forging axe and hewing log cabin video

[robin wood]

This is a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbCpDsxUHVc

It was filmed in Sweden (Gransfors?) and funded by this European organisation http://cultrural.net/en/proj_backgroundaims.php

It was a 3 year project recording and helping share traditional skills and involves work in many countries, there was a big conference and skill sharing in Greece but as far as I can see no input in the UK at all.

 

[BushTucker]

OMG, that was fantastic, nice to see those sort of skills havent been lost to power tools. Cant get over how accurate that guy was with chopping. Awesome.

Thanks for shareing

 

[Shewie]

Fascinating to watch right through, thanks for that Robin

 

[John Fenna]

Great to see!
I would have been more impressed if the lady Blacksmith had shaved her legs with the axe instead of the fellow doing the old "shaves my arm" test....

 

[BushTucker]

Nice one Mr Fenna

 

[pwb]

Great stuff, thanks Robin.

Those joints are works of art, good to know that it's an art they are trying to pass on.

Pete.

 

[John Fenna]

I saw a proram on TV many years ago about dating buildings by the complexity of their wooden joints...it all started as very simple joints, then got more and more complicated until a point came when it all started simplifying again - now we use giant staples!
I would be interested to know of what era the joint in the video dates from and how long it was used. The only techniues I have otherwise seen for log cabin wall construction is a simple lap joint with caulking to fill in the gaps between the logs.

 

[MartiniDave]

Fantastic!

Thanks for posting the link Robin.

I'm off to try to get my drawknife that sharp!!

Dave

 

[Wayland]

Great Vid.

Interestingly every one of those tools remain unchanged since Viking times.

There are spoon bits just like the one shown that were found in the Mastrmyr find and If you have a forge and not an engineering shop that is exactly how you make a drill.

 

[DavidJT]

I saw a proram on TV many years ago about dating buildings by the complexity of their wooden joints...it all started as very simple joints, then got more and more complicated until a point came when it all started simplifying again - now we use giant staples!
I would be interested to know of what era the joint in the video dates from and how long it was used. The only techniues I have otherwise seen for log cabin wall construction is a simple lap joint with caulking to fill in the gaps between the logs.

If anyone is ever in Stockholm, the open air museum at Skansen has a big collection of Scandiavian wooden buildings going back quite a few 100's of years. Very interesting to see the development of tecniques.

 

[robin wood]

If anyone is ever in Stockholm, the open air museum at Skansen has a big collection of Scandiavian wooden buildings going back quite a few 100's of years. Very interesting to see the development of tecniques.

Skansen is well worth a visit for so many reasons. The open air museum in Oslo is another great one for log buildings and another great one is the museum of wooden architecture at Novgorod.

I know very little about log building but was in touch a while ago with a guy in Norway who is doing a PhD looking at Viking age hewing which uses a "bump cutting" technique very similar to traditional Japanese hewing.

 

[Neumo]

Really nice to see that level of precision with an axe. Great video

 

[helixpteron]

That was truly amazing, I'd never seen that log work before, and the auger was also a new one for me.

I loved seeing the axe come to life too.

Many thanks for posting.

 

[michiel]

Lovely vid. Thanks for posting!

 

[BushTucker]

Just a silly question about this. What sort of joints would you use if making one with 4x4 or even 5x5" post wood?
Would lap joints fixed with pegs be good enough?

Ta

 

[GreyOne]

We still have a few pioneer era log cabins at parks and museums here in Texas. Most use a form of angled notch that gives some interlocking effect. They are all quite small to eyes accustomed t modern homes, but they are quite weatherproof, and the insulative effect of the thick log walls was a major factor in the days before central heat and air <g>.

 

[Colin.W]

Just a silly question about this. What sort of joints would you use if making one with 4x4 or even 5x5" post wood?
Would lap joints fixed with pegs be good enough?

Ta

I would use a similar joint to a x halving joint but only cutting 1/4 depth so as to lap by half the thickness of the timber the joints would be secure enough but I'd use dowel pegs at regular intervals along each length to help prevent the timbers warping in or out

 

[Leonidas]

Great video, nice to see tradition is being kept alive.

Tom