Making Wooden Shingles in Slovenia

Ernest DuBois said:
I take too much for granted I think when I up-send a photo. I hope it becomes more and more clear.
This by the way just came to me in the mail quite spontaneously and independent of our discussion so is a big coincidence.
A totally contrived set-up, I mean, who's going to go trim up a piece of firewood like that?
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What is the purpose of the long handle if the tool is always grasped by the base. It seems a kukri or heavy machete with the proper grind would serve as well.
 
It's strictly balance and ergonomics, that is the beauty of the tool. The action coming almost entirely down low at the wrist and yet I never really did get the hang of using coutre until once someone translated an old French text for me because I have no French myself, with the instruction that the edge is "thrown". It's no swinging or chopping action, but literally throwing, otherwise you're liable to cut off your thumb or something, it's as simple as that. From the moment I got this description, it clicked in my mind, my action changed, over-precaution faded and the work as a whole started going much more smoothly, efficiently, and effortlessly. Well here are two videos to show the difference from before the awakening and after. The particular awkwardness of the before coming also because I was just getting used to doing the work right-handed and normally I work left. It explains also partly why I switch and chop with the bevel side from time to time. Still, my right-hand work needs work.
 
I have seen Harry Rodgers and his videos on leather work, now he is apparently doing wood work to as he has another video on making window frames. Thanks to everyone who has posted more links, very interesting. John
 
jake pogg said:
P.S.

A fair example of the latter,(from Karelia,a rather cold and rainy region),

The man demonstrates,by bending a piece,how the grain is oriented a certain way when installing,that is the principle that works for drainage....

There's even an old rural legend how,supposedly,the roofer was made to slide down the freshly-completed roof on his bare ass...to prove that he installed everything right side up...(i doubt that it's literally true).

Sorry about lousing up your thread,John,i'll shut up now...:)
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That roof looks real thick Jake. Have they laid new shakes over an existing roof?
 
Ernest DuBois said:
As I understand it, shakes are the ones strictly from cedar, strictly American.
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Over here shingles are sawn and shakes are split. Unless they want to make a taper sawn shake that combines both methods, supposedly. I have not seen the process.
That should be as clear as mud.:confused:
 
garry3 said:
That roof looks real thick Jake. Have they laid new shakes over an existing roof?
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No,Garry,i believe that's a new construction...I think that's the effect of stacking them up,even a single course using a stack of 3 or 4 per each"shingle"...(singly,those are so thin and often insubstantial,that stacking them spreads the fudge).So when these stacks overlap,in turn,they gets thick...I've also noticed that, on the eave edge.

But i'll look again,i was familiar with that video from some time ago,and didn't watch it through this time.(it may take me a bit with this satellite-based internet).
 
Ok,so this is the deal (supposedly,:),the bald guy is a contractor specialising in this style,and somewhat vested:):

This particular job's done in 4 thicknesses of that stock that he waves about.He says that other jobs specify 5 or 6,or even more.

In extolling the virtues of the system he claims that this minimal thickness of the stock allows for quick drying(even piled up in layers).The rate of drying exceeding that of the bacteria's capability to take advantage of the moisture....(vs thicker shingles).
Also he claims that such moisture-absorbing/and then releasing system is helpful in aerating and and therefore maintaining the health of other roofing members,underlying purlins slats and rafters,and the attic-space as a whole.

I was wrong above in describing the sequence,BTW.Supposedly,such shingles get tighter after wetting(the top surface soaks up water and becomes convex,pressing the edges down).Then,in drying,it reverses,and becomes concave,as the top shrinks.This is when it Bristles,which promotes faster drying.
And finally it all relaxes back flat,like a contented dog's hair:)

Here is a video of them making and installing it(OSHA will close this site for showing this,i think)...But this is Polish that i,alas,don't speak...Just barely made out one word:"aspen",so is a similar deal.
 
jake pogg said:
Ok,so this is the deal (supposedly,:),the bald guy is a contractor specialising in this style,and somewhat vested:):

This particular job's done in 4 thicknesses of that stock that he waves about.He says that other jobs specify 5 or 6,or even more.

In extolling the virtues of the system he claims that this minimal thickness of the stock allows for quick drying(even piled up in layers).The rate of drying exceeding that of the bacteria's capability to take advantage of the moisture....(vs thicker shingles).
Also he claims that such moisture-absorbing/and then releasing system is helpful in aerating and and therefore maintaining the health of other roofing members,underlying purlins slats and rafters,and the attic-space as a whole.

I was wrong above in describing the sequence,BTW.Supposedly,such shingles get tighter after wetting(the top surface soaks up water and becomes convex,pressing the edges down).Then,in drying,it reverses,and becomes concave,as the top shrinks.This is when it Bristles,which promotes faster drying.
And finally it all relaxes back flat,like a contented dog's hair:)

Here is a video of them making and installing it(OSHA will close this site for showing this,i think)...But this is Polish that i,alas,don't speak...Just barely made out one word:"aspen",so is a similar deal.
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Thanks for that Jake, its very interesting. The nail setting technique that they use is new to me and only makes sense because it allows them to use their other hand to bend the shingles around the eve.
BTW, OSHA wouldn't have a problem with those guys. About fifteen years ago I was framing a building right in front of OSHA's local office. They could look out the window and watch us. Very nerve racking until we talked to them and they said they wouldn't bother us unless they got a complaint.:)
 
Thanks,Garry,yes,i'm only joshing about OSHA,what we do here is outrageous ,oftentimes,and i've never even heard of anyone being bothered ...

Yes,the nailing technique everyone uses Is very different...and for a reason,of course....Hate to further derail this thread,but i wonder if you've seen these Japanese roofers,and their odd hammers,and the method,and their Crazy speed...(it's "cedar" bark...can't vouch for the exact species
)...
 
I like the design on the hammers and would love to try one out. The face is slightly open because of such a short poll. Its a thing of beauty in its simplicity and design.
They also set their nails in a similar fashion. The one guy is very good but I don't think it is the quickest method. Here our nails come with a light coating of oil...:p
 
It's the nailing in the Polish roof makes me super skeptical about that whole deal, as opposed to the Japanese bark roofing where, believe it or not and despite the appearance no nail gets used, it's all wooden pegs which will not, in the not very long run lead to the acceleration in the degradation of the wood that the Polish homeowner will soon be left to deal with.;)
 
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Steve Tall said:
The "coutre" was evidently still being produced (mass-produced?) in France during "the interwar period":

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No. 34 "Coutre de fendeur" in catalog from
Taillanderie de Toucy : Maxime Leloup
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I'd wager that that mass-production was not very massive and involved some amount of handwork if my conception of taillanderie and taillandier is close to accurate, flexo would know. Notta one I've seen is missing clear sings of hand forging, all with a laid on cutting edge. But the forms are many and diverse, I love looking at them. Even now I see this taillandier and that one are making their coutre available as part of their standard offering.

Plus, that internet archive is a great place and easy to use and takes uploads all the time. Great that you pass on the source Steve.
 
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Ernest DuBois said:
Watching that, rjdankert, makes me want to go out and make myself up a batch of ten or 20 thousand, truly, it's great work.
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And folks wonder why hand split shakes are so outrageously expensive. They certainly are a 'de-rigueur' fashion statement for roof coverings on ritzy mansions in Vancouver. Another version of these (even more costly) are 'resawn' shakes. The bottoms are trued after so they sit dead flat and so the pieces are more consistent for thickness.
I stayed with a colourful character (operator of a West Coast tugboat) in Chilliwack BC for a few months one winter almost 40 years ago, who salvaged stranded shoreline logs in between runs (known as 'beachcombing') and cut and split them during the off season. I got involved with this for a very short spell. They were split with a froe and mallet (commander) and organized and stacked on 4 x 4 shipping pallets until the pile reached 2 feet in height. These generated welcome cash for him and a roofing company would come around to pick them up whenever a dozen pallets were ready. It took quite a while (at least a day, if I recall) to produce a 'square' (100 sq foot coverage) of shakes and Kenny intentionally built a 'community-sized-wood-heated-sauna' within his garage to make use of the chips, slabs and culls. Unlike some of the shake making videos shown on here Kenny routinely flipped the pieces end over whenever the tapers 'weren't going' the way he wanted them to. The real beauty of those logs (for me, as an Easterner) was that they were straight-grain knot-free old growth Western Red Cedar. Some of the logs had originally been 4-5 feet across.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
It's the nailing in the Polish roof makes me super skeptical about that whole deal, as opposed to the Japanese bark roofing where, believe it or not and despite the appearance no nail gets used, it's all wooden pegs
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No kidding?!..I'd NO idea!!!:)....Super cool...

Some russian contractors have discovered those long galvanised gun-staples for their thin aspen works,they're in god's pocket now,LOVING them things!:)
 
jake pogg said:
No kidding?!..I'd NO idea!!!:)....Super cool...

Some russian contractors have discovered those long galvanised gun-staples for their thin aspen works,they're in god's pocket now,LOVING them things!:)
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I got involved with a large cedar shingle roof 15 years ago. Compared to hand nailing then-new-fangled butane-powered nailers were a joy (one hand free to hold the shingle too!), fast and punched through the wood with much less chance of splitting.
 
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Something about this is terrifying and it's not the possibility for mishap either but the unchecked capacity for the capitalist's potential to exploit it all.
 
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