The western world. So, they were the ones who be the earliest people destroying forest and jungles in this world by cutting down alot of innocent trees in the name of society building progress and modernisation. Oh the hipocrisy. Now the west is blaming the east in Asia developing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia for cutting down trees to plant Palm Oil trees for producing palm oil used in many human food and daily product such Nutella.
River log drives, was hard a dangerous work the river pigs had a tough job getting the logs to the sawmills! Log jams were like a giant game of tiddle winks!
It’s a whole different ball game in Australia with cutting and difficulty. People raised around pine, cannot comprehend just how hard, Australian hardwood is. Just watching that guy chop into the pine, he was easily 2 to 3 times deeper than a pro would be in any timber here. Grey Box and Ironbark are 15 (kN) on the Janka scale, American Oak and Cypress, no harder than 6. On one swing he bit off a chip bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in an Australian hardwood. You’d be 10 swing falls to get out the volume he gets in two leisurely drops..
That's actually not how you drive a wedge home. You do it upside down and bang the haft and allow the axe head to travel down the haft as the wedge fills the kerf. It keeps the wedge from cracking.
Interesting to note this was the 1st blackout used to protect the men and the 1st time the men were told to drop there gear, sadly this materal attachment cost the men valuable time...glad I found this video it puts others into more prospective
I like how they talk to us like we all haven't grown up around logging and have been chopping wood and doing timberwork since we first started walking.
The Clearwater River has 3 forks, North, South. The North fork was damed by the the creation of Dworshack Dam and essentially covered the free flowing river, its towns and valleys. The Middle fork comes down from the Lock- Saw and Selway Rivers and the South Fork somewhere behind Grangeville. Huge expanses of forest, no roads. They created dams on small creeks to hold the water. Put the cut logs down in the creekbeds pointed down stream and then flushed them down the creek by releasing a torrent of water. If no water was available, they built the dam and waited for the spring runoff to come, why there logging in winter. It was also safer in winter, made it hard to start a fire from a exhauset pipe or a spark. They cut a lot of trees, replanted everything as the went, burned the slash to replenting the soil and some pinecones need heat to release the nut... or seed whichever way you call it. way. They would "deck the logs" in piles and then release just enough water to get them going down the flume. Once moving, roll.more logs in, which increased the depth in the flume. But they needed to be very careful, if they jammed up, the water overflowed, the logs stopped moving and were extremely difficult to get moving again. They needed water to float and move, water 3 miles away and the spill was a mile back ment emptying the flume of logs until the water could float and move them, often nearly the entire flume needs to go. My dad would come home with frozen pant legs and blue feet. The waded in the water, rode logs in winter, worked in freezing conditions because thats what they did... log in winter and be ready for the flush in spring. Someone replied to an earlier comment of mine.. they worked as long as they could get into the woods, ofter riding a D-6 for hours because the snow was deep and a truck couldnt make it. For as long as i remember, when the snow got to deep and they couldnt log, we hunted. And he went back when they could get a cat in, so they didnt miss the run-off. I can still hear the river at night along the middle fork in spring with the heavy winter run-off. We camped while he worked, the boulders smashed into eachother as the heavy current swept them downstream, so loud they kept you awake some nights, the entire river bank and small islands were changed nearly daily and i always wondered what happenend to the fish. When the water cleared, they were hungry, brook, rainbow, cutthroat and nice big fat ones. They days when you took what you needed, supper tonight, some for a day ir two later and maybe share with a friend... not this 2 fish and only fish over 12" with a barbless hook, but not longer than 13" and the adapose fin needs to be clipped indicating a hatchery fish. Ive seen pictures of elk hanging off the back of the cat as they come out. Watched them drag the small cabins on log skids from one spot to another for them to stay in as they cut timber... We'd stay in them after the crews went home. Lot of times, they would line them up near Breakfast Creek and they made great hunting base camps for elk. That was 45 years ago... wow, like it was yesterday.
Safety first! On this otherwise brilliant lesson on axe care fundamentals, Bernie makes a very serious error in disposing of the rag he used for applying the linseed oil. For anyone unfamiliar with proper disposal of oily rags, he should have demonstrated either laying the rag out completely flat and unfolded, putting it in a sealed metal container, or immersing it in a bucket of water. He correctly stated that a crumpled rag of linseed (and other drying) oils can spontaneously combust. Having that happen unnoticed in the corner of your shop is about the worst scenario. That said, this was a very enjoyable video in so many ways. Cheers.
Back in 1969 I got to know an old time forester named Attlee Weinmann at Clarkia, Idaho. He was retired from the FS, but was working for the state as foreman of the slash and fire crew I served on. He had worked all over the North Fork of the Clearwater and St. Joe country and, as a history major at the U. of I., I enjoyed his stories. One of them was of staying on the North Fork a little too long and having to hike out up the Beaver Creek flume.
This video is pure gold! From all the videos i've seen, this is the first one that show this level of tecnique. Specially loved the tip about taking the old mortar and make it a powder to determine the right mix and strength. But this video is full of gold nuggets and so well explained, should have millions of views.
Very informative. Couldn't walk away. Almost choked when i saw the little wooden dancing man toy at the end. I have never seen another one of those except for the two that a recently inherited.from my grandfather. YEARS ago i used to play with them, back when homemade wooden toys were all we had. I am certain that grooms a childs imagination strongly. We danced them on wood shake shingles. Does anyone know the origin of these little guys?
Looks to be the North Fork of the Clearwater, in Idaho near Orofino before the dam. My father was a sawyer for Potlatch for many years in the 60's and 70's before these log drives ended in 1971. . Beautiful country, rough life. Still to this day you can find some old flumes in the mountains around Headquarters, Bovil and Elk River. Yes, they road the flume, quickest way to get a ride from camp to home. They dialed down the flow and hopped a log which took you to the river where you could catch a ride by car or the train.
They had small dams with head gates . The water was intermittent. The true masters were the men rolling the logs into the flume. Extremely dangerous work.
@bryontharp5790 Yes. Some of the best-looking woods a person will ever see. Headquarters, Santa, Fernwood, the Hersey Highway, Boles Cabin.. Want a good read.. Caulked Boots. Read the story of the Ridge Runner. They called him the Wildman of the Clearwater, chased him for 13 years. I actually knew the man who caught him. Excellent story of the Idaho back country.
The pole was not invented in 1750 lol. It's been around for at least 1000 years. Also the way this guy hung that axe was super weird: why did he trim the excess off the top three times? Doesn't strike me as the way someone whose done that a few hundred times would do it. This guy talks with the confidence of someone who isn't a true expert. When someone studies something a lot, they generally realize there is a lot of nuance, and context to things. I'm not saying he knows nothing, or has no experience, I'm just saying he knows less than he thinks he knows.
Thank you. I enjoy to watch the way I learned, not grinding wheels, or banjo grinders, Just the file, , ,(I sliced my knuckle open more time than I can count). Beginners Tip. Never run your fingers across the face of what you just filed, the oils make it real slick, the file won't bite, the fie slides, and slices the finger open. Thanks again.
