cleaving a big oak with hand tools

[robin wood]

Yesterday I cleft up a 12 foot oak 2 feet in diameter using just hammers and wedges. It was great fun but hard work.

This tree would normally have been sawn but it was awash with old nails so it would have been scrap if I had not been able to work it this way.

and the final split down to fence rail size

more detail and pics on my blog http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2010/02/cleaving-big-oak-with-hand-tools.html

 

[launditch1]

Excellent!Hard work but very satisfying.I love the noise it makes just as its about to go..

 

[Chris the Cat]

Thats good to see Robin!
Did you make any of the wedges from the oak itself?
Chris.

 

[robin wood]

Thats good to see Robin!
Did you make any of the wedges from the oak itself?
Chris.

I used a piece of dry oak from the firewood pile. You can use green wedges but they get mashed up quicker since they are as soft as what you are splitting.

 

[Chris the Cat]

How did you start the splits? From one end?
( Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question! )
Chris.

 

[lannyman8]

i have used the same process meany times but on a smaller scale.....

good work and yes the noise is realy gratafieing....

 

[Chris the Cat]

So my question to you both becomes.. Where do you start!
C da C.

 

[addo]

Great stuff Robin. Theres a cleft sweet chestnut or Oak Fence on a huge scale nr Darly moor circuit in a village. Your work sir? Looks very nice.

 

[robin wood]

So my question to you both becomes.. Where do you start!
C da C.

Most common to start at end with a metal wedge then work along with wooden ones. Sometimes when I think there is a high risk of the split running out I'll start in the middle. I worked chestnut coppices in Kent years ago and split up many many rails after the 1987 storm but never did a very big one like this, the pics don't really show the scale.

 

[Mesquite]

190 yards of fence rails out of 1 tree trunk... that's good going Robin. Thanks for sharing it with us

 

[Chris the Cat]

Most common to start at end with a metal wedge then work along with wooden ones. Sometimes when I think there is a high risk of the split running out I'll start in the middle. I worked chestnut coppices in Kent years ago and split up many many rails after the 1987 storm but never did a very big one like this, the pics don't really show the scale.

Cheers Robin.
Chris.

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Paul and I split a Birch log using two Small Forest axes last Sunday. Placed one axe at the end and battoned it in to the eye, then used the other axe to open the log enough to get the first one out, then battoned in a wedge to get the second one out, then started over again and so on.

 

[phill_ue]

Ooooh! Careful, somebody will tell you off in a minute for pounding the head of a SFA, against the advice of the Axe Book!

I did a large piece of ash just like that last year, cut a few wedges and started the split with an SFA, then introduced the wedges. The sound as it starts to part is tremendous!

 

[Tjurved]

Wow great cleaving and great wood. I almost feel sorry for it beeing divided into such smal pieces . It could have resulted in very fine quarter sawn boards... but I am sure you will do the wood justice.

 

[brancho]

Good results are the reward for hard work

 

[bushcraftbob]

That looks really satisfying! Bet yer arms were acheing afterwards

 

[caliban]

That looks like it had a few good bowstaves in it that did.

 

[robin wood]

That looks like it had a few good bowstaves in it that did.

would oak make a decent bow? I guess ash and elm are both very good so oak would be ok though maybe a little heavy?