Week 8: Felling with the axe

I felled 3 trees with the axe today! Not very neatly I have to confess. I can do ‘clout’ or ‘accuracy’ but not, it seems, both at once! However Nick assures me that all I need is lots of practice – which he will ensure I get. Now is that a threat or a promise?

The day began with Nick showing us how to fell with the axe, the importance of cutting upwards for the bottom of the ‘V’ and keeping the lower cut close to the ground. He also went over the safety aspects of using the axe which could do real damage if we chop ourselves. 

Nick judging the lean on the chosen tree

Work begins cutting out the directional cut

Inspecting the cut and illustrating the clean working face

'Coed'!!

I decided to warm up by cutting some more of the small thorn trees I had been clearing last week using bowsaw and billhook. Then I practiced using the axe on fallen trunks to remember the correct action. Jill, one of the volunteers who I had worked alongside over the summer, teased me that I was being too cautious and was convinced I could move on to standing trees quite safely. She was quite correct – I was putting off something I was apprehensive about. Not that I thought I would hurt myself but that I would leave a mangled stump which would never re-grow. This despite the fact that Nick had assured us that the trees ‘knew’ we had to learn and would collectively be relieved that someone was trying to care for them.

So with Nick keeping an eye on me and providing helpful advice I had a go on one of the middle sized thorn trees where I had been clearing small stuff with David. My stump was indeed mangled but there was a recognisable shape which vaguely approximated to the one on Nick’s demonstration. David’s was much neater and he got his tree down faster with fewer blows. He has proved very adept with all the tools in contrast to my struggles. Luckily Andrew’s stump was also a bit ragged so my pride was salvaged!

The next 2 trees also came down OK and where I wanted them to and I managed the upcut more often. Still a long way to go though before I am happy with my skill. However I am getting much better at snedding so there is progress.

By late afternoon I was getting very tired and the proportion of ‘pauses for breath’ to ‘working’ was getting high. David kindly lent muscle power to help me pull out branches and sned up material so the ride was clear. One of the nice things about working in a group is that there is always help on hand if the job is hard.

On the Thursday Andrew and I were late because on my way to pick him up I encountered sheet ice at a crossroads and had to detour. Kieron was even later after similar problems. Barbara was also absent as a finger she had injured on a thorn yesterday had swollen up and she had gone to the minor injuries unit for advice. With only 3 students and 2 tutors there at the start green woodworking was decided on and we continued with our shavehorses. The first pair of uprights for my vice were discarded because I split the log in the wrong plane and got the curve going side to side instead of front to back. The second pair were on the massive side so at Nick’s suggestion I discarded those as well and he helped me find another length which I split and barked. Third time lucky! I am getting quite good at using the froe!

Then they had to be clamped together and 4 holes drilled right through the pair – two for the mortice to take the top rail and two for the adjustable peg which acts as the hinge. Martin showed me what to do and checked that I was keeping the drill at right angles to the split. I really struggled to get through with the brace and bit but assumed it was me being a) old b) girly and c) unfit. Nick, who had taken over from Martin, took pity on me and offered to do one of the holes. When he also puffed and struggled I realised it really was a rather unusually hard piece of wood and felt better! Then Martin showed me how to use a chisel to join up the two holes for the mortice.

Lunch around the woodburner turned into a spoon carving activity with several of us whittling away. Nick went one better and worked on a plate he is carving as a Christmas present. I love the range of skills we can learn and the flexibility in the course.

Lunch time whittling - this time a plate being shaped

One of my discarded uprights was recycled into the top rail of the vice and I shaped the ends into tenons to fit the mortices. Why did I ever find using the drawknife and shavehorse difficult?

By this time Stef and David, who are both amazingly competent, had split wood for their pins and axed it into first a square cross section, and then octagonal, straight  rod. We all watched as Nick mounted Stef’s onto the pole lathe and explained how to set it up and turn the piece down into a cylinder.

I have split myself a piece to use for the pin but decided that axing it to shape was a job for another day. Maybe I was being a whimp but I chose to reframe it as ‘knowing my limitations’!

Words by Sue Laverack

Photos by David Hunter