers in the redwood region sometimes use a gun stick to 
determine the direction of fall of a tree that has been undercut. 
The usual length of a gun stick is 8 feet overall, although 10-foot 
sticks are sometimes used when very large timber is being felled. 
Two types are in common use. Fig. 15a being preferred by some 
because the wood on the ''diamond " on Fig. 156 sometimes 
swells during wet weather and does not work easily. A faller 
standing between the extended legs of the gun stick, which he 
grasps about 3 feet from the ends, places a leg at each outer 
corner of the undercut. Holding the stick firmly against the 
