Making a split rail cedar fence with hand tools
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Looking for a more permanent and handsome option for our small kitchen garden we decided it was finally time to build a split rail cedar fence. A good friend brought us some cedar posts and we used one standing dead cedar tree we had on our property for the rails. A few electric strands will be tied around to keep the hungry deer out.
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My Dad and I used to do this some 60 years ago....about the same tools and techniques. Brings back memories.....wish Pop was still with me and we were walking thru the woods looking for the correct trees. Cedar posts were nearly forever in terms of rot.....and, you didn't have to mess with that stinking creosote.
My father did this about 40 years ago. He used locust for posts and rails. Those things lasted forever, too. We only had 2 go bad the many years they were in the ground: one was damaged by an errant car, the other a microburst.
@@jennifersvitko5997 Good memories, Jen.
@@jennifersvitko5997 Microbursts are frequent where I live; making most fencing pretty difficult.
@tobes jojo Not a specialist, but I've heard that concrete and wood are not a great idea to mix... concrete doesn't breathe enough and it makes the wood rot... maybe it depends of the types of wood, but check that out !
Subtitles are available for new videos
Awesome, thank you so much!
Let's make a deal: if you add subtitles to "The Asian Roubo Timber frame workbench" video (with some rough measurements), I will going to add translation to that video and to all of the subsequent videos (present and future). Are you in? :)
Surprised you didn't char the bottom of the posts. Lovely job though.......
Thanks! I was just about to post that you showed counting the rings but didn't bother giving us the age!
Great! Although in the same way I did with Primitive Technology (which for those of you who haven’t seen it I definitely recomend ruclips.net/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA) now I have to go back and watch all your videos again with the captions on. Can’t wait!
Your quiet, patient craftsmanship is a joy to watch.
I can't smell the wood. I think my internet provider is blocking me.
LOL!
Move your computer. You are upwind
@@marvinostman522 best reply to a comment. I just grabbed a chunk from my closet and held it under my nose. (I have chunks with metal hangers that we put in our closets, and axe chips we keep in the drawers.)
IT'S CALLED SMELLAVISION LOL
That cedar must have smelled great and sure did make a nice fence
With apologies to "The Magnificent Seven" when Chris is explaining the real purpose of the wall to the bandit leader.
The deer: "that fence won't keep us out..."
You: "It isn't meant to keep you out- it's meant to keep you in..."
Next video, salting and storing deer meat.☺
The old-timers (my Grandparents) used to collect the cedar chips and put them in a little cloth bag. The bags were kept where winter clothing was stored to keep them smelling good all summer. Love your impressive skills and knowledge of hand tools. BIG thumbs UP!
I love cedar...!
I can almost smell that as you skin the bark, bore it, cut it... wonderful video, thank you!
I understand why you used the cedar for this fence but I can't help thinking how lovely all that red, wonderful smelling, wood would have been as a lining to a closet or a trunk. I really enjoy your videos.
Those purple shavings almost look like rose petals as you drill holes on the cedar log!!! So beautiful!!!
I already know where this is going, some place very interesting. Ah, not dressing up like Abe Lincoln? Because, as I understand, he was famous for his rail splitting skills.
The fragrant wood must be amazing.
He cut and split Black Locust. A incredibly hard wood
My Dad was a very brave man. Even though he claimed he was a confirmed coward, which is why (he said) he survived WWll. He never really grasped the concept of the "hinge" when cutting down trees (with a chainsaw). We fell a lot of trees and the fact that he died 50 years later and I'm still alive is testament of a gracious God. He had SO many stump jumps, hung up trees (that fell the wrong direction), and even trying to drop another tree on a hung up tree resulting in 2 hung up trees (that wind and gravity eventually brought down). But that never seemed to slowed him down. The firewood was in the air, and he had to get it on the ground so we wouldn't freeze to death during the winter. RUclips would have really helped back then.
When I was a boy scout (50 years ago!) we cut down Cedars like these, cut them into 18 inch lengths and hand split shingles out of the logs. Lots of fun. We built hiking shelters on Northern MN trails out of them. The aroma was spectacular.
Doesn't the chamfering of the post tops also serve the practical purpose of leaving very little level surface for rainwater to linger on to facilitate early rot?
I can smell that cedar just watching! Hands down my favorite smell on earth and I love making stuff with aromatic cedar. Makes the shop smell good for weeks lol
Wow, the first to comment. I wish I was your neighbor, would love to hang out. really enjoyed the timber frame class.
The old ways were so practical and simplistic and I love the old rustic appearance of it all. Not only that cedar fence can last up to thirty years.
The sound that mallot makes is so satisfying
LOL. Who else thought the car was at risk at 7:49?
Definitely love cedar, the colors, smell, insect and rot resistant. Makes great looking furniture as well. A very versatile wood in the forest.
So very peaceful to watch you work and see how you do things the old way. Thank you so much for teaching us.
Curious how many rings you counted.
150. Turn on the captions for other helpful bits of information. 🙏🇨🇦
If you enable captions, it says 150
150
Same observation?? 50 to 100
150 years old. Turn captions on.
Watching you work is like meditating. So deliberate and calming. Wish you could make more videos but I know you have a full schedule...
The bark comes off so nice when the logs are green. I've done it both ways, and taking it off a seasoned log is not fun, but you can avoid mold on some wood species by waiting till the wood is seasoned.
Maxid1 - I have pressure-washed off the exteriors on well-seasoned cedar & that was super easy to do...obviously, that goes against Mr. Chickadee’s MO, but for us Lazier Folk, it makes short work of the stranded bark of Cedars.
peeled my share of fir and cedar with a draw knife. Dont miss it.
@@harleyhawk7959 You don't find removing bark appealing?
@@harleyhawk7959 i enjoy using a draw knife, i find it to be quite relaxing. Especially when compared to noisey power tools.
Abe Lincoln didn't use cedar for fencing. He used Black Locust. Otherwise known as Iron Wood. Posts don't rot in the ground. It's said that you could put a Locust post in the ground for 40 years and then turn it around for another 40 years. It doesn't rot. It turns into charcoal. Incredibly hard wood. I can't imagine how hard it was to cut with an axe, though it splits rather easily if clear grained. He was a tough man when tough really meant tough.
That does not look easy but the aesthetic is undeniable. Beautiful work and the sounds are meditative.
I already did this achievement in read dead redemption 2 only got a bronze star though.
"In all labor; there is profit." (Proverbs) You have a lot a good "native" skills and an excellent work ethic...inherited, learned, passed along, or just a blessed combination? Best wishes and stay healthy.
I love the wood. Didn’t look like cedar in the first part
Good work! I hated doing fencing when I worked for a landscaping company. It's difficult and nothing is as easy as you think it's going to be
I've never seen that joint before. Wedged from both sides solves a great problem into the posts. Thanks and I KNOW it smelled wonderful!
any month with a R in it the bark will peel on easily cedar
The sound that big mallet makes is so satisfying.
Btw, that move to lift soil with that hole digging thing into the wheelbarrow doesn't look all that comfortable
I've got wedge envy. Those are a thing of beauty.
I Bet that Was one of the Best-Smelling Projects ever done! I wish that I could smell those shavings through this phone. I love it!
You have an incredible collection of tools, but that is a butt-ugly wheelbarrow.
Nothing in north America rivals cedar for color, there are few woods in the whole world that can most notably would be purple heart.
What size handle is used on your mortising axe?
I am a hamster. Can you send those cedar chips through the internet to my cage? It stinks in here!
I could just smell the wet forest.... that with the relaxing forest sounds... so many good memories :)
Tried the gravel back-fill for a gated fence in rocky clay once. Holes filled with water instead of draining, winter froze it and squeezed everything up. Spring came, vacuumed out the gravel and replaced with concrete. Hasn't moved since. Drainage only works when it can drain. Period.
That sounds like some very bad clay!
@@MrChickadee like concrete! Love your channel btw. Roy2.0!
Had no idea that there are annotation in subtitles. Now I need to rewatch all previous videos.
It's not on all of them, it's kind of recent.
Andrew Spacespanker thank you. I didn’t either til you mentioned it.
Mostly the recent videos.
You forgot to type " Timber! " in capitol letters in the captions....
TIMBER!
here you go, in Capitol letters. That will be 2cents then 👀
capital...
In the 1970's I made a living hand splitting redwood fence posts and rails using a splitting maul and wedges. And making cedar shake bolts using a froe. I would take the bolts to a mill and they would bandsaw them in half to make shake shingles, which lay much flatter than hand split shingles.
Nice work! Maybe next time when you are digging fence holes, I’ve found it easier to just plop the dirt on the ground when using the post hole diggers. Then I use a shovel to get the dirt in the wheelbarrow. Easier on the shoulders and a bit faster. Great video bro!
I've been watching your channel for years and have recently gone through the breakup of a 9yr relationship. Watching you create is cathartic beyond measure for me right now so thank you.
Even knotty cedar splits pretty darn good! I keep one wedge as sharp as an axe and use it to re-start the split in the center ahead of the original split if it begins to run off at a knot.
When you were felling, it made me think of one of my favorite movies of all time. The Man From Snowy River.
I really hope you have children you can pass your skills on to someday. And hopefully all those unique old tools you've spent years assembling and bringing back to life.
Nice work Marine! If those combat boots could talk they could tell more than a few stories
What a beautiful tree! My mum and I were just talking about split rail fences yesterday, lovely stuff!
Man that cedar is nice when you split it open ,splits nice too. Cheers
When you were felling the cedar it was nice to see you let the tool do the work. Beautiful fence!
Nice Job....always enjoy your videos. Enjoy your Small Cabin Living
for a young 20-something farmer like me, you're really inspirational. Like the philosophy of wendell berry is actually possible to accomplish on the ground. thanks!
Hello Mr.Chickadee, I am watching is the wood and my husband your draw knife!! Anyway is so Nice that you get to go outside in the woods and come out with those beautiful colors! Recently my husband is the wood turner and I was wondering if you have any some left or anything a block of the reds in it. Will pay for shipping if we can just have some of those. Please let me know I would greatly appreciate it. I have never comment on people‘s video before this is the first time.
Ahhhh post hole digging, how I know it well. We like to coat the bottom 3 feet or so in tar paint to reduce water damage.
The problem with coating the bottom of the posts is that the moisture inside the wood can't get out. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, problems, right?
@@thomasarussellsr I suppose. But that actually works out where I live, because dry wood attracts ants and termites. The tar and the moisture both repel them.
I love watching your videos on woodworking. Really makes me appreciate the few power tools I own 😆
Great job Josh, loved the splitting tools you made for all their uses around there. Sure enjoyed watching your fence building!!👍👍 Thanks for sharing with us and keeping HISTORY ALIVE, it needs preserved just as you are doing! Fred.
Thanks again for the great video. Your the hardest working channel on RUclips!
Nice work. I really enjoy your work and the peacefulness of it. Thank you very much!
Would appear for those that gave the thumbs down, have no clue as what our ancestors did even just to survive.
Awesome build and as always, great video. Cheers :)
That fence looks so great. And made by hand. Saw you counting the rings on that tree, how old was it?
Watch again (always worth a 2nd viewing) but turn on the CC and your question will be answered! You're welcome!)
~150
Why didn't you char the bottom of the posts like you did the boards on your shop?
I've heard of different methods for fence post from plain burying the bare end to coating the end in old motor oil or even tar to water proof it. This also seems logical to put gravel at the bottom of the post and around the sides to keep moisture from sitting right against the post. But I have to ask... If this same method is used in clay that is hard and sticky and does not drain very well... Would then the air void in the gravel fill with rain water soaking the bottom of the post causing it still to eventually rot?
Soothing, as always
your craft is so honest and muscular its pure poetry. Always a fan, Todd.
Thank you,
I always learn a few things when I watch your videos.
Go Well,
I've been following Mr Chickadee's work for a long time, I love manual services, and he surprises me with each one. hug
13:25 I was thinking God what horrible soil. Reminds me of parts of Tennessee where I grew up. Then at 13:35 you more or less agreed. Beautiful work as always.
Dang that axe has a nice ring
Beautiful video, I can imagine the scents coming off of the cedar as you work it; sacred.
You, sir are a great craftsman. If I were debarking rails with a drawknife, I'd probably wear an apron. Straddling the work and pulling towards my dick makes my blood run cold. I expect that drawknife is as sharp as all your other tools. It could hang up on a knot and it come loose .....I know, I know....." Sharp tools are safer , you don't need to apply force.." ...just the same.......
I just got done working a 12-hour shift I got red ass, smells like Cedar.
Mr Chicadee, have you studied, developed opinions, or employed the Japanese method of harvesting cedar without cutting down the "mother " tree? I'm wondering if the necessary time line can be applicable / successful on a small property. I'd love to hear your thoughts. m
Anyone want to talk fences on farms with me? Here's what I noticed (kept cows): stumps degrade in soil, no matter if they're treated with car oil, creosote, cedar, gravel or whatever. They also move over time over time due to frost heave. I always thought a living fence would be the way to go: less work, less fences, less mending, less tinkering, less correcting, less everything. Eventually found the "ha-ha" fence which is the very best imo, but the earthworks to get it done are significant and costly. Anyone have great ideas on how to keep boundaries or "fences" (aside from temporary electric fencing) looking great?
78 people hate hard work? 78 people hate well-produced videos? 78 people hate fences made out of cedar? 78 people think keeping deer out of a garden is discrimination? I don't get the 78 down votes on this. Like at all. Why?
Abe Lincoln would be proud... as all may know he split rails to earn his way through school and then just for exercise... what you may not know is that he did so in West Chester, PA (not far from my home)... his first law office building still stands there as well...
I split a bunch of pine a couple years ago..... I have them as a zigzag stacked fence ..... I should do this with them instead. Yeah I know pine doesn't last long in the ground, but that's what a good soak in diesel is for XD
nice job, hard work. greeting from Mongolia.
I tell you what, Mr. Chickadee. I feel sorry for any zombie that comes your way. You have all the good zombie killing tools. lol
How old was the tree? . I saw you counting age lines.
Watch again (always worth a 2nd viewing) but turn on the CC and your question will be answered! You're welcome!)
150
Doesn't it make more sense using the post hole digger breaking the dirt up and then pulling out one big portion......JJ....
This looks like a pin of sorts. Will there be animals in it?
Watch again (always worth a 2nd viewing) but turn on the CC and your question will be answered! You're welcome!)
Garden
I could watch this dude all day. So relaxing!!!!!!!!
Dang. I'd be tempted to break out the chainsaw.
I think we all agree that watching your videos makes us all wish we lived somewhere like that, and could do so much craftwork with our hands etc, so what about the stuff we don't see? What is not so great about living your lifestyle and doing what you do?
Lack of money, probably. But if you dont need much of it, this would be a very relxing type of life. Honest work during the day, and reap all of the rewards for your own family. Then, top that off with a sound night's sleep. Additional benifit? Staying healthy and strong well into your old age. The guys who stay busy last longer.
Around here you don’t find a standing dead red cedar much more than 4”!
I always wondered how this type of fence is made. Now I know!
I always wat for your new drop .thank's.
Looks great, good job. I bet the smell of cedar was great too.
with hand tools the wood is your partner.
with power tools the wood is your victim.
Agreed with below. Wish this were smell-o-vision.
I'd love to see how you make the wedges! Great video!
The subtitles are great!
how old was the tree?
Watch again (always worth a 2nd viewing) but turn on the CC and your question will be answered! You're welcome!)
So it's always a good day when I learn about a new tool. A mortise axe! That was amazing but I think I'll stick to my mallet and chisels for now. I am sometimes jealous of the wood variety in Kentucky, but digging post holes in my Florida sand is SO much easier. Great content as always.
I recently found a morticing axe I have yet to make a handle for it. I’m collecting for a timber frame tool kit and restoring as I go. It’s great to see one in use. I’ve been going back rewatching a lot of Mr Chickadee’s videos. Good stuff and relaxing.
Gorgeous fence. What would it look like if it were 8 feet tall instead of 4ish?
I like the idea of the hollow wedges
Add plants deer hate in the area to help keep them from your garden. Good luck.