New Puget Sound patterns

[M3mphis]

Pegs, did that fall backwards on you????????????????????

 

[bearhunter]

Sounds like fun to me as well. The USFS video "The Crosscut Sawyer" is a great watch for anyone who hasn't checked it out already. I think it does a great job of explaining the forces that cause bind and other issues.

SO.....who's going to be the first to post a bunch of photos and/or video of a felling with a Puget Sound axe????? There's a 3.5lb Kelly Perfect double bit or a yet to be named vintage boy's axe for the first person to post it up!! (Must be your own work and must be done after this post.) Just for fun!!!!!:thumbup:

I had honestly forgotten about the challenge... Damn!
That's OK, Pegs lives closer to the Puget Sound area anyway

 

[bearhunter]

More pics to follow but consider it done.

Way to go Pegs!
Good on 'yer mate

 

[G-pig]

It does look like it gave pegs the switcharoo. You better get asplaing pegs!

 

[Square_peg]

Pegs, did that fall backwards on you????????????????????

What to do.

I had to decide whether I wanted to do this entirely with the axe or if I wanted to speed things up with a crosscut saw. Historically a crosscut saw was used to cut the kerf and then the Puget Sound felling axe was used to open the face.

Sawing is not only quicker but it gives you more control of the fall since you can wedge the cut to push the tree over. With the axe you're pretty much limited to the natural lean of the tree.

I chose to continue without the saw for posterity. I was only able to make this choice because the fall line was clear to both directions.

A video.

[video=facebook;4080966614926]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4080966614926[/video]

 

[Square_peg]

My buddy uploaded a couple videos to youtube.
[video=youtube;BSEf3fXug5w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSEf3fXug5w[/video]
[video=youtube;wbGHsTuoBX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbGHsTuoBX0[/video]
[video=youtube;uBGNIQMT990]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBGNIQMT990&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[G-pig]

So did you cut the felling cut below the directional or did that tree misbehave?

 

[bearhunter]

Awesome vids Pegs!
You got out of there pretty quick once that sucker started falling

 

[Square_peg]

So did you cut the felling cut below the directional or did that tree misbehave?

The tree did mis-behave. I knew it was gonna be close and when the wind switched around just opposite of what I wanted I knew it was gonna go the wrong way. Thankfully the fall zone was clear in both directions.

 

[M3mphis]

Oh, man! That was fun to watch! My brother and I felled a Fir about that size two weeks ago at elk camp. We did it with a Plumb and a Collins cruiser double bits. I love cruisers, they are nice and easy to swing and pack a hell of a punch.

Thanks for posting, Pegs!

 

[Square_peg]

A couple more pics. In the first post of this thread I showed 3 axes.

The one in the middle is a 1938 Sager Chemical Axe. The one on the right turned out to be a Kelly-Charleston. The one on the left is a beat up no-name. So which one did I pick for this project? Bearhunter knows. Of course I picked the no-name basket case.

My reasoning was this, it had little to no collectable value so I felt free to treat however I saw fit. It was also the widest of the 3 axes, measuring 12-3/4" bit-to-bit. The long narrow head exemplified the Puget Sound felling axe.

I bought a new handle from Tennessee Hickory. It had a nice grain but it was thick as a bat - needed some major spokeshave work to get down to the thickness and shape that I like.

The eye was well-aligned to the head so it hung pretty straight.

I found only a faint remnant of a makers stamp on this axe. It looks like a row of tear drops forming an arch. If anyone recognizes this please let me know.

 

[bearhunter]

So Pegs....
I was wondering, how does the PS chop compared to say a jersey or a Connecticut, etc?
Good, bad, better, or indifferent...

 

[Steve Tall]

So Pegs....
I was wondering, how does the PS chop compared to say a jersey or a Connecticut, etc?
Good, bad, better, or indifferent...

I was wondering that, too. By the way, I don't think I have the strength to keep swinging that axe like you did without sliding one had toward the head before each swing. With a 4-pound head on a 40-some inch haft, swinging like that is impressive.

 

[Square_peg]

So Pegs....
I was wondering, how does the PS chop compared to say a jersey or a Connecticut, etc?
Good, bad, better, or indifferent...

It chops good! That Doug Fir is tough stuff. The narrow bit of a PS really digs deep. I'll have to try some wider-bit axes on that tree to see how they compare. I thought about bringing along a wide-bit axe for comparison when I felled it. But I wanted to stay strictly with the PS just for posterity sake.

I was wondering that, too. By the way, I don't think I have the strength to keep swinging that axe like you did without sliding one had toward the head before each swing. With a 4-pound head on a 40-some inch haft, swinging like that is impressive.

Only a 36" haft. Funny thing, despite being fat and old and decrepid I find I still have some upper body strength left. You shoulda seen me 20 years ago. I was all full of piss and vinegar. Them were the days. :sigh:

 

[333.okh]

Thanks for that, Steve. Now the long handles make sense. I see stumps of trees like that all the time. Many still show the springboard notches. But I never really considered what it would take to notch one. An axe with longer reach would mean you wouldn't have to move the board so often. Our NW Doug Firs are pretty hard stuff so I can understand why they used the narrow bits.

I have a couple too including this true temper stiletto

I am in the coastal redwood country and got this one from my old job at Pacific Lumber Company aka TPLCo or PL or PALCO


O and I have worked felling trees with both those double bit axes...just to say I did...WOW! I did a cpl redwoods with the Hand-Made Michigan pattern, then an Oregon Myrtle and a Douglas-fir with the Stiletto...ouch!

 

[Square_peg]

I have a couple too including this true temper stiletto

I was a little surprised recently when I learned that TT made axes for Stiletto. I have a couple Stilettos that I really like, a DB and a 4 pound Michigan which still needs hanging. The DB has about the hardest steel of any axe I've filed. It's holds its edge great even limbing thru hard knots. Plus I like that Stiletto was one of the few west coast axe makers (when they made their own).

 

[333.okh]

I was a little surprised recently when I learned that TT made axes for Stiletto. I have a couple Stilettos that I really like, a DB and a 4 pound Michigan which still needs hanging. The DB has about the hardest steel of any axe I've filed. It's holds its edge great even limbing thru hard knots. Plus I like that Stiletto was one of the few west coast axe makers (when they made their own).

This is the same way..hard but not chippy....took forever to hone...never have sharpened it again...Originally, I thought STILETTO was just a model of True Temper...this has TT Kelly Works on one side and Stiletto on the other.

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

My buddy uploaded a couple videos to youtube.
[video=youtube;BSEf3fXug5w]

[video=youtube;wbGHsTuoBX0]

[video=youtube;uBGNIQMT990]

I was waiting for the saw part; Puget Sound all the way to the end!!

 

[garry3]

A couple more pics. In the first post of this thread I showed 3 axes.

The one in the middle is a 1938 Sager Chemical Axe. The one on the right turned out to be a Kelly-Charleston. The one on the left is a beat up no-name. So which one did I pick for this project? Bearhunter knows. Of course I picked the no-name basket case.

My reasoning was this, it had little to no collectable value so I felt free to treat however I saw fit. It was also the widest of the 3 axes, measuring 12-3/4" bit-to-bit. The long narrow head exemplified the Puget Sound felling axe.

I bought a new handle from Tennessee Hickory. It had a nice grain but it was thick as a bat - needed some major spokeshave work to get down to the thickness and shape that I like.

The eye was well-aligned to the head so it hung pretty straight.

I found only a faint remnant of a makers stamp on this axe. It looks like a row of tear drops forming an arch. If anyone recognizes this please let me know.

Do you still have that last one SQ, if so can you see any marks that line up with those on the opposite side?

 

[Agent_H]

I don’t find many Puget Sound axes even though I’m not far from where they were used.

This has maybe been discussed but does the term “Puget Sound” axe kind of cover several different elongated patterns? Say, like “Maine axes” encompasses many patterns but also refers to regional makers and overall build styles?

Falling, narrow, Young’s, older Granfors DB falling is quite elongated compared to their DB, PNW, etc.

In older catalogs I see different styles and bit lengths of swamping axes kind of grouped together with them for sale. Some of the old photos of huge trees being taken show guys in the same crew using the long thin ones but also some with much more flared bits than what I think of a “Puget Sound” axe but still on 40”+ handles. Just curious.

I’m glad this thread was brought back up