Making simple Hewing Benches

[@urbanlumberjack]

Really cool project. That’s beautiful wood as well. I imagine that if you went back several hundred years in the US you could find a farmer in New England doing the exact thing in the exact same way. Amazing to think about.

[@robertburns8807]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@terrymoulder]

Well done, keep the hewing videos coming. I'm learning.

[@zachmeyer2718]

I've been watching a lot of your content and you make my hewing look like I whittled it with a dull Swiss Army knife. Great job

[@albionpatterns3986]

I know that feeling !

[@congamike1]

I was gooing to make something similar but with 4 legs. Your design is much better. Thanks

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Thanks Mike, but I definitely cannot claim to have designed these, I copied this.

[@MartinMMeiss-mj6li]

When I'm doing this I always do the split down the middle first. That way, you can establish the plane of the top of the bench first, removing any twist., which establishes the plane that the bottom of the bench should be parallel to, if indeed you want to flatten the bottom sides. Also, if the rails that you were resting the log on are not needed for something else, you can just notch them a bit to hold the log so it does not tend to roll away when hewing.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I could see how that might be a good procedure vs squaring the sides. I might try that if I ever make more of these, I still have this pair so I haven't needed to make them again.

[@GrizzlyGroundswell]

How the hell are you doing? Just had this great vid pop up in my feed and wanted to comment to see if your still kicking.

[@peterellis4262]

Put a couple of V notches in your support bunks to stop the rolling. Or stick a couple of wedges in at the bottom so it can't roll.

[@SurvivalSherpa]

Nice job. Do you think a smaller log dog attached to the end of the small logs might keep it from rolling on you? You'd have to pound it in so as not to obstruct your swings. Just a thought. And my hewing vid footage is just sitting here. I'll try to get it up this week. I found I could get a smoother finish with my felling ax over my large broad ax. I'll keep swinging the big one but it's taking a while to get used to for sure.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

There's quite a few things I could have done to deal with the rolling. Blocks behind the log, pins on the cribs on the other side, more dogs, the flats on the bottom that I did on a previous video, etc. It was kind of a situation where the rolling was super annoying, but not quite annoying enough for me to do anything about it. I'm not surprised about the finish. You've just done the challenge so you're basically an expert with a felling axe. The single bevel broad axes are a huge change in feel. I really do like my double bevel broad axe with the long handle though, once you get in the zone with it you can hew a lot of surface really quickly. In terms of surface finish, I do like a nice smooth hewn look. When you look at the old barn frames around here anyway, it is clear that back in the day, a barn frame was hewn for speed vs nice smooth finish, so a rough hewn job is doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.

[@timberdoodles4647]

An extra set of dogs driven into the butt ends may aid in keeping the log from rotating. I have always used long bunks to lay timber on, all the pieces can be put out at one time for comparison and order. Maybe consider this method for your timber frame projects. A few advantages are mass, you can even just use a set of posts to lay other members out on, mass keeps the wiggle factor down, like you point out in your video with hewing this small piece. Order, I really like to see all the pieces being cut, all the post get laid out in order and numbered, you can do this on large bunk systems, instead of individual pieces on a small set of horses. In all my timber videos you will see a bunk system used. I hope you don't see this as criticism, just sharing what works for my shop. Now, if it is a scribed layout system I would still use a bunk system to hold the work, even though each piece is independent.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Hey Timberdoodles. I do think I know what you mean about seeing all the pieces. I have some mortices in my last frame that don't go anywhere. I definitely do something like you are talking about if I was a pro like yourself, but for the little homestead timberframing that I'm doing I can get away with a few more mistakes, as I don't have an owner to please.

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

Don't let Timberdoodles fool you, I know him on a very personal basis. Yes he works timber on a professional basis, but that doesn't mean mistakes don't happen. The problem solving for such happenings are half the fun.

[@trollforge]

Hew did great! (Sorry, I had too)...

[@emlillthings7914]

Neat, it looks like the beams you usually use to hew logs on, where made the same, minus holes+legs. I actually have a similar (rusty) hand-drill that belongs to the property here, and, if I had the opportunity, thought of using it to make myself a mallet on the Cordwood-site, mainly for splitting logs like you did... kinda cooler than using a 2kg/4.4lbs one-hand steel maul, on a cheap axe deemed so bad it's not safe for regular use. Sure, it's something people may have laying around, but making a mallet on the site, with tools lighter to carry (drill vs maul+shitty axe), looks a lot more satisfying, practical, and overall professional. Never made a mallet, but knocking a strong limb into the hole of a bigger log ('head'), like you did with the benches would probably do, no?

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I think that's the basic process for making a wooden "Commander" type mallet, except you usually have a kerf in the end of the handle and you wedge it after its driven in, for more security. Lolita's Garden made one, here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmmVZItoapl1rpY

[@emlillthings7914]

Haha, nice one, thanks! Think I'll try a cut at the shaft, and see if I can wedge it, but it looks easy to handle if one is aware of it not being secured.

[@mrMacGoover]

Yes, logs dogs are a handy log holder!

[@LolitasGarden]

Totally awesome. Thanks for sharing and thanks for your recent subscription to my channel- it means a lot.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I had thought I was already subd several months ago, I'm not sure what happend.

[@peterellis5626]

If you v notch the support logs, they'll help stop that rolling. Another option is to axe a couple of flat spots on the bottom of the piece you're hewing.

[@SplitseedGarden]

Nice stuff!

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Thanks Splitseed.

[@franciscocosta8415]

Muito bom

[@icryostorm3727]

would some doorstop type bits of wood (chocks) nailed into your base logs work? Im sure ive seen an image somewhere of something similar.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Yes, I'm sure that would work. Once you get into it on something like this, its sometimes hard to stop and fix annoying problems, at least for me, easier to just whine about it and keep on. The rolling thing is really limited to small logs, so if you are doing mostly timbers its not really a problem worth fixing.

[@valueforvalue76]

What is the name of the other tool you put your auger bit into?

[@andrewfrudd108]

Can I ask, why do you hew the sides before splitting? Is it simply that it is easier to hew that while in the round?

[@oxbowfarm5803]

The whole log is much easier to hew than the half logs, it has more inertia and doesn't flop and twist so much. Its more of an issue when you are working with a short piece like this, if the log were twice as long or more, it might be easier to split it before hewing anything. YMMV

[@johnruckman2320]

If I recall correctly the old timers used dogs to hold the log in place.

[@lucyb15]

wedges would be an easy fix for the pesky rolling problem.

[@bushfosterdad]

How do you sharpen your augur bits? TIA!

[@oxbowfarm5803]

I'm not an expert, but you only sharpen the inside bevels, never touch the outside. I just use a narrow flat file.

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

I also notice the end was chopped square.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Yes, its the same log from the other vid.

[@GypsyPaz]

I can't in good conscience say your doing it wrong since I'm sitting here watching KZbin's and your out there hewing logs. But why bother hewing the sides flat at all?

[@RobCardIV]

heeheheh. slammin those dogs in harder wont resolve twist. any chip of wood as a wedge under the backside of the log would lock it. or a second axe stuck in the wood behind the log, anything.