I have had the privelege over the past few days to work with a man by the name of Dick Bernier. Somewhat stooped and powerfully built, Dick talks through his large white beard in an accent that drips the unique and grammatically carefree style of Maine.
"You wasn't here yest'day was you?" He bellowed at me as I approached this morning, his weathered face crinkling into a big smile.
"It rained some'n awfull up my place yest'day!" he shouted. I am able to understand Dick quite clearly through my ear protection. (He, who has never worn ear protection, has some difficulty hearing, which might explain his extraordinary volumes).
Dick appears to be well versed in the lingo of his trade. The first day I worked with him was highly confusing......
"Hand me that Can't Dog over there and we'll roll this crow pole right onto the mill!" I paused between a hook strapped to the side of the machine and a large pole with a hook on it. He sensed my deliberation and tried to clarify. "The Peavey" he shouted, "I need the Peavey". I got desperate and grabbed the pole with the hook on it and handed it to him. He appeared gratified by this, and proceeded to compliment me on knowing the terminology.
And so I learned, little by little.
Can't Dog= Peavey= Pole with big hook.
Crow Pole=Pole them crows sit on= Skinny pine tree.
Flaring= Flaring the Log= Cutting irregularities off the log to make it round with a chainsaw.
Dick is a master sawyer. He generates very little scrap wood, and cuts beautifull boards with his little "band saw mill".
5 comments:
In 1858 Joseph Peavey of stillwater, Maine, a blacksmith, invented the device which came to be known as the peavey. Technically a cant dog differs from a peavey by having a blunt tip whereas a peavey has a spike tip. Cant dogs are used to turn cants at a lumber mill, cants being squared timbers. Peaveys may be used more broadly to turn, pry or otherwise move cants or logs. Mr.Bernier has a peavey which he does use to dog or turn cants.
Well it appears as if someone else knows the terminology as too. I hope you can teach me sometime as I would love to someday have a small bandsaw for personal use - to build my house and barns with.
Dad:
thanks for the clarification.
Alex:
the machine he was using wasn't too complicated, it was called a wood-mizer. It probably wouldn't be any more complicated than some of the machines you used in Machine Shop class.....
maybe no more complicated...but I took a three credit class to learn how to operate them.
ah, I'd much rather have been sawing with you than sitting at my legal desk... lucky punk.
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