How to Make Money in Brushing
As the planting season begins to wrap up, brushing season is now in full swing at Leader Silviculture. Brushing is a completely different beast from planting. Your tools change as well as the terrain you have to navigate, the safety implications, and even the way your paycheque is calculated at the end of the day. With all of the differences that are involved between brushing and planting, we thought it would be a good idea to outline some simple tips and tricks that can help you make more money as a brusher in the silviculture industry.
Understand Your Tools
Comfort with your tools is super important for increasing productivity. Brush saws offer a lot of power and mechanical advantage, but only when used properly. The brush saws that Leader Silviculture uses feature 2-stroke engines, which have some quirks if you’re not used to them. Here are our best practices for using a brush saw:
Find the “sweet spot” for cutting: Saws have a specific rev range for maximum power. If you take the time to learn what that range looks, feels, and sounds like, after a while it will become like second nature. You should also make sure to get to the sweet spot before starting your cut. Beginning your cut sooner forces your saw to power up with resistance. This makes it cut slower, and will wear out your tool quicker.
Lower your Revs between cuts: Your revs be too low, but they can also be too high. If you exceed the max power rev range, you’ll begin to lose efficiency. Revving too high for long periods of time is also hard on your saw’s motor, and will ruin it over time. That’s why it’s important to let the revs come down between cuts, pulsing the motor as you go. See the video for an example.
Adjust your technique for different materials: Some wood, such as aspen, is very soft, and can be cut quickly with little resistance. Other materials, like birch, are much harder, and your saw will bind if you try to force it. When cutting harder wood, go in slower and let the blade do the work. That way, your saw will maintain better RPMs and will cut more effectively.
Look to experienced brushers for technique: One of the easiest ways to learn better techniques as a new brusher is by watching the veterans and taking notes on their process. Most brushers want you to succeed and improve and will be happy to give you tips as well, so don’t be shy, and feel free to ask questions too!
Keep your blades sharp (and bring spares): We all know that sharp saw blades cut better than dull ones, but some of us don’t know just how much of a difference it makes. We recommend that you bring three or four extra blades with you when you’re brushing. If your saw starts to feel slow, replace the blade and note the difference in feeling. Once you do swap the blade, make sure to get them resharpened, either by yourself or a generous friend.
Plan Your Day Ahead of Time
Brushing pays based on land coverage, meaning the faster you can cover ground, the better. This means that the more time you can spend covering new ground, the better. There are many ways you can optimize this process, but here are two great ways to start:
Bring what you need with you: When you set off for a day of work, you should be able to make it to lunch before needing to head back to the cache. That means you should be carrying a few key items with you in a pack. Make sure to bring a repair kit (with spark plugs, nuts for the blade, fuel filter, and a spare fuel cap), a knife, your extra saw blades, enough fuel to refill three times, whatever other clothes you may need, and enough food & water to last until lunch. Your kit will vary over time as you figure out what you need daily, but that is a good list to start.
Plan your route: It’s important to minimize the time you spend backtracking through areas you’ve already been to get to a section you missed before. The easiest way is by being systematic with how you move so that you never risk missing a spot and having to go back later. This often means going back and forth clearing strips across the full length, but it doesn’t have to. The important part is that you find a method that works for you and allows you to confidently make it through a day without missing sections.
Listen to Your Body
You work most effectively when you’re well-rested, well-fueled, and well-hydrated. When your body is worn and something is wrong, it will tell you. and when it does, make sure to listen. Heat exhaustion is quite common, and shouldn’t be tested or messed with, so if you’re feeling dizzy, sick, or otherwise unwell, let someone know and don’t be afraid to take a break if necessary. Failure to do so could lead to heat exhaustion or other injuries, which can be dangerous if not treated. To mitigate these risks as much as possible, consider these rules of thumb:
Clothing: Fall can be tricky - One day it’s 30 degrees, and the next it’s snowing. Make sure to bring extra layers that fit whatever weather may come. The best clothing for staying cool is light-coloured, baggy layers. This helps minimize the sun’s contact with your skin and allows for better ventilation. We also recommend you bring a few warmer layers (more thinner layers allow for more adjustment) and a rain shell for those less than sunny days.
Food & Water: Your body cools itself by sweating, and it’s important to replace that lost fluid. Make sure you’re bringing and drinking tonnes of water, with some electrolytes on really hot days. To avoid a hunger crash, make sure to also bring some food to refuel whenever needed.
Finding shade: Try to minimize the time you spend in direct sunlight. If while planning your route and you can time it so that you follow the shade throughout the day, that’s ideal. At very least, try to find shade during the hottest hours of the day and avoid working out in the sun for long periods.
The tips in this article are great for supplementing your official training, however, it should by no means be considered a training manual. This article should be used merely as a guide for improving some aspects of your productivity while brushing, and we recommend that you do further homework and find proper training when needed, especially when concerning safety. With that said, if you’re building off a foundation of decent technique already, we are confident following these pointers will help you will find an improvement in your productivity each day, and in the paycheque you get at the end of the week. Happy brushing!
