hewing, not milling

[Johnherbert]

Went on a timber framing course a couple of years ago and we hewed green oak with side axes that have a bevel on one side.We used plumb lines to get everything level and the finish you can achieve with a very sharp axe is har to believe.It is hard work but very satisfying.

[wisewood]

 

is your expertise in boat building? and what sort of tools have you made? any pictures?

 

could you forge a timber framing slick? or an axe? that i would really very much like to do. stock removal knives are one thing, but an axe, to make an axe, that's where it all begins surely?

 

was there a special tempering process for the adze? was it differential hardening like other cutting edges? did he use clay or something like it to retard the heat? or a torch to apply it very specifically?

 

thanks rick

 

I'd really like to know too:001_smile:

Been wanting to make some big gouges from car leaf springs for ages, give us some pointers please!

Cheers, Si

[canoehead]

you have nailed it chris, i'm in total agreement, from what i can gather the use of scribe joinery is really about having to use less than perfectly matched timbers, and the american square rule system is dependent upon uniform square timbers, and both are the product of the environments from which they came, in the u.k. where the limited availability of logs big enough to dimension into square timbers dictates the use of scribing faces that don't marry, that in the u.s. just isn't an issue where the stock pile is almost unendingly vast, allowing you to cut whatever you want.

 

i think the whole point of hewing is the ability to make lumber that's un-millable, useable. that i see as the main reason to hew, not its historical significance. its why they did it in the first place. that its an affordable do-able thing. it means you don't have to haul a much bigger timber out of the forest, you can fell it and hew it in the same place, and carry out your finished material. all it costs after the purchase of the axe is a hearty dinner, no fuel, chains, mill, or anything. for me its using the lessons and knowledge of the past to solve a current problem. what i like abut the plimouth plantation project is its really the antidote to all those perfectly cnc'd frames littering google images. not from a historical perspective, or their ability to craft something authentically, but to see thru their extensive research the myriad of possibilities for low cost, low impact, sustainable building, that uses tried and tested materials in conjunction with each other, materials that are often the by-product of some other activity or contribute another resource in their making. using what is available in the most appropriate way.

 

and that's something i think is great about timber framing in general, it allows you to begin to think about what is possible, outside of mainstream construction. its sort of like, well actually we haven't progressed at all, we've just been suckered into thinking that the answers to construction come after the industrial revolution, as a result of it, and that all we are doing is purchasing a product that has been mass produced, because its producable in that quantity, and not because its a better solution to building.

 

i really believe the old ways have a lot of value, particularly in this context.

[Rob D]

Good thread and great pics in the post above - never realised you could do so much with an axe!

 

 

Hopefully there will start to be a falling back to 'old ways' of doing things - and also using the massive amount of timber we have in this country for useful things.....

[agg221]

Been away for a few days on business and got back about 11 last night, so I'll take a picture of some tools today - they're mostly forging related rather than woodworking related though. Cracker on here makes and sells green woodworking tools.

 

As it happens, the place I've been away to is the BSW sawmill (ex Howie's) in Dalbeattie, which is the extreme opposite of this thread as it's the largest single site mill in the UK. The speed and volume were staggering and interestingly it does mill round curves (up to 25mm per linear metre) to follow the grain of the log and improve yield and stability once seasoned.

 

Some of the discussion over dinner was around timber supplies and it's fair to say that they're worried. Figures are from memory, but it was something like 10million cubic metres of softwood used as timber in the UK every year, of which 4.5million cubic metres are home-grown.

 

There are two problems arising with security of supply. The first is a change in government policy. Whereas 15yrs ago there were tax breaks to encourage people to plant forestry trees. Now, the focus is on mixed species amenity woodland. Although this makes it very pleasant to go for a bike ride, it isn't a lot of use for forestry and since the commercial value is so low, it's not worth anyone's while to do the early stage management (thinning, removing mis-shapen trees etc) so the trees can't be processed by sawmills. The second problem is that if all the biomass plant approved gets built this will take 50million cubic metres a year. The subsidies available already allow biomass plants to compete against sawmills for supply - apparently virgin sawlogs are already going for fuel.

 

The likely outcome is that timber prices will rise dramatically over the next 15yrs. For conventional builds this just means housing stock gets more expensive, but it cetainly makes hewn structures increasingly attractive for anyone who can do it.

 

Alec

[offgridchris]

i find it amazing that after clear felling large amounts of larch and spruce here in mid wales the commission are planning a massive program of nothing. no replanting just natural regeneration????? it's where i mountain bike and the track is great but its not gonna build houses or heat our homes. crazy. not wanting to go off the thread topic because its a goodun but who said state owned forestry is a good idea?

 

ive brought a left handed side axe and im eying up a broad axe and some log dogs. now ive just got to tell the wife her boot room larder may take a bit longer to build

[agg221]

I have mis-placed my phone - think it's in the car but the battery is flat and I have spent the weekend doing more useful things than looking for it. I'll look for it at lunchtime tomorrow as it gets me out of the office!

 

One of the useful things I spent time doing was playing some more with my side axe. More chestnut split out with wedges, then froe into smaller sections and hewn to make the sides parallel before final sizing in the thicknesser (yes, I know....) It's rather like the viking ship plank-making process in miniature. Next batch of tile batten now completed.

 

Alec