Wood cutter

!!UNKNOWN!!  · xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

Skill: Wood Cutter

Association
Profession	Woodworker
Job Title	Woodcutter
Labor	Wood cutting
Tasks
Chop down trees
Workshop
None, but needs axe
Attributes
Strength Agility Endurance Willpower Spatial Sense Kinesthetic Sense

v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Wood Cutting Over View

Wood cutters cut down trees to create wood logs, which are used by Carpenters, Wood burners, Wood crafters, (etc...) for various products. A Dwarf must be assigned the Wood Cutting labor, must have an axe readily available, and an area of trees to be cut must be designated, in order to successfully collect wood logs. Wood cutting is an inherently dangerous activity in hostile areas, and care must be taken to ensure that they are not killed by hostile creatures or enemies.

Assignment of Labor & Designation of Trees to be Cut

To assign a Dwarf the Wood Cutting labor, access the labor screen by viewing the dwarf, then select preferences and labor. Use + and - to move the cursor up and down to highlight the Wood Cutting labor.
To designate an area of trees to be cut down: In the map screen, select d to activate the designate menu. If you are viewing an area above ground the designate menu will default to t (trees). Using standard grid designation (creating a rectangle), pick a tile and press Enter to select one corner of a rectangle, then pick a second tile and press Enter again to mark the other corner. Any trees within the rectangle will then be cut down. This also works across Z-levels, allowing 3-dimensional designations in the shape of a cuboid. (You can also use the mouse to select trees to be cut down.)

Axe: The essential (required) tool for a Wood Cutter

You must have an available axe for your Wood Cutter to use. Once an area containing trees is designated, the Wood Cutter will fetch an axe and begin cutting the trees down (provided, of course, that he is full, rested, appropriately inebriated, and properly motivated).

• The quality or material of the axe appears to have no effect on any aspect of wood cutting - a no-quality copper axe is the same as a masterwork steel, adamantine or even wooden training axe. (The same is not true for axes in combat.)
• Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to assign woodcutters the same axe to use in the military as to use in civilian labour.^Bug:1451

Notes

• Woodcutting one of the exclusionary skills along with mining, such that you cannot have both labors active at the same time.
• Skill: Increased skill makes cutting down trees faster.
• Immigrants: Any immigrant that arrives with the wood cutting labor enabled will be carrying an axe.
• Efficiency: To quickly accumulate logs, be sure to deselect wood hauling from the assigned labors of your Wood Cutter, so the cutter can focus on cutting the trees down, while another Dwarf can haul the logs to your stockpile.

View of a Woodcutter chopping down a designated tree. (Note highlited trees indicate designated to be cut.)

,	.	'	,	`	.	♣	,	,
.	`	☺	♣	,	♣	,	.	`
▬	,	▬	`	.	'	♣	,	'
.	`	'	♣	,	`	,	♣	,
♣	,	.	,	♣	.	`	'	.
,	'	`	.	,	`	.	,	'
`	.	♣	,	`	.	♣	'	♣

Trivia

In order to relieve the brainless monotony (aka Dwarven bliss) experienced by Wood Cutters, the diminutive log choppers often engage in competitive singing whilst whacking away at their arboreal nemeses, such that raucous renditions of the perpetually popular tune "I am a lumberjack and I'm OK" can be heard echoing throughout the timbered valleys found near their fortresses at ever increasing levels of volume. The overall loudness of the rendition is apparently the most critical value used to determine the winner. Unfortunately, this singing is fairly detrimental to overall harvesting productivity, as by the time most singers lay in to the third verse of the song, they have either convulsed into blithering (and debilitating) laughter, or they have run off to taunt the elves with their massive tooth picks whilst wearing their best cross dressing outfits (see further). Sadly, Wood cutters often fall victim to raiding Goblins, as their cacophonous signing leads the Goblins straight to them just as they are in a state of vocal euphoria, and are thus easy prey for the grimy gobbos. That said, there have been instances when their singing has soothed the savagery of nearby beasts, but reports of this are scarce as most Dwarves are unwilling to admit their feat, for fear that it might be seen as undwarflike (aka cowardly). Some Dwarves have been known to carry on their person very large toothpicks, with which they clean their rather massive molars. These toothpicks are crafted by the woodcutters (in their off hours), sometimes using an entire tree to manufacture a single pick. Wood cutters take significant pride in the size of their toothpicks, which, in a pinch, can often double for poles used in pole vaulting contests,(another popular Dwarven pass-time, an event usually called the 'Pole-Toss'). Thus the origin of the phrase's "Go toss your pole" and "Is that a lumberjack's toothpick in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" are explained.