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Adverse
Reference to a grade for an uphill haul.
Average Yarding Distance
Abbreviated as AYD, the total yarding distance for all turns for a particular logging setting or unit divided by the total number of turns. Usually expressed as slope distance, unless otherwise stated.
Backcut
The last of the three cuts required to fall a tree. Located on the opposite side of the tree from the face and minimally 2" above the horizontal cut of the face. The 2" is referred to as stump shot and prevents the tree from kicking back over the stump toward the faller. The backcut must never be continued to a point at which no holding wood remains.
Back guy
Guy line on a spar away from the yarding direction.
Bagley
A dragline system to move earth for cuts and fills
Barber chair
A tree which splits upward along the grain during the falling process.
Barkie
A pole sold with the bark still on.
Base line
Starting line for a survey, usually township line.
Batter pile
Piling driven at an angle to give inward strength in trestle construction.
Bearing tree
A tree marked to reference a survey corner.
Bell
Sliding socket used to secure a choker around a log.
Bent
Set of piles in a trestle.
Beaver tailing
Burying the whole bar of a chainsaw into the log or tree while cutting.
Bicycle
Travelling unit used on a skyline to accommodate chokers (see Carriage).
Bight
Loop in a wire rope.
Binder
Chain or wire rope (sometimes a combination) to keep logs in place during transportation by log truck or rail car.
Blaze
Axe mark on a tree to designate a boundary on survey.
Block
A sheave rotating in a casing to carry wire rope - constructed like a pulley.
Blowdown
Trees or snags blown down by the wind.
Board foot
The equivalent of 144 cubic inches of wood.
Board up
The action of cutting successive notches in the base of a tree reach the correct height for a springboard.
Bobcat
Cat yarding without an arch or pan.
Boneyard
Yard where old and wornout equipment is stored until disposed of. Often a good place to go to cannibalize working parts to keep other equipment working.
Boomer
An employee for a short time only.
Boom stick
Long log with chain holes drilled in both ends to contain encircle and contain loose logs in a log pond or river.
Brand
An indented impression made by an embossing hammer to identify ownership in logs.
Brier
Another name for a crosscut saw.
Broomtail
A horse used in logging.
Brow log
A large log at the landing site to keep logs off the track and up to near the loading height. Sometimes called a bumper log.
Brush ape
Name that a logger calls himself.
Buck
Act of cutting logs to length.
Buck skin
Tree with bark or skin falling off.
Buckle guy
A guy line to keep spar trees from bending near the middle.
Bull block
The mainline block near the top of a spar tree.
Bull bucker
Man who controls falling and bucking. He’s also the recordkeeper for bushelers.
Bullcook
Camp employee who cleans bunkhouses, builds fires, etc.
Bullfrog
Traveling up and down the hillside to put in slope stakes for the grading crew.
Bullhead
A timber wider at one end than the other.
Bull of the Woods
Camp foreman or superintendent who is seen to be tougher than usual.
Bull puncher
Also "bullwhacker" - ox team driver.
Bull tram
Locking the tracks of a bulldozer with a wrap of wire rope to get positive traction.
Bunk log
Logs on the bottom outside of a load of logs.
Busheler
A faller or bucker paid on a piece work basis.
Butt rigging
Swivel system attaching chokers to the mainline and haulback - (see Jewelry).
Butterfly hook
Type of choker hook that has a closing flange which locks into place.
Calks
Tapered nails fastened to shoe bottoms, normally screw threaded - later called "corks".
Cant hook
Short handled peavey without a pike end.
Carriage
Large double-sheaved unit that rides on the skyline where the main and haulback lines control the chokers.
Cat skinner
Bulldozer operator, either earth moving or log yarding.
Chain
Early measuring unit of surveys - 66 feet in length - (80 chains = 1 mile).
Chaser
Man who unhooks the chokers from the logs at a landing.
Cherry picker
A vehicle with a boom for picking up things with a wire rope drum.
Choker
Wire rope section with ferrules to attach logs to the yarding line.
Choker setter
Member of a crew who attached chokers around logs to the butt rigging.
Cold deck
Logs piled up to be brought into a landing later on or pile of logs at sawmill awaiting processing.
Comealong
A wire rope connection temporarily attached to the main line or haulback.
Conks
Fruiting bodies of fungus in rotting wood.
Coyote hole
Larger than normal hole for placing a powder charge.
Cribbing
Logs piled up at right angles to replace piling.
Crosshaul
Logs rolled with a pull on a bight at right angles to the log - (also called parbuckle).
Crotch line
Method of loading logs with single tongs at each end of the log - (sometimes with spreader bar).
Cruiser
Individual who goes through a stand of timber to estimate volume from sampling standing trees.
Crummy
Early term for a logger's bed roll and possessions. Most recently the vehicle that hauls the loggers to the work site.
d.b.h.
Diameter at breast height of a tree - about 4 1/2 feet above ground level.
Deacon seat
Bench running the length of an old bunkhouse, usually in front of the bunks.
Deflection
The amount of 'sag' in the cable from point 'a' to point 'b' in a skyline opeation. If you try to pull half a mile of heavy cable up 'straight' like a guitar string, it will likely break of its own weight before all the sag comes out. But with some sag in the line you have the capacity to lift and move logs.
Dog
Action of blocking any movement - also a pawl to hold a toothed wheel in place.
Donkey
Multiple drum machine for yarding logs. The first ones were steam operated with wood fuel before combustion engines.
Dragline
System of hauling in a bucket filled with earth or ballast with wire rope (see Bagley).
Drip torch
Devise to start slash fires by tilting applicator.
Dummy tree
A tree used to help raise a spar tree in place.
Dutchman
A block to change direction of haul.
Fall block
A block lowered in the bight of a line.
Feller Buncher
A machine that’s driven to a tree where a part of it holds the tree and another part saws or pinches the base off like huge pruning shears. Shears are used for smaller timber destine for pulp, while saw cuts are used for lumber footage.
Fire in the hole!
Powder monkey's cry of warning to clear the area before blasting.
Fresno
An early dragline system using wheels.
Friction blocks
Hardwood blocks that work like an engaging clutch - a safety factor on hangups.
Flying
The number of chokers on any given turn, e.g., flying three chokers.
Gin pole
Single pole set at an angle with block used for loading logs or miscellaneous items.
Gopher hole
Hole blown under a log to allow a choker to pass through - also a small coyote hole for blasting.
Grease monkey
In the old days, the man who greased skids- later, the individual that comes to each piece of equipment to regularly oil, lubricate and repair equipment.
Ground lead
Yarding logs directly from the drum level.
Gun
The act of lining up a tree undercut to sight along its fall direction with an axe - also name for a woods transit.
Guy
A wire rope shackled to a spar tree and tail hold to keep the spar upright and in place.
Gyppo
A contract logger or truck driver.
Gypsy
Name given to a vertical spool (drum) used in the early days of ground lead.
Hangup
Term to indicate an impediment to logs being yarded.
Haulback
Return line to bring chokers back to the setters.
Haywire
Light wire rope used to haul heavy lines or blocks in place (see Straw Line) - also a snafu operation.
Hayrack
Loading boom using two parallel poles -McLean type of loading boom used after the turn of the century.
"Heads!" or "Heads up!"
Calls made as a tree begins falling after sufficient backcut.
Head block
Same as bull block i.e., main line block.
Heel boom
Loading boom where pressure is used near the base to lift the heavier end of the log.
Heel tackle
Line and block system to tighten the skyline- normally used on a skidder.
High climber
Logger who limbs and tops a tree to be used as a spar for high lead or skyline.
High lead
Often spelled Hi-lead. Any system using a head spar but no tail spar.
Hook tender
Also called a "hooker" - a man in charge of the yarding crew and releasing chokers at the landing.
Hoot owl
Early shift to complete work before the humidity drops to the danger level.
Hot deck
Landing where logs are loaded soon after yarding - opposite of cold deck.
Jacob staff
Staff with swivel head and pointed ferrule base to support a compass - a "Jake" staff.
Jerk wire
Wire attached to a yarder for the whistle punk to signal instructions - used in the "old days" only.
Jewelry
Name given to the butt rigging.
Jillpole
Any pole or member used to jam against something to hold it in place - also a sort of shear to unload logs.
Jim Crow
A one-log load - usually bunked in place by two small logs.
John D
Coal oil or kerosene - also a term for a busheler's oil bottle fitted with a hook.
Jump-up skid
Logs placed next to loading area for parbuckling logs onto railroad cars.
Landing
Place where logs are brought in from the woods.
Lang lay
Wire rope where the strands are twisted in the same direction to give more flexibility.
Lead Block
(old term) Block with wide sheave to allow butt rigging to pass through - (see Tommy Moore).
Line
Wire rope with either wire or hemp center.
Line Horse
The animal used in the early days to pull the yarding line back out to the woods.
Live reel
Reel of hose for fighting fire kept under pressure.
Loading pot
Small donkey used for loading only.
Logger’s dream
Portable logging unit for fast yarding of small timber - uses direct drive.
Logging Chance
An operating area - same as logging "show."
Long Splice
Splice made in lines where it must withstand a heavy pull.
Luff
Set of blocks to give the maximum lift or pull.
Lumber Jack
A term used for loggers in movies and books but way too Hollywood to be heard in the woods.
Marlin Spike
Somewhat like a sailor's spike but longer taper - used in splicing line.
Mat
Short lengths of logs bundled together to form a base for a raised tree or as a base for heavy equipment.
Misery whip
Also called a misery "harp" i.e., old-style cross cut saw.
Molly Hogan
Single strand of wire rope woven into circular form for a temporary splice.
Moonbeam
Guide used at the base of a pile driver to hold batter piles in place while driving.
Mop up
To put out hot spots in fire fighting.
Muck stick
A shovel, normally a Number 2.
Mud cap
Method of tamping in a powder charge using clay or mud.
Mulligan car
Car used to bring lunch out to logging sites in early days - later called a Crummy.
P-line
Preliminary survey line.
Pan skid
Metal pan with front end curved upward to keep logs from digging in - used in bulldozer yarding.
Parbuckle
Old method of loading logs by rolling them onto railcars or trucks by pulling both ends of a bight -(see "Crosshaul").
Pass block
Small block hung near the top of a spar tree to haul up heavier blocks or tree jacks, etc.
Peavey
Tool with sharp point and moveable cant hook to create leverage in moving logs.
Pecker pole
A small tree, often found in the understory of the old growth.
Peeler
Large logs suitable for rotary cutting against an 8-foot blade - a log grade suitable for producing veneers.
Peeler Core
The center portion of log which is too small to continue processing into veneer.
Pike pole
Long pole tipped with a spike and small hook for log sorting in river driving or in a holding pond.
Pioneer road
Rough preliminary road or bulldozer trail to allow movement of construction equipment.
Pistol grip
Tree with a curved butt usually caused by an earlier sideswipe from another tree.
Pit man
Man working with a power shovel or bulldozer who uses a hand shovel, swamps out or hooks mats.
Pole road
A trough made by parallel poles to form a skid road.
Pot
Old time donkey, often a one spooler.
Powder monkey
Man who handles dynamite and places the charges.
Prelog
Removal of small trees and/or windfalls before the primary logging of the main stand.
Pulaski
Heavy handled tool with oval eye used as a combination axe and hoe - (named after its originator).
Punk
Young logger, mostly used as a signal man e.g. whistlepunk.
Push
Woods foreman or superintendent.
Quarter corner
Marker at half-mile intervals that divides a surveyed section of land into four parts.
Rack
Railroad car with bulkheads at either end used for loading wood products crosswise.
Reach
Timber or metal beam connecting a log truck with its trailer - also called a "stinger."
Rigging slinger
Head man on the rigging crew - rigs trees and changes the tail hold.
Rock powder
Dynamite with 60% purity for shooting rock.
Running line
Any wire rope that is moving during logging operation.
Safety strap
A strap linking the block and a guy line so that a break would run down the guy line.
Scaler
One who measures log contents.
Schoolmarm
A log or tree that is forked - a stable log in river driving because it does not roll easily.
Scissorbill
Logger who contested the I.W.W. - later, any non-union man.
Second loader
Man who placed the tongs on logs for loading.
Selective logging
Removal of certain trees or small sections to allow for reseeding.
Set
A pair of fallers - originally a pair of buckers also.
Setting
The area to be logged to one spar tree - later the reach of a cat side.
Shake
A separation in a tree or log along the growth rings - common in spar trees as a result of yarding pressure.
Sheave
Flanged wheel that runs freely in a block i.e. pulley.
Slash
The debris of limbs, trash trees, and other foliage that remains after the harvesting process.
Sluice
Act of a log turn overrunning an animal team on a downhill pull.
Snag
Dead tree or stub left standing after logging.
Snatch block
Block which can be opened on one side to thread a line at any point.
Snipe
Rounding the leading edge of a log to keep it from digging in during yarding operations.
Snubber
Device for slowing down a moving turn -also a line used around a turn, donkey, etc. to slow it by friction.
Sougan
Heavy woolen blanket used by early loggers.
Spar tree
Tree large and tall enough to be used for yarding logs - sometimes raised in place by a block system.
Spark chaser
A handyman at a landing to put out small fires caused by the donkey.
Spike
To fall a tree over a stump or rock, causing it to shatter.
Springboard
Short length of plank that fallers fit into the base of a tree to stand on.
Square lead
A yarding line directly out from the donkey drum.
Staghead
Refers to a tree with a dead top.
Staggered settings
Logging areas separated by standing trees.
Stranded line
Wire rope starting to separate from its hemp or wire core.
Sheer skid
Log or stump to guide logs around a corner - in the early days spools notched in stumps were used.
Shoo-fly
Construction road around a gully to move equipment - used extensively with trestle construction.
Short splice
A splice in wire rope that needs only modest strength, normally less than a foot long.
Shotgun System
A double drum logging system that uses a carriage running down the skyline lead and a tail stump at the distant end.
Show
Any logging operation.
Side
Refers to the crew on a logging operation.
Side rod
Foreman for one side - also assistant camp foreman.
Siwash tree
Tree left to deflect a running line.
Skagit Tower
A 1970s creation that was a truck mounted steel spar tree that telescoped upwards to around 100 feet where it was secured with guy wires and replaced the living tree of old.
Skid
In early logging the cross member used for roading logs - later, a reference to the act of yarding logs.
Skidder
Usually refers to a skyline system - can also be a yarder used on a hi-lead setting.
Skid road
Ground lead system using animals or donkey pot - old logging method utilizing greased skids.
Skinner
Ox, horse or mule driver, later applied to cat driver.
Skyline
Yarding system where a tight line is run from a head spar to a back or tail spar, keeping the turn well up.
Slackline
Yarding system using a large drum to raise and lower a skyline (normally two inches in diameter).
Slack puller
One who pulls slack by hand - later adapted to power pulling by straw drum, etc.
Straw drum
Auxiliary drum for the haywire or straw line.
Straw line
Small diameter wire rope - same as haywire line.
Stumper
Logger who lives at home and commutes to the job.
Swamper
One who clears out brush, etc. - in the early days it was the one that maintained and greased the skid roads.
Swede level
Level marker at grade foreman's eye height above the ground to determine when a cut is down to grade.
Sweep
Degree of curve in a log - also used in timbers.
Swing donkey
Yarder used to bring logs from a collection point to a landing - use of donkey to "swing" from a deck.
Tackle
Refers to the rigging blocks and swivels, etc.
Tail tree
See "Back spar" - used for the tail block.
Tommy Moore
A wide main block to allow the "jewelry" including splices and shackles in the cable to pass through - used on a combination yarder and loader.
Top guy
One of the guy lines used at the top of a spar tree.
Tote road
A preliminary road on one designed only for hauling machinery and supplies.
Tower skidder
A skidder built with a steel tower mounted on a railroad car or large truck - commonly called a steel spar.
Trailing road
Old time skid road where a small locomotive is used for skidding logs down between the tracks.
Transfer line
Line to pull skidder lines to the side for a new yarding direction.
Tree jack
Triangular unit with three rollers to anchor the tail tree or tail hold of a sky-line.
Triple drum
Three drum system mounted on the rear of a cat to act as a yarder.
Turn
Logs brought in by chokers at one time.
Two speed
Yarding donkey with low speed for heavy hauling - derided by loggers as "slow and slower."
Undercut
Cutting a notch in a tree to determine the direction of fall - also cutting a log from the underside.
Whistle punk
Starting job for loggers - one who signals the donkey engineer to go ahead, go ahead slow, etc.
Wickiup
Any temporary shelter to get out of the weather - sometimes used by animal drivers or a survey crew.
Widow maker
Any dangerous tree that could do in a faller - usually a loose limb or a leaning tree.
Windfall
Tree downed by the wind which is usually bucked and sometimes removed before falling the standing trees.
Wire axe
Old double-bitted axe driven into a stump so that a line can be cut on the exposed edge.
Wolf tree
A very limby tree that has grown out in the open.
Woodpecker
A small portable sawmill.
Wrapper
Chain or combination with wire rope to bind down a load of logs.
Yarding
Bringing in logs by any method.
