[HN Gopher] Hand Tools for Trail Work (2005) [pdf]
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Hand Tools for Trail Work (2005) [pdf]
Author : bekind
Score : 34 points
Date : 2021-04-27 17:24 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.fs.fed.us)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.fs.fed.us)
| lacker wrote:
| Around here (Northern California) it seems like most of the trail
| maintenance is done with chainsaws. At least that's the sort of
| trail maintenance I can most easily recall, people cutting away
| fallen trees that are obstructing a trail. It might be that
| everyday maintenance is done with other tools and it's just the
| bigger jobs that I end up noticing.
| throwawaysea wrote:
| Wow this is a really comprehensive resource, thanks for sharing.
| Are there small-scale machinery that can make trail work less
| labor-intensive? I am particularly thinking about how difficult
| it is to do thinks like manage invasive species. Even just an
| acre of land could be unmanageable for one person working with
| hand tools alongside their other life priorities.
| vkou wrote:
| The problem with machinery and trail maintenance is that
| machinery is heavy, and unless it can wheel itself to your
| worksite under its own power, it's unlikely going to save you
| any labor.
| floren wrote:
| It's also straight-up illegal to operate any sort of vehicle
| in US wilderness areas (horses are OK). I think they also ban
| gas motors and maybe even things like electric chainsaws.
| bmj wrote:
| From what I've read, there are some areas where the Forest
| Service/Park Service are allowed to use power tools for
| maintenance activities. This seems like the exception
| rather than rule, however.
|
| I have a friend who does trail maintenance in the Dolly
| Sodds and surrounding areas, and he has gotten quite adept
| at using a crosscut saw with his partner. I've seen it in
| action, and the efficiency of that tool, in the hands of
| skilled users, is quite impressive.
| maxerickson wrote:
| Most US public lands are not (in the legal sense)
| wilderness areas.
| floren wrote:
| True, but there are plenty of wilderness areas, and the
| Forest Service needs effective tools for maintaining
| them. This means crosscut saws and pack mules, sometimes.
| maxerickson wrote:
| USFS manages National Forests that aren't wilderness
| areas. They do timber sales and such where the logging
| will be done with machinery and trucked out.
|
| National Park Service manages lands that are legally
| classified as wilderness areas.
| thehappypm wrote:
| The PDF mentions chainsaws, and concludes that they are less
| effective than manual saws. It does seem like you want your
| tools to be as light as possible so that getting to the work
| site doesn't become a behemoth task!
| thrower123 wrote:
| If you've ever hiked up and down mountains doing trail fixing
| work, carrying 10-15 pounds of saw, plus tools and files and
| a couple gallons of fuel and a jug of bar and chain oil, gets
| really old really fast. And if you've got a chainsaw, you
| really ought to be wearing kevlar chaps and boots, and a
| helmet with hearing and eye protection, and now you're
| lugging an entire pack-frame of stuff.
|
| Not really worth it unless you're doing some real felling.
| kokanator wrote:
| I can attest to this. The pants themselves will wear you
| out let alone the extra gear. Hand tools when sharpened and
| operated correctly can be extremely efficient.
|
| Crosscut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgAnAn_nd68
|
| General: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8_AafEAOdk
| h2odragon wrote:
| Chainsaws. Also a Bobcat with a hydraulic heavy duty bush hog,
| some of those shred wood up to a few inches thick... High
| maintenance, the forest fights back.
| claudiulodro wrote:
| Is there a good way of discovering other books/pamphlets like
| this that the government makes available (e.g. a curated list)?
| They're usually super interesting and have lots of good info, but
| I'm not sure how to find them other than picking a
| federal/state/county department and poking around their site to
| see what PDFs they have available. I've found trail guides, local
| plant guides, walking maps, etc. via that approach, but it's
| time-intensive and I wouldn't have stumbled across this guide
| unless I had already heard about it.
| ct0 wrote:
| a very narrow search in to google might do the trick. try
| something like "site:https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d//pubs/pdfpubs/
| file:pdf"
| ourguile wrote:
| You may be able to find more information on the National Forest
| Service Library - https://www.fs.fed.us/library/.
|
| You're right though, I've found searching for these lists to be
| very time consuming and the databases do not tend to be very
| user friendly.
| haunter wrote:
| https://fas.org/ has a huge selection of national defense
| related manuals and guides https://fas.org/irp/doddir/ covering
| a lot of topics
|
| My favorite one is the Army Survival guide. Probably the best
| and most detailed guide one out there
|
| https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-70.pdf
| cproctor wrote:
| The NPS preservation briefs (ex. historic masonry [1]) are
| fantastic, and like the grandparent, document knowledge that is
| largely lost in practice.
|
| [1] https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/2-repoint-
| mor...
| gdubs wrote:
| I shared this in another thread yesterday, but appropriate here
| -- this is my favorite all-around tool:
|
| https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.ph...
|
| It's a trail tool, but serves many purposes -- from grubbing out
| weeds, to contouring paths, to leveraging boulders. I love it.
|
| I also have a Japanese saw referred to as a human powered
| chainsaw (I think it's called "The Silky Big Boy") and it's a
| close second. I use it to limb up trees to reduce fire hazards,
| prune larger branches, etc.
| emi420 wrote:
| What about the sharpening of that tool? seems to be inverse
| than on a Pulaski, it works good anyway?
| kokanator wrote:
| I find this stuff fascinating not to mention helpful.
|
| Here is similar book regarding axe care.
|
| An Axe to Grind
| https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d//pubs/pdfpubs/pdf99232823/pdf99232...
| wsh wrote:
| They made a video for that one, too:
|
| An Axe to Grind (1999)
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHmTLDG5aSg (Part 1)
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNHWH6ipic (Part 2)
| AJAlabs wrote:
| I didn't know you have to sharpen your shovel. Cool!
| wsh wrote:
| Readers who find this document interesting may also like:
|
| Hand Tools for Trail Work
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekyJ8pMbTcE (Part 1)
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-wXYgwjcqw (Part 2)
|
| Use and Care of Hand Tools and Measuring Tools
| https://www.robins.af.mil/Portals/59/documents/technicalorde...
| Pfhreak wrote:
| I've used my tech salary to buy some formerly clear-cut acreage
| near National Forests with a plan to rehabilitate and protect the
| forest there. One of the first things I want to do is set up some
| trails for hiking to the ridge and creek on the property. Thanks
| for sharing this, super interesting to read!
| RandallBrown wrote:
| I recommend volunteering with a local trail organization.
| You'll likely find some interesting old timers who can teach
| you a ton about building trails.
| Pfhreak wrote:
| My father in law has a few decades doing trail building, and
| we're already trading notes. :D
| oofabz wrote:
| Do you plan to remove invasive weeds and plant native
| wildflowers/trees?
| Pfhreak wrote:
| Yeah, working with a local forest services company to
| contract some of that out, but yes, the intent is to build up
| a native habitat.
| kokanator wrote:
| I did this to cleared land outside of Spokane and it was
| immensely rewarding. What I learned in the process is that
| selecting the correct seed/seedlings is very important.
| Attempt to find a resource that has locally native seeds. The
| same species of plant from two states over will not have the
| same genetic makeup ( think disease resistants, etc ) as the
| local varieties and can potentially impair the locals when
| they cross pollinate.
|
| There are groups and individuals that specialize in gathering
| wild native seeds for this type of activity. They are
| extremely passionate and helpful.
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