Early Access Video: 3 Greenwood Tools You Can Make
Added 2021-08-14 11:00:03 +0000 UTCFriends:
The greenwood odyssey continues! If we're going to make greenwood projects, then we need to be able to process logs into usable components. That means splitting. Luckily, the tools for splitting logs are quite cheap. Even better, you can make several of your own for no money!
In this video, I'll make 3 common greenwood tools (plus a bonus tool). These are great, simple projects for your next afternoon in the garden.
And if this greenwood thing isn't your cup of tea, no worries. I have several other types of video in the works and some nice projects coming. Summer is winding down here in Ohio and I won't be outside that much longer anyway.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
Do you have any blacksmithing capability?
Robert Dennett
2021-08-22 19:18:04 +0000 UTCDo you have any plans to cover carving? How about the use of the crooked knife?
Robert Dennett
2021-08-21 04:52:27 +0000 UTCI will try. Life is busy and it may take a bit before I can make time to really try it out.
Brian Suker
2021-08-20 23:25:01 +0000 UTCI'm starting to wish I had bought a froe. They are not trivial to make! Also, if you would have an extra piece of dogwood you could hand me through the computer...
Jeff Stauffer
2021-08-20 19:07:04 +0000 UTCSo, there was this yearly booksale in my hometown library every year. Literally about a million books. Every year, there would be dozens of copies of the whole foxfire series and I would pick them up, leaf through them, and put them down. I was always interested in them, but I never bought them (for like $1 each). I regret my youthful stupidity.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-20 18:57:08 +0000 UTCThank you!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-20 18:55:24 +0000 UTCI'm very interested in hearing about it. Please put a review on the forum if you have the time and tag me in!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-20 18:55:08 +0000 UTCAnd what material? Also, how thin can you get away with? Yours appears to be about 1/4" thick. Would 1/8" be too flimsy?
Robert Dennett
2021-08-18 19:43:24 +0000 UTCI just bought the Lee Valley froe. We’ll see how it goes.
Brian Suker
2021-08-17 22:54:19 +0000 UTCThanks, Rex!
Scott Alderfer
2021-08-17 01:41:29 +0000 UTCI am also in the process of trying some of this green woodworking. I have a froe half completed (the easy half) and made a wooden mallet over the weekend. I also went out into the forest and played lumberjack... and then went to see my chiropractor today. I think I'll get the beetle done this evening and hope to have a shavehorse done by the end of the weekend. Keep the videos coming! They're awesome.
Jeff Stauffer
2021-08-16 20:44:49 +0000 UTCRex, have you read The Foxfire book? Book 1 in particular was my first introduction to green woodworking and discusses lots of these tools and methods. It provided a great overview of practical Appalachian green woodworking.
Nicholas Harris
2021-08-16 16:45:04 +0000 UTCI think you can make pretty much any axe/hatchet work. I have a carving axe and a hewing hatchet with a straight handle. Never seen a need to crank that handle for furniture work.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 13:55:49 +0000 UTCScott-A hewing hatchet is a good choice for carving. Since it is flat on the one side, it is good for squaring up the wood and also can make very precise cuts. Like any of our tools, make sure she’s good and sharp and it will do a great job for you. If you get into carving and want a little smaller and lighter axe, look at the grans fors axe Rex mentions in his response back to me and the one I use-the hults bruk janeker has worked well for me, too. Good look!
Sean O'Neill
2021-08-16 13:55:11 +0000 UTCI'm no expert, but I think the concept applies in most/all solid materials. That's why the club has that taper between the handle and the head. Again, I defer to the authorities on this.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 13:54:46 +0000 UTCRex-A push knife is very similar looking to a draw knife, but a little different. I was made aware of them by Paul Adamson a master carver in the UK. He has written some books on kuksa and spoon carving and has appeared in Zed Outdoors Channel on YT. I highly recommend this channel for green woodworking. Anyway, Morakniv makes a push knife, the Morakniv 220. The handles come straight out from the blade, rather than turn down like a drawknife. The blade is double beveled unlike most draw knives and the blade width is less wider than most draw knives, too. The blade thickness is also thinner, so you have to be careful not to take too much off in one cut. It’s a finishing tool for carving bowls and spoons that can make some more precise cuts for flattening or truing up the rim on a bowl. Adamson actually uses it almost like a paper cutter coming down for a guillotine cut to trim the corners and end grain sections on kuksas and bowls. He puts a screw hook on his carving block that fits into an eye hook on the push knife that comes from the factory that way and makes nice paring slices with the knife on the workpiece. This tool is totally optional and not absolutely needed for carving, but it was only like $25-30 on Amazon. I’ve used it recently on some of my green woodworking projects and it works nicely. And, like a drawknife or spokeshave, you can either push or pull the knife to make cuts.
Sean O'Neill
2021-08-16 12:37:35 +0000 UTCThat is something I should look into! Thank you!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:08:35 +0000 UTCI wish I knew when the first project would get here!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:08:08 +0000 UTCStupid speech-to-text program! Can't deal with homophones!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:07:36 +0000 UTCThank you!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:06:57 +0000 UTCYou and me both!
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:06:48 +0000 UTCThat's probably a good idea. I'll add that feature.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:06:36 +0000 UTCI used a stick....and curses.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:06:21 +0000 UTCI use the Gransfors small carving ax. Worth. Every. Penny. In your comment, you mentioned a "push knife." I'm not sure I know what that is, but I'm interested.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:06:01 +0000 UTCI feel that way about so many things.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:03:02 +0000 UTCAbout 2 inches wide and roughly 18 inched long seems standard. Mine is 3.5" wide and that's too much....although it still works.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:02:51 +0000 UTCI'm glad to hear that! Most of the greenwork content on YouTube isn't super-popular. I'm hoping to bring it to a wider audience.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:01:58 +0000 UTCLike most things, it's harder than it looks. (But not by much!)
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:01:12 +0000 UTCI'm glad people are into it! I never know when I start a new thing.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 12:00:21 +0000 UTCThe Lee Valley Froe is about $50. That seems fair.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 11:59:58 +0000 UTCDoes it go that far back? Wow. I'm glad to be walking in those footsteps.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 11:59:30 +0000 UTC"Fresh"! I like that/
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 11:58:56 +0000 UTCFrans has it spot-on. I set these up the night before.
Rex Krueger
2021-08-16 11:58:47 +0000 UTCI have a question is regarding a carving axe. I'm pretty new to green woodworking. As in the only project I've tackled so far is a froe mallet. So far, I have used a hewing hatchet (single bevel). Is that adequate as a "carving axe?" My hatchet has a straight handle. Is a curved handle preferred by most woodworkers? Thanks.
Scott Alderfer
2021-08-16 02:56:37 +0000 UTCI saw a guy do that a few years ago. Finished a cut, relaxed and the still spinning saw hit his leg. His safety trousers (actually chaps over the top of t trousseau) saved the day
David Coxon
2021-08-16 00:43:49 +0000 UTCExcellent question!
Thomas Hverring
2021-08-15 19:41:58 +0000 UTCGood point. I think Rex's log brake is comparable to an aluminum brake, which clamps down on long pieces of aluminum coil stock and holds them stationary to then create a longitudinal bend in the piece of aluminum. That's how aluminum window trim and fascia trim are bent to create the trim's profile. It's logical, because Rex's log brake is holding the workpiece stationary to do work on it. And great video, as usual.
Scott Alderfer
2021-08-15 18:58:50 +0000 UTCAre stress risers "a thing" in woodworking? I knew they were in metalwork, where a sharp internal angle was where all the stress becomes concentrated and results in stuff breaking there, but I'd imagined that the grains in wood meant that stress cracks didn't really propagate across the grain and that this wouldn't be an issue.
hollo
2021-08-15 15:33:01 +0000 UTCI have a 6" thick oak slab that is 2' wide, I need to split it along a natural split to make it easier to cut up and use in the future. Thanks as always for the great information.
Skully Wood and Metal
2021-08-15 14:57:51 +0000 UTCYou really sould buy a couple of chainsaw pants. My friend managed to put a chainsaw in his leg a few years ago. Looked like a shark had taken a bite out of the leg.
Robert Karlsson
2021-08-15 09:11:29 +0000 UTCNice video Rex. Green wood working looks like a lot of fun and getting started would be minimal cost-axe, hatchet, buck saw, sledge hammer, splitting wedge and a froe. Almost all of these can be found at yard sales. I believe that you can find froes at Northern Tools also. Haven't looked lately but they had them several years ago. Looking forward to the first project.
Matt Evans-Koch
2021-08-15 00:27:51 +0000 UTCI think you meant to use the word brake instead of break. Great content!
Tom Manseau
2021-08-14 18:11:53 +0000 UTCYou can find them on Etsy, too. Hand crafted or used.
Sam Brelsfoard
2021-08-14 16:27:42 +0000 UTCGreat Rex, enjoyable as usual
Gareth McMahon
2021-08-14 16:10:26 +0000 UTCGreat video, as always. Not only did I learn some interesting basics about greenwood-working but also many new vocabs. I'd love to know how craftsmen came up with these names, honestly
Hagen
2021-08-14 14:27:00 +0000 UTCI rather expected the tops of the wedges to be eased over/beveled whatever the right word is. I'm enjoying this series, thanks for the hard work
Mick King
2021-08-14 14:21:28 +0000 UTCAnother excellent video. Hmm, a wood shop that's accessible to wildlife...and all of the little things that come with them. Do you have a simple tool to clean off your shoes? Oh right! The glut would be useful for that.:) Thanks for the great ideas Rex.
John Hiemstra
2021-08-14 14:16:05 +0000 UTCHey, Rex! I’m loving all the greenwood content!! I’ve just begun my greenwood journey, too, a few months back and it’s a lot of fun, definitely a different but no less rewarding style of woodworking. I was wondering what carving axe you have? I have two: a smaller Hults brük Janeker axe and a larger Müeller Bieber Classic hewing style. Both have worked well for me. And yes, one of the first parts of the learning curve is using the axe much more before going to a draw knife, push knife or carving knife. The axe is amazingly precise and clean cutting once you get the hang of it-no pun intended.
Sean O'Neill
2021-08-14 14:02:21 +0000 UTCInteresting to watch but not something I would be doing myself I must admit.
Richard Ziewiec
2021-08-14 13:59:55 +0000 UTCFroes are forged from mild steel, correct? Also, in the video with James Wright, you mentioned that your froe blade is too wide. What dimensions would you recommend?
Robert Dennett
2021-08-14 13:44:48 +0000 UTCThis post (and the video) were probably posted before that time. You can set a date and time on which it'll be published. Just like the video's on YouTube. We can see them because we have a direct link to it, but Rex (or Nate) has set a date and time on which it's to be released to everyone else. At that point it will be visible to all other users. Until that time only those with a direct link will be able to see it.
Frans van Ballegooijen
2021-08-14 13:28:46 +0000 UTCThis is so awesome, I’m so glad that you’re venturing more and more into the green wood side of things. I think that when people see where you take this, anyone who is on the “meh” side of things with green woodworking will have their eyes opened. That was me when I started woodworking, but as I got more exposure to it, it’s become practically my primary woodworking interest!
Aaron Wasielewski
2021-08-14 12:53:52 +0000 UTCHi Rex, that's a brill watch. Although I'm not sure about that beetle, it looks pretty complicated lol ;)
Jim
2021-08-14 12:36:01 +0000 UTCexcellent stuff Rex, thank you. loving this new green woodworking thing you've got going: bring it on! :)
T. Flo
2021-08-14 12:32:00 +0000 UTCI’ve been trying to “win” a froe on auction sites for month. Guess I’m just going to have to break down and buy one from LN or the Veritas
Kirk von der Heydt
2021-08-14 11:37:40 +0000 UTCReminds me of the old Roy Underhill series season one, episode one where he makes a maul and glut.
Joshua Zubrzycki
2021-08-14 11:36:02 +0000 UTCVery Nice, Thank you for the fresh content.
Marc Barash
2021-08-14 11:19:31 +0000 UTCDo you have an "auto-upload" set up, or are you really awake at exactly 6:00(Central time) every Saturday?
Jeff Tinsley
2021-08-14 11:03:54 +0000 UTC
