./ NORTHEASTERN LOGGERS HANDROOK U. S. Deportment of Agricnitnre Hondbook No. 6 r L ii- ^ y ,^--i==â crk ■^ --> v-'/C'^ ¿'x'&So, Âfy % zr. j*' i-.nif.*- -^«L- V^ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 6 JANUARY 1951 NORTHEASTERN LOGGERS' HANDBOOK by FRED C. SIMMONS, logging specialist NORTHEASTERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION FOREST SERVICE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE - - - WASHINGTON, D. C, 1951 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Price 75 cents Preface THOSE who want to be successful in any line of work or business must learn the tricks of the trade one way or another. For most occupations there is a wealth of published information that explains how the job can best be done without taking too many knocks in the hard school of experience. For logging, however, there has been no ade- quate source of information that could be understood and used by the man who actually does the work in the woods. This NORTHEASTERN LOGGERS' HANDBOOK brings to- gether what the young or inexperienced woodsman needs to know about the care and use of logging tools and about the best of the old and new devices and techniques for logging under the conditions existing in the northeastern part of the United States. Emphasis has been given to the matter of workers' safety because the accident rate in logging is much higher than it should be. Sections of the handbook have previously been circulated in a pre- liminary edition. Scores of suggestions have been made to the author by logging operators, equipment manufacturers, and professional forest- ers. Without this large amount of helpful advice from persons too numerous to mention by name, this handbook could not have been prepared. NORTHEASTERN LOGGERS' HANDBOOK Contents -^^ -^^ The ax: Page Peavies, cant hooks, and pulp hooks : Page Choosing an ax 1 The peavy 39 Quality of steel 2 Cant hooks 40 Quality of handle 2 Pulp hooks 41 The hang of the ax 2 Tools for peeling wood : Ax sizes 3 The spud 43 Care of the ax 3 Drawshaves or timbershaves 45 How to fit a handle 3 Shaving horses 45 How to sharpen your ax 4 Felling : Use of the ax 5 Direction of fall 47 Cautions 6 Clear working space 48 The crosscut saw: Making the undercut 48 How to fit a crosscut 10 Making the backcut 50 Saw clamps 10 When the tree falls 50 Jointing the cutter teeth 12 Leaning trees 51 Jointing the rakers 12 Rotten trees 52 Filing the rakers 13 Felling with the chain saw 52 Swaging the rakers 13 Getting down lodged trees 53 Setting the cutter teeth 13 Lay-out of the felling job 55 Filing the cutter teeth 14 Size of felling crew 55 Handles 15 Conservation in felling 56 Use of the crosscut 15 Limbing and bucking: Limbing 57 The bow saw: Cutting pinned-down saplings 58 Saw frames 17 Bucking 58 Saw blades 18 Pulpwood and millwood 58 How to sharpen the bow-saw blade 18 Sawlogs 59 Jointing 19 Size of crew 61 Filing rakers 19 Bucking at the landing 61 Setting 20 Bucking for integrated logging 63 Filing cutters 20 Skidding with horses: Honing 20 Lay-out of the skidding job 66 Use of the bow saw 21 Skidding equipment 67 Some pointers 21 For light logs and poles 97 Power saws: For heavier logs 68 Circular saws 23 Devices to reduce friction 69 Drag saws 25 Devices to keep logs clean 70 Chain saws 25 Logging harness 72 Chain-saw power 27 Woods horses 73 Buying a chain saw 28 Use in skidding 73 Care of chain saws 29 The teamster's job 73 Operation of the chain saw 32 Care of horses 75 Wedges and their use : Feeding 75 Felling and bucking wedges 33 Skidding with tractors: Splitting wedges 34 Types of tractors for logging 77 Explosive wedges 35 Logging tractor accessories 78 Splitting wood 36 Winches 79 The froe 36 Chokers and choker hooks 80 ni Skidding with tractors—Continued Page Log hauling in winter—Continued page Ground skidding methods 80 Winter haul roads—Continued Skidding with pans 81 Iced roads 125 Skidding with scoots 82 Road maintenance 125 Skidding with tractor arches 83 Construction of sleds 126 Use of the arch 84 Snubbing devices for down-grade hauls 128 ExpcrimcntaJ tractors developed by the Forest Service. 85 Upgrade hauls 129 Safety in tractor driving 86 Motive power for winter hauling 130 Wire rope and accessories : Safety in winter hauling 130 Type and size of rope 89 Construction of all-weather roads : Unwinding wire rope 89 Planning a woods road 131 Seizing rope ends 91 Locating the road 132 Fittings for wire rope 92 Clearing 133 The ferrule 92 Earth excavation 136 The loop 93 Rock excavation 138 Hooks and chokers 95 Surfacing 139 Blocks 96 Drainage 139 Care of wire rope 98 Bridges 142 Kinks 98 Crib work for retaining walls 143 Lubrication 98 Road maintenance 143 Inspection of wire rope 99 Tramways 144 Cable logging: Safety in road construction 144 Ground skidding 101 Logging trucks: Skyline logging 101 Type of truck 147 High-lead systems 104 Size 147 Rigging 106 Tandem axles 147 Yarders 106 Front-wheel drives 148 Safety in cable logging 107 Cab-over-cngine trucks 148 Loading: Truck bodies 148 Loading short bolts 109 "Piggyback" loading 149 Loading sawlogs 112 Truck driving 150 Loading tree-length logs 119 Checking the vehicle 150 Preloaders ,.. 120 Loading 150 Unloading long logs 121 Driving practices 151 Safety in loading 121 Care of tires 151 Log hauling in winter: Safety in hauling with trucks 152 Winter haul roads 123 Glossary : Snow roads 123 Logging terms 153 NORTHEASTERN LOGGERS' HANDBOOK THE AX 4>>^ ^^ The ax is probably the most important of all the CHOOSING AN AX tools that the logger uses. Time studies in the north woods show that the pulpwood cutter uses his ax There are about a hundred different patterns and almost half of his working time. The sawlog cutter weights of axes in use. Ten patterns popular in the uses his about one-third of his working time. It is Northeast are shown in figure 1. therefore important that the woodsman have an ax Choice of ax pattern is largely a matter of local that is well suited to the work he is doing, that it be habit and individual preference. In general, the kept in good cutting condition, and that he know wider blades are better suited for use with soft- how to use it. woods and the narrower ones for hardwoods. But SINGLE BITS NEW ENGLAND YANKEE OR MICHIGAN MAINE JERSEY OR DAYTON CONNECTICUT DOUBLE BITS MICHIGAN PENNSYLVANIA REVERSIBLE WEDGE SWAMPING OR WESTERN Figure 1.—Popular ax patterns. any one of them will do good work after a man is The Hang of the Ax used to it. The important things to keep in mind in choosing an ax are the quality of its head, the quality The ax handle should be fitted properly, with the of its handle, and the way the two are put together. head well down on the shoulder of the handle (fig. 3). Above all, the head should be alined absolutely Quality of Steel straight with the handle (fig. 4). The head should be of properly forged and tem- pered steel—neither too hard nor too soft. The top- grade ax of any reputable manufacturer will meet this requirement. Some of the cheaper grades do not. The difference between the cost of the best tool and a poorer one is easily justified from the stand- point of the logger. Recent developments in smelt- ing, forging, and tempering steels have made it possible to turn out good axes consistently from Figure 3.—The ax head should fit well down on the shoulder one piece of steel. of the handle. Line of sight Quality of Handle from here Should come The handle should be perfectly straight so that it out here will line up straight with the cutting edge of the blade. The single-bit handle, of course, has a certain up-and-down curve in it, but it should not bend to Figure 4.—The ax head and handle must he in line. either side. Rapid-growth hickory is the favorite The actual "hang" of the ax is a matter of ax wood for ax handles. Tests have shown that so long pattern and individual preference. Some choppers prefer the head hung so that when the ax is placed on edge on a flat surface the middle of the blade and the end of the handle touch (fig. 5). The New England and Jersey single-bit and Pennsylvania double-bit patterns are adapted to this method of hanging. Figure 2.—A good ax handle should have a straight grain running the entire length of the handle. Figure 5.—How an ax hangs. Notice where the blade touches the line. as this wood has the proper density (not more than Most choppers prefer a blade hung so that con- 16 growth rings to the inch or specific gravity of tact with the flat surface is made about two-thirds not less than 0.8) it makes little difference whether of the way down the blade (fig. 6). The Maine and the wood is white or red hickory. In the best handle half-wedge single-bit and the Michigan and revers- the rings are parallel to the blade and run through ible double-bit patterns naturally hang in this the entire length of the handle (fig. 2). manner. Red oak and white ash are frequently used for ax handles in the North.