Draw knife or Spud

[Harry]

Is there a difference in appearance and lifespan of logs that the bark has been removed by a 1) draw knife and 2)Spud.

[Klapton]

You have to be VERY careful with a drawknife to avoid cutting into the grain of the wood. The whole point of hand-peeling whole logs is to avoid exposing the grain to the elements. A spud is much better for achieving that goal. There are, however, a lot of different shapes and sizes of spuds (lots of people make their own), so your milage may vary. Also, you STILL need to be a little careful not to gouge the wood with a spud too.

[Basil]

Klapton is right, a spud is generally going to give you a more rot resistant log because it doesn't actually cut into the log when used properly.

You also asked about appearance. Spuds will leave a rounded, almost slick log or sometimes leave a "tiger stripe" pattern on the log, that can be snded off or left. A draw knife will usually leave a faceted surface on the log, with a lot of little flat areas where the knife cut into the wood. It is possible to keep this to a minimum when peeling with a knife, but there will always be a little of this effect.

[Klapton]

One guy in the members section just posted how he prefers his drawknife, and just uses a spud around knots or irregular spots. (I just tried for a couple minutes to find it, so I could copy a quote, but didnt' find it.)

Basically he said he feels he has better control with the drawknife, and uses that control to NOT cut into the log. So it can be done, and would be worth a try. You just have to find whichever tool works best for you to achieve the goal of peeling the bark quickly and efficiently vs. damaging the wood.

[ajax]

We tried a drawknife at Mr. Gripes site in the Catskills a while back.

You are right about being careful. You have to be safety careful and careful about cutting into the wood.

But I'll tell you it is easy to get carried away with a good drawknife. You find yourself being able to go up and down that log very quickly versus a spud, which has a deliberate feel built into it almost.

We used the drawknife on a cold day with snow, and you were still able to go quickly with it. But in the end you can see a differance between the log debarked with a drawknife versus a spud.

John

[mrgripe]

following up on Ajax' post, here is a link to the drawknife we used at my lot. it's expensive but incredibly well-made:

http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/product_info.php/cPath/36_104/products_id/2028

Ryan

[Harry]

The wheel of life always turn slowly but surely.

[wwlivin]

Klapton,
I was saying that I can use the draw knife better than the spud for southern yellow pine (both thin and thick bark; 1/2" to 2" thick). I used both all day today the draw knife to clean the bark off down just through the cambium layer and the spud to work around knots and places that are wavey or bumpy. You can check out some pictures of draw knife and spuds at my web site below. Or, just click on this URL to go straight to the picture showing the particular curved draw knife that I like plus several spuds that I use.
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa19/wwlivin/?action=view&current=Jan08_debarkingtools016.jpg

I need to post another picture with another special draw knife that I have found extremly useful. It has a heavy and bowed blade with curved handles. I'll try to take a picture of a couple of them tomorrow.

wayne http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa19/wwlivin/?start=all&mediafilter=images

[Timberwolf]

That's a killer looking outhouse! :-D

Got plans for that?

Jason.

[wwlivin]

Timberwolfe,
Sorry, I don't have plans for the outhouse. My brother and I threw it together for the women folks. It all started when we were getting ready to pour concrete for the piers and decided to pour a slab for a privy for folks to use until I get the cabin built.

If you are interested, I could get the dimensions from a hand sketch we made. Using translucent fiberglass on the center roof panel turned out to be a great idea (can read magizines better :>).

wayne http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa19/wwlivin/?mediafilter=all