Will “Axman” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 45-4021.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 42,900.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 20.00
• Currently, there are 5,370 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Fallers”.

Also Known As…

• Fallers
• Tree Topper
• Tree Feller
• Tree Faller
• Timber Faller
• Timber Cutter
• Sawyer
• Logger
• Cutter Operator
• Utility Arborist
• Tree Cutter
• Timber Feller
• Skidder Operator
• Pulpwood Cutter
• Paper Wood Cutter
• Lumberman
• Lumberjack
• Hook Tender
• High Climber
• Hewer
• Grapple Crew Leader
• Feller Operator
• Feller Buncher Operator
• Dozer Operator
• Cross Cut Sawyer
• Choker Setter
• Chain Saw Operator
• Bucker
• Arborist Representative
• Arborist Climber
• Arborist
• All-Round Logger

Tasks for “Axman”

• Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
• Split logs, using axes, wedges, and mauls, and stack wood in ricks or cord lots.
• Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
• Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
• Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
• Mark logs for identification.
• Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.
• Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
• Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
• Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.
• Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
• Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.
• Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
• Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
• Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
• Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
• Load logs or wood onto trucks, trailers, or railroad cars, by hand or using loaders or winches.
• Work as a member of a team, rotating between chain saw operation and skidder operation.
• Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.

Related Technology & Tools

• Chain saws
• Protective hard hats
• Timber tongs
• Warning whistles
• Haulback lines
• Tower yarders
• Forestry helicopters
• Grapple yarders
• Impact resonance devices
• Forwarder cranes
• Felling wedges
• Climbing belts
• Rubber tire skidders
• Sonic devices
• Frequency modulation FM two way radios
• Sharpening jigs
• Resistographs
• Laptop computers
• Logging tractors
• Pocket calculators
• Felling axes
• Portable dry chemical fire extinguishers
• Auger bits
• Wood chippers
• Pullthrough delimbers
• Emergency first aid kits
• Round files
• Tablet computers
• Tree climbing spikes
• Remote detonation systems
• Screnches
• Skylines
• Digital tachometers
• Hand winches
• Stroke delimbers
• Combi cans
• Chain flail delimbers
• Snow shovels
• Knuckleboom loaders
• Skidding lines
• Hydraulic jacks
• File sharpeners
• Feller bunchers
• Protective safety glasses
• Mechanical tree harvesters
• Diameter tape measures
• Debarking tools
• Flat files
• Chain saw chaps
• Tuning screwdrivers
• Caulk boots
• Wide track bulldozers
• Log skidders
• Personal computers
• All terrain vehicles ATV
• Guylines
• Logging boats
• Gas cans
• Self-loading log transporters
• Boom boats
• Global positioning system GPS receivers
• Protective ear muffs
• Strawlines
• Logging trucks

• BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker
• ESRI ArcView
• Assisi Software Assisi Inventory
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel
• BCS Woodlands Software Woodlands Tracker
• Assisi Software Assisi Resource
• Assisi Software Assisi Manager
• Assisi Software Assisi Compiler