DescriptionIn most of the Lake States the loggers used iron or steel rafting pins. In the Saginaw, Michigan area they first used hand-made oak pegs from 8 to 12 inches long. Later, in the 1870s, they adopted the crotched pin, a wedged-shaped piece of oak, 2 x 7 inches with a 3 1/3 inch slot. This crotched pin, driven into the pine logs over the rope, required less time and rope than the old straight pin system. Being made of wood, not many of these pins survived compared to those made of iron or steel.