After the hurricane, there were several trees down on the road to the camp, so I rounded up a few friends and drove up to the first downed tree, a large white pine.
One friend brought along what he called a Peavey, which looks like a large tool from the 19th century, which it probably is. But its an amazing tool to have when cutting down trees.
You don't need to be a logger to own a peavey, its super handy to have when cutting trees or clearing an area. What the peavey does is make moving logs and downed trees very easy.
The Peavey has a large hook and a pointed end, and using simple leverage, allows you to move logs or turn a tree that is lying on its side. You engage the hook on the side of the log and push up on the handle. The engaged hook allows you to turn the log, thus moving it. With practice you can turn the log with the peavey too.
Engage the hook of the peavey, then turn the log
With the peavey, you can cut a downed tree into lengths. First cut ⅔ of the way through the tree at firewood sized intervals, then using the peavey, you can rotate the tree and finish the cuts without getting the chainsaw chain in the dirt. Keeping your chainsaw chain out of the dirt is very important, it dulls and damages the chain.
I have a variant of the peavey called a timberjack, its a peavey with a T bar attached that allows you to raise a log or tree up off the ground to cut it up without getting the chainsaw chain near the ground. Neat tools. To order a peavey, click here
Do you use logging tools when cutting up wood? Let us know below: