The new History channel series..Axe Men

[Ron61]

Silverback,

When I returned from Korea I spent my last months at Ft. Lewis and did a lot of sight seeing around Washington State. Also talked to a couple of places about jobs, but after a month or so of that continual wet rain and showers I decided I like it down here better. The Olympia Rain Forest was really an experience. I believe they get around 400 inches a year there. When I went over there it was always pouring but once you got in under those huge trees, the rain hardly ever got through them to the ground. It was like a living umbrella. And I believe one of the park people told me that at places the moss was almost 20 feet deep on the ground. But it was very pretty country. I thought about starting a Duck ranch there.

Ron

[RICK LAKE]

Scott S Nice show to watch. I have done tree work for 3 years before getting into auto end. We don't have the tall trees in NJ. 100FT is about the limit. We did alot of logging for the developers in the area. The 1 main thing is NO RUNNING in the woods. That choker setter should not be running. Cutting in the wet sucks. It is a tough way to make a living. The guy with the bad back I know how that feels. 450 homelites with 36" bars is the biggest we use. I don't know what a helocopter cost to rent by the hour but the one guy has it right, the others are burning time and money by trying to save a couple of dollars. How many loads did the 1 company loose by playing around with the mile and 1/2 walk. Cut a couple of trees for the cables first, the rest is gravy. Just a thought. Stay safe. Rick L. Ps there is nothing like that ride on topping out a tree, even at 75 ft.

[Scott S]

Rick,

To do a major line layout you have to get the small line to the back of the unit around a block and back up to the winches to hook on to an even larger line. A 7000 foot layout would have taken a half a dozen guys a couple of days to pull around that much cable by hand all the while all of the equipment is setting idle. I figure my costs are about $600 per hour, I am sure that Browning's company is even higher. For that setting the helicopter was cheap.

I spent yesterday down over the hillside setting chokers and probably will do it again today as we are shorthanded right now. At nearly 50 years old I still run, thats just the way we do it here in the wet west.

Scott S

[Scott S]

Have any of you been watching? So far I have been embarrassed except for the Browning sides.

It will probably not be told but all of the logging shown is from public property. The State contracts can have stricter rules but ussually provide greater margins. Several contractors working on "industry " ground were asked to be in the programs but the liabilities were too high.

I have never done a public sale, but all the aspects shown so far is what we do every day.

We broke the "skyline" this morning right at the top of the yarder and dropped a $50K carriage almost 250 feet. Nothing was hurt but my wallet...

Scott S

[4RE KLR]

Scott,

I am sure it is just that some companies look great compared to others being average. From the looks of it I would think it is hard to keep good help in those conditions.

I have been buying lumber for our construction business for about 23 years now and I will admit I have a new respect for what it takes to get it here as we use it. I know the construction business has stopped all across the country so I am wondering how soon it will be before it hits you? I know lumber usually doesn't do to well sitting out once it is cut it needs to be used in a relatively short period to cut down on the warping. I cannot imagine too many lumber companies wanting to store too much of it right now.

[Scott S]

Steve, there are rumors of bundles of 2x4s being thrown into chippers to run co-gen plants in southern Oregon.

The export market broke wide open last week, I have never seen logs in containers as they have been loaded into holds on ships in the past. Can you imagine my entire yearly production being held by one ship?

Anyway the sad dollar is holding me up so far, green gold may be a good investment as if I stop cutting the trees just get bigger for next year.

But we all live on cash flow then don't we...?

Scott S

[Excaliber]

I think it's a great idea to show both the 'little guys' and the 'big guys' in the logging business. I do identify more with the smaller crews trying to scratch out a living, make do with what you got, improvise, that was pretty much MY life in Oregon. Work hard when you can because winter is coming and you KNOW you will be laid off.

We had a few milk cows (hand milking mind you) and some horses and grew most of our own feed (hay), sold some of the milk in town. We used a HORSE DRAWN mowing machine converted to be pulled by the tractor (a really old cranky tractor). We used a horse drawn (tractor drawn) rake to make windrows and forked the LOOSE hay onto an old wagon. Off to the barn, used the tractor to pull the rope that raised and lowered the 'hay hook' on rails to lift the hay and then bring it into the barn. Bailing machine? We didn't have such fancy stuff. The neighbors would help bring in our hay and we would help bring in theirs, and thats the way it was well into the 70's when Grandpa finally (thank God) decided to retire. Back breaking work it was. Sure miss the the various home made dairy products though...

Back hoes? Dream on, we dug the foundation for the new two story 'shed' by hand. Every day after school, wheel barrow, pick and shovel.

[4RE KLR]

Scott,

I have heard the lumber yards here are stacking lumber in climate controlled warehouses. That those are full and they have no idea what they will do with the lumber they are already contracted to purchase.

They apparently have contracts to purchase so much lumber a month / year in order to keep their pricing structure in place. When they don't resale it, they still have to buy it. I suppose for a bit the prices here should drop a little to facilitate the movement of what they already have in stock. I have not seen any such drops yet.

I have heard the are warehouses full of it stored and sitting. How long can they keep up this until it wears them out? At least if it is being burned it is getting used. That would mean you still have a need to cut it and haul it. I feel if they store this here to long, even in controlled rooms, it will be worthless in short order.

I like the fact they are showing the little guy as well. I will almost always use the smaller guys if I can to help them out. They have families as well and if they hold up their product quality I will pay a little more to help them out. I always have.

[Scott S]

Originally Posted by 4RE KLR

I like the fact they are showing the little guy as well. I will almost always use the smaller guys if I can to help them out. They have families as well and if they hold up their product quality I will pay a little more to help them out. I always have.

I am a "smaller guy" with one sometimes two contracts at a time. I personally know The owners of Phil and Stumpbranch, both gentlemen I would trust with nearly anything but....

Just one example the show with the defective climbing gear...? we are required by rule to have two sets on hand if there is climbing to be done. What would happen if the climber became injured or stuck at the top of the spar? It does happen.... You have to have rescue gear on hand just in case, though I hate to climb and have considered just falling the spar in hopes he survives the fall.


Another instance is the truck that spun out...

It happens nearly every week, I have logging units where we staged a machine in a spot and pulled or pushed every truck. One thing you all should know is our trucks have scales on them and we load to the nearest 100 lbs of legal weight, log trucks are either empty or fully loaded there is no light hauling. The tractors you see on the highways are true wimps to the trucks our guys rely on. Sometimes a hungry trucker will convert a "road" rig into a log truck nearly every time there will be parts laying all over the mountain.


As for climate controlled storing of lumber, with the new rules regarding mold most all of the lumber I see is kiln dried now, then wrapped in plastic and set out in the weather....Climate controlled sounds like a new marketing scheme to me.

[4RE KLR]

LOL yea probably right.

[Ron61]

Scott,

For the short time that I set chokers when I was younger, I thought it was a dangerous job and we had to rush all the time as logs meant money. That was why I was really happy when they moved me to a spotters position for the cable operator. I don't know if you even use a spotter any more as they would be considered as a non productive person today. The last logging they allowed here they did use the big Russian made helicopters to haul the logs out of the canyons to a landing where the trucks were loaded. But all logging here has came to almost a complete stop. Maybe I see two or three log trucks a week going to the one mill we have left.

Ron