Wooden Hay Forks

Decided to make a few hay forks for the upcoming mowing season. Green wood is felled, rive and carved to size with a draw knife, then steamed and placed in a form to dry. Afterwards taken out and sharpened up, then little spaces are placed to hold the shape forever.
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[@KarlBunker]

Maybe you should put up some on-screen text telling people to turn on closed captions for narrative notes. I always forget until I'm about five minutes in. (Of course that means I just go back and re-watch the first five minutes, which is a pleasure anyway.)

[@tomdeschesne9391]

Where do you turn on the closed caption?? Lol

[@stoojinator]

You had a production line of forks going on there. Or should I say, a fork queue?

[@SomeoneElseInTheComments]

Fork queue too, buddy.

[@soldtobediers]

''Where you find quality, you will find a craftsman, not a quality -control expert.'' -Robert Brault

[@BluestedSRT4]

This is as close as we're going to get to the Foxfire books in Video.

[@TheMarshmellowLife]

I see someone else has heard of those treasure hoards of information and life lessons

[@spicer41282]

Not familiar with Foxfire books. Can you share a link to get more info? Or, share a title which you feel is the best? Thanks in advance.

[@cougarhunter33]

@@TheMarshmellowLife I used to have the set. Took them to school to read. It was the most educational thing I did in elementary school.

[@onegreenev]

I have the complete set. Damn good books. The old ways come to life. Seems to me like a great alternative to store purchased. Sustainable. And when it's useful life is over as a fork it can be used to heat your home. Or make the heat for the steam to make another. All sorts of other ideas like knife handles and such. So much better.

[@seanlathbury5410]

Foxfire books are pretty old...like me. 😁 they were a how book series for people wanting to make everything you can imagine. How to build a proper fire, raise a barn, build a birch bark canoe, make sassafras tea....the list goes on.

[@jpkalishek4586]

why's he doing that? Oh, forgot, just turn on CC...

[@mikehales6892]

JP Kalishek didn’t know that, took some time to find and active cc, thanks for that.

[@dekkb]

i never knew that!!! thanks

[@carlacowling1789]

I didn't know that either! Brilliant!

[@riverrockproductions]

Mind blown... Thanks!!

[@phemmeke]

I forgot.

[@lionelyork4960]

Bonjour et bravo! I think I love as much the sound as the image! ;0) Take care.

[@fox111qc]

Impressive stuff. Watching you work is like having an history class on craftsmanship.

[@glennwilck5790]

The steam bending is so cool almost like magic! I can only imagine how nice those are too use must be so light.

[@tomnekuda3818]

Haven't seen this since my Dad did it some 65 years ago. Dad's were always 3-tiners and slipped in and out of the hay easily.

[@chickfamilyink]

Love your videos man. I'd love to make my life more simple, too many machines, too many problems.

[@chickfamilyink]

I can see using this same method to create apple pickers

[@JoelWetzel]

I'm almost eight minutes in and you've reminded me of making my longbows. You'd make great ones, arrows too.

[@TheSeanoops]

Joel Wetzel YES! And maybe a crossbow too.

[@rojirrim7298]

Exactly what I came to comment. When I saw him splitting the log I though to myself "damn I'd pay a good money for one of those staves!"

[@akatsukiawsome13]

I was thinking the same thing when he split that log! I wonder if he does make bows...

[@ivanshokum7834]

I worked at a wooden boat shop where steaming wood was common. When once you pull the piece out of the steam box you only have about 30 seconds to get it situated, especially for thin pieces. it also dries the wood hence the splintering so coating it in linseed, kerosene, or penetrol helps it retain moisture. As always amazing job, thanks for sharin! :)

[@akatsukiawsome13]

Thanks for extra imput on that. I fully intend to make some of these after I get my own workshop set up! Wooden forks are much easier on the body to use, being so much lighter.

[@nosaltiesandrooshere7488]

👍 = there is nothing left to say! Everything is perfect!

[@cojones8518]

Now for some pitch torches and we'll be all set tooo... uhm, harvest hay, yeah that's it... harvest hay.

[@VaelaarGaming]

Always a pleasure to watch.

[@fryreartechnology7611]

I love the BFH you use to open the saw path and split the wood. I know what I’m going to make next time I start making hammers again. Nice relaxing video full of great infomation and lessons.

[@talltimberswoodshop7552]

The long shavings look like they could be woven into a basket. And you could drill two holes at the upper end of the tines to stop the split, right?

[@TheDadx3]

Ash splits make excellent baskets, just like white oak and hickory!

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Awesome Josh, you make it look so easy and with your teachings I am sure it would be. Thanks so much for sharing your skills and teachings with us. Fred.

[@philiprogers8620]

Some lovely Wood Thrush singing @4:30, my favorite bird!

[@charleneknighton]

I always wondered how a lot of farm tools were made, now I know. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos, they are appreciated. Take care and be safe.

[@MrChickadee]

Glad you like them!

[@josephmaschari1073]

great video. Was that ash and how long did you keep it under water?

[@donniebrown2896]

Closed caption is your friend here. Turn it on and rewatch

[@setdown2]

@@donniebrown2896 thanks I didn't know of the cc

[@donniebrown2896]

@@setdown2 wow, two months for KZbin to let me know you replied. Geeze. Oh well, check his cc on his vids, his description section has more info also

[@phillipeastman1326]

Watch out for the Poison Ivy on the tree!!!

[@DonnaMSchmid]

I agree... Though, this might have been ivy (their vines look very much alike). Let's hope!

[@ryandavis7593]

I read some years ago in Smithsonian magazine that eating poison ivy can make you immune. I wouldn’t know how to go about that nor am I recommending the practice at least not without sizable amount of study. My mother and I have both had extreme reactions when we were young that evidently gave us a lifetime of immunity. Picked it out by hand on numerous occasions without any reaction.

[@judsonclayto7813]

Yup, likely Poison... hairy vines... a few leaves looked like oak

[@geraldweckesser9556]

We say to our kids, "leaves of three let it be, and don't be a dope and touch the fuzzy rope."

[@Crewsy]

Ergonomics before anyone knew about the term. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@bjornsmasher66]

2:02 You can see the trunk lift as he hammers down a wedge. What an odd sight of physics at work.

[@13Nussbaum]

I saw that too and had a very similar thought.

[@tropifiori]

My benches are all made of ash. We don’t have hard maple in Virginia. My oldest bench is about 25 years old and dead flat and without wear.

[@pkosmasjr]

plenty of ash around in Virginia for the taking now thanks to the emerald borer

[@benharris7913]

What part of Virginia? In the Blue Ridge, we have plenty of maple to go around.

[@akatsukiawsome13]

There is maple in VA, but you have to be in the right spot. It’s such a shame, what is happening to our ash trees everywhere. I hope the survivors spread good genes and have lots of baby ash trees, it is a very nice wood. I miss all the big old chestnut trees I used to see growing up. Damn invasive pests

[@ИванРоманович-е2ц]

Can you explain why and how long you keep the blanks into the pond?

[@shookings]

I'm not Mr. Chickadee, of course, but there are at least 2 reasons: 1) the wood stays wet and soft, and therefore workable. Ash is a SUPER useful wood for all kinds of farm tools like this, because it bends and is flexible without breaking. 2) if the water is deep enough, the environment is anaerobic, and the wood will never rot. Never. As an example, there are logs at the bottom of the Great Lakes that are still being pulled up and used for furniture and the like. Still as perfect as the day they were felled.

[@akatsukiawsome13]

@@shookings That’s awesome! I bet there are a shit ton of trees at the bottom of the reservoir near me. I wonder if people are using them for anything? How deep does the water have to be, ideally, for home preservation of wood? Property I am buying has a pond on it already, it would be good to know whether I should consider deepening it.

[@clydedecker765]

Love your use of the Golden Ratio by using body parts .. makes it comfortable and pleasing at the same time.

[@RosaStringWorks]

Nice job.

[@waynelewis881]

You’re very fortunate to not be sensitive to poison ivy.

[@thomasbrown9402]

"leaves of three... chickadee"

[@setdown2]

Poison ivy 😵😵😵

[@eaterofclams]

@Templar ...since the skin damage is caused by an over-reaction of one's own immune system to the plant chemicals, it would seem likely that immunity could be increased over time with repeated exposure. For some reason, despite dinking around in ivy "infested" woods for years, I have yet to have a reaction to the stuff.

[@jameskniskern2261]

@@eaterofclams I was immune to poison ivy until my 40's... I dunno what changed, but I am very careful around the stuff now. Working on my farm, I always seem to get a reaction to it 2 or 3 times a summer. :(

[@lewerim]

@@jameskniskern2261 I was immune until my mid 20s. A summer of the work and I could just get withing 20 do of the stuff and break out.

[@PhilaPeter]

We want to know: Are you unreactive to poison ivy or did that vine getchya?

[@cattleNhay]

Now just need the wooden hay drying racks. In the alps they used to make them collapsible. www.google.com/search?q=heu%20heinze&tbm=isch

[@christelchristely2816]

In Austria we use the wood of the firtree for hayforks. Two reasons: it is very light, and it can be heated in a campfire to bend it. The handle needs to be tapered at the end to trigger the gripping reflex, so it doesn‘t accidently fall out of your hand. The wooden hayforks are safer than the metal ones because the hay gets very hot if it is not completely dry and when it comes in contact with metal it can start to burn.

[@johnviewer2305]

Just awesome work....thx for your service....and thx for all this great content... I guess you could say...the way it was...lol...

[@mustafabayrakdar4907]

So relaxing. Thanks.

[@thecorbies]

Hi Mr C. I always enjoy your videos, but today I'm curious as to why you felled a fairly large tree to make those hay forks. Of course, if you had a use in mind for the rest of the wood which I dare say we'll see in other videos. Regards Mark in the UK

[@MrChickadee]

Good question! I typically want a tree about 8" diameter for handles, and I get 8 in each length. This was a bit large, but dead and I wanted to use it for something before rot

[@W1ldt1m]

I've always wanted to see this done, thanks

[@bigunone]

Who else start looking to see how many logs he had tucked away under water

[@littleforest]

Very nice video, thanx! Nice forests you are living in. Sadly there is no ash growing, where i live, one of my favorite woods. But today i got two ones to be planted. I am bit curious, if they will manage. Maybe they will really like it here, as it might be too cold for this beetle which is killing them in south. I wish you comfortable mowing season! Who will eat it? The cats??

[@markspower8821]

chic cik cik cik miss... hadeeee leeennnn,ağacı katlettin.

[@dr.skipkazarian5556]

Your work is an interesting combination of Zen...Biblical....and Native; what (if you don't mind my asking) is the genesis of your inspiration? As always....best wishes and be healthy.

[@martinturner9823]

Also, what is the purpose of soaking in the pond? Isn't it green and full of moisture? My grandfather and English man used to make hay forks from willow. The willow was grown in the coppice and was pruned to a three-branch sapling being around the right hight in the second year it was put into what he called a brake and grown on for a third year. in the fourth year, late winter prior to spring it would be cut. The willow would grow again from the first node below the cut and pruning would begin to form the next rake. Some of the willows he was using had been farmed for hay forks by his great grandfather. I have one that I brought to Australia. It is light springy in the full length of the handle requiring only oiling once or twice a year. Because it is grown there is no creep back to straight. Rake handles were grown also be made from 4 or five-year-old saplings of ash. About 2inches round and 12 to 15 feet long grown in clumps to force them high and relatively straight Love the woodwork that you do thank you.

[@ckbass32]

Awesome video as always. Just curious, what happened with the four tine?

[@kevinwilliams8662]

Have you ever used fire to char and harden the tine's tips?

[@MrChickadee]

not found the need...

[@toddsherfey6236]

Sure enjoyed your video. , God sure give you a talent. God speed

[@mw292]

I want to shovel some hay with one of those cool hay forks

[@RusTsea196T]

What, no kitty supervision? Nice job, as always.

[@BillB23]

Your videos are always so relaxing. They remind me of why I want to move farther from the city.

[@tracyhartfield77]

Awesome love watching your videos

[@salomao1971]

Cada dia que passa tenho mais admiração pela sua arte.

[@davidgraf1909]

I like how when you drive the wedge behind the saw the log noticeably moves up.

[@andrewbrenner425]

It’s nice to see some steam bending!

[@whynotnow6287]

Нас, рабов, за такой Wooden Works штрафуют и сажают в самой богатой природными ресурсами стране !№

[@fred-san]

must be a real pleasure to... happy for yoü...

[@matthewkarl6167]

I think I just got poison ivy from watching this video!

[@AggelosKyriou]

Awesome attention to detail. As always! Since the ash tree was killed by bark beetles, wouldn't the wood be dead standing instead of green? Moreover, since the bark wasn't removed from the rest of the tree before immersing it in the water, won't the bark beetles continue eating out the wood?

[@MrChickadee]

Depends on what you mean by "green" alive? or just not seasoned? Beetles need to breath, nothing eats wood underwater.

[@AggelosKyriou]

@@MrChickadee I thought that the tree had been dead for quite some time so that the wood would have started to dry out. Thanks for the reply! Keep up the good work.

[@thisolesignguy2733]

That would work great for compost tumbling. ooooh that's idea for next time, how about a compost tumbler barrel? just a thought.

[@eaterofclams]

...fascinating to watch; as if observing a medieval alchemist at work making a useful item from..."nothing". This sort of "magic" was once a common practice...not so long ago. So much has been forgotten. But hey, we have "magic phones"...[for now].

[@BluestedSRT4]

I wonder if it would be beneficial to fire harden the tips.

[@MrChickadee]

never seen that...

[@leviathanmdk]

Yep. Helps, is traditionale done here with borh hay forks, raks and flailes as well. Makes them a tad more wear resiistant. Edit: in Belgium by the way.

[@BluestedSRT4]

@@MrChickadee I think it is mostly done to harden wooden arrow and spear tips, and primitive digging sticks. I've heard of fire hardened wedges as well. I just don't know if there would be any real benefit to doing it to a hay fork.

[@tangle70]

Since it seems like Roy is no longer doing any new The Woodwright’s Shop episodes, I vote for you too take over for him. All joking aside, if you are interested it would be worth a try. Roy seems to be a really nice guy and does answers emails (contact form on his website).

[@TheudBaldM]

"it helps to be an octopus" One of my favorite captions of all time. Great job, I will try it with european ash as soon as I will be able build something to steam it.

[@MrChickadee]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@sailinglucydaye9930]

Outstanding as always Mr. C.

[@Man_De]

Great video and a nice angle on the fork!

[@ChristopherFranklinSr]

Behold my large hammer. I call him Bruce.

[@stoojinator]

HAY!!! Nice fork :)

[@Medieval_Mayhem]

You have some amazing videos. You are a true craftsman.

[@MrChickadee]

Thank you very much!

[@evolati12]

Damn good job once again Chick!!!

[@notatechie]

The sounds of splitting wood is very satisfying, like the sounds of water and the sounds of rock splitting. The bird sound is nice also. If you ever said something I'm sure I would like that too. Just teasing you. I love your videos.

[@FranksDIY]

Hay that was a nice job . amazing on how it was all made before cnc and 3d printers. great stuff

[@jughead8988]

I know next to nothing about woodworking. What are the wedges call you use on the log? And what is the point of sinking the boards?

[@boooshes]

If you are harvesting fresh logs to be used while still green (never been dried) for bending or splitting, you can keep the log or section pliable and "fresh" by immersing it so it never dries. Often, you may harvest a tree and not be able to process the whole thing at once, so you want a way to keep it. As a basket maker, I often do this with white oak, and it will keep for months and still work like fresh wood.

[@stephencarmichael5156]

How did you fix wood blocks to the splitting wedges? Drill and tap?

[@MrChickadee]

there is a socket the wood goes inside

[@michaelwhiteoldtimer7648]

REALLY NICE TO SEE HOW THIS IS DONE

[@fonhollohan2908]

cool watching you resurrect these old building techniques, the outcome is always a pleasure to behold.

[@bsenalaska]

Another great tutorial of your very fine authentic craftsmanship Mr Chickadee!👏🏻👍🏻💪🏻💯

[@MrChickadee]

Thank you kindly

[@Granite]

Seems nice and lightweight.

[@MsRazvan29]

Bravo traditionell respekt 😍🤝❤

[@mdwdirect]

Awesome! What kind of tree was that?

[@uekiguy5886]

You can click on the CC feature for explanatory captions. At 0:26 it says white ash.

[@carlacowling1789]

Dang it, I need these! Literally went to three stores yesterday looking for a hay fork and they're sold out. Wish I had the tools to make one. Great video! Very soothing to watch. You might put a note at the beginning of each video about the captions. I had no idea until I read it in the comments.

[@cindyr3720]

will done. Useful tools. ♡♡♡.

[@TheSeanoops]

Oh my God, the faint crackling of the log as he’s splitting it has to be one of the most pleasant sounds I’ve ever heard.

[@David-fv7zg]

So this made me consider something. If I were to take this length of log and split it into firewood, what would be more effective to split traditionally by sawing into rounds then splitting or splitting the length in quarters then sawing all of the lengths into pieces? Obviously effect would be the same, as the task is completed either way, but I wonder which one is easier?

[@timmynormand8082]

Easier would be chainsaw

[@Finwolven]

Question is how long firewood you need. For a small stove, cutting into rounds and then chopping is likely easiest, but if you need, say 1 yard logs or longer for a long firebox (for a kiln etc.) it's probably best still to first cut to length and then split with wedges. Splitting a whole trunk lengthwise is pretty annoying, so don't do it unless you really need the length (for construction timber etc. purposes).

[@MrChickadee]

Depends on a few factors, how easy the log splits? What type of saw you have, do you have a helper to get on the other end? A small bow saw, and easily split wood, maybe it would be better to split a long log up forst then make fast smaller cuts. Big hard to split log, but helper with two man saw, might be better to cut small then split.

[@TheDadx3]

What kind of splitting wedges are those? I saw them in Switzerland, but haven't been able to find them since.

[@MrChickadee]

old ones with socket for wood insert, pretty rare here

[@TheDadx3]

@@MrChickadee yep, haven't seen them here, only in Europe. Haven't had any luck tracking them down online, either. Thanks. Great work, btw.

[@dallasmandy]

Woo! Yesss! I suck at making these. Needed this

[@kenmarapese9085]

Nice!

[@donaldtrabeaux5235]

Awesome job reminds me of my grandpa making handles for shovels and all types of tools.

[@robingosse]

You make my heart happy...

[@andrewwebb2141]

Now make torches, a monster, an angry mob, and you got a Saturday night!

[@mandyleeson1]

I never quite know what you're up to until near the end. This was a revelation to me. I've never seen anything like it. Thank you for sharing with us.

[@joebuck49]

good vid

[@klydolph2]

A pleasure to watch as usual. I would love to see how you made those wedges you used when cutting and splitting the tree.

[@tomsensible3999]

Great, just great!

[@dougcaseltine2462]

I like them well done

[@barthanes1]

That vine on the tree looked like poison ivy. Hope you didn't get a rash.

[@shanek6582]

I’ve looked for two years and can’t find any Ashe on or near my land, is there other woods you can use? I’ve got lots of hickory and white oak, thanks.

[@MrChickadee]

both of those will be great, provided they are straight grained and knot free.

[@shanek6582]

Mr. Chickadee, thanks man.

[@setdown2]

@@shanek6582 son you've got gold on your land...and plant some ash..black walnut..cherry..ect.for the next guy...😍

[@Crewsy]

Shane K Ash is often called poor man’s oak.

[@leviathanmdk]

Does it work on Black locust to? I would think so butt it's not native here. I hove Locust wood butt no Ash... yet at least.

[@billsabado9393]

Fun fact, hay forks were originally used by Farmers to check if their wife's lover were hiding in a pile when they got back from the market sooner than expected. If lover was found during prodding they would usually yell out, "HEY!" This is also how hay got its current name instead of being called "long brown cow food" as it had been known for centuries.

[@kattchan3343]

I paint kakishibu for wood (persimmon tannin juice ) which I made 4 years before .That makes wood strong and will not rot. color dyes orange brown.

[@onebackzach]

In South Louisiana, waterlogged Cypress, aka sinker cypress, that was felled in the 1800's in the swamps is a highly prized material. The government has even had to make a law that all cypress recovered out of swamps has to have been felled with an axe to discourage people from cutting down trees and coming back later to get them and sell the lumber. It's amazing how long it can last underwater, especially in the low oxygen, highly acidic swamps.

[@martinturner9823]

I saw the test for the 2 and 3 pronged forks but what happened to the four-pronged fork?? Did it fail in the bake?. Also, I was wondering when you fit the prongs( freshly steamed)into the brake (or press) could you rotate the bar with dowels and then just roll it into position would require some kind extra bit to hold the prongs apart at the required spacing. May be to complicated.

[@jbelme1]

I was watching some Mexicans hand clear 20 acres of forest ,because the owner is greedy ,and they were moving the brush to the bonfire with 12 foot long forked trees. It’s funny because if I had done it by hand, I would have touched every branch and probably been covered in poison ivy. I wouldn’t have thought to use a giant tree fork.

[@griromero]

So beautiful I would not dare using on hay. I would get a cheap steel one from the orange box store and hang these in my living room. Enjoy these videos much. Thanks.

[@ecologicaladam7262]

The ‘silence’ of the woods in spring... lol