Hewing

[D L Bahler]

OK,
so here are some photos of the hewing process. We do quite a bit of hewing around here anymore, and the way things are going it would seem like most of our projects for our own facilities are going to involve some hewing.

I've invested a god deal of money in some specialized tools from central Europe, and have quite a bit of experience under my belt developing and refining my techniques. The style used is, of course, Central European. This is a technique of the Southernmost German-speaking regions, Austria and Switzerland, and into areas of former Germanic influence, like Hungary, Croatia, etc.

The technique is to use a large long handled broad axe called a plankaxt to notch and to rough hew. The finish with this axe can be quite good for many applications, but if you want a nicer finish you use the goosewing. These two tools are all that is needed. I will also use a felling axe on occasion to cut out difficult knots.

Here are pictures, first of the notching and roughing, then the finish with the plankaxt alone, then the process of using the goosewing, then the finish left by the goosewing.

This is white pine, I can get better results with harder wood (it is so easy to make a mistake in pine)



  

  

  

  

  

 

I'm also opening my current project up for workshops for those who wish to learn about these methods. This is to me the fastest, most efficient method with the best results. The resulting finish can be very smooth and nice, but not blank like a planed timber -you still know it is hewn.

[Seaman]

DL,
That is great! I love the look and would love to learn someday. Good luck with your classes.
Frank

[ChrisGermany]

Always like to see someone else doing this the old fashioned way.

In industry terms these days, "hewn" means sawn to within a quarter inch of the finished surface and pecked on with an adze for an "authentic" finish. Nothing beats some score marks and a few lines where the juggles popped off to make a fine-looking timber.

Keep it up, brother!

[Dave Shepard]

Fake hewing, if done correctly, can be undistinguishable from the original work.  I've done a lot of it, but there is never an adze involved. Unless you have a log with little taper, and it is just the right size, you are wasting good, often clear, side lumber. Hewing a 10"x16"x47' timber you would have more footage in chips than you would have in the timber due to the taper in a log that size.

[D L Bahler]

If I were building a project for profit, I likely would 'fake hew' timbers before fully hewing. That is, unless I can get my hands on the proper materials to get good yields without excessive waste.

Most of my projects involve short timbers -I won't hew a 42 foot beam, I don't like to handle things that long. The style of framing i use employs a lot of smaller, shorter pieces. With this, it is possible to be more efficient in terms of materials. For example, I can split a log and hew 2 timbers from it, or I can have logs that don't have so much taper to deal with because they are short.

Also in log building, you hew the logs to follow the taper, this reduces waste quite a bit.

A tool like the goosewing is great for giving a finish to a milled timber -and time wise it is really not different than if I were to plane it. Just think of it as a finish. Keep in mind that when hewing in my style, the goal is really to remove any scoring marks.

[grweldon]

That looks really great David!  I think I'm just too old and my shoulders wouldn't be able to do all that manual work.  I can still handle a chainsaw, but just barely!  ;)

[irishcountry]

  AWESOME !!! Beautiful work and really like that building behind you (more pics??) !  Have you heard of John neeman and Autine tools ?  They make some really nice axes , chisels, slicks ect.  I'd love to see and hear more about your techniques in building as well .  Do you have any problems with permits ?  I keep hearing you can't build with what your mill or hew unless its stamped by a lumber grader ?  Is there some way around this ?  Ok thanks for the info and pics

[D L Bahler]

The cabin in the background is thoroughly documented elsewhere on this forum, so I won't put up pics here. Don't know where those are, maybe someone can dig them up? I've been working on the compute to long, and have a bit of a headache at the moment...

These are agricultural buildings, which in Cass County Indiana means anything goes. I can build without a permit and no inspections, etc -no codes really apply- so no trouble here.

Also Indiana has this wonderful old thing we call the log cabin law, it states that if you do the majority of the work yourself, no building codes apply to you (for residential and farm projects, not commercial)

[ChrisGermany]

Didn't mean to sound like a hewing snob there.  :D  Nothing at all wrong with finish hewing sawn stock. I just truly hate to see people (and one particular company is famous for it) passing off adze-marked timbers as "authentically hand-hewn."

I do it mainly for the historical value of learning and perfecting a process long out of common use, so I'm not on a timeline for satisfying customers and can afford to do things the slow, sweaty way. 

[irishcountry]

  Ok THANK YOU !! I'd really like to check out that thread but not so good with finding posts yet . I'll have to see if Michigan has a similar law??

[D L Bahler]

you can also find pics on my blog, linked in my signature. I'm reworking it right now, but you can find a few pics. I'll get back to it later and get some pictures of the process up on the 2012 project page.

[D L Bahler]

Chris, I understand your point, don't think you are being a snob. Just pointing out, there is also credibility to Dave's comment. But I'd sooner call that a 'hand hewn finish' rather than saying the beams are hewn, because they are not.

[Brian_Weekley]

Also Indiana has this wonderful old thing we call the log cabin law, it states that if you do the majority of the work yourself, no building codes apply to you (for residential and farm projects, not commercial)

The whole country should be like that!

[D L Bahler]

Well, we're just the smartest state around!  8)

I don't know if there is an other such a law in this country, I believe this particular one is a holdover from the settlement days that never got superseded or retracted

[D L Bahler]

from a case ruling on the subject by the Indiana State Court of appeals:

... In its early stages, this country's frontier was moved westward by pioneers who moved onto land and built houses made from the materials at hand. Since then, home owning has become an essential facet of the "American dream". It may be argued that ordinances such as those contemplated by Indiana Code IC 36-7-8-3, which establishes construction specifications and require permits and inspections for residential construction projects, interfere with the ability of some individuals to build their own home and thus to pursue the American dream.

Building codes and ordinances may conceivably discourage or impede such individuals from building their own houses. A private individual building his own house may not possess the skills necessary to construct a building which complies with the technical specifications set out in the ordinances.

In addition, an individual may not be able to afford to hire professionals or others to build a house. Therefore, exempting a person who wishes to build his own house from the requirements imposed pursuant to IC 36-7-8-3 of complying with construction specifications and obtaining permits allows that person to build a house even though he may not possess the skills or equipment to comply with technical specifications, and allows him to do so even if he is not able to afford to pay others to do the work.

[Dave Tarheels]

Thanks for the pics and info , please update progress . Thanks .

[Dave Tarheels]

Thanks for the pics and info , please update progress . Thanks .