So You Want to be a Lumberjack Quiz

Answer: chainsaw

Monty Python performed "The Lumberjack Song." It went something like this:
"I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay.
I sleep all night. I work all day.

Chorus : He's a lumberjack, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.

I cut down trees. I eat my lunch.
I go to the lavatree
On Wednesdays I go shoppin'
And have buttered scones for tea."

The rest of the song gets a little racy. It includes lines about pressing wild flowers, wearing womens' clothing and being a girlie like his dear Papa.

Answer: Either burn it when safe to do so or delimb all the trees at a central, cleared area to contain the slash.

Wood chips, bark and small branches can become a fire hazard if left in place. A conscientious lumberjack either burns the slash on the spot or hauls all the felled trees to be delimbed in a cleared central area where it is easier to clean up the slash. It can be burned there or hauled away.

Answer: When the end of the saw contacts a solid object and the saw kicks back.

When the tip catches a solid object it can literally cause the chain saw to "kick back" at you. This can be deadly dangerous. It is always best to keep the tip guard in place when using a chainsaw. Other safety measures to guard against kickback are to keep a firm hold on the saw, keep the saw teeth sharp and be careful where you cut.

Some chainsaws come with kickback guards or chain brakes.

Answer: Conifers

The white pine is the largest pine tree in the US. It can grow to 230'.

Answer: Taking care of the forest.

Silviculture can include regeneration, i.e. planting new trees in an area that has been harvested. It can also include selective cutting--taking the oldest trees, the tallest trees, or trees from the densest area of the forest.

Answer: 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet

Wood for use in fireplaces is sold by the cord. A cord is 128 cubic feet, or about 2 full-size pickup loads or 4 compact pickup loads. There also exists a measurement called a rack of wood. A rack is a pile consisting of one row of wood stacked 4 feet high and 8 feet deep. If the wood is cut 12" long, a rack of that wood would be 32 cubic feet.

Answer: Remove them after the tree is down.

Removing branches is called "delimbing." The safest way to delimb is to remove the branches after the tree has been felled completely and is lying on the ground. Trying to delimb while standing on a ladder is dangerous because you could fall while trying to cut off the branch or the branch could knock you off the ladder after you cut it off. Dynamite is never used in logging.

Answer: Cutting a tree into shorter lengths.

Trees are bucked, or cut, into specific lengths depending upon the use of the timber.

Answer: A gapping tool

A brush cutter is used to remove shrubs, woody weeds, and sapling trees. "Gapping" is the process of adjusting the distance between the side electrode on the bottom of the plug and the center electrode. This is the gap where the spark occurs. Actually any spark plug should be gapped using a precise gauge for maximum efficiency and performance.

Answer: Paul Bunyan

In folklore, Paul Bunyan was a giant of a man. He was usually accompanied by his giant blue ox "Babe". Paul Bunyan is credited with inventing many of the methods and tools used in logging. The tales claim that Minnesota's 10,000 lakes were created when Paul and Babe walked across the state before a rainstorm.

The rain filled up their footprints and created the lakes. The Grand Canyon was created when Paul walked around Arizona dragging his axe. Mount Hood was the result of Paul piling rocks on his campfire to put it out. Several cities claim to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. Among them, Brainerd, Minnesota boasts of a "life-sized" statue of Babe the ox and a mechanical Paul Bunyan at Paul Bunyan Land.

The latter is, purportedly, the world's largest mechanical man.