Extreme Logging

[Gary_C]

After a lot of years, I finally had to get satellite TV and my daughter told me the first thing I should watch is "Extreme Logging." So the first night, I did. At least for a while, anyway.

The show was about mule loggers and I was truly shocked at what I saw. Now I know we have some horse loggers on the forum, but the first thing I saw that was just plain irritating was the old bad mouthing of all other loggers to promote their way of logging. I never have liked that tired old story and never will.

But when they got a tree hung up and then proceeded to fall another tree crossways on the first tree, I did hold my breath. And sure enough, the tree hit the first tree and the butt of the second tree flew up and sideways very fast and almost caught a cameraman. As it was, the butt did brush him. Wow!

And then, they decided to cut the tree under the first tree that caused the hang up and that was doubly scary. And they talked about how only one guy was nuts enough to cut those like they had a lot of experience with that situation. Again I was on the edge of my seat while the guy continually nicked that tree till it fell. He took off running prematurely a couple of times.  :

And then when I saw that loader thingy that threw logs up on top of that truck and some went crossways, that was too much. I had seen enough. Now I know that poor people have poor ways, and I've been there, done a little of that. But dead people sometimes also got there by the same ways.

I've seen enough for a while. 

[Woodhauler]

And the hole bunch of them only got like 1500$$$ for the load of logs which took two days to get! :D

[snowstorm]

that loader thing was a timber tosser some were made in maine i heard at a sawmill just down the road form me. they closed up years ago. they were used around here anyway up until the late 60's. they used trip stakes to unload.

[madmari]

They were paid $1500 - the owner of the trees should be due some of that, I suspect. There were three or four of them on the payroll and the mules had to be transported, fed, farrier fees, vet fees, shots, etc.
  They were going out for beers at 2:00 pm, so I reckon the profits were consumed at that point. They could celebrate thier fortune that nobody was killed.
  I prefer to watch Bobby Goodson pull 20 loads a day - he's inspiring and know's the bottom line.

 

[thecfarm]

That wasn't the Butt brothers getting oak was it?

[chucker]

!! YES !! you might say it was " THE BUTT END OF A JACKASS SITUATION ".............

[Taylortractornut]

Still 5 folks around here using side loaders.      Theres just not an abundance of  hydraulic loaders around  here like other places.     Its a rareity to see a Knuckle boom on a truck,    Or even a small trailed one.     They work pretty good and are fairly safe Especially the Old Savannah loaders.     I have seen some  throw the load over the  drop side before.       A place down by me  and a friend of mine built a  72 Chevy 1 ton side loader for his log operation of salvaging logs  for his homemade mill.

The ones around here use an old floating axle hub thats been center drilled to let a brake fittin pass through and  act a a clutch.