Building a Split Rail Fence - FHC Farm Bulletin #8
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Pa Mac demonstrates how to build a traditional split rail fence in this Farm Hand's Companion Farm Bulletin #8. It's of the most common types of fences that can be seen in living history museums or in old photos. This simple style of old-fashioned fencing utilizes long “rails” split from straight-grained timbers like Eastern cedar or black locust trees, but requires no posts set in the ground. To maintain no contact with the ground and avoid rot, rails are often laid on rock foundations. These zig-zag fences can be built as low as you prefer for decorative fencing, or higher for controlling taller livestock. Since gravity is all that holds the rails in place, the top rail can be made more secure for livestock by using extra rails that lock into the “joints”, or by setting posts into the ground on either side of an intersection. Special thanks to the Heritage House Museum of Mt. Ida, Arkansas (mountidamuseum...)
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Also visit www.farmhandsco... to find articles, posts, photographs, and encouragement for today's self-sufficient farm or homestead. (And be sure to check out the General Store for books (like Pa Mac's "Building an Old-fashioned Pole Barn") or DVD's by Pa Mac at www.farmhandsco...)
I have built these with free split rail fencing from people taking a two rail fence down that was around their yard. To do just a small section of this style fence as shown in the video, maybe 3 sections of it, took the same amount of wood and rails as to go around my friends entire yard with the two rail design that we see a lot. This method EATS wood. You need ten times more than you think. Additionally, it eats space. All the zig zagging can consume a quarter acre of an acre lot with wasted space. If space is no issue, and you have split rails to spare, this is by far my favorite design of wooden fencing.
You should make a video about splitting those rails. It’s an art in itself.
Excellent as always. Thanks pa mac! 🤠
My father has a 20 foot long rail/log splitter he designed and built over 30 years ago. He built up a great business around it and has split rail fence all over new England. He passed away in 2019 and my brother is now running the business. He left a amazing legacy and it brings me such joy seeing his vision at so many homes and farms.
I have a photo of my great grandfather and 3 of his sons bucking a 36" diameter log with a crosscut saw and making rails with axes and mauls. It was in the summer in Yazoo County Mississippi. My grandmother told me that the work nearly killed him.
Love it! Now we need a video on how to make the split rails, the old-fashioned way! 😊
I was just thinking that!
You should watch Episode 23.
A person could get a great workout splitting all those rails with an axe, wedges and a sledge. That would run right up to hard work.
Wasn't Abe Lincoln's first job to split rails for a neighbor?
I built a fence like this during COVID and split the rails with a wedge...it's definitely not for the faint of heart!
I’ve only ever seen maybe one or two of these that were actually a working fence, and not a modern decoration around a newly built farm house. The one I remember was seriously rotted in places and big tree had fallen on part of it, but it had more charm than all the new ones combined. Thanks for the tutorial!❤️🤗🐝
Very very useful as people leave cities and try to live on their grandparents' acreage, keeping their traditions and values and common sense alive.
Did anybody ever build a split rail fence with wooden pegs for extra strength? A common brace and bit hand drill could make the holes for the pegs quickly and easily. Just drill through the top most rail and roughly half the way through the rail below it. I saw on the old Woodswright Shop PBS series that they had tools for making your own pegs. When making a traditional log house where any of the logs ever pegged together? If so why not fences?
Awesome fence you built for the musem Pa. Great video you shared with us, thank you for the fine entertainment. Fred
It was a Google search for "split rail fence" a few years ago that led me to your video about fences (FHC episode 23) and your RUclips channel. I went back to watch episode 1 and have been watching ever since!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸☕️☕️☕️👀👀👀👍👍👍🥃🥃🥃🍻🍻🍻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I believe if you discover a sig sag stone wall in new england, its for the reason that one of these fences came first.
Fields were cleared and cut trees used for fencing in this manner. When the stones in the field were cleared, they stacked them next to the wooden fences.
Over the centuries, only the sig sag stones remain.
awesome. I’ve wanted to build one
That last bit of music reminds me of the Beverly Hillbillies!
thank you for time you sacrifice teaching us
We recently vacationed across Nevada, Colorado, oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, & Idaho, and I saw a few split-rail which are beautiful. The type we saw most of was jack-leg, my favorite! Thanks, PaMac. With a lot of folks making homesteading a way of life these days, we need to put the old ways into use. You're such a big help.
❤❤❤
I confess disappointment that you didn’t include the splitting of the rails.
Cheer up, Stephany; I will happily alleviate your disappointment. Watch this: ruclips.net/video/R_Ft2-AEFwA/видео.html
Thanks
Well, that was a fun short, I'm really enjoying all the new content!
Congratulations Pa Mac , a grand bit of fencing and it's a nice thing to be asked to demonstrate your abilities by a seat of learning . Great stuff . 👍🇬🇧
Thanks again for another great video
Thanks for making these.
The fence is a true work of art. Congratulations!
Your a great teacher, thanks for sharing!
Thank you !
❤🇨🇦
Love the clothesline.
It's the museum's.