Phantom Bevel Jersey Restoration Part 4- Bucking and Splitting
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- čas přidán 24. 01. 2017
- Here we are trying out the Phantom Bevel Jersey as a bucking axe and a splitting axe.
My typical procedure for bucking my wood is to bring the sectioned tree back to the house and buck it in a dedicated yard for this. One problem with this system is that the shorter lengths of log are much less stable than bucking a tree from the butt end to the limbs as Steven Edholm did in his Husqvarna Multipurpose Forest Axe video. • Husqvarna 26" Axe Proj... The tops stabilize the tree so that the location you are aiming at doesn't roll around or away from you very much. With the shorter limbed sections I'm dealing with, they can wobble around A LOT, really annoyingly at times. The best system I've come up with involved dogging the one end of the log to a perpendicular block of some kind, and bucking all along the length of the log on one side, rolling the log, and bucking the pieces off from the far end towards the block. This works OK, but the dog I am currently using is a POS I forged out in a hurry, and doesn't hold as well as one made more properly. A new set of dogs is a top priority for my next forging projects, as well as a basic cant hook. A cant hook will really help me maneuver the larger logs which can be a pain in the neck to work with till they are lighter.
Getting back to this Phantom Bevel Jersey, the main discovery I made after the bucking process was that the handle I've hung this head on is a little longer than I like. I'm really happy with the fit and finish I've put on this handle, its just too long for really comfortable bucking. This is especially true on large logs at the top of the cut. I can use it, and make it work on pretty much any cut if I have room to back away from it enough, but its definitely uncomfortably long for standing on the log with, so I don't think I'd use it for a scoring axe with hand hewing, which is all stand-on-the-log work.
I do think I've proven the point that a pitted old head isn't a lost cause, and can be restored to total functionality with very little effort and super basic tools. This is a good axe that can do pretty much anything I ask it to.
I hope the folks who've followed this series through have enjoyed it, and maybe found it useful as well.
PS. As I was uploading this video, a fantastic video went up on how to forge a proper log dog from the extremely informative DF- In the Shop channel. I had asked Denis via email about doing this video, and here he is. It will help you understand why my log dog that you see in this video is a POS and how come it flexes so much and wiggles loose. • Blacksmithing Project ...
P.P.S. I also tried adding an audio track to a fast forward section. Video editing is a completely new process for me, so let me know what you think. I wanted to add a similar track to the other sped up clip, but it kept going all pear-shaped on me (and the audio in that section is still all messed up) so one new thing per video I guess.
Star is a good lad
I'm 5 fit 6 inches and a 30 inch handle is way to long. Really enjoyed these 4 videos, great content and information, thanks
Just started to hoe my yard and hit into what i thought was a rock surprise surprise rusty axe head true temper perfect kelly works Jersey cant wait to restore it
I love the log dog. I'm having the same trouble with the logs moving around. I'm still figuring out how I'm attacking the whole thing. I bought a 36" handled axe and I'm also a little uncomfortable with the length. But you can't know till you use something for a while. Love the videos. And music this time!
Thanks Aaron. I'm planning on making a better set of log dogs, and maybe I'll make a video comparing their effectiveness to this little junky one to demonstrate their usefulness.
old british log dogs (i assume the US ones too) are chisel ended but one side is 90 degrees twisted
this is so the bearing log which sits below the bucking log at 90 degrees to it is held by the chisel going in WITH the grain and not across it.
That is how log dogs are supposed to work. This one is set up that way but it is too light duty for the torque bucking puts on it. I've used it to hew quite a few logs though. I just forged out a new pair of much heavier stock, I plan on putting them in a video sometime in the next while, I want to do some "hewing for homesteaders" type videos, sort of discussing hewing as a useful method of producing working lumber vs just an arcane skill.
Sounds like you are having a weird winter too! We're getting a week and a half of winter, then a two or three day thaw. Hard on everything. Nice video!
delightful commentary - im really feeling the need for an OX now - over a new forestry tractor...
Didn't you say you were in the UK? I think you'd have just about one of the only working ox in Britain. Maybe I'm thinking of somebody else, sorry if so.
Never use more than a 28” for bucking or felling
Artful!
What state are you in? We had weather just like that in Indiana.
I'm not familiar with the term 'phantom bevel. I thought that I detected a vertical ridge through the bit. I have a splitting axe with a straight edge, triangular cheeks, and a defined vertical ridge above the apex of the cheeks.
Is that a phantom bevel. . Mine splits wonderfully!
Phantom bevels are an old fashioned feature that lots of North American axe manufacturers used to put on their axes back in the day. You can see them much more clearly in part one where I'm just cleaning up the head, but they are the curved relieved areas on the cheeks behind the bit about 3 centimeters back from the cutting edge on the top and bottom.
I took a look at part 1 and saw what you described. Much more graceful on your bit...very linear on my splitting axe. I assume the reason is the same for both; to simply reduce friction and allow better penetration?
I also smiled at your creative use of tubular squirrel! I've used a paper pattern to draw a collar on dry, flattened cow rawhide, and then soaked it to cut it out and pierce it for stitching.
I put it on wet, pull the stitching very tight, and it seems to mold perfectly as it dries. The stuff is bullet-proof!
I may go with the stitched style, but I don't have any cow hide on me right now. My next experiment with the rawhide handle guard is going to try using some skinned out lower leg deer hide. I harvested the legs off of a roadkill doe the other day and have the skins dehairing right now. I just want to experiment with the "natural tube" concept some more before I go with the stitched style.
If you can pull the 'tube thing' off, that would be glamorous! If it's a tight fit wet, it should be extremely tight when it dries. Good luck!
What kind of tree is that. Maybe you said in the last video and I missed it. Also if the handle is too long, make new one. I know it's a lot of work and takes a better part of a day, but it's better then leaving a otherwise awesome axe left unused.
White Ash. Right now, I'm still using it and trying to work out my issues with the axe and see if I can change my style to make it work. I'm running out of time in the winter for doing lots of random little projects, I've got to set up the greenhouse soon, and get maple syrup stuff going.