# Logging 'blocks'-explanation?



## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

I have some Ozark blocks-fall blocks- and am trying to set up some rigging. I really don't understand though how the various blocks work in relation to their use. The carriage block seems pretty self explanatory but 'tree shoe', loading jack', riggers block'...and the fall blocks I have, I don't reall grasp why plain old 'pulleys' don't work. Said another way, what does a trre shoe do that a simple pulley wouldn't accomplish. I'm trying to put together a rigging setup for a club layout and would like to be able to explain how/why this stuff works! Bill


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## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

Logging rigs were quite an art and skilled riggers were in demand in the woods. Here are a couple of links

http://www.vannattabros.com/cable1.html
http://www.vannattabros.com/cable5.html


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Good links there, Nick. On my home computer I have a pic I took of a diagram on display in Arcata, CA that shows highlead rigging and what all the blocks are for and what they're called. I'll try to remember to post it here.

Cap'nBill: a "block" is an assembly of a pulley, or sheave, the axle(s), the side plates (those probably have special names, too, but I don't know them) and something like a hook or eye to attach the block to something else. A pulley, which is just a grooved wheel, wouldn't be of much use by itself in rigging. A block might have multiple pulleys, either side by side or in tandem. It doesn't help that blocks are often incorrectly referred to as pulleys.


Jim


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Finally got around to hunting down the pictures I took of some blocks and rigging diagrams on display in Arcata, CA. Descriptions in pictures should be self-explanatory. Note that the carriages are displayed upside-down from how they would be in use. I have higher resolution pictures of all of these - just drop me a note if you want a copy:




















two upper photos reduced in size as they were too large - Peter Bunce Moderator


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Great info and pics! Explains a lot, I was interested in the tree shoe's construction, thinking it had pulleys or sheaves. Obviously, it only provides a method of suspension and friction. I'm building a 'carriage' right now, but decided to alter it so I can use the fall block as shown in the second display. Turned a small brass pulley on my lathe to add. Bill


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Posted By Cap'nBill on 06/17/2009 2:40 PM
Great info and pics! Explains a lot, I was interested in the tree shoe's construction, thinking it had pulleys or sheaves. Obviously, it only provides a method of suspension and friction. I'm building a 'carriage' right now, but decided to alter it so I can use the fall block as shown in the second display. Turned a small brass pulley on my lathe to add. Bill 

Right - the tree shoe supports the stationary line, so no sheave involved.
If you're familiar with ship rigging, it's kind of like running rigging and standing rigging. It would be cool to have a diagram with the stationary lines in one color and the hauling lines in another.
I wonder how many different arrangements were used. These lasted until replaced by tractor yarding. I have a number of books on old-time logging and logging railroads, and the pictures showing the highlead man topping or rigging the spar tree are some of the most impressive. You couldn't pay me enough to do that job!


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I never knew that trees had feet to be able to have shoes!


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

My only book on the subject is 'Railroads in the Woods' and I'm in awe of what they were able to do! I would guess there weren't too many 'Girlymen' doing that kind of work. Those blocks look like they would take some muscle to heave around, yet those guys appeared 'lean and mean'. I can't imagine, even in my younger years, being able to do that kind of work. Colored line is neat idea I'm working on a 'hayrack boom' using that yellow nylon line, maybe it comes in colors!


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## K27_463 (Jan 2, 2008)

That book "railroads in the woods"is a terrifc volume and a must have for folks with interest in this sort of thing. It is easy to understand whay all teh folks in those old picturese are skinny!

jonathan/EMw


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

"Railroads in the Woods" (John T. Labbe, Vernon Goe) is indeed an excellent book. I bought a copy of it way back when, while I was still in high school. It's a wonder I didn't wear it out. It's one of the prized possesions in my library.


Another book I'm enjoying right now is "This Was Logging" (Ralph W. Andrews), which is mostly a publication of the best of photographer Darius Kinsey's work, but also with some good text. Well worth the money, as is "This Was Sawmilling". Under a photo of some fallers who were having their picture taken by Kinsey is a caption that describes the build of the typical logger as "...not a big man ... typically a lanky Swede or Norwegian", or words to that effect. Logging was endurance labor, and that build is well suited for it just like it is for endurance sports.

Another book, which I checked out from my local library but can't remember nor find the title, described the daily dietary intake of the typical big woods logger and it was tremendous. And every meal was consumed in half an hour with no conversation, just putting away the food as fast as they could. Cooks were some of the most highly paid employees in a camp.

By "colored lines", I meant in the diagram, not on a model. The lines, of course, were steel. I haven't thought about what would make a good model of them, but maybe white nylon line. (You _can _get nylon line in an assortment of colors, but they are all garish "hi-vis" choices to show up easily on a construction site.)


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

While I agree the colors might be a bit much, I was thinking it would be easier to point out how this stuff worked........maybe I'm assuming there are people who are interested! I started putting together the carriage and fall block in my shop. It's amazing how many lines it took to make this stuff work....kind of like yellow spaghetti I can see another Ozark purchase! If you think of the book's title, please put it up, maybe I can get the library to order it. Bill


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

I never realized how that approach is very much like the systems we use for High Angle rescue. Of course we use lighter and smaller gear. The concept and rigging are almost the same.


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## work4fil (Jan 4, 2008)

Back when I was logging in the redwoods, we only used one block on the tail hold. If we were yarding logs with a two drum machine (haulback and mainline), we would tie the butt rigging to the haulback with a fall block and make it a Grabinski (name after Phil Grabinski, who was still logging and high climbing at 65 yrs of age). That way we got to use the haulback for lift, which got the logs up off the ground reducing the evironmental impact. By running a Grabinski, you did not need all the extra haulback blocks shown in the high lead diagram. The hook tenders I worked with didn't like packing more rigging into the brush than necessary. We used the Grabinski to high lead with both our yarding cranes and the towers. The beauty of the towers were they were three drum machines, so they sported a sky line drum along with the main line and haulback. The down side was you needed more guy line stumps on the landing. With the yarding cranes we used one or two guy lines, while the towers used six. We rarely ran a running sky line, preferring to use a shotgun carrige. Towards the end, we were getting slack pulling carriages, where you could pull your mainline out to reach logs beyond the road reach your chokers flew on high lead shows. We even had a shotgunning slack pulling carriage on a little West Coast yarder. Of course the yarder burned up on a move from what we called the edge of the world and the cute little carriage fell into non-use.

Hauling blocks to the back end was a tough job. I usually was given a 65 pound block and a 27 foot strap (usaully 1" cable) and pointed down the hill to where the hook tender wnated the next road (a road was the path the logs took after being choked, then yarded up tp the landing). If we were high leading or shotgunning, road spacing was pretty close. If we had the slack pulling carriage up the roads were two or three times further apart. 

Our towers were 110' tall on four machines, all three drum yarders, which used six guy lines. We had a little 40 foot tower, like the one Mike Pihl has on Axe Men and four yarding cranes. The yarding cranes or swing yarders, could turn sode to sode, giving you a little more width to the road, or the slip up on the landing. The yarding cranes either had one guy line, like the old growth machines, or two "walking" guy lines. The premise was you could just move one guy when chaning road. Unfortunately there was a design flaw and the walking part didn't work. Backin the early 80's we sold off the old growth yarding cranes for the quicker two guy yarding cranes. Within six months, we had put every one of the new machines over on its nose due to design flaws. We didn't kill anybody, but the engineers wanted to.

We also used tractors to log, but that was limited to road crews. They lacked the sophistication that cable logging brought to the table.

Typically the blocks we had were 65 pounds. I was onced "conned" into packing an old 110 pound block into the brush. I was gullible back then (and in far better shape). I miss those days. I miss my youth too.

Fil


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

I'm trying hard to grasp...and visualize...your description. I wish guys like you could, or would, write some sort of book/pamphlets describing this stuff before it's lost in time. I'm hoping to put some of this rigging up in for me and my grandkids to operate. I got this stuff in my shop and it's pretty cool! I bought a 'continuous rotation' servo with which to make a drum operated by radio control. I'm beginning to see I probably need three separate drums to make it work properly. Appreciate the stories! I don't think I could haul a 100 lb. block across the driveway! I miss my youth too! Remember 'Fish', on the OLD Barney Miller show...my favorite Fish line:" I was young once.......but, I wasn't very good at it!"


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Fil:
Thanks for the additional info and personal anecdotes. As Cap'n Bill said, it would be great if guys like you who have been there and done that could document this stuff for those of us who have only read about it in books. Not being familiar with all the terminology doesn't help. Fortunately, the VanNatta family has done some of it (referenced website above - note that there are "cable1" through "cable5" pages showing different systems), but I'm guessing that there were a lot more variations used.


Cap'n Bill: I'm feeling a bit silly here - turn out I _own _ the book that I thought I had checked out from my library. I bought it from them at a surplus book sale, and it's sitting on my coffee table! The title is "Logging Railroads of the West", by Kramer A. Adams. *ISBN:* 0517060825 Out of print, but available from some used book sellers. Check here: alibris


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