Subject: Splitting wood & wedges???

From: [email-masked] (brad smith)
Date: 31 Mar 97 00:47:10 UTC

I want to make axe and hammer handles, I want to get the wood myself and
make it from scratch. What I need is information on how to properly
split the wood into sections.
A friend of mine tells me that his grandfather use to do this with a
blunt hatchet and wedges, anyone know about this method? Also I want to
use wooden wedges for my handles, what would be the best wood for this?
any tips on how to make sure the wedges dont come out and a nice tight
fit?

Thanks,
             brad.

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From: Gerald Ross <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 22:03:27 -0800

> any tips on how to make sure the wedges dont come out and a nice tight

My dad trimmed the part of the handle that fit into the head until it
fit, then he would take the handsaw and saw a kerf into the center of
the long axis.  He used hardwood wedges (probably the same material as
the handle), making them thin, with a very gradual taper.  After driving
the wood wedge into the saw kerf, he sometimes drove in a metal wedge
across the wood wedge.  The metal wedge was store-bought and had ridges
across the flats to reduce the chance of it working out.
He shaped the handles with a draw knife using a piece longer than the
finished handle, then cut it to length last.  This made it easier to
hold  the piece while working on it.
-- 
Gerald Ross   Marshall, TX
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From: [email-masked] (Garrett Lambert)
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 11:21:01 GMT

What you want is a "froe". It's a simple tool you can make  yourself,
get made by a blacksmith, or buy it from Lee Valley Tools. Hammered
with a wooden mallet, a froe - just a piece of heavy steel - about the
size of a car's leaf spring which is one source - attached to a short
90' handle, is designed to split logs of small to medium diameters
along the grain, i.e. to not sever the wood fibres, thereby preserving
the maximum strength. It's better than a blunt hatchet because once
started in to the log, the handle allows you to twist the froe and
therefore cause the log to split natrually.

I'm not sure about the wooden wedges. I should think something like
hickory, which is really tough, would do. And, I should think, but
don't know, that the angle of the wedge is the key factor in ensuring
it stays put once driven into the saw kerf.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 20:53:09 GMT

On Tue, 01 Apr 1997 11:21:01 GMT, [email-masked] (Garrett
Lambert) wrote:
Doesn't Roy Underhill cover this in one of his The Woodwright's Shop
books?  Seems like I saw it there.

And I am pretty sure that one of the books in the Foxfire series
showed how to make and use a froe, as well as how to use wedges to
split logs for making fenceposts and tool handles.

Good luck, it's hard work -- I know because I've had to make
fenceposts that way myself and it was no party.  Stock up on the
Doan's pills.

Frank