Total of our experience-Logging and working in the woods

[Ed]

I started helping my grandfather process firewood with our Ford 9N & cordwood saw when I was around 14. Had my own chainsaw at 16.
It doesn't seem like 30 years...............

Ed

[BBK]

Started off in 1958 carrying the gas and the "story pole" and marking log lenghts. 

[jim king]

This thread brings back a lot of memories.  As any kid on the farm in the 50´s I helped my dad in the woods cutting firewood in the winter and the worst part of that was stacking the basement full for the winter after it dried a year.  At first it was the cross cut saw , ax and wedges and then we hit the bigtime and got a green Homelite that weighed a ton . 

After getting my own farm it was constant maintainence of trees fallen on the roads and fences and as I have not seen the farm in 14 years I hope my son is doing the same.  Then I started working overseas and ended up working with people in various countries in wood products, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Abu Dabi, Brazil, Colombia , Peru and of course the US.

It hasn´t always been a bed of roses but it has been fun and I guess there is not much that I would do different the next time.   You can put me down for 30 plus of the serious side of woodworking.  Wood has made for an interesting life for my wife and myself and finally we are here in the Amazon with to much investment , business , freinds and animals to ever leave so from Northern Wisconsin to the Amazon it has been fun.

[cuttsey]

I started logging back in 93 and havent looked back yet, still lovin the life ( made easier by Airconditioning and the cd player in my cab).

[Ed_K]

 I put 40. if I include pullin wood off the buzz saw its closer to 47. Got a crosscut at 13, that was older than I am now. wow it could cut better than ax, till I run outa steam  .
 First chainsaw was a homylite. Now I'm wishin for a tracked processor.

[Jeff]

Over 2100 years with only around 2% of registered members weighing in yet.   

[jokers]

Over 2100 years with only around 2% of registered members weighing in yet.   

Oh shoot, if we have to weigh in I can really tip the scales. 

[JUNEBUG 88]

Working on family property in Oceana County, MI since 1972. Started  with a heavy Jonsereds 621 and now have my own saw a much lighter but still powerful Stihl 361.

[Rocky_Ranger]

I started in 1968 working in road construction, clearing ROW with a chainsaw and muscles - I was still in junior high but had very little brains I reckon (nothing much has changed except my waistline).  Degree in 1976, Masters work in 1977 & 1978, been logging, cruising, scaling,farming, rangering ever since.   I probably should have put this one on the "with the pros" section but I've lived most of my life/career where you measure your days work by the amount of sweat, pitch, diesel, and hydraulic oil you have on your clothes.

[Maineloggerkid]

Im only 17, but I have been running chainsaw and taking trees down since I was 12. So I can contribute 5 years.

[Good Feller]

Well I grew up in town so I was a city kid for the first 13 years of my life,,unfortunately.  My parents ended up building a home on 80 acres out in the country and that's when I got into fishing, hunting, and especially trapping.  By the age of 18 I realized I didn't even know how to run a chainsaw...  worthless!  My first saw was a poulan wood shark.  A walmart special.  I had no idea how to maintain it.  I just ran it,, all the time.  I cut a lot of hedge posts with it.  A few years later I went off to Iowa State to major in forestry.  Best decision I ever made!  After I started school I remember walking through our timber and seeing a 22" dbh red oak(with about 20ft of straight log) that had just died.  I thought boy that would be a shame to just let it rot.  So I got out the 14" poulan wood shark.  I used an entire tank of gas cutting it down.  Whittled at it from all sides.  Now that I think back ,,,, how freaking dangerous!!!  Guess that's how you learn though.  Once I got it cut down I had no way to get it out of the steep ravine.  I used a come along to winch both logs inch by inch to the landing ....  I got $103 dollars for those logs. 
Today I own a MS 460 and a 455 husky,,,, and oh yeah, I liked that first wood shark so much I bought a second one.  It's good for small stuff and fits in the 4 wheeler.  I love running saws.  Everywhere I go I try to identify trees and also think to myself how I would go about cutting them down!  I took the game of logging course in Missouri last year.    

[thedeeredude]

Well, I've only been running saws for a little over a year.  I helped dad buck a little birch tree and chopped two down with an axe a while while back.  I had no clue what i was doing though.  And now I can't wait to put a saw to wood.  We deal with downed trees and dead limbs at work a lot.  So yeah only one year, and hopefully many many more ahead. 

[Jeff]

We are at over 2260 years experience on the poll.

[Samuel]

1991 is when I started working with the Department of Natural Resources and Energy in New Brunswick as a summer position.

[lancek]

I started in 1974 same as the rest of you been in and out of it but could relalisticly saw[ Opps i should of said say]30 years! Seems it gets into your blood you cant get away form it ! lancek

[hunt_x]

Hi there I'm new here and have been lurking in the background for a week or so now seems like a great community you have here I have 25 years milling in a wide variety of mills and 6 logging and worked construction (building gas stations) in the slower times. I live in the pacific coastal region of B.C. and worked primarily in the Fraser valley and on Vancouver island I have a wealth of background and experience in our huge coastal species. I am hoping to be an active participant in this forum and I am planning on building a new mill in the new future to cut a stand of large doug fir and WRC here on my property here on vancouver island
Dave Hunter
Shawnigan lake Vancouver island

[rgear]

I logged in with about 35 years. Grew up on the Olympic Pennisula of Washington State. Most of you all seem to be from the midwest or east coast. My family worked the woods for years in th 50's, 60's and into the 70's. In 1974 my grandfather, who ran things, told me I was being laid off after labor day so I better go find a job that I could make a living at. I became a firefighter, but because of my woods experince I stayed in the wildfire side of firefighting even though I worked for municipal departments. In my younger years I worked chokers behind a cat on right of ways, worked high lead rigging, did about 3 months in a cedar shingle mill, cleaned creeks after high lead logging on my off days from the fire department and most of all ran cat building road and clearing and burning for many loggers on my off days. I still do a lot of western wildfires, sometimes as many as 70 to 100 days per summer on forest fires. However, my real love is my small circular mill and the fuels reduction work I do for my neighbors arounds their homes and cabins. Unfortunately, we waste a HUGE amount of wood in the west! I am a one man band to try and use whatever we can that gets left by loggers or burned. I enjoy reading the posts here by all of you that are way better at using what is on the ground and hope that someday the west coast learns what you have from hundreds of years more of experince!

[timberfaller390]

I started in the woods with my grandpaw when I was 10 or so and been loving it since. I've been doing the wildland firefighting like rgear since I was 18. I add about 13 years of saw chips and sweat.

[DLMaine01]

I had a cord wood business when I was sixteen down NH way and did that until 19 then joined the US Army for 4 years moved to Maine and logged hardwood and veneer for 10 years or so.
Life has many corners and I wound up close to the Maine Coast cutting Cedar, Pine, Hemlock and Spruce. Of course I cut lots of firewood along the way and still cut enough off our land to provide our winter heat, it is a very good feeling to provide for ourselves.

[dsgsr]

I started when I was 10 or 11 piling brush for my older bothers back in the late '60's.  First saw I was handed was a Jonsered 621. I was about 14, skinny and could just barely lift the saw. We started out logging with Horses pulling logs and Ponies pulling a a pulp wagon, did that until late teens. I then got away from home went into the Army and then Law-enforcement and didn't hardly touch a saw until I started burning wood for myself in '87. Bought my very own Husky 154 and played with firewood mostly for myself until about 10-yrs ago. I bought a piece of land closer to my hometown, two more saws and now cut my firewood and pulp to sell in the winters. So I guess I can add a solid 10-yrs to that list.


David