hewing, not milling

[canoehead]

is anyone out there hewing?

[Rob D]

I'd love to have the energy for it but chainsaw milling is enough for me!

[Dan Curtis]

A friend and I were in the closing stages of our canoe and someone broke into the wood yard and nicked it!

 

When I get a big enough disc I'm going to try to make a skiff type thing, one man, cross legged affair

[agg221]

I have done, to an extent, to see what it's like. I cleft the sweet chestnut tile battens and cladding support battens for the extension (several hundred of them), then hewed them down to a sensible section before running them through the thicknesser to dimension. I have also hewed one 6"x5"x13' beam from the round as the piece of elm wasn't straight enough to do any other way, and hewed a couple of 8' lengths of 4"x2" oak for studs, having cleft the log in half first.

 

I wouldn't say it's been too bad, but I won't be doing it when I'm in a hurry!

 

Alec

[canoehead]

hi alec,

 

have you got any pictures? what axes did you use, pictures, as well, if you have any please.

 

similar experience here, so long as time isn't the issue seems to go okay. hewed out a couple of 5x7 diminishing rafters at the w.e. (still hewing the second one). seems a really good way of using timber thats too marginal to mill because its too contorted, or too big to mill (on the logosol, don't have an alaskan). big leap for me going from hewing canoe parts, or longbows, or spoons to squaring 5m beams out of logs.

 

how did you cleave the tile battens? would like to cleave chestnut lath for plastering, so far had real trouble can't get it not to run out constantly, shakes were easy comparatively, any advice? did you use a riving knife fixed to a bench?

 

thanks

rick

[twmarriott]

not done it for a few years but did a heap of it when windsor castle roof burned as all the beams for that had to be hewn converted as original, i'll have some pics somewhere. i got quite handy with an adse. i've also hewn stocks (long bits on windmill sails) out of solid before, but its easier to get them cut to size.

[agg221]

Hi Rick,

 

Sorry, missed your post - I use a small, one-handed side axe made by Grant, which was cheap and works well enough. I'd like something heavier though. TWMarriott's post reminded me that I did a load on both boat restorations using an adze. Both chainsaws packed up once when I was trying to make the stem post for a canal boat (6' long and 13"x13" triangular section), so the whole thing ended up cut out with an adze, including the rebates. Worked quite well, but took the whole day. I'll take some pictures for what they're worth - doesn't show much I'm afraid.

 

Alec

[canoehead]

please, with the photos, esp of the windmill sail spars. that sounds amazing.

 

thanks rick

[canoehead]

alec have you got any pics of the canal boat stems? please.

 

thanks rick

[canoehead]

(Dan Curtis)

 

hi, have you any pictures of the dug out you were building? have you built any other canoes?

 

thanks rick