can u cant?

With cant hooks the men rolled the logs up the incline of the slanting poles and onto the sled. The cant-poles were six feet long. The loosely swinging, iron cant-hooks at the end were hung in such a way that they caught in the side of the log when the end of the pole was thrust against it and held firmly to the log rolling it as the men lifted the end of the pole. As another man caught hold with his hook and gave the log a roll, the first man let his hook loosen and swing free, ready for a new hold father back on the log and another lift on the pole. Rolling the log quickly over and over it was soon up the skids and lying lengthwise on the sled. - Farmer Boy manuscript, page 176

A cant-hook is used to move logs either in the timber or at the sawmill. Notice that in the advertisement above, the railroad is mentioned; cant-hooks were also used to move and position railroad ties.

The typical cant-hook (check out the link, all you lumberjacks and lumberjills!) was from four to six feet long and three inches through the largest part, where a mortise or slot appears. The cant-pole tapers at each end. The iron hook is about 2 feet long and 2 inches wide and nearly a half an inch thick, often perforated with several holes to adjust the hook. A strong screw bolt secures it. Sometimes the iron hook is bolted to the side of the lever instead of being placed in a mortice, or a band of iron secures the two.

A cant-hook with a metal spike at the end of the pole (the end with the hook) is called a peavey. Use of a cant-hook with a spike is first recorded as being used by Joseph Peavey, a Maine blacksmith, in 1858.
- posted by pioneergirl at 8:00 PM