| Project by TopamaxSurvivor | posted 169 days ago | 724 views | 0 times favorited | 16 comments | ![]() |
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Here is a block of maple I squared up with a broad hatchet. I’ve always been curious about making timbers with a broad axe. I decided to try it with a round of firewood that was cut about 6 months ago. It is slightly checked on the ends, but nothing too serious. I just started by making a few chops going down the log, turned it over and made a few coming back the other way. I kept it up until I had a flat side. Did the other and had parallel sides. Made a couple square sides and the whole thing is as good as I can get it by eye with a hatchet. I would have to use a square, draw knife and a plane to get it any better.
There have been a few posts about cutting rounds in the band saw and the associated problems. Here is one way out of the dilemma, flatten a side with a broad axe. I suppose you could do pretty well with a regular axe if you don’t have a broad axe, but I haven’t tried it yet.
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
































16 comments so far
degoose
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2006 posts in 250 days
posted 169 days ago
Topam AX Survivor hey.
A lot of jocks start with square and use the lathe to make it round,, you my friend are different,
Larry
-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au
TopamaxSurvivor
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3039 posts in 572 days
posted 169 days ago
Now that it’s properly squared up, it’s ready for the lathe :-))
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
DAN
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6446 posts in 879 days
posted 169 days ago
neat !! original post … fun to read about
-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever
Christopher
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563 posts in 816 days
posted 169 days ago
Thats actually a lot of work to do. I do it occasionally with my short hatchet and it is a lesson in labor.
-- "That Government is Best that Governs The Least."-Jefferson
scrappy
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1628 posts in 326 days
posted 169 days ago
Another good lesson from the “Old School”
Great job!
Scrappy
-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!
kiwi1969
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601 posts in 338 days
posted 169 days ago
Thats going to be the smallest log cabin in the world, is for a hamster? :-)
-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand
TopamaxSurvivor
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3039 posts in 572 days
posted 169 days ago
I don’t think I could do enough for a hampster. I can auger out 3 or 4 round holes, dig a bit more out with chisels and have a bird condo :-))
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
Don K.
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1095 posts in 222 days
posted 169 days ago
Now that it’s properly squared up, it’s ready for the lathe :-))
LOL !!!!
-- Don S.E. OK
stefang
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1650 posts in 230 days
posted 168 days ago
I think you’re on to something there Bob. That looks like an eco-friendly way to to do things, if we don’t take the food into account. Seriously though, it’s a great way to quickly prepare a log for further work. I sometimes cut some logs about 6ft long and split them with wedges before smoothing them with axe and drawknife before I cut them into bowl pieces for the lathe. It’s actually very efficient, and more importantly it’s cheap!
-- Mike, American in Norway
Junji
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510 posts in 278 days
posted 168 days ago
REally interesting story. I don’t have any axe, but maybe I should get it too!
-- Junji Sugita from Japan, http://tetra.blog12.fc2.com/
moshel
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478 posts in 579 days
posted 168 days ago
wait a minute! your firewood is MAPLE????
-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...
Don K.
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1095 posts in 222 days
posted 168 days ago
wait a minute! your firewood is MAPLE????
LOL…kind of like lighting your cigars with hundred dollar bills !!!
-- Don S.E. OK
Craftsman on the lake
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818 posts in 333 days
posted 168 days ago
wait a minute! your firewood is MAPLE????
LOL…kind of like lighting your cigars with hundred dollar bills !!!
Depends of the area of the country. Where I am we burn maple and red oak and we burn a lot of it. And every house lot has hundred foot white pine trees on it. I read here about people who have walnut and cyprus and hickory and such… you’ve got to walk a long ways in the woods where I am to find any such animal. Most of them don’t exist here. And where I am we’re all woods.
-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html
sharad
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716 posts in 700 days
posted 168 days ago
You have done the job so well. I have never seen the use of axe for such a useful job. You are great!
Sharad
-- patanjali
TopamaxSurvivor
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3039 posts in 572 days
posted 168 days ago
I’ve burned cords of it in the past. I saw a pickup load of maple firewood last weekend. I wondered what kind of figure it had?? This block is from thinning at the tree farm.
http://s730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/Dopamax/?action=view¤t=TFMapleThin02.jpg&newest=1
http://s730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/Dopamax/?action=view¤t=TFaldersthin02.jpg&newest=1
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
PurpLev
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2759 posts in 544 days
posted 168 days ago
Great post! nice to see “another way” to square up logs.
-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.