Post by Muleskinner on Oct 20, 2011 12:20:18 GMT -8
Theres been a lot of discussion about the type of timber which is logged in certain parts of the USA so I thought I would start a discussion here so as to keep it off the model threads.
When I was living in California back in the Prehistoric days, most of the timber logged was old growth Coastal Redwood. With the average diameter of Twelve feet and larger. It was nothing to see a one log load on a logging truck where ever you looked. The Doug Fir was the same way which grew beside the redwoods, and covered the rough wilderness of Northern California.
Some of this timber on the stump hit the 19 foot and larger diameter, which in turn had to be cut and split down to manageable sizes to be loaded on truck or railroad, or what ever the mode of transport was being used at the time.
Because there was more of a demand for this kind of wood at the time, Alder, pine and the other type timbers was left standing. Large cedar on the stump, and I know for a fact, was also cut right along with the Redwood because (I was told by a lot of older loggers, in California,) that a cedar was hard at first to distinguish from a Redwood because they are from the same family of tree and looked basically the same. Cruisers who went in and marked the trees just marked at random and if, in most cases, it looked like a Redwood It was a Redwood.
A lot of Fallers wouldn't know what they were cutting until the started and got that heavy incense smell of the cedar wood. I know how hard it is to separate the two in a stand because if you didn't know what you were looking for Cedar or Redwood, they both are almost Identical and in the coastal area of Northern California all the large timber grew to Huge sizes, including, Spruce, hemlock and a few others.
The Redwoods were so much in demand as it was virtually impervious to rot because of its high Tannin content. Also a fire in a Redwood grove did very little damage to the tree because of the thick stringy bark which was practically immune to fire and unless you got a fire burning high up in the trees in most cases the boughs of the Redwood was safe from fire.
I have been in some of the earliest built houses and cabin in the Humboldt county area of Northern California where the Bark of the Redwood trees was used as insulation between the walls. Crude, but very ingenious as they made for very air tight buildings.
The main problem with the redwood was; the wood is so brittle it was hard to fall on bare ground without causing some kind of damage. To remedy this, a bed or cushion was built by laying old limbs and boughs in the fall path so the faller could direct the fall of the tree in that direction, thus putting less damage on the wood as it came down.
Once to timber was down the barkers went to work stripping the bark from the tree and limbing it, as there was no market for the Redwood Bark and the limbs were used for more cushioning material in the fall area. After this was done the buckers would come in and cut the logs to haul able lengths. During this process also the overly large logs would be split down also.
After the fallers and ground crew moved on to another area the rigging crews would move in to set up for the yarders. Or if it were a Cat operation the Skid roads were punched into the area and the choker setters and Cat Skinner moved in. By far in my opinion, Highline skidding was whole lot more merciful on the land than cat logging and the expense was less. Moving a Redwood log to the landing at times would require a double header cat operation and would slow down the operation, by tying up two Cats on one turn which other wise could have been used on two. Some Doug fir turns could also cause a tie up for the same reason. Where as the yarder could just drag em right up the slope with little problem or lift the whole turn above the ground and bring them to the landing with out ever having the turn hit the ground.
Once they reached the top at the landing they were sat down and the choker bell broke and removed from the log. They were then moved to the loading area deck, to await loading and trans port. Back in the prehistoric days a log very seldom sat long awaiting transport because the trains would be waiting there or the trucks would be lined up waiting for a load at the staging area. There was no idle time, except for lunch and an occasional break. A lot different than now days when you have a cold deck sitting on the landing getting bigger all the time awaiting the first available truck to take a load out. Idle time also does not make any money and does not pay ASL that well either.
The same system which I have out lined above has also been applied to the forest in Oregon and also those in Washington along the coast and on the peninsula for the large timber which grew in those areas. I would have liked to be around before the turn of the century when before the Industrial revolution to observe a logging operation in this area in those days! Wow springboards, Falling axes, misery whips and stump jacks. Now that was logging!
When I was living in California back in the Prehistoric days, most of the timber logged was old growth Coastal Redwood. With the average diameter of Twelve feet and larger. It was nothing to see a one log load on a logging truck where ever you looked. The Doug Fir was the same way which grew beside the redwoods, and covered the rough wilderness of Northern California.
Some of this timber on the stump hit the 19 foot and larger diameter, which in turn had to be cut and split down to manageable sizes to be loaded on truck or railroad, or what ever the mode of transport was being used at the time.
Because there was more of a demand for this kind of wood at the time, Alder, pine and the other type timbers was left standing. Large cedar on the stump, and I know for a fact, was also cut right along with the Redwood because (I was told by a lot of older loggers, in California,) that a cedar was hard at first to distinguish from a Redwood because they are from the same family of tree and looked basically the same. Cruisers who went in and marked the trees just marked at random and if, in most cases, it looked like a Redwood It was a Redwood.
A lot of Fallers wouldn't know what they were cutting until the started and got that heavy incense smell of the cedar wood. I know how hard it is to separate the two in a stand because if you didn't know what you were looking for Cedar or Redwood, they both are almost Identical and in the coastal area of Northern California all the large timber grew to Huge sizes, including, Spruce, hemlock and a few others.
The Redwoods were so much in demand as it was virtually impervious to rot because of its high Tannin content. Also a fire in a Redwood grove did very little damage to the tree because of the thick stringy bark which was practically immune to fire and unless you got a fire burning high up in the trees in most cases the boughs of the Redwood was safe from fire.
I have been in some of the earliest built houses and cabin in the Humboldt county area of Northern California where the Bark of the Redwood trees was used as insulation between the walls. Crude, but very ingenious as they made for very air tight buildings.
The main problem with the redwood was; the wood is so brittle it was hard to fall on bare ground without causing some kind of damage. To remedy this, a bed or cushion was built by laying old limbs and boughs in the fall path so the faller could direct the fall of the tree in that direction, thus putting less damage on the wood as it came down.
Once to timber was down the barkers went to work stripping the bark from the tree and limbing it, as there was no market for the Redwood Bark and the limbs were used for more cushioning material in the fall area. After this was done the buckers would come in and cut the logs to haul able lengths. During this process also the overly large logs would be split down also.
After the fallers and ground crew moved on to another area the rigging crews would move in to set up for the yarders. Or if it were a Cat operation the Skid roads were punched into the area and the choker setters and Cat Skinner moved in. By far in my opinion, Highline skidding was whole lot more merciful on the land than cat logging and the expense was less. Moving a Redwood log to the landing at times would require a double header cat operation and would slow down the operation, by tying up two Cats on one turn which other wise could have been used on two. Some Doug fir turns could also cause a tie up for the same reason. Where as the yarder could just drag em right up the slope with little problem or lift the whole turn above the ground and bring them to the landing with out ever having the turn hit the ground.
Once they reached the top at the landing they were sat down and the choker bell broke and removed from the log. They were then moved to the loading area deck, to await loading and trans port. Back in the prehistoric days a log very seldom sat long awaiting transport because the trains would be waiting there or the trucks would be lined up waiting for a load at the staging area. There was no idle time, except for lunch and an occasional break. A lot different than now days when you have a cold deck sitting on the landing getting bigger all the time awaiting the first available truck to take a load out. Idle time also does not make any money and does not pay ASL that well either.
The same system which I have out lined above has also been applied to the forest in Oregon and also those in Washington along the coast and on the peninsula for the large timber which grew in those areas. I would have liked to be around before the turn of the century when before the Industrial revolution to observe a logging operation in this area in those days! Wow springboards, Falling axes, misery whips and stump jacks. Now that was logging!