Historic Hood River
“A Felled Tree”
Notes
Here’s a good view of the tools of the trade: the crosscut saw, the axe, and, according to the caption, the plank. The caption on the back of this stereo card says:
The end of the tree shows the use of the axe and the saw in felling, which is described on view No. 13567. The diameter of this tree is about 5 feet 6 inches, which is the average diameter of the red fir. Some of the trees have a diameter of 20 feet. The trees grow in close stand and are free of limbs to a great height. It is not unusual to cut six logs from one tree. The timber is of great strength-some- times said to have been tested and proven equal to oak. It is used for dimension timber in bridges, and in other places where great strength is necessary. It is shipped east for these purposes; and it is also shipped to Asia, Australia and South America.
In 1900 there were 4,084 wage-earners employed in the timber industry in Oregon, with products exceeding $10,000,000 in value. Fires have destroyed at various times one-sixth of the timbered area of the State, an estimated total of 54 billion feet, which would have had a stumpage value of $54,000,000.
The stump in this view shows the recess into which the plank was inserted, on which one of the men stood in felling the tree. The plank is shod with metal and is a part of the felling equipment, like the axe and saw.
Copyright, 1905, by Keystone View Company.
I don’t see the plank, but I’m sure it’s nearby.
Greg Oates
The plank or sometimes known as a springboard had a steel fitting bolted to the end with teeth to secure the bite. Stopping at Camp 18 on the way to the coast last weekend, we saw several old springboards displayed on the wall. Both were chewedup by the fallers cork boots. You have to admire the effort and persistence of the old time loggers.
nels
Just wish we had a stand of those old giants.
Equal to the redwoods down on the coast.
L. E.
With a tree that size, I assume both men stood on the plank, one at each end of the saw, pulling and pushing.
That would be after using the double bitted axe to chop out the wedge.
Now they have to use the saw to cut the log into lengths.
What a lot of hard, manual work.