Its Heeeere. A Game Of Logging Class

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I'm being very bad. :redface:

Game of Logging – September 22 & 23rd, Oakville WA. Northwest Natural Resource Group is taking registration forms now for the “Game of Logging” two day seminar. Based on the concept of ‘open face felling’, The Game of Logging is the world’s leading method for safe, efficient, and precise tree felling. Developed by Swedish innovator Soren Eriksson (Game of Logging), the program combines tree felling techniques gleaned from around the world into a complete training program that will change the way you work in the woods. Cost for non-members of Northwest Certified Forestry is $325. Contact Kirk Hanson, 360-316-9317, [email protected] for more information on this event.
 
Ya got like a week untill you retire...

Time for the last pranks and getting evens huh?:clap:

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
I sense some air of mockery here... I don't understand the funny part of this. A Swedish Sören comes to your place telling you that through all these years you have felled a lot of timber on the wrong way.

Am I missing something?
 
I know the guys running that show. They mean well, I can assure you of that. They're targeting mostly homeowner woodlot types and permies for that training. I got an invite for last year's class. Didn't go. The guy who owns the property sells FSC-certified lumber cut from his own land.
 
I'm being very bad. :redface:

Game of Logging – September 22 & 23rd, Oakville WA. Northwest Natural Resource Group is taking registration forms now for the “Game of Logging” two day seminar. Based on the concept of ‘open face felling’, The Game of Logging is the world’s leading method for safe, efficient, and precise tree felling. Developed by Swedish innovator Soren Eriksson (Game of Logging), the program combines tree felling techniques gleaned from around the world into a complete training program that will change the way you work in the woods. Cost for non-members of Northwest Certified Forestry is $325. Contact Kirk Hanson, 360-316-9317, [email protected] for more information on this event.

:bang: I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Wouldn't a saw class that was more in tune to the way things are done in the local area be more appropriate?
Don't get me wrong. I'm all in favor of safety classes for people who haven't had much experience with a saw. I don't doubt that many of the saw handling techniques that GOL teaches could help prevent injuries. That's key.
I doubt, though, that anybody who's done any real logging or made his living with a saw will take the GOL falling techniques seriously. Especially when the GOL instructors make the claim that their way is the only way.
When the GOL people replace common sense with formulas and guarantee that if you do this the tree will do that they're doing their students a disservice. A dangerous disservice at that.
Things go wrong in the woods. A lot of saw work is figuring out what to do when things go wrong. It's usually the ability to keep a screw up from becoming a disaster that separates the good fallers from the merely competent. GOL seems to discount the very idea that things will go wrong if you just follow their teachings and don't deviate from them. That's a truly scary thing.

But...if Slowp wants to go...I'll pitch in my share. :)
 
2 days ago Cal Fire asked me if I would help teach S-212 Wildland Power Saws. For that price I would teach GOL as well.

BTW the Cal Fire Hired Equipment class is this Sunday in Los Gatos.
 
A lot of saw work is figuring out what to do when things go wrong.

That sentence should be framed and put on the bedroom wall.

madhatte
I know the guys running that show. They mean well, I can assure you of that. They're targeting mostly homeowner woodlot types and permies for that training. I got an invite for last year's class. Didn't go. The guy who owns the property sells FSC-certified lumber cut from his own land

Don't tell me you have to deal with the FSC too.

I had an idea of getting me the FSC-accreditation. The auditors are making some good buck in the field right now. Well, a German company ASI GmBh has monopoly on accreditation. Here is their price list ASI-Accreditation Services International GmbH: Accreditation of Certification Bodies

You can buy a small house on that price!
 
I work on an FSC-Certified forest. We're actually pretty happy about it. It buys us three things: 1) the State leaves us alone because we meet and exceed all of their requirements 2) we can command a slight premium on our timber 3) we get used as an example in a lot of local publications, which keeps the neighbors happy. There are several certifying agencies here, and they have to bid competitively to get the job. Overall, the expense and hassle is pretty much worth it. I'm not sure it would be for a homeowner woodlot.
 
I work on an FSC-Certified forest. We're actually pretty happy about it. It buys us three things: 1) the State leaves us alone because we meet and exceed all of their requirements 2) we can command a slight premium on our timber 3) we get used as an example in a lot of local publications, which keeps the neighbors happy. There are several certifying agencies here, and they have to bid competitively to get the job. Overall, the expense and hassle is pretty much worth it. I'm not sure it would be for a homeowner woodlot.

Ok, I understand, you get the heat off your tail. That's a lot, I guess.

The Finnish forests are already, the private lands as well, PEFC-certified. The major forest companies got their forests FSC-tagged. The thing is, the Finnish companies are operating overseas, and they certified the timber production of their foreign wood suppliers too. One might wonder, what on earth an eucalyptus farm planted instead of the destroyed rain forest has got to do with the sustainable forest management or anything. But, as my Russian friend said, laughing his buttocks off: "Money can buy you things, you know."

My point is, this FSC system is vulnerable to corruption. Ok, this is highly generalized and global. But the market of the wood products is global too.
 
So.....if I cut every tree and fill the ruts with beer cans....is that GOL approved? Or should I recycle the cans? I mean, technically, filling the ruts with beer cans IS recycling...it's used again for a noble purpose; Erosion control.
Also, the hydraulic oil that leaks from every piece of logging equipment on the planet...that cost money that could be spent on beer, and therefore, erosion control...can that be mitigated via thicker viscosity oil? Soren? Soren? Soren?:popcorn:
 
My point is, this FSC system is vulnerable to corruption. Ok, this is highly generalized and global. But the market of the wood products is global too.

That's a rock-solid point, and I agree with you 100%.

In our case, we are forbidden from selling logs on the international market, and very little of forested land in this region is FSC-certified. On an ownership-per-ownership basis, certification makes us a standout. The onus of responsibility for good stewardship of the land lies on us -- there's not enough FSC-certified land here that we can hide behind that label as an excuse for bad management practices. I suspect that makes us the exception rather than the rule.

money that could be spent on beer, and therefore, erosion control...can that be mitigated via thicker viscosity oil? Soren? Soren? Soren?

Beer versus oil... tough call. I choose beer.
 
So.....if I cut every tree and fill the ruts with beer cans....is that GOL approved? Or should I recycle the cans? I mean, technically, filling the ruts with beer cans IS recycling...it's used again for a noble purpose; Erosion control.
Also, the hydraulic oil that leaks from every piece of logging equipment on the planet...that cost money that could be spent on beer, and therefore, erosion control...can that be mitigated via thicker viscosity oil? Soren? Soren? Soren?:popcorn:

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
 
Things go wrong in the woods. A lot of saw work is figuring out what to do when things go wrong. It's usually the ability to keep a screw up from becoming a disaster that separates the good fallers from the merely competent.

Thats it. Pros know how to handle a situation for a reason. To me a professional is someone who makes his work look easy. He knows how to hide(fix) his mistakes and still end with a good result. Experience is the only way to get there.

Like you say Bob, the trees don't read the books. I'll add that they don't take the classes either.

Oh yeah, What is this Game of Logging thing all about? Is it kind of like Risk? I've heard it can be pretty boring.
 
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Hey, guys.
This GOL has been around for a while. It started back in 1984 when Soren came over to teach how to fall in the southeast. They were running 084s with 24" bars. You can guess how that went. My father and I were doing a lot of work for Stihl back then and were invited to the dealer/distributor meeting in Oly. Soren was there putting on a demo in some timber about 20" in diameter. I won't go into any detail, just suffice it to say we never had anything to do with it. Afterwards he came up to us and wanted us to teach him how to fall big timber. I agree with you, why is someone coming out here trying to say that their way is it? If you tried to use their open mouth undercut method you'd be fighting all day long. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for that kind of undercut and I use it when needed. However, it's not the kind of method you use day in and day out. The other thing they try to teach you is to bore into the backcut and backbar around to the front of the tree. The idea is to fill the kerf with sawdust to keep it from coming over backwards. This is coming out here from the east and people that are occasional users are tempted to use it. Trouble is most of them have no idea where there bar is in relation to the undercut. Hence cut off hinge wood.
Think I better quit while my blood pressure is in it's limits. All I can say is I'd like to see them take a nice 6-7' fir and use this method. You sure wouldn't have to worry about a fire with all the water running.
 
Hey, guys.
This GOL has been around for a while. It started back in 1984 when Soren came over to teach how to fall in the southeast. They were running 084s with 24" bars. You can guess how that went. My father and I were doing a lot of work for Stihl back then and were invited to the dealer/distributor meeting in Oly. Soren was there putting on a demo in some timber about 20" in diameter. I won't go into any detail, just suffice it to say we never had anything to do with it. Afterwards he came up to us and wanted us to teach him how to fall big timber. I agree with you, why is someone coming out here trying to say that their way is it? If you tried to use their open mouth undercut method you'd be fighting all day long. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for that kind of undercut and I use it when needed. However, it's not the kind of method you use day in and day out. The other thing they try to teach you is to bore into the backcut and backbar around to the front of the tree. The idea is to fill the kerf with sawdust to keep it from coming over backwards. This is coming out here from the east and people that are occasional users are tempted to use it. Trouble is most of them have no idea where there bar is in relation to the undercut. Hence cut off hinge wood.
Think I better quit while my blood pressure is in it's limits. All I can say is I'd like to see them take a nice 6-7' fir and use this method. You sure wouldn't have to worry about a fire with all the water running.

Well said.
 

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