Dave, part of the reason I want to avoid using saws is because these timbers are for a special project which calls for methods to be as traditional as I can manage along the whole project.
And before you ask, yes blackpowder is a traditional material used in times past to split oversized timber, possibly as far back as the 1500s.
If I were making these timbers for a project I aimed to make money on, I would certainly saw the logs. But these are for a project where historic methods are a priority.
It is possible, however, that I might hew 'doubles', where two finished timbers are cut from a single hewn timber, so for example if I desired 8x8 timbers I would hew a single 8x16 and then saw it in half.
It is also important to note that a good amount of this wood may end up used for instructional purposes, in which case having it sawn would be unsuitable.
I hope I have made my reasons for not wanting it sawn clear.
There is a method of splitting out logs with an axe, even when the grain is contrary. It involves cuting a deep v'd groove all the way down the length of the log, and then chopping at the center of the groove. This allows for a slow, controlled split. With this method, it is possible to split out beveled boards from a tree without continuously halving the wood. The theory beind this is that instead of allowing the split to follow the natural lines of weakness in the wood grain, you create a greater line of weakness that the split will then tend toward. This is a method that would have been employed 100 years ago by the builders of the great Norse longships.
DLB
