Making Roof Shingles With Hand Tools
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2017
- Making some chestnut shingles using hand tools including froe and side axe. In this film John shows you two different methods for making roofing shingles or shakes, and goes into some detail. He is an expert on this having made more than 2,000 for his woodland building alone!
- Jak na to + styl
Never laid a shingle down, don't need shingles, never plan on making shingles, yet I'm still here watching stuff about shingles
well, and here i am still shingle :)
get shingled lmao
You never know when you are gonna need to make shingles with hand tools
I done a handful of shingle jobs when I was first starting out. That’s all it took for me to realize how bad they suck lol. After that I just started bidding them astronomically high when it was a shingled roof…especially if it was a tear off too. It was rare that they’d accept the bid, but if they did then I made enough money to keep my mind off of how much I despised doing it!😂
Hats off to the ones that do it on the daily without complaining one single time though! I don’t care one bit to admit it… y’all are tougher fellers than this ol’ boy is!
@@korniestpatch True, true. In times like these, it's better to get buisy learning what you can.
My 6G grandfather lived in North Carolina. He died in 1795. In this will, he left his froe, drawing knife, and iron wedge to his grandson. I have the feeling he was a shingle maker. Excellent video. Thank you for the experience.
Thanks...certainly the tools of the trade.
When your 6G grandfather was making shingles in NC, mine was in Bavaria building timber-framed houses. Funny how wood workers seem to carry on the family tradition so much more than other trades.
@@venomlink2033 Where’d you get that woodworkers* carry on the “family tradition” much more than other trades?
@@justincasey_grabbederpussy6756 its just an anecdote from personal experience you insufferable douche
Out his ass.
Watching a patient craftsman proud of his mastery, hope this craft continues with younger people taking it up, thanks for the lessons!
Молодые люди купят металлочерепица и продолжат зарабатывать
There are few, if any, 36min lomg videos in existence that are as rich in knowledge, skill and general wholesomeness!
I am a mountain man, an Eagle Scout, and a survivalist/ prepper. But after 12 minutes I realized I will never know more about wood than John. Great video, I learned a lot. Thank John for passing on his knowledge.
Wow my grandfather covered a barn with shakes before I was born I had no idea how much work went into it makes me appreciate him even more
Dan Huff lol very very few folks in the world make and install their own shake shingles lol your grandpa should be appreciated, installing shake shingles in long, hard and tedious work, and after all you wouldn't be the person you are without him. I personally love folks from older generations, I love technology but I know compared to those folks I'm a weak individual. But in America, shake shingles have been available for purchase for much longer than your grandfather has been around. He most likely purchased them and installed them himself with a helper or two.
@@danhuff7133 whoa easy there
I don't know why the algorithm pushed this up, but I'm captivated
@@Lookatzack it's learning!
It's all part of the allmighty masterplan. MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA.
Its not who ya know but who ya blow. Probably the same reason youtube sensors pretty much anyone who goes against the lefts radical movment under claims of "hate Speech" and violations of YT terms of use.. Yet liberal left wing music stars can post rap videos saying the N-word, calling women bitches and hoes.. full of swearing and half naked women. An some how their videos arent even age restricted.
I was looking for videos to install remote start in my car. Ended up watching the whole video anyway 🤦♂️
You watched all 36 minutes of it because working with your hands is a very gratifying way of interacting with what your ancestors used to do.
If you think about it, we are the first generation of humans where the majority of us are NOT in some form of work with our hands on a daily basis. Making things, repairing things, planting things, etc.
Gotta get back to being productive.
Great to see a craftsman, engaging in a, virtually, lost art. Thanks to both of you!
I was told there were hot shingles in my area looking to be nailed.
I wanted to upvote this, but there's 69 of them and I couldn't ruin the perfection.
Jeffrey Stephens It's okay. Because now it's at 96.
212 now
254 now ^^
I'm number 339. No idea how I got here, but here I am.
It's incredible how machine cutting changed our thinking about wood. I think in planks and joist instead of logs. Great video, shows how many things we can make.
This guy is a national treasure just amazing watching him work
it makes me happy to see people building things from scratch that we take for granted everyday
Seeing this cements the fact that one should not take old buildings for granted.
Too right. Thinking it over- thirty year shingles- that's a lot of work if you're going to build a house and and live there long term. Thing is, in that day, if a man built his house at age 20, that roof would likely outlast himself. :/
Patrick Whitehead a house still will likely outlive you. Although it might get torn down.
Nor should they take modern hand tools and power tools for granted either! Growing up as a kid I was obsessed with building villages. I would force friends to accompany me into nearby woodlands because if I didn't have friends I didn't have a need for a village. But I'd obsessively craft hut after hut, and always a smithy for making tools I'd need for building. And guess what I grew up to be?
A lawyer. .____.
BaSH PROMPT lmao aww you can still build though right? if you've got the space for it.
Best story ever
Day 29 of quarantine: learning to make shelter by hand just in case
Jose Torres lol same
jefforey siegel snickers?
Day 44😂😂😂 I'm moving out in the woods
Running out of things to watch it seems!
There's a lot of people learning lot's of new skills lol.
It's crazy cool that you've spent so long handing logs and making shingles that you have built this amount of first hand knowledge. Great video, great content and wonderful attitudes!
I don't know if I'll ever need this information, but I'm glad I have it. Thanks, Gents
Hans Yolo same here. If I ever need to make a barn roof or something at least I’ll have some idea on what it should look like...tho the rest of it...well hey at least the roof will look nice.
"need" being the key word, cause ill have to be near desperate to put that much time & efford into a roof. Hats off to this guy.
I have no idea how I got here, but I am very glad that I did. Very interesting video, thanks for sharing!
nonamae2009 Thanks
Harry Rogers i wound how many shingles you could make if all the scraps were all one
All i wanted to see was how big of a mallet that people used on a froe, now I'm amazed at the craftsmanship and time that went into making shingles back in the day. I could watch John make shingles all day. Very impressive.
The " hammer", that was used is called a blavett.
Welcome recommendation-squad to another episode of "how the hell did I get here"
I ain't mad. I'm learning how to make shingles.
and the secuel " why did i watch it all?"
Yep, same. But I am learning something, although I’ll probably never do it
Lmao same
it's 3am hell yea I want to know how shingles are mafe
Made these with my Dad when I was a young lad. Not this exact method, but same tools and basics. Brings back memories, thanks for sharing! :)
Finally REAL old-school woodworking...I miss being around woodworking and the tools... wonderfully done...lots of stuff to learn and I like the fact u get into how long and why about the woods use..grand stuff
I almost feel like a notepad...🤗🤔😋👍✔️
Edit: forgot to add you got a new sub...😎
I don't have access to logs, nor do I have access to the tools necessary to make shingles. I have no idea why this video was so interesting but I'm really happy I watched it haha.
It's got to do with the passion of craftmanship
*Hannah M* Yup, men using their mind and working with their hands,,to achieve a roof over their head..one of the ways of God ...which..Feminists take for granted and destroy
You can make a throw from car springs as he mentions in the video...
3 Subscribers Without Any Videos!!!!! Too
I have a new appreciation for what goes into the wood shakes I install while roofing. I prefer installing machined shakes as they’re so much faster to install but nothing beats the rustic look of these hand split shakes. Thank you for the great video. I’m glad to see you have all your fingers still!
honey, we need to reshingle the roof
*AMISH MOD ACTIVATED*
E
"OK I'll get the froe and side axe, you get the chainsaw and beer !"
What a fun. I once participated on permaculture course of a british couple living in france. And one of these days there we had as a topic "green wood working".
Remembering with all those tools, drawhorse and so on we had to build some simple furniture. Man I loved that kind of work.
Very nice video. Thanks :)
Love the casual nature of the video. This is such valuable information and I am so happy that someone has covered it in such detail here on CZcams. Thank you for posting!
Fascinating. A real master of his craft. I see that this was a few years ago, I hope that he's still out there somewhere making shingles.
I was just wondering about wind lifting the shingles, and my answer was there in front of me.
Purely logical about the exposed end-grain absorbing water on the sawn shingles. So simple, so effective to use splitting.
I remember this was first recommended and watched a little over a year ago when I was watching videos on a lot of different traditional crafts. Watching a second time was just as enjoyable.
His thoughts on what he's doing and why are very well communicated.
Yea same haha I’ve had that same uhh tick lol
I've watched the whole video. It was very interesting to see traditional handcrafting work in our modern times. I've never thought before that there is such a complexity to the process of making wooden shingles. I've learned a lot. Thumb up for the video Harry and my best regards from Germany, Chris
Now do that one thousand more times. I really enjoyed the video but this makes me very happy to live in modern times.
Hello, "Harry Rogers":
Thanks for this, I have a bit of a passion for the old ways, unfortunately there aren't many that know the old ways left now.
If you can, more videos of this kind would be appreciated. Thanks again for all you're doing.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
I love this old school way of creating things, all hand crafted! a form of craftsmanship I'd really like to master one day
Excellent detail and showing the Tools and Workmanship.
I worked helping guys make cedar shakes in Northern Maine repairing and replacing roofs on old log cabins in the forest back in the mid to late 1970's. The cedar is far softer and shaves into thin slabs unlike the hardwood you are using. That's probably why the went to the flat belt driven horizontal shingle saws in the Appalachian territory. There were buildings that had shakes on them for 90-120 yrs and they still were in near perfect form.
Cedar is bomb for lasting the elements. Also splits so well like you said. I thought of cedar as well. Now I want a cedar roof
Thank you, for letting us admire beautiful workmanship, tools, and skills.
I played this while I was doing some work. The very straightforward and well informed people in the video really calmed me and helped me feel relaxed. Thank you for uploading this!
very impressive. modern manufacturing is very efficient but there are many arts such as this that are fading away. I applaud this man for showing his wood working skills
Abraham Washington that's something I recently realized while working in a house (I'm a painter) we still make our houses out of essentially the same stuff. Mud (Drywall) and Sticks (Lumber) the only difference is the efficiency of how we construct everything.
Harry - WoW! John iS aN Excellent Teacher! He’s a True Professional w/Lots of Patience. The BesT Explanation On This Traditional Craftsmanship. Brings Back Memories of Making Froes w/My Dad.
I like how he explains why exactly you're doing things like removing the sapwood. Very meticulous explanation thank you.
Why the dislikes, knowledge is so useful. People like this will survice the apocalypse if there is even one that's going to happen.
Thanks youtube this was a good recommendation. You did it ai after like 12 failures of recommendations you've found something i watched without stopping
I made shingles for my shed using 2 hatchets and a hammer. My shingles werent quite as nice as his but i was using aspen . Guess its been about 8 yrs now and they are still on the roof and doing their job. I couldnt afford to buy shingles so i had to make do. Took many hours to make about 400 shingles but i enjoyed it.
*make do
The modern world often sees this kind of work as valueless and difficult but it's actually really nice. Much nicer than sitting at a computer. You don't have to use loud power tools and tons of awful sawdust very much. You're outside getting exercise. Just thinking about wood grains and nature. Really invaluable work in reality.
@@ruslbicycle6006 woulda been a lot easier buying asphalt shingles but I like the way they now look all weathered and rustic and I get a sense of pride each time my gaze falls upon them
I love CZcams. This is even better than Women's Pole Vault videos.
Amazing, skills like this should be recorded and shared. If our machines ever fail us we will rely on skills like this.
Superb half an hour spent watching this clip, fascinating to anyone with a sense of tradition. I will never need to do this , but what a great exhibition of craft for the layman.... thanks..!!
keyote3 Thanks keynote3
Here in the US we like to use cedar for our shakes because it’s less likely to rot. In most areas of the US. You must use Open deck (the way you have) due to fire hazard. In our colder climate we can use 3/4 ply with a 30 pound felt and 10’ lace making those roofs last for 25-30 years with the integrity to hold hundreds of pounds of snow.
I am a spoiled tradesmen that has had the luxury of going to lumber supply stores; so watching you guys make your own materials is fascinating to me.
I think folks tend to assume that cedar (usually western for shingles) is the winner in rot resistance but that's not the case. A hardwood like a chestnut or white oak is superior in overall durability outdoors. "Cedar" is lighter, more easily machined and most importantly, grows faster. Also, folks around where I am think all eastern red cedar is "rot resistant" and stick posts in the ground surprised to find them rotted a few years later. The white sapwood is no better than balsa in terms of rot resistance and most posts and boards now that the old growth has been slashed and burned are a half and half mixture of the sapwood and red heartwood.
@@victoriakelley3685 Thank you,can’t never get to much information. I find the cedar shingles swell just a bit when thoroughly wet which makes them a little less likely to leak.
I don’t know why, because I don’t work with wood, but I completely can’t stop watching this. Seriously, just goodness
Your editing was perfect if any was needed. Truly a masterpiece . Cheered me up and made my day
the reason for the 18" length was probable due to the quality and size of the wood they were using. Old growth would be denser and so much of whats used today is fairly young. The last minor ice age we had would have also meant slower and tighter wood grain during the bronze and iron ages. Just my opinion. Great vid.!
In Swedish shingles are called "pärt," and in my home village we have a shingle-working shed where some of the locals make the stuff from time to time.
I have watched a bunch of these videos as I have a project with wooden shingles to do. This video is by far the best and provides some great info from a fella who really knows the craft.
Sometimes i wonder how do i end up knowing so many suspicions things and then i remember seeing a random CZcams video at 3 am . This is one of them . Nice video by the way
You and John needs to upload more from time to time. Cheers.
Forget a maul, I’m using a froe now lol. Also looks like the “waste” is great kindling
I dont know why i was soo mesmerized by this. I watched the whole video! thank you for sharing!
I need that ax! Six years later and your efforts have spread some useful knowledge.
Thanks Harry and John for an in-depth shingle making lesson. Shows the benefits of your channel keeping these practical skills alive for folks all around the globe. I may not roof a shed with shingles, using Tropical Hardwood, but may make a box or a wheel using short planks similarly hewn with hand tools. Greetings from Thailand.
Hello Dav - thats great lateral thinking ...and thanks.
Excellent example of hand made primitive technology that still functions today.
Back in the late 1970’s I renovated the oldest house in NC. It was a “lighter wood” structure with lighter wood shingles that had sat n that roof for over 250 years.
Zero rot as is normal with lighter wood, 1/3 lap as he said and when in attic you could see that each shingle was 18 inches.
It was put on a dovetailed mortise and tenon frame structure of lighter wood Pine.
Virtually set on the ground for the entire time without a single bug eaten part to it at all.
The technology was exactly like he did but using lighter wood pine that at times was 6-8 feet wide.
The inside wall boards were two four foot boards stacked on each other and a wainscoting board running between them making up the 8’ 2” height of the rooms.
I took off some of the boards to install wiring and found an entire cobblers kit from the 1730’s
It was amazing.
No nails as this preceded anything other than hand made nails.
Thanks
as long as the wood stays dry bugs will not eat the sugars in the wood.
i for one am glad we have modern machinery
A long time ago I found one of those wood shingle cutters, never knew what it was till now, I still may have it somewhere around this house. What a neat thing to learn, thank you.
This guy is so cool for letting you document a dying trade. Great work man very informative.
He is a generous soul.
That constant sawing in the background is nice.....
It's a lathe
Exceptionally clear demonstration!
Great video! Grew up and still live on the North Coast of the Pacific. Shake mills were the cornerstone of the rural economy, before they all went belly-up in the 70s. (Lots of Western red-cedar, best shake stuff ever.) Most barns and shops had a froe in them when I was a kid, though most folks had forgotten what they were for.
One of the best videos ive ever seen on youtube
VERY MUCH worth my time, and some very valuable traditional woodworking tips within the video. Historically accurate and absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing this!
What an amazing craft. I can't imagine how long it would take to make enough shingles for entire roof, doing it this way. How satisfying it must be when you are done though. I never would have thought you could split wood against the grain, as he did with that second one. Fascinating the way they use to have to do things, and all the skills that our ancestors knew. I'm so glad people are preserving them.
That's alot of work for 2 shingle. Much respect
I was glued to the screen all the way through this film Harry, you always find some of the most interesting subjects for your videos, although there's a lot of diversity in your films I cannot help but be enthralled in every single film. Thank you for sharing this video, this subject warranted a slightly longer film but who knew there would be so much to something that looks so simple and I personally USED to take for granted. N.
Neil George Thanks Neil
It's rather hypnotic.
What amazes me in this kind of shows, is that they remind us of of how hard it was, and the tremendous amount of time needed in the old days, to make things. I wonder if anyone has calculated the number of shingles a woodcarver could produce in one day (supposing he has the logs ready) and the average number needed for an average medieval house. Nowadays we have factories producing tiles and/or wooden single in amass. We cannot appreciate the work. But looking to this... Wow! I'm amazed.
Because it took so much time it was done right first time, and only done once in a lifetime
Took 3 years for us to completely shingle the roof with cedar, we milled it with our sawmill, can't even imagine doing it by hand with a froe
It's relative. During the M.E. period 20% of their efforts were for taxes (i.e. grain, sheep, cheese, coin if they had any) the rest of the time they spent working for themselves. Doing work like this isn't that hard if you're used to it. It does suck when it's cold and rainy but that's why God made whiskey.
Hand-split shingles remained common in alpine parts of Europe well into the 19th century! Some relatives of mine own a historic house with shingle roof and my dad says it was last re-done in the 1960s. Back then they found an old-timer who knew his way around wooden roofs. He measured everything and then spent an entire winter and possibly spring splitting shingles for one (large) roof. The following summer he removed all the old shingles and installed his new ones! AFAIK that roof is still holding up, although he predicted a lifetime of around 50 years.
One of the issues with wooden shingles is that they do catch fire easily. I know of a house fire caused by a cigarette butt on the roof! Didn't do much damage because there were smoke detectors and people who knew what to do with a fire extinguisher but still, these things do burn well!
Anyone who enjoys and takes pride in their work is worth listening to, love the mastership
John is fascinating to watch and listen to his expertise in explaining the process.
I made 10 shingles on my own yesterday! I will make 10 more today :)
You will probably make 20 today!! Good luck.
just 3,990 shingles to go to finish that roof! good luck
Skullreapah
Once you get the hang of it you'll be powering through 500+ each day.
Really enjoyed watching the video and nice to see old skills and crafts still being used, atb John.
Hello John and thanks!
Im lovin the foot powered lathe in the background
The man made it look like anyone (even me ) could do this. That's real hands on skills.
How good is that, that there are English craftsmen still around, each of whom practice their own skills, traditional skills going back several centuries. We must maintain this rich culture of English country crafts.
I totally appreciate the principle of triple layering to ensure watertightness.It was true then as it is today, with triple layered roof slates and tiles.
be careful the feminists and soyieee boyieees might report ya for White supremacy....English supremacy etc
Just use straw.
You should visit the Down and Weald outdoor museum, this video looks like it was shot there.
It's a retirement village for old and endangered buildings of South East England. Lots of old crafts being kept alive by it.
Very informative video Harry, more axe and knife work that I'd imagined there would be but I'm all the more keen to give it a go now, first roof will be for a composting loo so probably a sensible place to start size wise! thanks to you and also to John for sharing his considerable experience on the subject.
Lee Stoffer Thanks and sounds like a great project Lee
@@harryrogers And the wood in plates or very wide boards?
This is amazing! we visited historic Williamsburg and they used this style of shingle and I never could find anyone who could tell me more about them. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing video of this craft!
I'm forging a froe soon for some future projects and this video gave me some advice.THANKS
There are a few houses around here (Fremantle, Western Australia) still with handmade shingle roofs. The shingles must be at least 100 years old.
The shingles are made from a local tree called 'she oak' an extremely hard and heavy conifer.
I just put a piece of she oak through an electric thicknesser, the machine groaned under the effort.
Goes to show how damned hard people used to work, and how their skill and tools must have been honed to a fine edge.
There is simply no way those local roofs are ever going to be repaired with froe split she oak shingles. It would be cheaper to build an entire house!
Depends if it is worth keeping as a historical artifact.
In Germany houses are repaired traditionally by law in some smaller cities.
The work involved...craftsmanship.
If they made shigles like that today they would cost $40 per shingle!
Thanks for sharing this video with us. I honestly wish I could be there and learn more about this.
That was a humbling video...
I hope some of us young'ins pick up these crafts before they are lost.
lovely just to watch skilled craftsmen demonstrating their arts , makes you want to have go
you two old folks made half a hour of my life have a day worth of knowledge as I was their with ya.
Spent a lot of time salvaging giant downed Cedar logs for shake bolts...Had salvage contracts in the Oregon Siuslaw country....A shingle is sawn both sides and is usually about 16" long. A shake is 24" long and either split both sides or resawn one side.....We are having a new modern roof installed in a few days replacing one layer of cedar shingles and one layer of split shakes that have lasted 75 years....Good Job Granpa!
Nobody: 😐
Me watching video about making shingles: 🤩🤩🤩 I needed this!!!
I need me some new axes/tools, and best part was seeing the guy using the old school lathe in background
This man makes it looks so much simpler, than it really is.
It is that simple. But the simplicity is a hard work that you have to achieve. Beginners do it complicated and once they get experience start learning how to simplify. Just like all great Arts.
It’s simple, but not easy.
Wow the last half an hour just flew by watching this video absolutely engrossed. What fascinating content and I really appreciate the experience and expertise passed on from the chap in your clip! Would love to see more like this
This has been in my recommended for like 9 months and I finally gave in
This is so calming and awesome. Also, the guy commentating and agreeing is quite funny.
Fascinating, I believe this is where my surname comes from, a Spooner being someone who made wooden roof shingles, spune being the Angle word for a splinter of wood.
Thanks for making this vid! A lot of good input into the craft and tools needed for this job; not so difficult with the right know - how, and that ole boy knows how!
This guy is awesome.. I can’t help but think that it’s very difficult to do well. He makes it appear effortless!!
If I had to make shingles for my roof it would leak like a sieve.
As a US roofer I appreciate, "wood shake" as we call it in the midwest , a little more.
Except when it is above 100 degrees and the shake is under 2 layers of other shingles. Then its a dusty kind of hell.
Amazing! Thanks a lot for this video! I was recently in the Alps and there are a lot of huts with these kind of roof shingles. I was wondering how it is made.
Very Nice Work! A awesome old technique that might get lost if youtube was not here!! Think about that!!
what most people outside this type of trade would call "dirty hard work" is actually the most elegant and well thought out due to its effectiveness and history. it's tough but it's honest, simple but effective. it gets the job done, and done elegantly. this manner of teaching does well to show the process and history of the effort put into this kind of work, and helps preserves the craft.