Hello John:
Well for starters in my area of Ontario Canada a 100 year old barn or other type of building, would only have been built about 1900, and in that regard would not have had hand split shakes, but rather sawn cedar or pine shingles. Shakes may have been used on a building 150 years old, with a building date of 1850, this was about the time circular saws began to appear, with shingle saws following right along. At the museum Village of Upper Canada we have been using an 1865 shingle saw which shows remarkable good technology and works well.
I expect if you are located in the New York area or in that part of the Eastern US, shingle saws would have been available and used prior to this date of 1850.
This is only food for thought.
To answer your question-"finishing the peak"-, using rough shakes. Well 2 ways can be used that I know of, others will no doubt respond with other solutions that they know of,
a)--the last couple of rows of shakes should be as level and tapered on the upper ends as possible, using a draw knife and a shaving horse. I would suggest using hand picked and matched shakes for thickness. The shakes you buy today are usually cut on the back side and rough on the upper side, and are a little nicer than traditional hand split shakes were. You would then apply where the cap is going tin sheets as a rain guard, and then two opposing 1" pine boards beveled to fit the pitch, and then nailed together and down on the last rows of shakes.
b)-the second method would be the same metod of preparation as the first, but applying a small round log either pine or hemlock with a groove to fit the pitch of the roof on the bottom. This is then spiked down firmly.
I hope this helps.
The Northern Hewer
