I need a logging expert

Well, the tree could simply fall on him.

Second, I recall watching a film where they were logging back during the depression, and they were cutting down these really tall pines. they were so tall they took them down in pieces. One guy would climb up halfway and cut off the top (with a manual saw!) In the film, one guy got himself hooked on the top of the tree somehow, and when it fell down (60-80 feet or something) it dragged him right off and down to the ground with it. And there he perished. I don't know if this was typical, as I'm not an expert.

There's currently a special running on either Discovery Channel or TLC called The AX Men. It's all about logging, and I'm sure it can be accessed via the channel's website.

Wouldn't the "killee" just be the victim? LOL

I guess I'm not sure why he can't just have a tree fall on him.

There is an occurance when cutting down a tree that is called "barber chairing" I am not sure what causes it, but basically instead of falling like it is supposed to, the tree splits in half right up the center and kicks back at whoever is cutting it - kinda collapsing on itself. It doesnt happen a lot, but I saw it once when I was logging for a living. Very scary stuff. Imagine a horrific tearing noise with so much force that it hurts the ears and watching the tree tear itself to bits as it falls at a high rate of speed. Very fast, very loud. Luckily my cutting partner and I were missed as it went by. There were leaves, bits of bark, dust and dirt just hanging in the air all around us. I know I said it before, but the noise is unbelievable. Hope this helps!

http://www.vannattabros.com/histlog.html
looks promising

The best part about the barber chair (for your story) is that it's a crap shoot. Very easy to work into your story and kill off your killee. Also easy to work in the survivor guilt angle because it is an accident but your MC could be bothered by guilt. you know, the usual... Did I do this wrong or what was he doing standing there - that sort of thing. You could really beat that poor guy up inside. You Bully *sniff*. Best of luck!

Lots of people have been injured or killed while logging. I lived in a logging town for 18 years and I would say one of the most dangerous job is the choker setter. He basically hauls a cable to the cut tree (or trees), wraps the cable around the tree so the skidder can pull the trees to the log deck. Trees shift, cables break, or the choker is improperly set and comes apart after the trees are being moved. Amputation, broken bones, and death are the result. Hope this helps.


yer pal Brian

here's a link that is pretty awesome

http://www.camptocommunity.ca/english/camps/index.html

check out springboarding -- lots of men were hurt and killed doing it. They do it on large timber or on uneven ground.

they notch the trees, slip a board in, climb on and use it as a platform to stand on to make the next cut. it's scary to watch.

Another possibility, they are cutting down a partially burned or rotted tree -- those can be unpredictable, and if the 'killer' forgets to use caution it could explain his guilt.

Do you live in a logging industry area? Old-timers can tell you a hundred tales, each one more horrific than the last. If you were interested in drowning, we don't really have log-jams on the B.C. coast, it's more for rivers, but the logs are hauled to the ocean and formed into 'booms' big loose log corrals, for storage and transport. To maneuver, hook up or shift the logs a boom-man would have to walk out onto the gently floating, bouncing logs. Very dangerous, because if you fall into the water between the logs, the logs will be pushed apart by your weight. Then they will drift right back, over the space you fell through. If you can stay concious (not hit your head), hold your breath, keep your wits about you, get yourself down below the logs and swim to the edge of the bone-chillingly cold water, you'd be fine. If anything goes wrong with that though, it's unlikely that your buddies could locate you and shove the logs aside quickly enough to save you. Especially if the other guys were busy or goofing off and didn't see where you went in. Just the sort of thing to happen to an inexperienced man and for an 'old hand' to feel guilty about.

so many possibilities... And they all seem so fun! Now that inspiration has hit me, I must either write a story about logging, or, since I don't feel like doing that, go find a guy to kill while logging. Choices, choices.

-giusti

The other dangerous part of logging is loading the logs on the truck, or just moving them around. Getting them up on to the truck requires a fair amount of teamwork, and it's real easy for someone to get killed if they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they're using ropes to pull the logs up, a rope can break; if they're using heavy equipment, you can simply squish someone. Or the logs can come loose if they're not tied down properly.

Old tractors were also REALLY prone to tipping over. It would be entirely plausible for someone to be turning on an incline, and tip a tractor over that was dragging a log. The tractor operator or the guys on the ground could get hurt or killed very easily that way.

If they're using a team of horses all SORTS of things can go wrong. (People still log with horses today, particularly private landowners, so it's entirely plausible that they might have been using them then.)

Something else I've seen someone do -- it's careless and silly, but people do misjudge the distance between a tree and their truck. And squish their truck. Easy to kill someone who was sitting *IN* the truck at the time. It's an amateurish thing to do, certainly.

-- Leva

sissybaby said:

Wow! Thanks to all of you for your comments. You pointed me in a totally different direction. I was thinking drowning in a log jam. I really like the barber chairing info, and I'll check out Discovery and the websites provided.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful help!

Click to expand...

Less spectacular than barberchairing (I've heard of it, never seen it) is the normal "kick".
http://w3.upm-kymmene.com/upm/internet/cms/upmmma.nsf/lupGraphics/Logging%20in%20Russia%20I.JPG/$file/Logging%20in%20Russia%20I.JPG

That tree is starting to fall and the cut part will probably end up back across the stump a foot or more. It's not very predictable how bad the kick will be, but you notice that the logger is ready to get out of the way. When the tree starts to fall, the safest spot is to one side of the trunk's destination (90 degrees from the line of the trunk). If the tree is on a hill, or has some unbalanced growth, they can fall strangely.

ADDING:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Topic.asp?ReportID=31201&cpage=0 lots of ways to get killed logging, with pictures

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/log...special_techniques/unacceptablepractices.html more pictures