??? About Debarking Logs

[Stump Jumper]

Can you debark log cabin logs like red pine with a high pressure water sprayer if so what kind of water pressure would you need?  ??? ???  How would the log look afterwards?  ??? ??? I have used the draw shave before but this takes a long time and is verrrrrrrrrry sticky!   :'( :'( :'( :'(

[Minnesota_boy]

If you intend on removing the cambium layer with water, plan on lots of pressure.  

Why not change your angle of attack and remove the bark with a bark spud?  You can order one from Peavey Manufacturing at www.peaveymfg.com for under $40 or make your own.  Mine is homemade and has a straight blade and a long (5 foot) handle.  With a bark spud like mine, you stand alongside the log and stroke away from yourself, so you rarely come into contact with the sticky part.  If you peel in colder weather, the pitch isn't sticky.  The bark will begin to slip so you can peel strips at about 10 to 15 degrees F.  

[Tom]

Pine left in the open down here will begin to slip the bark in a few weeks.  It comes off easy then but you have bugs to contend with.   If you put the logs in a pond for a while the bark will slip and there will be no bugs.  

[Jeff]

I used a pressure washer to remove bark from Eastern White cedar logs and some cedar stumps. Problem with this is that the sap that gives cedar logs that nice color is all blasted away leaving it white white white. The logs I used for my fireplace surround had to be stained to add color back. Logs I have used a draw knife on turn that rich cedar brown and are much more pleasing to the eye.

[Stan]

I had one of them trenchin' shovels with a D handle. Wasn't gonna dig any trenches so I ground about half the metal off, and presto a debarker for an old man.  8)

[Ed_K]

 I use an angle grinder with a metal milling cutter with teeth on the down side. but you have to be careful not to grind into the log.

[Ron Scott]

The Amish use a water pressure spray to debark red pine for use in their log home constuctions.

See the Timber Harvest Methods & Equipment Thread for a photo.

[mikef]

I used a pressure washer to remove bark from Eastern White cedar logs and some cedar stumps. Problem with this is that the sap that gives cedar logs that nice color is all blasted away leaving it white white white. The logs I used for my fireplace surround had to be stained to add color back. Logs I have used a draw knife on turn that rich cedar brown and are much more pleasing to the eye.

Hi. I am planning a roundwood timberframe gazebo and I have a dumb question. Does a pressure washer work on white cedar even in the summer when the bark is not pelling easy? I live in new brunswick and for about 4 weeks in the spring the white cedar bark all but falls off, unfortunatly that is usually when fishing season is ramping up . The other thing I was wondering is that on a white cedar one side peels ok but the other side always has a thinner thicker dark brown layer that does not always peel so good. Does a pressure washer peel that off as well?
thanks. mike

[Jeff]

After working with White Cedar over the years, and the fact that I just love the stuff, I've taken a different route then power washing.  I keep a supply of it cut ahead for different projects.  After a year or so in a pile, the bark loosens up, and pretty much pulls off by hand, leaving the beautiful honey color that Eastern White Cedar will get.

I think with your gazebo project, that is your best bet. Cut your materials way ahead of time, or try and find a supply of cedar that has been down for quite some time. Your materials will be considerably dryer, and the bark will come off by itself.  Use the time you would be fighting to peel it fishing instead.  Remember that that stuff that is cut when the bark is really loose, that bark will tighten back up once cut for awhile, before it lets loose again later.

To answer your direct question, Cedar is soft, so if you have bark that is tight, the amount of pressure it takes to remove it can damage the wood as well.

[sbishop]

MikeF, where in NB you from?

I've got no experience with Easter Cedar, but i consider myself an expert when it comes to peeling spruce  8)    :D

Sbishop

[mikef]

jeff thanks for the info. guess i am stuck with a year of less fishing. shortcuts are few and far between with wood.

sbishop i am in mactaquac. keep that flag flying.

[sbishop]

i'm just down the road from you on Deerwood Dr. (Hanwell).