What to bring to first day on job

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well Doug, I enjoyed reading your full report out loud to my wife...kind of a Valentines Day gift. LOL I like to give her an idea of some of the crappy days we have out there in the woods. Our weather has been a mix of sun, rain, efforts to snow and cold with a breeze now amd then. We ground stumps Monday but had to blow and rake leaves to get to bare ground and stumps we could find. The job is at a farm house where there are 130+ stumps under the leaves. I worked on both grinders today to inspect and rotate the cutters so we can get more cutting done tomorrow.

Hang in there and work safely.

Sherm


Monday and Tuesday sucked! I hated it. Monday was freezing rain all day whilst trudging through snow. Tuesday was just trudging through snow, and working side by side with this guy who's a jerk a-hole stupid thinks he knows it all type guy (supposed to be the log truck driver) but we couldnt send any loads out mon or tues so he was working in the woods with us making my day hell, guy thinks he's my boss cause he's been working there for 3 weeks and I've only worked 3 days. I watched him almost get crushed by a tree. I made a mistake, tried to get a pretty hard leaner to fall opposite it's lean. Reason was cause the other side was lots of rocks and the way I wanted it to go would put it right in line with the skid trail. The tree sat back on the bar, I got it out with a wedge, then I saw that my back cut wasn't lining up too good with the hinge, it was too low. I tried wedging it over, to no avail. Since my cut wasn't lining up, I had the bright idear to start another back cut that lined up. Well before I could get a wedge in the tree sat back on the bar. Tried for awhile, couldn't get it out. So I took off the powerhead. Then the skidder come by, riding shotgun in the skidder was the guy I can't stand. He got out and rubbed it in my face that I screwed up. Then the skidder operator decided to try and push the tree over in the direction of it's lean because he couldn't get around the back to push it over the direction of the cut. No luck pushing it over. Then he hooked a chain to it. The guy I don't like told me to get the hell outta the way, so I got the hell outta the way. Then the skidder started tugging on it while the guy I dont like stayed at the base of the tree for some reason I had no idea. Then the tree starts falling the way I cut it, and I see the guy I don't like running through the brush fast as he could holding the bar and chain. He's trying to out run the tree in the direction it's falling. The skidder operator is screaming run and everything got slow motion. I was screaming to run sideways cause I saw the whole thing I was like 200 ft from the base of the tree in the direction it was falling. The guy I don't like made it with a few feet to spare. If he fell or got tripped up he would have been dead or seriously injured. All to save a bar that was pinched hard from the skidder trying to push the tree over the other way. He then threw the bar and chain at me and said get your ####ing saw back together, which is when I found out that the bar was pinched. Then the guy who I don't like tried blaming his near death experience on me! It was his own damn fault that he ran that way and why would he even try to save a bar risking his life! You can buy more bars, you can't buy another life! So after that experience the guy I dont like told me that I was working with him for the rest of the day limbing and topping his trees. He gave me a whole speech about how I don't know anything and how he's the best


I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! I didn't think anyone would want to read it because well after I typed it I was gonna re-read it for any errors and then I seen the size of it and said hell no I aint readin that!

BTW, I left out the part that the tree landed on top of the skidder cause the winch line was too short. Let me back track: When the skidder first pulled up I suggested hooking up to the tree and pulling it over, skidder operator told me that wouldn't work because his cable wasnt long enough...well after his pushing failed he backs up to it and hops right on it hooking a chain to it....even though he just told me that the line wasnt long enough. After the tree fell on the skidder making a really loud noise, once it rolled onto the ground, he jumps out and slams his hard hat on the ground and screams "THAT WAS THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!" and commences to kick the tree and the skidder tire..I swear it was straight outta axe men. This guy has random freakouts like that about once a day, give or take. It's hilarious when they happen, this dude really lets small stuff get to him and then he'll freak out like he's a rygard.
 
Good read indeed! Always seems like theirs one idiot to ruin your day! How much can you get per cord in your area?

Seasoned split cord can go anywhere from $110-230 or so in my area. It's hard to sell firewood though because everyone and their brother sells firewood round here.
 
I got that wood I mentioned unloaded from my pickemup truck, I ended up hooking my little craftsman dump trailer to my fourwheeler and just making a few trips, almost got the wheeler stuck a few times, but rockin her back and forth, proper gear selection, and 4x4 got me out each time. I patted the trail down beforehand best I could on my snowmobile.
 
I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! I didn't think anyone would want to read it because well after I typed it I was gonna re-read it for any errors and then I seen the size of it and said hell no I aint readin that!

BTW, I left out the part that the tree landed on top of the skidder cause the winch line was too short. Let me back track: When the skidder first pulled up I suggested hooking up to the tree and pulling it over, skidder operator told me that wouldn't work because his cable wasnt long enough...well after his pushing failed he backs up to it and hops right on it hooking a chain to it....even though he just told me that the line wasnt long enough. After the tree fell on the skidder making a really loud noise, once it rolled onto the ground, he jumps out and slams his hard hat on the ground and screams "THAT WAS THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!" and commences to kick the tree and the skidder tire..I swear it was straight outta axe men. This guy has random freakouts like that about once a day, give or take. It's hilarious when they happen, this dude really lets small stuff get to him and then he'll freak out like he's a rygard.


:popcorn:
 
Well I'm glad you picked the woods. I was going to throw my two cents in about that when you were thinking about which way to go, just didn't have time. You can do all of those other bull#### jobs any other time. Believe me, you would probably have always regretted it if you hadn't. Now you'll have stories to tell.

$25-30 per thousand for a faller around here is pretty common. Thats with bucking. I've heard of up to forty, but thats just nuts to me. I do cut for a mill so the margins are a little tighter. I'm guessing your boss buys his own jobs?
 
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Well I'm glad you picked the woods. I was going to throw my two cents in about that when you were thinking about which way to go, just didn't have time. You can do all of those other bull#### jobs any other time. Believe me, you would probably have always regretted it if you hadn't. Now you'll have stories to tell.

$25-30 per thousand for a faller around here is pretty common. Thats with bucking. I've heard of up to forty, but thats just nuts to me. I do cut for a mill so the margins are a little tighter. I'm guessing your boss buys his own jobs?

Yea bossman buys standing timber. On some smaller jobs I believe he works out deals like we go and log it and then he gives the landowner a percent of the profit from the logs. I'm not 100% on the whole deal. We've got quite a few jobs lined up for right now. This weekend and next I'm back to working for the farm tapping trees and stuff and for the next few weeks after work I'm working there for like 3-4 hours in the sugarshack making syrup, I'm sure tomorrow I'll be glad to walk around the woods without all my gear and chainsaw and gas and all that fun stuff, just need a drill and a hammer and a bag of parts and stuff. 1200 trees to tap for lines and 250 trees we're doing buckets. I'm predicting it's not going to be a great year for syrup though. Hopefully not as bad as last year.
 
Here's a big (well, big in our neck of the woods) lumber company from Owego picking up a load of sawlogs for their mills. I was told they have 4 mills there and are very hungry for wood. This job we're on now is sorta small trees
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Well I'm glad you picked the woods. I was going to throw my two cents in about that when you were thinking about which way to go, just didn't have time. You can do all of those other bull#### jobs any other time. Believe me, you would probably have always regretted it if you hadn't. Now you'll have stories to tell.

$25-30 per thousand for a faller around here is pretty common. Thats with bucking. I've heard of up to forty, but thats just nuts to me. I do cut for a mill so the margins are a little tighter. I'm guessing your boss buys his own jobs?

Oh, and yea right about now, even though the money isn't where I want it to be, I am glad I picked the woods too. After only a week of working with the logging crew, I've cut down proberly more trees than I ever have, I've learned a whole hell of a lot about logging in general and some good tips for working with chainsaws and tips to better my hand filing, I've learned alot about skidding logs, limbing, bucking, felling, etc. The bossman is a funny old man with loads of stories. He's told me alot of cool and funny stories about when he was cutting timber out in warshington. That guy can walk circles around me, I'm 21 and he's 60! ... I gotta wait til my muscles switch over from being mechanic muscles to logger muscles, cause bossman's son is coming up to florida to cut timber with us and bossman said you think I work hard now, oh boy you wait til my son gets up here, he works the way I used to when I was in my prime! his son is 40 some odd years old been a logger for a long damn time, logging in florida has been slow where he's at i reckon so he's coming up north.

Anyways,
Summary so far of what I think about it- it's hard work, hard work builds character. It is alot of fun I gotta say. The pay will be getting a bit better shortly. I don't see myself making a career out of it, but who knows, I may get sucked in. Bossman is a real good man, and a wealth of knowledge.
 
Oh, and yea right about now, even though the money isn't where I want it to be, I am glad I picked the woods too. After only a week of working with the logging crew, I've cut down proberly more trees than I ever have, I've learned a whole hell of a lot about logging in general and some good tips for working with chainsaws and tips to better my hand filing, I've learned alot about skidding logs, limbing, bucking, felling, etc. The bossman is a funny old man with loads of stories. He's told me alot of cool and funny stories about when he was cutting timber out in warshington. That guy can walk circles around me, I'm 21 and he's 60! ... I gotta wait til my muscles switch over from being mechanic muscles to logger muscles, cause bossman's son is coming up to florida to cut timber with us and bossman said you think I work hard now, oh boy you wait til my son gets up here, he works the way I used to when I was in my prime! his son is 40 some odd years old been a logger for a long damn time, logging in florida has been slow where he's at i reckon so he's coming up north.

Anyways,
Summary so far of what I think about it- it's hard work, hard work builds character. It is alot of fun I gotta say. The pay will be getting a bit better shortly. I don't see myself making a career out of it, but who knows, I may get sucked in. Bossman is a real good man, and a wealth of knowledge.

Hi all! My first post here, had to register after reading this thread!
I was really fed up with my job at the time as a mechanic on the railroads so I quit and started my own clearing/thinning business (with clearing saws) at the age of 23. I was going to do that for a year or so until something better came up, yeah right, now I'm getting prepared for another season, my 10th....:msp_rolleyes:
There's something about working in the woods that is really hard to explain, why would anyone go to work where it's always too cold, wet or hot? Then there's all sorts of nasty insects just waiting to fiest on your blood. Above that the wage is way too low so you're not doing it for the money right? So what is it?
I have no clue but I spend the winters working as a mechanic (saws, snow blowers, lawn mowers etc) and I know that as soon as the winter comes to end I will once again get my gear ready for another season in the woods, come rain or shine!
 
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Hi all! My first post here, had to register after reading this thread!
I was really fed up with my job at the time as a mechanic on the railroads so I quit and started my own clearing/thinning business (with clearing saws) at the age of 24. I was going to do that for a year or so until something better came up, yeah right, now I'm getting prepared for another season, my 10th....:msp_rolleyes:
There's something about working in the woods that is really hard to explain, why would anyone go to work where it's always too cold, wet or hot? Then there's all sorts of nasty insects just waiting to fiest on your blood. Above that the wage is way too low so you're not doing it for the money right? So what is it?
I have no clue but I spend the winters working as a mechanic (saws, snow blowers, lawn mowers etc) and I know that as soon as the winter comes to end I will once again get my gear ready for another season in the woods, come rain or shine!

First off welcome to AS! And I'm not sure why but I'm loving it and getting more sucked in day by night by day by night
 
So I gotta ask, now the thread has kind of run its course....

What would you tell someone to bring on their first day?

Shaun

I'd tell them to read through this thread it's pretty well covered :laugh:





A short checklist of the essentials to have either on you or in your truck:
-water
-food
-spare clothes/boots n socks
-scattergun + ammo
-#### tickets
-skillet
-first aid kit
-gloves
-tent
-5 gal bucket
-hard hat
-earplugs
-eye pretection

Then the work stuff:
-chainsaw
-ax + scabbard or some way of attaching it to body
-wedges + wedge pouch + extra wedges
-scrench, small stihl screw stick, t27 torx bit for stihl saws
-saw gas + bar earl
-spare bar, chains, and parts for saws, or backup saw, or both
-files and handles + stump vise
-oils and fluids and tools for truck



That oughta be enough for someones first day I'd say
 
roll of tin foil could replace the skillet... wrap up what ya need cooked and park it on the exhaust or in the engine compartment, depending on required temp, of whatever equipment you happen to be running...

Or is the skillet for fighting off bears... (sorry fictional reference)
 
roll of tin foil could replace the skillet... wrap up what ya need cooked and park it on the exhaust or in the engine compartment, depending on required temp, of whatever equipment you happen to be running...

Or is the skillet for fighting off bears... (sorry fictional reference)

yea thatd work too eh...I included skillet cause what if ya shoot a skwerl or a rabbit or a deer or something, gotta cook it on something ya know. I keep a skillet in my truck for that reason.
 
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