I finally got to spend some time with this timber again. I picked up where I had left off, notching the second side.
Next I knocked off the juggles. Occasionally I find a stubborn one that won't knock off easily. I've learned to just work these back in smaller sections starting close to the next notch. It goes pretty quickly this way.
The juggling work is done while standing on top of the timber, the same as the notching. I stop a little short of my line, leaving about 1/2-inch of material to clean off with the broad axe.
I prefer to work backwards when hewing. This way the area in front of me is clear and I can swing the axe without catching the tip.
I find it easier to work if my footing is close to the same height as the bottom of the timber. I set up a little walkway to help get me in position.
I keep one foot on the walkway and the other up on the timber. I've gotten comfortable with this broad axe now and swinging the offset handle feels more natural. And I'm confident that I won't bark my knuckles. This frees me to put a little more muscle into the stroke and makes the work go faster.
The work is going much more quickly now. Juggling and hewing this side of the timber only took about an hour.
Most of the works was done with the single bit axe and the broad axe. But areas where the grain did weird things was more easily finished with smaller tools. I used a little German-made camp hatchet and an Austrian broad hatchet in those areas.
Side two came out relatively straight though I undercut it a little in a few places. I think I'll clean it up with the adze once I lay it down to hew the next side.
A final shot of my primary hewing tools. I really love the feel of the handle on this old Marshall Wells single bit. It's easy to work with. Both of these tools are still extremely sharp after this work.
