Tools

• Tools for Measuring
• Tools for Sawing
• Tools for Chopping
• Tools for Grubbing
• Tools for Digging and Tamping
• Tools for Brushing
• Tools for Pounding and Hammering
• Tools for Lifting and Hauling
• Tools for Peeling and Shaping
• Tools for Sharpening

Many specialized trail tools can make your trail experience either enjoyable or miserable, depending on whether you have the right tool at the right time and know how to use it. Here are some basics; check the references for more detailed information.

Right up front, here are some key rules:

• Your most important tool is your brain—use it.
• Always use proper personal protective equipment like hardhats, gloves, and safety glasses. Make sure a job hazard analysis has been approved and a safety plan is being followed. Select the right tools for the job. Carefully inspect them before you use them. Make sure handles are sound, smooth, and straight, and heads are tight.
• Pace yourself. Take rest breaks, and keep your mind on your work. Trade off on tools occasionally for relief from repetitive stresses.
• Keep cutting tools sharp. A dull tool makes your work harder and more dangerous.
• Before you start, clear away any brush or limbs that might catch a swinging tool unexpectedly.
• Posture is important. Stand comfortably in balance. Adjust your stance and tool grip continually to prevent slipping and to avoid glancing blows. Be especially careful when working in wet, slippery conditions.
• Be thinking about the consequences of every move. If you are working with a rock or log, think ahead so you are not standing in the wrong place when it moves. Be ready to toss your tool aside and jump free. Avoid cutting toward any part of your body, and watch out for your coworkers. Use skill, not brute force.
• When carrying, loading, or storing a cutting tool, cover the blade with a sheath to protect both the sharp edge and yourself. In vehicles, make sure tools are fastened down.
• Maintain at least 3 m (10 ft) between workers as a safe operating distance when using individual chopping and cutting tools.
• Carry sharp tools at your downhill side. Grasp the handle at about the balance point with the sharpened blade forward and down. If you fall, throw the tool clear.
• At the job site, lay tools temporarily against a stump or downed log with blades directed away from passing workers. Never sink double bit axes, Pulaskis, mattocks, or similar double-edged tools into the ground or in stumps where they become dangerous obstacles.

Tools for Measuring

Clinometers. A clinometer is a simple, yet very useful, instrument for measuring grades. Most clinometers have two scales, one indicating percent of slope, the other showing degrees. Percent slope, the relationship between the amount of elevational rise or drop over a horizontal distance, is the most commonly used measure. Don't confuse percent and degree readings. It is easy to do! Expressed as an equation:

Percent of Grade = (Rise/Run) x 100 percent

A section of trail 30 m (100 ft) long with 3 m (10 ft) of elevational difference would be a 10-percent grade.

Tape Measures. Get a tape measure that has metric units. Another good idea is to mark off commonly used measurements on your tools. Know the length of your feet, arms, fingers, and other handy rulers as a ready reference on the trail. Calibrate the length of your pace over a known course so you can easily estimate longer distances.

Global Positioning Systems. Quite a few trail surveyors are finding GPS to be the hot ticket for accurate trail location, inventory, and contract preparation. Real-time correction is no longer necessary, and prices have fallen. GPS is becoming the norm for a lot of trail location work.

Tools for Sawing

Crosscut Saws. Crosscut saws may be asymmetric or symmetric. Asymmetric crosscut saws require only one sawyer. They are heavier so they can be pushed and pulled without buckling. Most asymmetric saws are bucking saws. Symmetric crosscut saws, those designed for a sawyer at either end, follow two basic patterns. Felling crosscuts are light, flexible, and have concave backs that conform easily to the arc of the cut and the sawyer's arm. The narrowed distance between the teeth and back helps sawyers wedge the cut quickly. Bucking crosscuts have straight backs and are heavier and stiffer than felling saws.

When carrying a saw, lay it flat across one shoulder with a guard covering the teeth. The teeth need to face away from the neck. You can also tie the saw into a narrow V (not a sharp C, for carrying. Don't store it this way.

Use blade guards made of sections of rubber-lined firehose slit lengthwise. Velcro fasteners facilitate removal. Don't leave a wet guard on a saw.

A sharp crosscut is a pleasure to operate, but a dull or incorrectly filed saw is a source of endless frustration, hence its reputation as a misery whip. Never sharpen without a saw vise and knowledge. Field sharpening ruins crosscut saws.

To prevent tree sap from binding the crosscut blade in the cut, lightly lubricate the blade with citrus-based solvent. Kerosene is no longer recommended because it is highly flammable and is a health hazard if it is absorbed through the skin, or inhaled. Lightly coat the blade with the light machine oil to prevent rust.

For more information, Warren Miller's classic, The Crosscut Saw Manual (revised 1988) is available from the Missoula Technology and Development Center.

Bow Saws. Bow saws are useful for clearing small downfall and for limbing. They consist of a tubular steel frame designed to accept replaceable blades. The blades detach by loosening a wing nut or releasing a throw clamp.

The teeth are needle sharp, so wear gloves when sawing and keep your hands clear of the cut and the blade. Carry bow saws by your side with the blade pointed down. Cover the blade with plastic blade guards or small diameter fire hose secured with Velcro fasteners. Always carry spare parts and plenty of replacement blades.

Chain Saws. A chain saw will make short work of your cutting tasks—but it is not for wilderness use. Specialized instruction and certification is required, so make sure you have it before operating a chain saw.

Pruning Saws. Pruning saws are useful for limbing, some brushing, and removing small downfall, especially where space is limited and cutting is difficult. Folding pruning saws are handy.

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