hello everyone tonight

finally discussing things that is in line with this forum, it is just my opinion but business should be on its own separate heading

its been a while since we have had a real good discussion that deals with hewing timber using the old tools

my dad always said that there were many ways to do the same thing, and that for sure goes for hewing timber

it is extremely interesting to hear and discuss the various methods used, that is what everyone wants to know about, and from what I can see it all boils down to a personal preference, finishes--(ie no holes), working alone or with extra help, and I must say the building's requirements

by this I mean a large building will need a fair number of large, long timbers, timbers longer than 20 feet and up to 45 feet or longer.

a large building will need a complete set of mud sills-2 side, and 2 end timbers probably 12" square plus at least 2 central cross ties--you are looking at a fair amount of hewing just to lay out the foundation for the building

having said that, and with the responsibility resting on your shoulders, you need to pick a set up to accommodate and hold the massive timbers you will be working with, one that will require the least amount of effort to control these logs and do it safely

what ever type of set up you finally decide on remember this, as you hew the first side say on a 36 foot pine, you will be removing a lot of weight, that controls the log's stability, it will want to roll to the heavy side--big time--, the same thing happens on the log frame of a muley saw mill, as you slowly remove material from one side--I am going to tell you that a few screws will not be sufficient, you will need good stout log dogs well driven in to stabilize things until the need arises to roll the timber 1/4 turn, and make no mistake it will roll the flat side upwards quite suddenly!!

AS far as holes in the timber is concerned only on the final side will this be a problem, and that can be hidden quite easily if the timber is oriented correctly in the structure

so as we work our way towards the beginning of hewing you can see
some decisions need to be made and maybe a lighter smaller setup might suffice one's need--it is not just as cut and dried as one might be led to believe

enjoy

NH