Thread: making shakes from Tasmanian timber

Hi Allison,
I reckon the bloke u might want to have a chat to would be Stan Ceglinski, Mullimbimby Woodworks, 02 66804455 he's right into the old craft of working wood with hand tools, froes, axes and the like, if u catch him with some time he doesn't mind a chat.
He's a regular at the Brisbane woodshow


Pete

I have done a few shingle roofs out of forest oak that I split, There are quite a few species that are ok to use & the local historical society or some seniors in the bush would have that knowledge for you location. To make a froe just use an old horse hoof rasp, weld a pipe ring at one end grind the teeth off it & sharpen the edge, then just pop a wooden handle through it & your ready to start pounding it with a lump of bloody hard timber,( which you will go through many of ). I have heard of blokes using modified hyd' log splitters with good results.
regards inter

Hi Allison,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I was happy to find your enquiry just now, as i am planning to build a large shake clad shack on my property on the east coast of Tassie. I've worked with wood a lot, although have not made shakes, so am looking forward to the challenge. My understanding is that black peppermint (E. amygdalina) is probably best for shakes (shingles). Although white peppermint is probably more rot resistant and blue gum is probably stronger, white peppermint is more brittle and blue gum is becoming a conservation dependent species and probably should be left standing. Have you had any luck finding a froe? I used to split shakes with my grandpa when i was a kid, but the froe is long gone and i simply cannot find one, new or old. I'd appreciate some leads if you have managed to find a source. Would be happy to exchange info as the learning process proceeds.

Good luck! Arcto<o></o>

hi,

I was glad to see a response on this topic )

I have been looking for a froe and so far have a few leads....my best lead came from going to the heritage Tasmania building in Macquarie street in Hobart(opposite Franklin Square) I spoke to a man who owned a froe and by chance had roofed an extension to his house in shakes a few years ago(he also gave me a newsletter that heritage tasmania put out that by chance had an article on shakes in tasmania)

...i do remmeber him saying peppermint was the best thing to make shakes out of...but finding it would be the challenge i imagine....I also think if you leave your name and number they can put you in contact with a gentleman in the north somewhere who has made shakes his whole life.

I thought i might be able to get a lead on buying a froe at the local Huon show, but couldn't get the attention of the gentleman selling all sorts of old tools as he was busy.

sorry i'm probably waffling!

let me know how you go, as my dreams have been put on hold due to financial difficulties.


All the best !
Allison

p.s I also thought about trying to get a froe made, if there was two of use getting them made it may be cheaper?
just a thought P

Originally Posted by Allison

snip
I also thought about trying to get a froe made, if there was two of use getting them made it may be cheaper?
just a thought P

unlikely
the cost of having one made will be in the labour.

Your best option would be to find a blacksmith and ask them to make one

Hello again Allison,

I think i've actually found a company in the UK called Axminster, that sells Froes for 45 pounds plus freight. However, i've decided to buy a strap of pring steel from Leighton Springworks in Launceston to manufacture the blade myself. Spring steel seems like the best option, as it has enough carbon to maintain its shape with all the bashing, but not too much that it might be too brittle and crack under the stress of the blows. Rather than making an eye at the end for the handle, i plan to cut a groove in the timber handle and bolt it to the blade (one finger of timer each side of the blade). It may take me a while to get to this as i'm flat out with work. However, a couple of hours should do to knock one up.

By the way, i had a think about soaking the shingles perior to fixing themn to the rafters. I think this would be a bad idea, as they may shrink slightly and pull away from each other when they dry, thus increaing the possibility of leaks. It would be interesting to hear what someone else has to say about this.

Cheers, Arcto

Good Morning Arcto and Allison

As a kid in Oatlands (Tasmanian Midlands) in the 1950's I "helped" my great uncles splitting shakes for use on farm buildings - barns, walls, chooksheds, even my dog kennel.

Incidentally, we always differentiated between shakes and shingles; shakes are split and shingles are sawn.

They always used wattle for the shakes, but I cannot remember what species, should have paid more attention. I remember them spending a lot of time selecting the trees for felling. The grain had to be absolutely strait and clear - any twisting, knots, branches, interlocking, etc, and it would not split cleanly and true. Often a tree would be felled and then found unsuitable - heart rot, borers, interlocked grain, etc.

A froe is basically a 300mm long axe blade and needs to be as rugged as an axe - lots of forces involved. When doing squaring cuts they belted the froe with a long handled sledge hammer, for halving cuts they used a short handles sledge hammer. Just remembered, they referred to the actual splitting of the shakes as "halving".

Australian hardwoods tend to be much tougher than European and American hardwoods - just compare their janka numbers - so they might require a tougher froe.

Cheers

Graeme

G'day Graeme,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Thank you for the insights - very helpful. Yes, i can remember my uncle cutting shakes too even though i'm only a youngun (i grew up on Kind Island - old times tend to stick in small communities, as i'm sure you know). Most people don’t known what a shake is, which is why i just call them shingles these days. You are right about Australian hardwoods being much harder than European hardwoods (made furniture in France for a few years and was struck by how cheesy their timers are), so i'm hopeful that a spring steel blade will do the job. The beauty of making the blade is that when one wears out, its easy enough to make another. I've heard that black wattle is good, although it seems hard to find as straight enough trees - maybe you are in an area where there are plenty. I've also heard that white peppermint will last longer too. I also have thousands of large white peppermints to chose from too, which is the clincher for me.<o></o>

Arcto<o></o>

Allison,I'd be happy to build you a froe. Not sure how to pass on contact details on this open site though....Arcto

Graeme,

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I hadn't heard of using wattle before and would be very keen to try and track down one or two to start with. I have a little 3m x 3m shed I want to clad as a trial run if I get a froe built or build one myself. (although i can make things, building a froe seems a little beyond my skills altogether.) I might contact arcto and see how he's going with his!

I'm delighted that this information and experience is available to me!
Thanks again!
Allison

p.s i wonder if I posted a photo of the grain of the wattle i find, may be you could tell me if it looks alright or if i'm on the right track with selection?

Originally Posted by InterTD6

I have done a few shingle roofs out of forest oak that I split, There are quite a few species that are ok to use & the local historical society or some seniors in the bush would have that knowledge for you location. To make a froe just use an old horse hoof rasp, weld a pipe ring at one end grind the teeth off it & sharpen the edge, then just pop a wooden handle through it & your ready to start pounding it with a lump of bloody hard timber,( which you will go through many of ). I have heard of blokes using modified hyd' log splitters with good results.
regards inter

that's ingenious!...i think it I went to Geeveston and asked around I might be able to find someone who could guide me along..
although the idea of the of the horse rasp is great and I bet it'd be a lot easier to track down a horse rasp.

thanks for the idea!

Allison

Originally Posted by Arcto

G'day Graeme,fficeffice" /><o>></o>>
<o>></o>>
Thank you for the insights - very helpful. Yes, i can remember my uncle cutting shakes too even though i'm only a youngun (i grew up on Kind Island - old times tend to stick in small communities, as i'm sure you know). Most people don’t known what a shake is, which is why i just call them shingles these days. You are right about Australian hardwoods being much harder than European hardwoods (made furniture in France for a few years and was struck by how cheesy their timers are), so i'm hopeful that a spring steel blade will do the job. The beauty of making the blade is that when one wears out, its easy enough to make another. I've heard that black wattle is good, although it seems hard to find as straight enough trees - maybe you are in an area where there are plenty. I've also heard that white peppermint will last longer too. I also have thousands of large white peppermints to chose from too, which is the clincher for me.<o>></o>>

Arcto<o>></o>>

Hi Arto!

How it all going? Were you able to make some shakes?
If you want to contact me my email is [email protected]
you should post some photos if your in the position to be able to do that, i for one would love to see your progress!(i for one have done very little as money is quite tight while i'm looking for a building design job...sigh...nevermind!)

Allison

G'day I made my froe from a car spring.. I saw some new ones in the Stihl shop in Lilydale a couple of weeks ago. Not sure of the price. can go and have a look if you want.
Peter

The species of timber you want to used will be from a non staining species.
If your looking for a hoof rasp call some of the local farriers, they would have bags of them
regards inter