Bucking is the process of cutting a felled and delimbed tree into logs. [2] Significant value can be lost by sub-optimal bucking because logs destined for plywood, lumber, and pulp each have their own value and specifications for length, diameter, and defects. Cutting from the top down is overbucking and from the bottom up is underbucking .
In British English, the process is called logging-up [3] or crosscutting. [4]
A felled and delimbed tree is cut into logs of standard sizes, a process called bucking. A logger who specialises in this job is a buck sawyer .
Bucking may be done in a variety of ways depending on the logging operation. Trees that have been previously felled and moved to a landing with a log skidder are spread out for processing. While many of the limbs have broken off during transport, the remaining limbs and stubs must be trimmed. The bucker will anchor the end of an auto rewinding tape measure which is attached to his belt and walk down the log trimming as he goes. The tape is anchored gently with a bent horseshoe nail in the bark so it can be jerked loose when the measurement is completed. When a suitable place to buck the tree is located the cut is made.
Significant value may be lost by sub-optimal bucking. [5] Local market conditions will determine the particular length of cut. It is common for log buyers to issue purchase orders for the length, diameter, grade, and species that they will accept. On the West Coast common cuts on a large Pine or Fir tree are three 32's and a 10. There are often different prices for different items.
The person bucking is generally called a bucksawyer or bucklogger, or just a bucker and runs as many saws as he can, switching saws as soon as one is dull. The reason for this is the bucksawyer is typically paid per section of log he cuts. Generally buckloggers at smaller sawmills aren't fully mechanized. This part of the logging process is perhaps more dangerous than the felling of trees. The bucklogger is usually cutting from the edge of a treepile which can be 20 feet high and as long as there is room to dump them from the truck. Each tree must be picked out of the pile and cut so that a controlled fall of more trees can be worked as the former fall has been cut and skidded to its respective pile.
The pieces of bucked logs may be known by several names. Bolts are the pieces of a log which has been bucked into specific lengths which are less than 8 feet (2.4 m), [6] especially short lengths. The etymology of bolt is related to being short and stout and related to knock, and strike possibly because bolts were traditionally split into wood shingles, treenails, clapboards, etc. These pieces may be more specifically known as peeler, shingle, stave or pulpwood bolts. [7] Billet is variously defined as a short piece of round or partially round wood (usually a smaller diameter than a block or bolt [7] ) or as a piece split or cut from a bolt, or sometimes synonymous with bolt, particularly when the pieces are intended as firewood, and sometimes means a piece of a billet after it has been split. Round is often associated with lengths of un-split firewood.
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
A circular saw is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. Circular saws may also be loosely used for the blade itself. Circular saws were invented in the late 18th century and were in common use in sawmills in the United States by the middle of the 19th century.
A chainsaw is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression, and harvesting of firewood. Chainsaws with specially designed bar-and-chain combinations have been developed as tools for use in chainsaw art and chainsaw mills. Specialized chainsaws are used for cutting concrete during construction developments. Chainsaws are sometimes used for cutting ice; for example, ice sculpture and winter swimming in Finland.
A sawmill or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes. The "portable" sawmill is of simple operation. The log lies flat on a steel bed, and the motorized saw cuts the log horizontally along the length of the bed, by the operator manually pushing the saw. The most basic kind of sawmill consists of a chainsaw and a customized jig, with similar horizontal operation.
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can be seasoned and heat treated (dry) or unseasoned (fresh/wet). It is generally classified as hardwood or softwood.
A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. There they are loaded onto trucks, and sent to the mill. One exception is that in the early days of logging, when distances from the timberline to the mill were shorter, the landing stage was omitted altogether, and the "skidder" would have been used as the main road vehicle, in place of the trucks, railroad, or flume. Modern forms of skidders can pull trees with a cable/winch, just like the old steam donkeys, or with a hydraulic grapple either on boom or on the back of the frame (clambunk skidder).
Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump. CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester felling, delimbing, and bucking trees and a forwarder transporting the logs from the felling to a landing area close to a road accessible by trucks.
A feller buncher is a type of harvester used in logging. It is a motorized vehicle with an attachment that can rapidly gather and cut a tree before felling it.
A harvester is a type of heavy forestry vehicle employed in cut-to-length logging operations for felling, delimbing and bucking trees. A forest harvester is typically employed together with a forwarder that hauls the logs to a roadside landing.
Limbing or delimbing is the process of removing branches from a standing or fallen tree trunk.
Wood shingles are thin, tapered pieces of wood primarily used to cover roofs and walls of buildings to protect them from the weather. Historically shingles, also known as shakes, were split from straight grained, knot free bolts of wood. Today shingles are mostly made by being cut which distinguishes them from shakes, which are made by being split out of a bolt.
The log scaler is an occupation in the timber industry. The Log Scaler measures the cut trees to determine the scale (volume) and quality (grade) of the wood to be used for manufacturing. When logs are sold, in order to determine the basis for a sale price in a standard way, the logs are "scaled" which means they are measured, identified as to species, and deductions for defects assigned to produce a net volume of merchantable wood. There are several different scales or rules that are used to determine the volume of wood. Scribner Decimal C rule is based on diagrams of circles that show the amount of boards that will be utilized from diameters of logs. Cubic rule, often called Metric in Canada, determines the cubic volume of the log material. The logs are recorded as gross scale and net scale. This occupation is usually performed by a third party organization qualified to "scale" government timber. Since internal defects are determined by external indications, scaling is not an exact science and is subject to interpretation of log scaling rules. The log scaler is subject to random "check scales" in which another scaler rescales exactly the same logs and the results are compared. The log scaler must be within + or - 1% of the gross scale and + or - 2% of the net scale to keep their certification to scale. The scale is used for payment, quality control and inventory purposes.
Axe ties are railway ties that are hewn by hand, usually with a broadaxe. There are 2,900 ties per mile of track on a first class railroad. The early railways would not accept ties cut with a saw, as it was claimed that the kerf of the saw splintered the fibres of the wood, leaving them more likely to soak up moisture causing premature rot.
This glossary of woodworking lists a number of specialized terms and concepts used in woodworking, carpentry, and related disciplines.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:
Felling is the process of cutting down trees, an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees is a feller. A feller buncher is a machine capable of felling a single large tree or grouping and felling several small ones simultaneously.
A log splitter is a piece of machinery or equipment used for splitting firewood from softwood or hardwood logs that have been pre-cut into sections (rounds), usually by chainsaw or on a saw bench. Many log splitters consist of a hydraulic pump or electric motor which than powers a hydraulic or electrical rod and piston assembly. Generally these are often rated by the tons of force they can generate. The higher the force rating, the greater the thickness or length of the rounds that can be split. The log splitter consists of all four major hydraulic components.
A cleaving axe or cleaver is a form of axe used within green woodworking to split wood lengthways. Cleaving (riving) is used to turn a log into lumber or billets into firewood. Splitting axe is sometimes described as an old name for a splitting maul or froe.
Wood splitting is an ancient technique used in carpentry to make lumber for making wooden objects, some basket weaving, and to make firewood. Unlike wood sawing, the wood is split along the grain using tools such as a hammer and wedges, splitting maul, cleaving axe, side knife, or froe.
A firewood processor is a machine designed to cut and split firewood with minimal manual handling of the logs. There are typically four main parts of the machine, each dedicated to a separate function. Processing begins with a log pile – a pile of logs that have been de-limbed and cut to an appropriate length, generally 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 m). Popular brands include Multitek, Wood Beaver, DYNA, Hakki Pilke, and Blockbuster. Many individuals use processors commercially and also privately as a hobby. Others choose to rent them as an alternative to purchasing.
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