Popular Woodworking 2004-04 № 140, страница 72
The metal rings on the head of my beetle prevent it from splitting. Here I'm starting a split with wedges. Once the split has opened up, the froe (near my right foot) finishes the job. is a traditional "L"-shaped tool for splitting - or riving - green wood. Just drive the tool's wedge-shaped blade into the end grain and then work the wooden handle, pushing and pulling it to open the split. One of its charms is that it will follow the grain of your timber instead of cutting across it like a sawmill will. The result is a billet (a halved or quartered log, or roughly dressed lumber) with straight grain. For my table, I need four 2" square pieces of wood for the legs. So, once my log was halved, I split each 241/4"-long billet into quarters and then eighths. Once the wood is split, I dress the billet square. For this, I use a side axe. A side axe, a tool commonly used by bodgers like myself, has a bevel on only one side. This allows the tool to follow the grain easily. I prop a billet on a log and, keeping the side axe's beveled side facing out, square the leg blank with quick, short strokes, as shown below left. To the Shaving Horse In the shop I take the legs to my shaving horse to rough-cut the taper on all four sides. If you've never seen a shaving horse, check out the photo below - it's essentially a low bench that you sit astride. Your feet operate a jaw that holds the work in place, leaving you with both hands free. The taper begins 21/2" from the top of the leg. You want to taper the legs on all four sides from 2" square at the top to 11/4" square at the foot. I mark the taper on one face of the leg and fetch an old Barton drawknife I bought off a restaurant wall. It makes short work of the excess material. Rotate the billet and mark out the next taper. When the rough shape is done, I take the leg to my workbench and dress it to final dimension There are both left- and right-hand side axes (the beveled side is usually marked with an "X.") The side axe was used by medieval builders and is still in use today, as you can see. The drawknife can be used with the cutting bevel up or down.When making a planing cut like this one, I skew the drawknife and use the tool bevel-up. I'll use it bevel-down for tight work, such as for shoulders on rounded tenons. 70 Popular Woodworking April 2004 |
