forestry tools

1. Forestry Tools Ecology Springport High School

2. Altimeter Measures height of trees and can also be used to measure slope.

3. Back Pack Fire Pump When filled with water, this hand-operated pump can be used to extinguish small areas of burning grass.

4. Bark Gauge Measures bark thickness by driving the cutting edge through bark until wood is reached. Guard is slid against tree or log and bark thickness is read directly off the scale.

5. Cant Hook Used to roll and position logs.

6. Chainsaw Used to fell trees, prune branches, and cut up logs.

7. Chainsaw Chaps Made with specially woven fibers designed to burst apart upon contact with a chain saw chain and jam the chain against the saw’s bar and sprocket, protecting the user’s legs from injury.

8. Clinometer Used to measure heights of trees, slopes, and vertical angles.

9. Data Recorder Used to electronically store data in the field for transfer to a computer back in the office.

10. Desiometer Used to help estimate the spacing of trees and determine if thinning or other practices are needed.

11. Diameter Tape When wrapped around the trunk of a tree, provides readings of tree’s diameter (D=circumference/pi).

12. Dot Grid Used to calculate acreage by dot count on any map or photo, regardless of the scale.

13. Drip Torch Used to widen fuelbreaks by burning out fuels between the break and the oncoming fire. It is widely used in mop-up operations to burn out pockets of fuel remaining adjacent to control lines after a wildfire is contained. It is also used to ignite fuels as part of a prescribed burn.

14. Fiberglass Measuring Tape Used to measure distance in meters or feet; does not automatically retract like a logger's tape.

15. Fire Rake Used for raking fire lines to mineral soil, digging, rolling burning logs and cutting grass, small brush or saplings.

16. Fire Weather Kit (Belt Weather Kit) Used to measure wind speed and direction, humidity, and temperature. It is often worn on a belt.

17. Fire Swatter (Fire Flap) For smothering fires in grass, straw and low weeds. Sliding the swatter over low flames will extinguish the fire without fanning the blaze or spreading sparks.

18. Flow/Current Meter Used to determine water velocity in streams.

19. GPS Receiver Utilizes orbiting satellites to determine exact latitude/longitude position. This information is used to draw maps and measure acreage as well as aiding in navigation.

20. Hand Compass Used to navigate to known locations and to determine one’s location.

21. Hand Lens/Field Microscope Used to help identify items in the field.

22. Hip Chain Used to measure distance by tying the end of the string to an object and walking. Distance displays in meters or feet on an odometer inside the box.

23. Hypo-Hatchet Used to selectively kill undesirable trees in a forest stand without harming desirable trees nearby by injecting tree with herbicide.

24. Increment Borer Used to extract cores of wood from trees or freshly treated poles, piling, lumber, or timbers to determine growth rate, age, tree soundness and chemical penetration by drilling into the tree or material and extracting the core.

25. Log Rule Used to measure logs and determine board foot volume. The three most common log rules (ways of estimating log or tree volume) are shown on these devices.

26. Logger’s Tape Used to measure tree diameter as well as ground distance; recoils back into case when released.

27. PH Meter Used to determine the pH (how acidic or basic a substance is).

28. Planimeter Used to determine acreage from aerial photo or map. The round part is rotated over the perimeter of the area being measured. Readings in acres are displayed.

29. Plant Press Used to flatten leaves and other plant parts for reservation as part of a collection.

30. Plastic Flagging Used to mark utility line locations, plot corners, etc.

31. Pulaski Forester Axe Combination grub hoe/axe. Designed for chopping, grubbing, and digging fire lines in brush-filled or rocky terrain. Also is used for trail construction and maintenance.

32. Relaskop Used to measure tree height, diameter, and basal area (a measure of tree spacing); has a variety of scales.

33. Safety Glasses Protects wearer’s eyes while working in conditions where airborne particles are likely.

34. Safety Hard Hat Protects wearer’s head from falling material.

35. Soil Sampler (Soil Probe) Used to remove cylindrical cores of soil to determine soil type and other soil attributes.

36. Soil Test Kit Used to determine soil properties such as pH and the relative abundance of various minerals.

37. Staff Compass Used in surveying - much more accurate than a hand compass, but less accurate than GPS survey units.

38. Stereoscope Used to observe and measure slope on aerial photos.

39. Survey Instrument Used to determine slope.

40. Tally Book Use in cruising timber or in tallying lumber - height, diameter, and number of trees are recorded when cruising.

41. Tally Meter Used in cruising, tree survival checks, and other applications where items are being counted. Fits in one hand and can be reset to zero by turning one knob.

42. Tree Caliper Used to measure tree diameter.

43. Tree Marking Gun Used to squirt paint on trees to be removed during thinning and other operations.

44. Tree Planting Hoe Used to create a slot in which to plant tree seedlings.

45. Tree Planting Bar Used to create a slot in which to plant tree seedlings.

46. Tree Stick Use to determine number of logs in a tree, diameter, and volume and to scale logs.

47. Water Sampler Used to remove a small quantity of water from a stream or other body of water for use in testing its quality.

48. Water Test Kit Used to determine water quality in terms of such measures as dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and turbidity.

49. Wedge Prism (Basal Area Prism) Used during cruising timber to help determine tree spacing as well as to decide which trees should be measured when sampling is being used.

50. Wheeler Caliper Used to measure diameter and height of trees.