A skilled "cutter" at work

[pwd72s]

"Cutter" is the job title of a skilled chainsaw guy. "Bucking" is cutting a log to length for hauling on a log truck. Takes damned good upper body strength combined with know-how to do this job.

Just thought some here might find it interesting...29 seconds..

[dlockhart]

I'm ok with a saw, but we got nothing that sized around me thankfully.
It's easy to see how that could go bad really quick.

.

[Rusty Heap]

Near Seattle I have old growth tree stumps on my property. 15' tall, 6-7 feet across, 2 spring board notches on it's side. I've counted 100 rings per inch of log.

[herr_oberst]

Can you imagine doing that after a long day of hiking up and down that mountain? One false move and blammo!

Lumberjacks are tough sumblitches.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Can you imagine doing that after a long day of hiking up and down that mountain? One false move and blammo!

Lumberjacks are tough sumblitches.

Well, there is a tale of when a group of outlaw bikers went into a small tavern in Cascadia, Oregon one night and told the loggers there to leave, that they wanted the tavern to themselves.

Evidently, a big mistake on the bikers part...

[Scott Douglas]

I remember doing something like that when I lived on a vineyard. Redwood fell on the deer fence so we had to get it off the fence so the deer wouldn't eat the grapes.
I got elected to cut the stump off. As it finally came off, the tree decided to roll over, towards me of course.
I tossed the saw out of the way and tried to lunge up the hill out of the way. Managed to knock the wind out of myself. The others helping were on the other side of the tree and couldn't see me. They were frantically calling to see if I was OK but I couldn't answer do to knocking the wind out of myself. I'd managed to get away so no harm, no foul. The saw survived too, big ol' Stihl with a 36" bar on it. Tree was about 6' in diameter so it barely got thru it. That was the last one of those I tackled while up there.

[Superman]

Where I come from we call them "fallers." And yeah, they are tough sumblitches. Setting chokers is another tough job. Easy to get killed.

Anecdotal story: I overheard a discussion among logging safety regulators about a fatality they were investigating. Tree fell on someone. I knew/know the inspector. Salt of the earth. experienced faller. In the discussion, they said there was no evidence of falling multiple trees at a time when the fatality occurred. Later I asked him about it.

Safety Guy: "Well, fallers sometimes do a wedge gut and a partial back cut with the tree still standing. Then they go to the next tree and point the wedge cut at the first one, again making a partial back cut. And so on. Then they fall the last one and a bunch of trees go down in domino effect. Quite unlawful now."

Me: "Whoa! I wonder what the record is."

Safety Guy: "I don't know what the world record is, but my personal record is 26."

[pwd72s]

Both terms correct, Super....a "cutter" can do falling, bucking, etc..."Cutter" is an all inclusive term. that can include any or all of the individual saw job terms. Some "cutters" specialize only in falling, while leaving the limbing and bucking to others. Some "cutters" do it all...

[john70t]

Full chain mail with chain saws should be hand-in-hand.

And that includes steel-toe boots when chopping with an axe.

[Crowbob]

I was cutting I gigantic branch 6 feet up off an old cherry tree once...That branch had to be 3 inches around at the collar.

Time slows down like they say. I had plenty of time to make a prediction that this is really gonna hurt.

And it did.

Got a pretty awesome-looking black eye in the deal, too.

Told the people at work abuncha stories about it. Bar fight, angry husband, car wreck. Whatever would have the most effect. I certainly wasn't gonna tell nobody I hit myself in the face with a branch.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Near Seattle I have old growth tree stumps on my property. 15' tall, 6-7 feet across, 2 spring board notches on it's side. I've counted 100 rings per inch of log.

Absolutely amazing! I'd love to see a photo.

[pwd72s]

John, LOL on the chain mail...but the boots are "corks" (pronounced...actually caulked), spiked for sure footing on logs...probably safety toes as well.

My deceased best buddy was the oldest brother of a timber family...3 boys, and baby sister Jean. I sort of "got adopted". Jean calls every few days to check up on us and keep me informed of the family & area goings on. Her twin Lonnie was a Cutter. In a recent call, I thanked her for keeping me abreast of the happenings in her family. Teared me up a bit when she, in very certain terms, told me I was a member of the family...many fond memories of hunting, fishing, and generally getting a great education from this family. They really helped me through a difficult time on my life.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Some "cutters" do it all...

Where I come from the fallers do everything but get the logs to the deck and load them onto the trucks.

Originally Posted by john70t

Full chain mail with chain saws should be hand-in-hand.

And that includes steel-toe boots when chopping with an axe.

Chain mail would be a lot more protection than jeans, or even chaps. It might make sense around the legs. But then you'd have to get fallers to wear them. Those guys are not so much gladiators as athletes, and they see life in simple terms.

I'd hesitate to wear steel toed boots. Trees and logs weigh too much. Log weights are similar to motor vehicle weights. For splitting firewood, sure. But not for working around moving logs.

[Robert Coats]

[Rusty Heap]

Here's my huge 15' tall stump 5-6 foot wide at the top. For scale the nurse trees growing out of it are about 18" diameter.





and under a magnifying glass I counted 130 rings in this small sample. Be sure to zoom in and double check my count.






Here's a 1000 year old tree that is displayed in town. Friggin Car hit it once.....



https://www.heraldnet.com/news/vehicles-crashes-into-sultan-tree-monument/

[911 Rod]

Not much of an escape route if things go wrong!

[Rusty Heap]

Here's a 2 person saw (which I got at a local garage sale) with a heck of a bar on it.

can't imagine the vibrations of the engine......

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Not much of an escape route if things go wrong!

That's the "skilled" part...he knew exactly how the log would fall apart after making that final cut. Probably one of those guys who could place a flag where the tip of a tree he's falling will hit the ground and not be a foot off.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

can't imagine the vibrations of the engine......

That guide bar is so rusty..

i can't imagine the state of the engine.
Or even the chain. The most essential safety part. Decapitation is usually bad.

[Bugsinrugs]

I follow Bucking Billy Ray on you tube. Fun to watch. https://youtu.be/DGWgiZc3FAg?si=P6215YNOuHVNEsD3