How much time does it take to hew logs? I am thinking about doing an entire square rule frame from teak logs that I would hew. One approach would be to use just basic hand tools for the job. Another would be to use a chain saw. I don't know that I can get anything fancier than that in Thailand. The reason I am thinking about hewing is the mill charges over the top rates to do the cutting, is limited to 8x8's and max 12', and each member is cut to barely fit so gets a lot of sapwood and occasional reduction. And on the hand tool front, how skillful does one need to be? Thanks for your insights.
It is not as time consuming as people might think. If all you can get is 12 ftrs I can appreciate why your wondering.
We used to put out a few sticks a day each , and doing two man, (two guys scoring either side of the same notch, then juggling and hewing either side of the same stick) put out a 32' tie in a day
That is a 4500 calorie day, both to keep up with your ravenous hunger and not lose weight.
I was watching a video of fishpharmer unloading some logs he had posted, and at the end of that video there was a link to another youtube video that made me think of this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7HrD0rqHNg
I had no idea what I was doing and hewed a 8 foot railroad tie, scoring and all, in less than an hour. I would think that mental and physical strength would be the most influential factors if I were to start a large hand hewn project. IMO
There has been lots of talk on here about hand hewing beams and ties, Thought y'all might like to see this video I found on you tube. Guy is definitely more graceful than I'll ever be :o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueIB0h4SzHc&p=C75E5A48D4ECBBCA&playnext=1&index=8
I was counting his toes after each swipe of the ax. ::) He sure makes it look easy.
Considering how those tools were cutting I was counting his feet.
Very interesting to watch, lots of talent involved. We with a sawmill could of made a board out of those side pieces instead of all those chips tho'. ;D
I am secretly glad that I have a sawmill :).
I am just an amateur but think I could hew four spruce slabs about 7 metre (24')long each in a day if I did only hew. The logs are hewn on two opposite sides and the two other sides just barked and left round. Hewing two more sides would of cause reduce the output quite a bit and hewing teak would for sure reduce the output even more. Teak contains some grits that ate awfully hard on all edge tools.
I use the chainsaw for scoring because it is faster than an axe.
I don't think there is any polite way to say it, but those guys hewing the log aren't the ones I'd go to for hewing instruction. :-\
If time is no object hand hew. Otherwise an Alaskan saw mill with a chain saw is much quicker. I won't say it's less work as it can be quite a chore pushing the saw through (canted slightly downhill works wonders). Plus factor in the scream of the saw (tiring even with good ear protection) the toxic fumes and the fine dust (probably toxic from teak) and maybe some quiet physical time with a good sharp axe would be the better deal
Even well after the advent of the sawmill, hewing was still done in America for larger or longer timbers that were needed, but were not practical to cut on a mill(cause it couldn't handle it), or were not practical to transport from the mill location. I haven't yet, though I've been around it being done. I hope to do a couple for my house or workshop frame in the future.
In the frame below, the entire floor system, braces, and plates were hewn from logs on site. I don't recall the man hours, but if I remember correctly, there were 17 people hewing at one time. :D I don't know the working properties of teak, but I would give it a shot over the chainsaw mill, provided you could get logs close to the right size for the timber.
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Quote from: Dave Shepard on November 14, 2010, 10:07:59 PM
I don't think there is any polite way to say it, but those guys hewing the log aren't the ones I'd go to for hewing instruction. :-\
all I'll say to that is that the videoman is a brave soul... :o having that 12" broad axe swinging right into the lens does make for a cool effect :D
I find hewing very rewarding, must be something about chopping through the wood fibers, snap lines, flying wood chunks....I fell in love with it first time I tried. I bought an antique European goosewing axe on fleabay and hewed a few pcs for my frame...wish I had more time to hew more, as it obviously takes longer to hew than to mill.
Brad brings up a good point, logs that are too big for the mill.
I had to rough hew a "few" (you can see the stack in the background) pine and spruce logs in order to get them to fit onto the mill. Just happened to pick the hottest two days of summer '09 :D
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