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Flattening a round

Project by TopamaxSurvivor posted 169 days ago 724 views 0 times favorited 16 comments Add to Favorites Watch

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

View degoose's profile

degoose

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

View TopamaxSurvivor's profile

TopamaxSurvivor

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.

View DAN 's profile

DAN

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

View Christopher's profile

Christopher

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

View scrappy's profile

scrappy

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!

View kiwi1969's profile

kiwi1969

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

View TopamaxSurvivor's profile

TopamaxSurvivor

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.

View Don K.'s profile

Don K.

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

View stefang's profile

stefang

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

View Junji's profile

Junji

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/

View moshel's profile

moshel

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...

View Don K.'s profile

Don K.

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

View Craftsman on the lake's profile

Craftsman on the lake

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

View sharad's profile

sharad

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

View TopamaxSurvivor's profile

TopamaxSurvivor

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&current=TFMapleThin02.jpg&newest=1

http://s730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/Dopamax/?action=view&current=TFaldersthin02.jpg&newest=1

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

View PurpLev's profile

PurpLev

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.

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