How to Use Logging Hand Tools
If you have a small piece of forested land you wish to maintain or keep thinned, a cabin project you are working on with friends, or a portable sawmill operation, you will make liberal use of strong hand-logging tools. The particular needs of your endeavor and your use preferences will determine which you acquire and how you use them best. Tools are used to move timber and work logs.
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Instructions
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Cant hooks are useful for moving cants. The Peavey and the cant hook are the traditional essentials for this work. They were in heavy use in the late 19th century as New England logging crowded waterways with logs and men moving them using the steel-ended, long-handled tools. Cants (named for a cant, which is the log left when a slice has been taken from it) have a bent end for a good catch while the end of a Peavey has a sharp point to separate logs. Pulp hooks are usually used for catching and moving firewood.
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Moving timber from one location to another by dragging, either mechanically or with draft animals, is called skidding. Skidding tongs can be used in this process. Smaller logs can also be moved using timber carriers--essentially tongs with a leveraging bar that makes it possible for two people to lift--that sometimes swivel. Use log arches, hand tools with two wheels and a long handle, to move timber in a way that doesn't affect the environment too much.
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Use a log stand or a timberjack to hold a log firmly in place while cutting. Some versions of Peavies are also designed to be used in holding a log off the ground.
Hookeroons (also called pickeroons) have a long handle with a small hook on the end and are useful for dislodging lumber from tight spots in machinery. Use good practices and caution.
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Split firewood stacks and dries well. Use a shingle fro to split wood with precision. Use a splitting maul for rougher, faster jobs. A sledgehammer and wedge can also split wood for burning or cordwood construction. Have a light "single jack" hammer available, and use steel wedges for splitting (plastic wedges are used to hold a space in partially cut timber to make chain-sawing easier).
Select the proper ax for the job it will do -- chopping, limbing, or felling -- and do not interchange them.
Bark spuds and drawshaves will debark your logs, which is essential if you are using them for any construction.
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Tips & Warnings
Always use protective gear, follow manufacturer instructions and work with others while engaging in logging or arborist activities.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit logging image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com sawn logs image by Nataliya Litvinova from Fotolia.com Holz vorm Haus image by Klaus Eppele from Fotolia.com
