what-a-stihl
ArboristSite Operative
I know should go on the employment forum, but is there any logging companies hiring towards the end of summer? The project I'm on is ending in August and frankly I want out of Illinois. Thanks
I know should go on the employment forum, but is there any logging companies hiring towards the end of summer? The project I'm on is ending in August and frankly I want out of Illinois. Thanks
Not much in my area. As a rule there are always more fallers than jobs. Always. Good fallers can keep working on a fairly steady basis but even the best have to scramble for work sometimes.
The good jobs go to people that are already known and it's hard for an outsider to break in.
Without good contacts in logging or a relative who'll help you along I wouldn't think that you'd have a very good chance.
Sorry to rain on your parade...that's just the way it is.
I figured as much, thanks for the insight though. Just hopin maybe someone might read this who needed some help, with anything around the timber business. I was raised in the midwest so my logging experience is far less than those who are also looking for a job, I know the odds are stacked against me.
Yeah, we wish it was different too. When the ass fell off of the housing market there was a major downturn in logging. Year before last two of the best timber fallers I've ever worked with were stocking shelves at WalMart. They're back in the woods now...sometimes.
We've come back quite a ways but there still isn't enough work for everybody. Your only hope would be to catch on in the brush setting chokers on a helicopter side or a yarder show. Even those jobs are hard to get but it would give you a foot in the door and you'd meet people. Figure on at least a couple of years in the rigging...and then maybe...maybe...you might get somebody to show you a little about falling. Even then it might take years for you to build up a reputation that would keep you working.
The last guy we broke in as a faller was my nephew. I probably won't do it again. There just isn't any need.
Find yourself something where you can stay warm and dry, have a steady income, work close to home, and maybe not wind up crippled or dead before you're fifty.
The turnover ratio is pretty high due to the low pay and lack of benefits. There is almost always someone looking for an operator around here.
What kind of skills are you coming with?
You didn't really say where you wanted to go from Illinois. The turnover ratio is pretty high due to the low pay and lack of benefits. There is almost always someone looking for an operator around here. Most guys that get out got a job at one of the local mills.
What kind of skills are you coming with?
around here it seems pretty easy to get work cutting. my cousin asked me if i wanted to start trimming and bucking for him kinda part time and a couple days into it he realized i could cut too so now im felling and trimming my own trees...i wasnt looking for this job at all, it just fell in front of me. my cousins dad, my great uncle, was asking about me like he needed another cutter...sooo i dont think itd be too hard to land a cutting job around here but like the other guy said, the job just doesnt pay great and no benefits. but to me theres nothing as exciting as felling trees. that counts for something
Earache, Wisconsin is fine by me, I'm just tired of Illinois. I live about 200 yds from Wisconsin. I'm coming with a little experience, I've ran a skidder, feller buncher, and have plenty of saw time. I have my own saws (stihl 038 mag, 660, and a Husqvarna 394xp) wedges, etc., even have all the climbing gear I need,which I know is unimportant for logging. Most importantly I have a good work ethic to offer. I'm a foreman at my company and the project I'm running ends August with no further work in sight, therefore I'm obligated to stay til finish, but if you need help on weekends til then, I'd be happy to lend a hand. How far north are you? My grandfather lived in Trego, which is about 10 min from Spooner, near Hayward.
Most good Hooktenders have to be able to climb, rigging lift trees, and intermediate supports, and be able to top trees as well, climbing is definitely an important part of logging.
The last hooktender I worked with, is the one with the wisdom to say, "A timber faller is nothing but a truck driver with a chainsaw."
Ya gotta love them guys. :msp_smile: They work hard to keep things going.
Things might, and they are already a tiny bit, bust loose here soon. Rumor has it that the export market is now paying $750mbf for the top grade Doug fir logs. China is the market.
Somebody is going around and leaving flyers on house doors wanting to buy timber.
Drop me a line come summer if you havent settled on someplace yet.Earache, Wisconsin is fine by me, I'm just tired of Illinois. I live about 200 yds from Wisconsin. I'm coming with a little experience, I've ran a skidder, feller buncher, and have plenty of saw time. I have my own saws (stihl 038 mag, 660, and a Husqvarna 394xp) wedges, etc., even have all the climbing gear I need,which I know is unimportant for logging. Most importantly I have a good work ethic to offer. I'm a foreman at my company and the project I'm running ends August with no further work in sight, therefore I'm obligated to stay til finish, but if you need help on weekends til then, I'd be happy to lend a hand. How far north are you? My grandfather lived in Trego, which is about 10 min from Spooner, near Hayward.
Drop me a line come summer if you havent settled on someplace yet.
Enter your email address to join: