Timber/Swede Sawing
Old saws used to fell trees
Wombats using 36″ bow saw
The timber-sawing event involves five team members sawing through a 6″ by 6″ piece of pine timber with a 36″ bow saw. Each member will saw consecutively, allowing only one saw to touch the wood at one time. After the last slice of timber falls to the ground, the judge records the time. Penalties are assessed for excessive deviation (>1.5″) in the cut. The shortest combined time wins the event.
This event is all but unseen on mine sites, due to the dominant role that rubber-tyred equipment now plays, and the diminishing use of timber in railway sleepers and underground support systems. Once again if timber is needed then it is cut using mechanised tools such as power saws.