hewing a white oak 6"x6"

[robgmn]

Personally, I'd look at that log in the OP and say "this would take me forever", and probably never make the first cut

That said, I find it a little bit humorous that some are making it very clear that the young man is using the wrong tools and perhaps methodology to do the job, which causes great inefficiencies.
I fully recognize the point of what he's doing, but if he were doing it the "right" way (as illustrated later in this thread), I might also be one of those people saying he's doing it wrong with the wrong tools.
I'd say he could do the job so much faster and more efficiently with a chainsaw, or better yet a chainsaw rail mill.
Then someone else would say bring the log to a mill and have them cut it.
The next person says buy one pre-cut, since the other methods are the equivalent of tying a rock to a stick and banging away at the log.

All in the perspective, I guess!

 

[tobiism]

I just think it's awesome that he's going for it.

 

[rjdankert]

. . .All in the perspective, I guess!

I would guess so too. I think there was a thread on here awhile back which had a video of a guy who made a stone axe, and then cut a tree down.

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Note that the man hewing at 00:47 cuts a notch by himself just as fast as the pair cut a notch at the beginning. . .

I don't know how that can be determined. But for the sake of discussion, if he is as fast as the two, can he stay even with them for an entire day?

. . . That's because he's standing atop the log and working with gravity. . .

The amount of gravity gained from the top of the swing to the bottom is exactly the same amount of gravity needed to be overcome when raising the axe from the bottom back to the top for the next swing. In other words he is using less energy on the downswing, but more on the upswing.

. . . At 4 minutes in when he's hewing with the laser he's struggling because 1) his axe is light again and 2) he's hewing from bottom to top. If he rolled the log over 180° he could make the same cut top to bottom. It is easier that way.. . .

Actually in the sequence starting at 4:00 he is roughing down the sides, not making the surface smooth. I don't know about the weight of the axe he's using. I think it's kind of a personal preference (fatigue vs power). He starts chopping on the end striking on the bottom. Top or bottom shouldn't make a difference on the end of a log. Maybe he's trying to take too big of a bite. The axe sticks the first foot or so, but once things get started it seems to go pretty smoothly.

Bob

 

[quinton]

I wish I had a digital camera back when me and my brother hewed ties.

 

[Square_peg]

I don't know if ceder was an option where he could obtain wood, but his criteria was to use a hardwood. He is in eastern KY, and I don't know what would be the best for that region, or any other for that matter. You can converse with him directly on his blog.

Bob

Black locust is legendary for it's rot resistance. If it's available there it would be perfect for his base layers.

 

[Square_peg]

All in the perspective, I guess!

Point taken. And point well made.

I was going on the assumption that he wanted to hew his beams and I was offering suggestions for doing that.

 

[Agent_H]

This thread is a great read.

I can't comment on technique but I will say this is very informative.
Also, the work for screen-shots, photo-hosting, and banter is good. Pictures of someone doing what they say/think speaks.

I am very interested in setting up one of the hewing axes I have and giving it a shot.

First thing first, I need a red shirt. :thumbup:

 

[Square_peg]

First thing first, I need a red shirt. :thumbup:

Damn straight you do!

 

[rjdankert]

Black locust is legendary for it's rot resistance. If it's available there it would be perfect for his base layers.

I've never had the opportunity to use Black Locust, but there is ample evidence to support this on the internet (.org, .edu, .gov sites).

FWIW, here is the rational for white oak from Mr. Chickadee's blog:

"After finishing the foundation for our workshop, we turned our attention over to the timbers. Most sources recommend that your sill timbers be the hardest most rot resistant wood you have, as these will be closest to the ground, insects, damp and whatever other evils might betray your buildings solidity in the years to come. In the past many cabins had sill logs of chestnut, walnut, oak or black locust. White oak was what we had and that became our sill choice."

Not saying right or wrong, it's his building and he has to live with it.

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Damn straight you do!

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Canadian Hewing

Canadian pattern axe head (1909 ad):

Bob

 

[300Six]

Thanks for putting a plug in for the Ottawa Valley rjdankert. The Brits insisted that all their timber be squared for transport by ship to England. Log rafts travelled all the way down the Ottawa River to Port of Montreal until the advent of rail in the late 1800s. J.R. Booth was one of the successful lumber barons in Ottawa/Hull at the time.

 

[rjdankert]

. . .The Brits insisted. . .

Neat bit of history and news photo. :thumbup:

Bob

 

[300Six]

Neat bit of history and news photo. :thumbup:

Bob

After the War of 1812 (between 1826 and 1832) the Brits dug and built the 120 mile long Rideau Canal from Ottawa to Kingston. Squared timbers were used as removable stop logs in the various dams and to build the large water doors at every lock station. These easy to service wooden structures are still in use and 12 x 12 saw-milled Douglas Fir is used nowadays. Pic below is of the locks in Ottawa adjacent to Parliament Hill, looking out towards Gatineau (the lumber town formerly known as Hull), Quebec. The beauty of wooden stop logs is they swell when they're wet which makes for a good seal once they're fitted in place.

 

[Old Axeman]

Since I took the kid to task and stired it up, I guess it's time for me to respond. Lets start with the tools.
Adze- three basic types- house carpenter, railroad and shipwrights. Shipwrights- straight and lipped. Straight can be used with or across the grain, but is best with the grain. Lipped also can be used with or across but is best across grain, like the kid is doing. The pin poll on both straight and lipped is actually a set like a nail set. It is used to set spikes on decks and planking below the surface so the adz blade does not ding the spike. Again, an adze is a dressing tool not a hewing tool. The question about why modern "hewn" cabin logs have adze tooling marks is because they start with cants right off the head saw and then dress them with an adze to look "hewn". This saves the builder a lot of labor and the buyers certainly dont know what historic hewing actually looks like.
I will have to pick this up later, starting with the broadaxe.

 

[rjdankert]

Thanks for putting a plug in for the Ottawa Valley. . .

Here is something I found titled Ottawa Valley, don't know the date or where I got it from other than "the net".

Another unsourced pic Ottawa River 1894

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Thought this was fun from 1947

Bob

 

[rjdankert]

Thought this might be interesting to add to this thread. The caption indicated that it is from Afghanistan. IDK about the date.




Bob

 

[John A. Larsen]

I finally watched the video about "Ship Building in Maine" good video, but Essex is in Massachusetts. John