Whatzit contest!

[woodmills1]

Ok I think maybe it is some kind of toothsetter?

[Paul_H]

Tell Ed not to hold his hand over his mule waiting for the hats :D

Was a good guess though

[Stump Jumper]

contact switch for dynamiting . for breaking up log jams .a river rat? or for removong tree stumps. called gopherman

[etat]

It's a hand exerciser, for when the loggers got board!

I think stump_jumper is on the right track, some kind of selenoid, only thing I can think of that'd explain the offset wingnuts.

[sawhead]

toothsetter for a crosscut saw ?

[Den Socling]

I'm pretty sure it's a switch. Something for signaling?

[Jeff]

I feel a thaw

[Fla._Deadheader]

Homemade Remote Control, for winchin or sumpin???

[sawhead]

contact for the whistle used by the whistlepunk on a highlead rig

[Fla._Deadheader]

 ??? ??? ??? ???

[Paul_H]

sawhead,

You Aced it! 8)

[Fla._Deadheader]

Well, he had to use a foreign language to 'splain it : : : ;D

[Paul_H]

The Punk was either a green kid or an oldtimer that took the job of punking whistles.He packed a coil of two strand wire from the yarder out to the bush where he was close enough to the crew to see and hear them.

They would yell to the punk what they needed and he wouold squeeze the "bug"(that Jeff has) and it would either honk a horn,or if they had air,it would activate a selinoid to blow the air horn.
My brother punked for a summer back in 1974.That was the last year my dad used the whistle wire.After that he had the radio controled "Bugs" that are still used today.

Here are some signals that I copied from a manual.Our signals were slightly different, eg- if we wanted the mainline or haulback to go ahead slow(easy) there would be a short whistle followed by 3 shorts for mainlaine, and 2 shorts and another 2 shorts for haulback.

high lead logging whistle signals - Means longer spacing between signals.
 
1 short
 Stop all lines.
 
3 short-3 short
 Ahead slow on mainline.
 
3 short
 Ahead on mainline.
 
2 short
 Ahead on haulback.
 
2 short-2 short
 Ahead slow on haulback.
 
3 short-1 short
 Ahead on strawline.
 
3 short-1 short-3 short
 Ahead slow on strawline.
 
4 short or more
 Slack mainline.
 
2 short-4 short
 Slack haulback.
 
3 short-1 short-4 short
 Slack strawline.
 
3 short-2 short
 Standing tight line.
 
1 short-1 short
 Tight line while lines are running, or break if running tight.
 
3 short
 When rigging is in: Strawline back on haulback.
 
3 short / plus "X" number of shorts
 When rigging is in: Indicates number of sections of strawline back on rigging.
 
3 short-1 short-2 short
 Strawline back on rigging.
 
1 short
 When rigging is in: Chaser inspect and repair rigging.
 
2 short
 When rigging is in: No chokers back.
 
2 short-1 short / plus "X" number of shorts
 Number of chokers back.
 
2 short-4 short
 When rigging is in: Slack haulback-hold all lines until 2 short blown.
 
3 medium
 Hooker.
 
3 medium-4 short
 

Hooker and crew.



 

[etat]

I'm with Fla on this one, Dang trick question!!!!

[shopteacher]

Minnesota Boy: Get me Freddy's address. I'm going to whittle him one of them forehead sticks to type with.
  
  

[Stump Jumper]

 8) very interesting  8) congrats sawhead.

[Paul_H]

Whiste Punk Pete by Buzz Martin

Whistle Punk Pete,he stood only five feet
He wasn't gonna get_any bigger
but his main ambition was to hold the position
of Hooktender and Headrigger
But everybody knew that unless he grew
he wasn't ever gonna make it
it takes a pretty big man,that's an all around man
there isn't any way you can fake it

You put a block and a strap on ta little Pete's back
he'd head in the wrooong direction
Makin new layouts and pullin haywire
he couldn't even pull one section
But he could climb alright,didn't mind the height
but when he got to the top,Oh golly
he was too small to tackle a guyline shackle
he couldn't even hook up a molly

Well he was runnin around with a gal downtown
she was fat,but kinda pretty
and we heard one day that they ran away
got married in a nearby city
well he was happy with his wife,she was the love of his life
she had such a sweet dis-position
but Whistle Punk Pete didn't know at the time
she'd help him realize his ambition

Cause his little wife Myrtle wore a full length girdle
and it had twenty three hooks and eyes
it took a full half hour to hook her up every morning
much to little Pete's surprize
he was hookin and a thinkin,his eyes began to blinkin
he jumped up and let out a squall
he said Myrtle holy cow,if the crew could see me now
I'm a Hooktender after all!


Link to Buzz Martin

I had one of his records several years ago,and never knew until this morning that he passed away 21 years ago :'(

I just had hoped that he was enjoying retirement :-/

[Jeff]

Way ta go sawhead! I figured one of the guys out in the Northwest would eventually get it. O.K., now ya gotta Tell us how you came up with the answer.

Send me your name and mailing address. You get a good hat for Sundays and one of those misfit hats for yer everyday sawhead.  

DEN! You get honorable mention. You were right there but not quite.

[redpowerd]

thats great stuff! 8)
good call, sawhead, congrats.

great piece of history, there.
why was it called 'punking'?
is that the sound of a quick blip of the whistle?

[Paul_H]

redpowerd,
I don't know what the punk part of the name came from,unless it just means a "kid"
The whistle part comes from the days of steam donkeys when the whistle punk strung a jerk wire out to the bush and would pull or "jerk" (I don't like where this is heading) the line  that would in turn pull the lever on the whistle back at the donkey.

That was too close

[Den Socling]

Jeff,

I knew it wasn't a key for Morse code  :D but I have to admit that 'bug for a whistlepunk' wasn't on the tip of my tongue.  

Den

[Jeff]

"The hooker in the brush is calling the shots, but the whistle punk is making the whoo-hoop. He had carried a thousand feet of 8-gauge telephone wire out into the brush, the working area for yarding logs to the landing. There can be no kinks and no hang ups, and it must be tight at all times. The other end is tied to the steam whistle on Old Rosie, and the whistles tell the donkey puncher what is needed. The hooker tells the whistle punk the exact signal to make. If he doesn't, someone gets hurt or killed."

[Paul_H]

Jeff,
where did you find that info?It's easier to understand and far more clear that my explanation.

If ever you get a chance to buy this book,grab it!!
Now You're Logging

I can't say enough about this classic.It is set in the dirty thirties in a coastal logging camp and the detail and practical information about highlead logging is incredible.It was written and illustrated by Bus Griffith and is in the form of a comic book.

[Jeff]

A very fine website. I am there reading now. Good stuff.

http://www.sweet-home.or.us/history/index.htm

[sawhead]

Thanks y'all for the congrats. Actually jeff a western guy did get it  ;D I was orignally from Oregon now in ark. Paul H gave it away with his clue on page 2 so put 2and2 together and =NEW HAT 8) 8)And by the way used to saw on a cedar mill not far from sweet home where that link is about