woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, woodworking joints, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with Rock (geology), stone, clay and animal parts, ...

, hewing is the process of converting a

log Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathe ...

from its rounded natural form into

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

(timber) with more or less flat surfaces using primarily an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

. It is an ancient method, and before the advent of the industrial-era type of

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s, it was a standard way of squaring up wooden beams for

timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

. Today it is still used occasionally for that purpose by anyone who has logs, needs beams, and cannot or would prefer not to pay for finished lumber. Thus, homesteaders on frugal budgets, for example, may hew their own lumber rather than buy it.

Definitions

''Hew'' is a general term meaning to strike or blow with a tool such as an axe or sword; to chop or gash, and is used in warfare, stone and woodcutting, and coal and salt mining in this sense. Hewing wood is to shape the wood with a sharp instrument such as an axe, specifically flattening one or more sides of a log.

Methods

As an ancient method of timber ''conversion'', different methods of each step in hewing have developed in history.

Prepare log

After a tree is selected and felled, hewing can take place where the log landed or be skidded or twitched (skidded with a horse or oxen) out of the woods to a work site. The log is placed across two other smaller logs near the ground or up on trestles about waist height; stabilized either by notching the support logs, or using a ' timber dog' (also called a log dog, a long bar of iron with a tooth on either end that jams into the logs and prevents movement). The hewer measures and locates the timber within the log on both ends and marks lines along the length of a log, usually with a

chalk line A chalk line or chalk box is a tool for marking long, straight lines on relatively flat surfaces, much farther than is practical by hand or with a straightedge. They may be used to lay out straight lines between two points, or vertical lines by us ...

Scoring

The next step is to chop notches every foot or two, almost as deep as the marked line using a chopping or scoring axe, called scoring. At least three methods are used in scoring. 1) Standing on the log and swinging an axe to chop the score; 2) In Germany a method of two carpenters standing on the ground with the log on trestles and swinging downward to slice the scores. (see video in link below); 3) A chainsaw is used to notch the log, the sections created by the notching are then split off using a felling axe.

Joggling or juggling

The pieces of wood between the notches are knocked off with an axe, this process called juggling or joggling. This results in a rough surface pared down just shy of the marked line. Scoring and juggling remove a fair amount of wood, make hewing easier and prevent long shreds of wood being torn off.

Hewing

Hewing is the last step in this whole process, which is also collectively referred to as hewing. Hewing is done on the logs sides with a

broadaxe A broadaxe is a large (broad)-headed axe. There are two categories of cutting edge on broadaxes, both are used for shaping logs by hewing. On one type, one side is flat, and the other side beveled, a basilled edge, also called a side axe, sing ...

. Hewing occurs from the bottom of the stem upwards towards what was the top of the standing tree, reducing the tendency of the broken fibers to migrate inwards towards the eventual beam. It is widely published that an

adze An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...

was used to hew the top surface of a log flat in the same manner as an axe is used on the sides of a log. However, physical evidence of looking at the marks left by the hewing tools in historic buildings, called tracology, are swung in an arc and thus made by an axe, not an adze. Shipbuilders frequently used adzes in shaping ship timbers, the choice of tool being made by the position of the surface being hewn, the sides best hewn with an axe and the face best hewn with an adze. Historic illustrations do show some Asian carpenters hewing building timbers with an adze. Further smoothing can then be done using a hand plane,

drawknife A drawknife (drawing knife, draw shave, shaving knife) is a traditional woodworking hand tool used to shape wood by removing shavings. It consists of a blade with a handle at each end. The blade is much longer (along the cutting edge) than it is d ...

, yariganna (an ancient Japanese cutting tool) or any other established or improvised means. Some 19th-century timber buildings in the U.S. have hewn long timbers in the same framing with vertically sawn and the later technology of circular sawn timbers. The reason for this is the long timbers were easier to hew with an axe than to take to a sawmill due to poor transportation routes. Hewn railroad ties are known as

axe ties Axe ties are railway ties (or sleeper) that are hewn by hand, usually with a broadaxe. There are 2,900 ties per mile of track on a first class railroad. The early railways would not accept ties cut with a saw, as it was claimed that the kerf of the ...

and were made by a ''tiehacker''.

Modern uses

Although still used in niche modern building, salvaged hand-hewn beams are now commonly recycled as architectural details popular in new construction and renovation of homes. They are also popular as decor in commercial and restaurant spaces.

References

LINK FOR 8 SHOULD BE https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf99232823/pdf99232823Pdpi300.pdf

External links

Video of the German method of hewing

Video of a widespread method of scoring a log in the process of hewing
{{Woodworking Woodworking Green woodworking Timber preparation