Wood is a very essential material used in constructing buildings, as well as other essential items that we use today. Fortunately, the logging industry can provide this necessary material and make it available in the market in no time.
The logging procedure is not an easy task. Loggers need to risk their lives cutting tall and enormous trees in the forest, chop them down into pieces and then transport them to the market. However, as technology advances the process of logging becomes much safer and convenient.
Logging in the Past
Without the presence of modern machinery, logging in the past is such a pain. It takes long hours or even a whole day for loggers to cut down a single tree. Of course, this is a very tiring process. Imagine swinging a heavy ax more than a thousand times just to cut down a single tree.
Transportation is also difficult. Loggers need to load the logs on high wheel loaders, which will then be pulled by a horse or oxen. This method of transportation is very slow. If the sawmill is several miles away from the logging area, it will take several days before the cut logs are transported.
Log driving is also another method of transporting logs if the sawmill is located at the lower end of a stream. In this method, loggers will let the cut logs float on the flowing water and let it drift down to the sawmill’s location. There are possibilities that the logs will be jammed with each other along the way. This is the reason why there are log drivers who guide the floating logs and prevents them from getting jammed.
Logging in the Modern Times
During the industrial revolution, massive improvements in logging tools and equipment were made. Chainsaw is one of the most important technological breakthroughs in the logging industry. With this tool, loggers can now cut trees in no time, regardless of their size.
Transportation of logs becomes faster and safer with the invention of high-wheeled tractors and trucks. With these automobiles, loggers can now transport logs regardless of the terrain.
Loading logs onto the trucks also becomes easier and faster, with the invention of backhoe loaders. By operating a backhoe, loggers can load hundreds of logs in just a matter of hours without dropping a sweat. With these modern machinery, loggers can now work in a more efficient and much safer way.
If it is impossible for the trucks, backhoes, and tractors to reach the logging area because of the terrain, there is still a way to transport logs. Advancements in technology made it possible to transport logs through cable logging. The logs will be transported above the ground with the use of heavy-duty cables, connected to a yarder and a truck waiting below.
Bottom Line
In the past, providing enough supply of wood is a difficult task is very difficult. However, technology makes way for the existence of modern machinery, which enables loggers to cut trees and transport them in a more convenient and efficient manner.