This makes me miss hanging out with my old man in his shop, watching him take tools and random things he'd find and turn them into either another useful tool or some kind of piece of art. My uncle gave him a piece of purple heart wood that he found and my dad made it into a small boat paddle to go with my mom's ship art. It had a tiny worm hole in it and he left it in it, and it was used as the hanging piece so she didn't have to mount a hanger to it. She still has it, though he's gone now, but watching channels like this really make my heart go back to a happy place of my childhood.
Perfect! I need a large froe and was about to buy one then saw the price! This is exactly what I need. This is also a perfect RUclips video in my book; no annoying background music, just the sound of the work. The maker has obviously made a lot of things in his life given the fluency of this; it's very enjoyable to watch. Liked, subscribed and saved for future reference. 👍 🇬🇧
Hey i gotta tell you when you took the blade out of that saw and re-attached it inside the loop of that leaf spring that might have been some of the smartest shit ive ever seen
I'm a service engineer for security systems (CCTV, alarms etc). Sometimes, what I do is mechanical or electrical and other times it's sitting at a computer dealing with software. Add to that, it's on customer premises, not on a fully equipped workshop and often (though not right now with Covid-19) it's with what I can carry on public transport in Central London. It makes me very resourceful!
You know what’s better than voiceover commentary? Text commentary that says “let me play you the song of my people” as an angle grinder goes about making chipped fire. I like it. 👍🏼
I had one of these once. "Mother Earth News" showed how to make one. After trying this again with a storebought one many years later I decided it was too much trouble. You have to get straight grained wood with almost no knots which is very hard to do these days. I've always wondered how pine would do. There is nearly none available here.
@@badbrain8279 it works with pine wood , I did some , in the past . I made a froe like this , somme yrs ago , with Triumph Spitfire leaf spring , ( it was too thick ) then I tried a gransfor bruks one( I made a video on RUclips , of epicea shingles making ) , and then found a very old one , forged here ( SW of France ) that was rusted but very good to use .
As a purist, this kills me. As a realist, I Love it! As a woodworker that Steel hammer on a steel tool made me cringe. But overall GREAT JOB! (I need a froe, hence my finding your video)
Here in the pacific northwest froes are used to split cedar into blocks for milling into shakes and shingles. We don't use a wooden mallet (laughing my guts out). We use a mallet with a heavy cylinder of lead for a head.
YOU. ARE. AMAZING! 😍 I love watching you work. What you create is awesome, and the fact it is done in a small shop with common tools makes it that much better. Keep up the great work, sir! 👍🏼
it's so cool what you do with old rusted stuff ! i've always wanted to find old things and turn them into something useful, like a long gone rusted car. i wish i had this patience and talent..
That is waaaay cool. I never would have thought of a leaf spring. The froe I bought decades ago was a ring of pipe welded to a blade and I made my own handle. It got lost in one of my moves so now I'm gonna make my own. I'm thinking I would weld the loop closed so the leverage won't twist it open. I have a whole dead ash tree and I can't wait to split it up into baseball bats and shaker rockers. Thanks for the video!
It’s exactly what I was thinking it would be from! I had been looking for a leaf spring ever since I saw your picture. It’s weird how occasionally I will see shattered fragments of leaf springs on the side of the road, but never when I specifically look for them. Sometimes trucks or trailers get overloaded or hit a pot hole and the leaf springs get ruptured from the mounts and I see them just laying there. But now that I want to find one, I will never see another one again. I saw someone else make one from the hinge from a barn door.
@@TheSmallWorkshop thanks for sharing this build. May I ask the size of the spring? Or which common vehicle to get it from? Is the diameter recommended to be a size specific?
Not all leaf spring end loops are ideally shaped like that one, many don't have the blade section central to the circle. This won't affect the operation of the froe, but for symmetry and looks I'd find one like used here.
I liked how he placed all of the items on his workbench, then started grinding..., with his hearing protection left sitting on the bench. File that under: Things we did when we were younger, but that now we regret. ;)
Excellent video; better job on a very useful splitting tool that will last generations!!! Absolutely superb!!! God bless!!! Chuck Knight from Buffalo, Texas. 🤠
I really enjoyed that. I'm still using something similar that my Father made in the Sixties, but with the metal tubular handle welded on in line with the blade.
I looked all over for a good looking froe and a way to make one. I built my almost exactly like yours. I used a friends hydraulic press to straighten the leaf spring. I am curious to see how the eye hold up. I know that you welded it eventually but I saw another video were the guy said that keeping it opened helped the handle to be pinched and not fall out as easily. Lot of comments on here are from people who do not know about froes. Some good comments to but... You did a great job.
To catch your grinder sparks (learnt this from Veradona in the Czech Republic), get a thin sheet of steel, bend at a right angle so it will stand up by itself, attach a few strong magnets to the back. When you're done, lie the shield down, remove the magnets, use the shield as a funnel to tip the dust into a container for disposal. Brilliantly simple
Great tutorial and agree it is way better without the usual random muzak found on others ! :-). For a more robust tool that stays on the handle when really levering take the Froe to your local garage and have them drop a weld down the hole-blade junction. Did that for mine many years ago and it has been super solid.
I had one start on me out of the blue once, because it's button failed... Weird design, the switch was always on and a lever was keeping it off, when the leaver failed the button went to it's natural state of ON and it started jumping on the floor... Scary stuff! (It was not a Makita)
@@stovepipe9er The safety Sallys are correct we should not knock them, I am 59 years old and am going to the family "I didn't hear what you said, please repeat" WTF I never used hear protection
Ok, so I ended up watching this as I'm about to replace an ash handle on a small axe. Wow, what a brilliant tool. I have to chop some kindling this afternoon so now I've seen this I won’t be satisfied until I've made one. Of course we're on lock down here in the uk so no chance of getting to a breakers yard for a leaf spring for a while. Have subscribed so I'll have to be content with watching someone else make stuff for now. Stay safe and keep up the great work. 👍🏻
a couple of suggestions, if you have the ability to oil quench the froe to harden the blade and temper it, just to ensure it is hardened properly. Also never hit the spine of the froe with a metal hammer, use a wooden baton
Nu am transpirat la filme de actiune cum am transpirat la videoul asta!! Cum stau berile alea cu gatul expuse sub bancul de lucru, o miscare gresita si se putea intampla o tragedie!! :) Felicitari pentru video! Chiar cautam detalli despre o unealta asta dupa ce am vazut un video cu mesteri artizanali care faceau sindrila folosind asa ceva
Great idea. It would be good to have about three of these with three different size blades for the shop. One shorter, one longer, and one the same size.
Hi, grate video but you skip the part were you staighten the leaf spring, can you coment on how did you did it? I have alredy cut myne and have that problem... Thanks...
Nu chiar, din pacate nr de abonati e mai mult degeaba. De ex la clipul asta cu 700k de abonati deabia am facut 65k de vizualizari, din care din notificari sunt doar 11%, deci vre-o 7k. Adica 1% din abonati se uita la clipurile noi. Se vede asta si la canalele cu 2-3 milioane de abonati care au in medie 150-200k de vizualizari pe clip.
Handsaw/white pencil/pencil/grinder/wire brush/flap wheel/cutting wheel/grinding wheel/spring/hammer/wooden handle/hacksaw/tape measure/visegrips/pocketknife/vise/cooling tub...maybe a FEW more things than 3...just giving you a hard time-this is a wonderful project and your camera work and editing was great! All YT videos should be as well done as this one.
Thank you for showing all what ear protection looks like while using the most loudest piece of equipment known to Joe Sixpack. Best cheapest way to make a froe. But I’m thinking you didn’t need to recess the eye or dog ear the top end otherwise you could get more cuts out of you wheel. I think you should make these and sell them. I’d pay 20 for a 16 inch long
Thanks, I used a grinding wheel before the sanding one. You can see it at the 3:30 minute mark. And also you are right about the welding, I ended up doing that after a few months.
Normal leaf springs are curved. I can only find curved or arched leaf springs egford transit van 1.2 cm thick and 76mm wide. The blacksmiths said that the only way to preserve torsional strength of spring steel is to hydraullically press a curved leaf spring into a straight one suitable for use as a froe. If th3 spring is inserted into a forge and heated then the torsional strength is lost, that’s not an option. The eye on the spring allows insertion of a wooden handle however i5 must be tight otherwise high torques associated with splitting thick logs will rotate the handle loose. What do you suggest to combat these practical manufacture problems ?
This makes me miss hanging out with my old man in his shop, watching him take tools and random things he'd find and turn them into either another useful tool or some kind of piece of art. My uncle gave him a piece of purple heart wood that he found and my dad made it into a small boat paddle to go with my mom's ship art. It had a tiny worm hole in it and he left it in it, and it was used as the hanging piece so she didn't have to mount a hanger to it. She still has it, though he's gone now, but watching channels like this really make my heart go back to a happy place of my childhood.
The man is making us jealous. Fair play to him. Can't beat the ol' boys😊
I got caught up watching the process and ended up learning what a "froe" is. This video was a two-for- one!
Happy humon noise
it was a two froe one
Perfect! I need a large froe and was about to buy one then saw the price! This is exactly what I need.
This is also a perfect RUclips video in my book; no annoying background music, just the sound of the work.
The maker has obviously made a lot of things in his life given the fluency of this; it's very enjoyable to watch.
Liked, subscribed and saved for future reference. 👍
🇬🇧
Good stuff. Did you make one? What metal did you get for the blade?
The end where the wood was chopped so perfectly, was gorgeous.
Hey i gotta tell you when you took the blade out of that saw and re-attached it inside the loop of that leaf spring that might have been some of the smartest shit ive ever seen
Cole Wyman that was a smart move.
I'm a service engineer for security systems (CCTV, alarms etc). Sometimes, what I do is mechanical or electrical and other times it's sitting at a computer dealing with software. Add to that, it's on customer premises, not on a fully equipped workshop and often (though not right now with Covid-19) it's with what I can carry on public transport in Central London. It makes me very resourceful!
Lol.
Then we're thinking why didn't I do that
You know what’s better than voiceover commentary? Text commentary that says “let me play you the song of my people” as an angle grinder goes about making chipped fire. I like it. 👍🏼
It’s unreal how this man turns scrap metal and things into amazing pieces of craftsmanship.
Thank you!
I had one of these once. "Mother Earth News" showed how to make one. After trying this again with a storebought one many years later I decided it was too much trouble. You have to get straight grained wood with almost no knots which is very hard to do these days. I've always wondered how pine would do. There is nearly none available here.
Idk and know one knows he dose magic
Also The Small Workshop why don’t you talk like you have to do this first then this why do you not talk
@@badbrain8279 it works with pine wood , I did some , in the past . I made a froe like this , somme yrs ago , with Triumph Spitfire leaf spring , ( it was too thick ) then I tried a gransfor bruks one( I made a video on RUclips , of epicea shingles making ) , and then found a very old one , forged here ( SW of France ) that was rusted but very good to use .
I love the little notions he adds every so often, they make the experience just that more enjoyable.
Glad you like them! Some people think they are cringy.
@@TheSmallWorkshop and those people are WRONG
As a purist, this kills me.
As a realist, I Love it!
As a woodworker that Steel hammer on a steel tool made me cringe.
But overall GREAT JOB!
(I need a froe, hence my finding your video)
I loved it to
Splitting kindling I wouldn't call woodworking.
It looked to me like a rubber mallet
The steel hammer on steel tool bothered me also. Try a wood mallet. Great job on the video though.
Here in the pacific northwest froes are used to split cedar into blocks for milling into shakes and shingles. We don't use a wooden mallet (laughing my guts out). We use a mallet with a heavy cylinder of lead for a head.
by the effects of quarantine videos like this have become very interesting
YOU. ARE. AMAZING! 😍 I love watching you work. What you create is awesome, and the fact it is done in a small shop with common tools makes it that much better. Keep up the great work, sir! 👍🏼
BRAVO!!! I watched this one several times, and it just keeps gettin' better! Thanks for the video!
0:29 my man knows how to make straight lines without a ruler
it's so cool what you do with old rusted stuff ! i've always wanted to find old things and turn them into something useful, like a long gone rusted car. i wish i had this patience and talent..
This channel is not only interesting but oddly satisfying. Usually can make me fall asleep if it’s late enough. No homo just chill
That is waaaay cool. I never would have thought of a leaf spring. The froe I bought decades ago was a ring of pipe welded to a blade and I made my own handle. It got lost in one of my moves so now I'm gonna make my own. I'm thinking I would weld the loop closed so the leverage won't twist it open. I have a whole dead ash tree and I can't wait to split it up into baseball bats and shaker rockers. Thanks for the video!
what a smart project ... I liked it and I think I'll make one for myself
It’s exactly what I was thinking it would be from! I had been looking for a leaf spring ever since I saw your picture. It’s weird how occasionally I will see shattered fragments of leaf springs on the side of the road, but never when I specifically look for them. Sometimes trucks or trailers get overloaded or hit a pot hole and the leaf springs get ruptured from the mounts and I see them just laying there. But now that I want to find one, I will never see another one again. I saw someone else make one from the hinge from a barn door.
I think spring steel is better than barn door hinge steel. You should find cheap leaf springs at car scrap yards.
@@TheSmallWorkshop thanks for sharing this build. May I ask the size of the spring? Or which common vehicle to get it from? Is the diameter recommended to be a size specific?
Not all leaf spring end loops are ideally shaped like that one, many don't have the blade section central to the circle. This won't affect the operation of the froe, but for symmetry and looks I'd find one like used here.
I liked how he placed all of the items on his workbench, then started grinding..., with his hearing protection left sitting on the bench. File that under: Things we did when we were younger, but that now we regret. ;)
That was the spare set for trainees.
Very nice build! I love watching you fabricate a very helpful tool
Excellent video; better job on a very useful splitting tool that will last generations!!! Absolutely superb!!! God bless!!! Chuck Knight from Buffalo, Texas. 🤠
I really enjoyed that. I'm still using something similar that my Father made in the Sixties, but with the metal tubular handle welded on in line with the blade.
I looked all over for a good looking froe and a way to make one. I built my almost exactly like yours. I used a friends hydraulic press to straighten the leaf spring. I am curious to see how the eye hold up. I know that you welded it eventually but I saw another video were the guy said that keeping it opened helped the handle to be pinched and not fall out as easily. Lot of comments on here are from people who do not know about froes. Some good comments to but... You did a great job.
I welded the eye because when it was opened it got loose really fast. After welding I had zero problems with it, so I recomend welding. And thanks!
To catch your grinder sparks (learnt this from Veradona in the Czech Republic), get a thin sheet of steel, bend at a right angle so it will stand up by itself, attach a few strong magnets to the back. When you're done, lie the shield down, remove the magnets, use the shield as a funnel to tip the dust into a container for disposal. Brilliantly simple
Pacat ca faci clipuri atat de rar, esti bun si meriti mai mult
Puțin si bun
Multumesc, mai greu cu timpul...
@@TheSmallWorkshop ca la toti. Timpu-i problema.
Great tutorial and agree it is way better without the usual random muzak found on others ! :-).
For a more robust tool that stays on the handle when really levering take the Froe to your local garage and have them drop a weld down the hole-blade junction. Did that for mine many years ago and it has been super solid.
On a scale of 1 to 10, that was an ELEVEN. Nice work. (May I order one please???)
I like seeing how creative people are able to repurpose stuff that would end up in a junkyard or worse a landfill.
This is an excellent idea, I think I’ll find a leaf spring and try to make a froe and a draw knife from it.
Very nice clip. Nice filming, lighting and very clear. And you did a good job on the project itself.
Bravo, esti artist cu ustensilele !
Multumesc!
This is great. I've been thinking about buying a froe but I would much rather work with one I made myself.
My favorite part of the video is when you show good safety etiquette by unplugging the angle grinder to change the disk.
I had one start on me out of the blue once, because it's button failed... Weird design, the switch was always on and a lever was keeping it off, when the leaver failed the button went to it's natural state of ON and it started jumping on the floor... Scary stuff! (It was not a Makita)
I like how the earmuffs are just sitting there on the bench. Great video. Awesome idea though.
Good to see all the safety Sally’s are here.
@@stovepipe9er The safety Sallys are correct we should not knock them, I am 59 years old and am going to the family "I didn't hear what you said, please repeat" WTF I never used hear protection
I noticed that and was glad to see it as well. Demonstrating good safety practice deserves a pat on the back.
Ok, so I ended up watching this as I'm about to replace an ash handle on a small axe. Wow, what a brilliant tool. I have to chop some kindling this afternoon so now I've seen this I won’t be satisfied until I've made one. Of course we're on lock down here in the uk so no chance of getting to a breakers yard for a leaf spring for a while. Have subscribed so I'll have to be content with watching someone else make stuff for now. Stay safe and keep up the great work. 👍🏻
Just grab one off a neighbor's car, sure they won't mind.
One of the simplest ways of making a froe I've seen yet
Dang, I gotta go find a spring!!! To easy.
here we go, 2 a.m and this pop up. time to watch.
Great job, nice work.
Pretty beautiful job, dude! Really fantastic!!! 😃
I love your tape measure marker
a couple of suggestions, if you have the ability to oil quench the froe to harden the blade and temper it, just to ensure it is hardened properly.
Also never hit the spine of the froe with a metal hammer, use a wooden baton
What is this "oil quench" thing?
Nu am transpirat la filme de actiune cum am transpirat la videoul asta!! Cum stau berile alea cu gatul expuse sub bancul de lucru, o miscare gresita si se putea intampla o tragedie!! :) Felicitari pentru video! Chiar cautam detalli despre o unealta asta dupa ce am vazut un video cu mesteri artizanali care faceau sindrila folosind asa ceva
Love it, and it saves you a lot of money!!
Excellent project and video! Thanks for sharing.
Literally already made! Great idea! Thanks for showing! But do not hit with steel hammer!
Leaf spring is the best solution to make a froe, very good job! 👍Idid one with a lown mower blade, it's ok too.
That was really awesome to watch! Bad ass
Excellent work👍👍👍. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome video. This will be a great help for me in finishing my froe.
BUT...no metal mallet. Use a wooden one!
Great idea. It would be good to have about three of these with three different size blades for the shop. One shorter, one longer, and one the same size.
Ok, now take the rest of that leaf spring and make an awesome DRAW KNIFE with it.
Cloggers peg knife, elbow and tang adzes. Leaf springs are decent steel.
Good job man
Fine job indeed and the result is working well!! Love those vids keep up the good work!
Brilliant work 👏👏💯
Gallileo made wood splitters? I'd no idea. Great vid mate.
Hi, grate video but you skip the part were you staighten the leaf spring, can you coment on how did you did it? I have alredy cut myne and have that problem...
Thanks...
If you make a pair of them, do you then have a two & fro? 😜😂😂👍🇦🇺
Wouah great tool, never seen that before
Great work too 😺
Brilliant! The simplicity was great
Hi 👋 good idea 👍good job 👍
What can you use an angle grinder for?
Yes.
Cut-off-wheel
Excellent video!!!
La 700k de abonați presupun că trăiești visul deja. Felicitari!!
Nu chiar, din pacate nr de abonati e mai mult degeaba. De ex la clipul asta cu 700k de abonati deabia am facut 65k de vizualizari, din care din notificari sunt doar 11%, deci vre-o 7k. Adica 1% din abonati se uita la clipurile noi. Se vede asta si la canalele cu 2-3 milioane de abonati care au in medie 150-200k de vizualizari pe clip.
One more video, before I go to bed (4am) Here I am wayching a blacksmith make a froe.
When making it what oil do u use. and what is he dipping it in Must be hard question
You’ve convinced me... to BUY a froe. This looks great btw.
I've never seen one in any hardware store, so good luck.
That was very satisfying to watch :)
That's badass bro.
A very handy outcome
My grandpa used to make garden shoes out of leaf springs! I have one he made that is close to 100 years old
Necessity is the mother of inventions
Thanks, it’s gonna make splitting kindling easier and less messy.
Love the Galileo reference
Handsaw/white pencil/pencil/grinder/wire brush/flap wheel/cutting wheel/grinding wheel/spring/hammer/wooden handle/hacksaw/tape measure/visegrips/pocketknife/vise/cooling tub...maybe a FEW more things than 3...just giving you a hard time-this is a wonderful project and your camera work and editing was great! All YT videos should be as well done as this one.
Good beer choice! Hai noroc! 🍻
Him: gets hit by sparks on all places possible.
Also him who had the infinity gantlet under his skin the whole time: “ tis but a mere scratch”
Very Nice 😃👌🏻
Very clever 👏 👌 😀
Hey that's great! Brilliantly simple device.
Good meticulous work!
What oil are you using on the steel ?
Nice work and great idea.
Great vid ive just bloody bought a brand new one doh😁👍
Thank you for showing all what ear protection looks like while using the most loudest piece of equipment known to Joe Sixpack. Best cheapest way to make a froe. But I’m thinking you didn’t need to recess the eye or dog ear the top end otherwise you could get more cuts out of you wheel. I think you should make these and sell them. I’d pay 20 for a 16 inch long
Thanks for your ingenuity.
Definitely a good tool!! I think i will also create one. Thanks for a great idea! 😊👍👍
Happy you found it useful!
What type of oil did you use on the blade to preserve the metal?
12 дюймов,а весь измерительный инструмент метрический :)
Hey my boss always said grinding wheels before sanding wheels. Cost efficiency is worth every penny. Also weld the joint for the pin on that spring
Thanks, I used a grinding wheel before the sanding one. You can see it at the 3:30 minute mark. And also you are right about the welding, I ended up doing that after a few months.
@@TheSmallWorkshop sorry man always watching from a phone makes it a bit harder to see, props 👏 on making it though
Amazing craft , good job!!
Good job!
I want one and live in NYC and don't even need a wood chopping tool 🤗
what oil did you use on the steel?
Normal leaf springs are curved. I can only find curved or arched leaf springs egford transit van 1.2 cm thick and 76mm wide. The blacksmiths said that the only way to preserve torsional strength of spring steel is to hydraullically press a curved leaf spring into a straight one suitable for use as a froe. If th3 spring is inserted into a forge and heated then the torsional strength is lost, that’s not an option. The eye on the spring allows insertion of a wooden handle however i5 must be tight otherwise high torques associated with splitting thick logs will rotate the handle loose. What do you suggest to combat these practical manufacture problems ?
Nice tool, never seen before
What was the liquid applied to the piece?
Great project!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Great Job I love the idea I will be working on my......Thanks!!!
nice froe bro.
Super like your video