ax men/western logging ??

[twobears]

 after,watching ax men i have to ask this question..is it standard practice out west to cut such high stumps?? if i cut as high as those ax men seem to do i,de get fired.i understand on really steep ground and on some trees it needs to be done but,darn it kills me to see cutters on flat ground doing it.

 delbert

[Tillaway]

Allot of reasons and most are not acceptable.  I can't tell you why in this case but it usually has to do with maximum butt diameters for the mill.  I the case of the show, at the site you are referring to they may be converting from forest to pasture or something like that. 

[Clark]

They'll also leave high stumps to attach guy wires for the yarding equipment, but you'll see cuts around the bottom of those so the cable doesn't slip off.

In addition to the stumps they create, there are also plenty of stumps left over from the previous round of logging when they cut the old growth.  Those stumps can be quite high (12'!) but will look a bit weathered.   

Clark

[Maineloggerkid]

I was told by my instructor that some of that was to get out of the root base.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, a lot of mills reject pieces with but flare, even here in the east. The worst I seen was from machine cut wood, cut off at ground level leaving part of the main lateral roots in the but. Some one has to buck that off in the yard or you won't get a very welcoming reception at the mill yard. 

[snowman]

Every job I've ever been on it's a 12" to mineral soil requirement. That can be a real pain when theres a few feet of snow. You have to dig a big hole to get in there and work. On steep ground though the downhill side of stump can be a couple feet or better even though uphill side is mere inches from the ground. Sometimes you even have to hold your saw over your head to cut a tree, talk about a high looking stump! Before anyone says it, i know cutting from downhill side is not proper procedure but real life and by the book are not always the same thing.

[SwampDonkey]

snowman,

I've stated the same message before, so I won't complain. 

[thecfarm]

I've always been around a tractor in the woods.I have seen jobs around here that a tractor would have a hard time going through the woods or geting the woods out.I suppose a horse in the woods is the same idea.I almost always cut my trees as low as I can.Yes,I,we had to cut the butt swell off alot.Yes.the chain really catches alot of grit too.My father is gone now,but I don't want to hear him tell me how bad that looks.I don't really mean that.I would like to see him,just don't want him to holler at me.    I myself hate to see high stumps unless they are going to be removed.But if it's not on my land it's none of my business how the job is done.My brother came and cut wood on what was my Father's land at that time.Wow,he had a fit.My brother was not a good student.My father was afraid that someone would see my brother's stumps and think my Father did it.

[twobears]

 thanks for the replys.on that one job they might be leaving the stumps high to grub them out seeing how there cutting right next to buildings.
 the one that got me is when,jm browning was cutting that second growth.he was cutting on flat ground and leaving knee high stumps.i could hear my old bosses yelling...
 from what i,ve gathered the sawmills buy the timber and hire the loggers to put it up and get it to the mill..i,am i right in thinking that way?? if so what kinda money does the mill pay the logging companys??

 delbert
 

[twobears]

 CFARM:i just kinda sorta read thur posts.i don,t have much computer time.
 i,ve cut alot of high dollar timber over the years and leaving high stumps in the woods can waste alot of money plus,it makes getting around the woods on a skidder tough.
 i can see a need for high stumps at times.(yarder cables,,rough grounds,grubbing stumps,ect) but,it seems to be a common practice. we try to cut our stumpps RIGHT!! at the point of the root boles.the notch is in the roots not on the good wood.

 delbert 

[sharp edge]

Dad had a logging camp in the 30's& 40's. I would deer hunt where he logged and got a kick out of how high they left the stumps 4'-5' sometimes..... How many cu. in. the saw had depended on how big the logger was, so they didn't want to cut it twice.
SE

[Ron Scott]

Our contract requirements are that no stumps are left higher than 12 inches for sawlog size trees and 8 inches for pulpwood size trees unless the tree has wire or metal in the stump. Some times a stump may be left higher than 12 inches for wildlife puposes, but any high stumps left is a decision to the timber sale administrator.

We don't usually have much problem with high stumps even during deep snow depths as the fallers will chase the butt log for its maiximum value. Also if they cut a stump high, they know that they will have to make another cut to get it down to at least the 12 inch or 8 inch requirement.

[pappy19]

Go on ebay and get a copy of "Natural Timber Country" and watch some of the old time logging practices and high stump cutting. A most interesting movie to say the least.

[Ron Scott]

Yes, the old time logging practices left many high stumps. We still see the remnants of such past harvests.

[Old TimberCutter]

I guess I just dont like to see waste in anything , and to me there is alot of lumber left in the woods leaving those high stumps . Here in the appalachains  I cut my stumps as close as possible without getting the chain in the ground. Maybe thats why my back hurts alot from being bent over cutting low stumps . Them western timber cutters may have the right idea.

[zackman1801]

we cut our stumps as low as possible too. too much work to get the trees out and leave them in the woods. if you leave a 12" stump after 12 trees you just left a log in the woods! and thats too much wood to be leaving behind if your like me and have no money to spare. plus high stumps make it really hard for the skidder to get into the felled trees.

[rockenbman]

When im working for most farmers they want 18 plus inches of stump so they can push out latter for fence or path alot of dif reasons.Ill take those leftover butts and make fire wood out of them 

[zackman1801]

i can see leaving high stumps if your going to make some sort of road so you can get a cable or something around them to pull them out, but for just regular cutting its too much wood to be leaving behind. plus when people come around and see what it looks like most arent too impressed with waist high stumps.

[badpenny]

   I don't know if it's still true or not, but the original old growth was cut with high stumps because of high resin content near the ground. Could it be high resin in these trees that will dictate a higher stump? I don't know the answer, but there has to be a valid reason.

[Engineer]

I don't do logging, just firewood, but I'll dig around a stump if I have to so that I can cut close to the ground.  I will usually make my felling cut at between 16-20" above grade, and then put a bigger bar on the saw if necessary and cut the butt flare chunk off last.  I want to be able to drive my tractor anywhere in the woods without rolling over a stump or hanging up on one.  Those butt chunks make for a LOT of firewood that would go to waste.  The property next to mine got logged two years ago for red oak and maple, and there are many chunks sitting there that are 24-36" diameter and 30" long, root flare sections that they culled off the butt logs.  Every once in a while I'll sneak over and roll one back to my side of the line, better to use them than let 'em rot.  I got two days worth of firewood from the last one.