Some Firewood Produces Excellent Wagon Hubs | Engels Coach Shop 

Just mount the wood onto your wife's drive wheel and use the car as a lathe

@@jginsberg1 You took the words right out of my mouth.

@@jginsberg1 I used a drill motor to turn a 4" X 4" into a globe for my flag staff.

I love he took the time to paint them.

WOW.. brake rotors… thanks for mentioning

it also helps keep it a bit safer when turning large workpieces as the pressure is not reliant on one tiny spot of wood.

I thought they were there to help slow it down.

This made me think about my buddy's house. The second floor is supported by a crossed pair of 12x12's that I know for sure we're not cured over a year. That house is 40 years old. I advised him to use built up pieces rather than solid, but it's his house.

A channel called "Mr Chickadee" often used green timber in his construction. Very interesting process especially when building a nailess structure.

I don't think you can have too much firewood for a Montana winter.

I think firewood heats 3 times if you collect it yourself. 1st when you gather, 2nd when you split it & 3rdly when burnt.

In the UK there are "Royal Forests" that have existed for hundreds of years. Every body thinks that these were there for the 'Nobility' to chase wild animals (and poachers :-), for the 'Hunt.' In reality, these were for growing timber for the wooden 'Men-O-War' in the nation's navy. (The hunting being a happy by-product :-). The royal foresters worked with the Ship Writes from the Dock yards to identify specific trees that had trunks, branches and so on that were growing in a certain way, such as a Y or V shape that could be used mount on the keel, or an L shape that could be used to support the deck beams (known as "Knees'), for example, and once identified, they were 'encouraged' to keep growing in the desired pattern, and unwanted growth pruned away. The modern trend of 'Experimental Archaeology' (trying to replicate old building techniques to find out how they did it), has found that they could not properly build large wooden naval ships today, as the timber is not available, and where there might be some, it is still in the tree, green and unseasoned, and would need to age for a decade before use. Those who planted these trees knew that they would be dead before their work would be used. With modern building methods, 2 or 3 years is the expectation. Then it was 2 or 3 DECADES! Sorry, probably more information than you really wanted :-).

@Con Cahill Absolutely not tmi! Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I can add a little fact: Some forty years before the planned falling date it was determined how the tree could best come down, e.g. to the north-west. To avoid damage to the valued forks and what not, which could easily break under the weight of the trunk as it would smash into the ground, another tree was planted. This tree had the sole purpose of breaking the fall of the bigger tree. (timber can also crack internally btw when it falls to hard; often this only comes to light in the saw mill).

@@Calligraphybooster That is not something that I had heard of, but that makes perfect sense. The sort of thing that gets forgotten, but is none the less very important. If you have an interest in historical reconstruction, Tim Severin has done a series of projects that started with a "Myth/Legend" and then sought to explore wether they might have happened. The first, the Brendan Voyage follows an Irish Monk's voyage in the 6th Century in a leather boat to reach America. wordery.com/the-brendan-voyage-tim-severin-9780717139279?cTrk=MTg3NzczMzc1fDYwZjU5MWUyNTMzNjI6MToxOjYwZjU5MWQyYjlhMjc3LjA5MTQwMTg0OjZlNjE4YjYy This is very readable and has many surprising conclusions. This was followed by the "Jason Voyage" and "Sinbad Voyage," (I forget which came first). An example is the finding of 'The Golden Fleece:' In a particular river, locals leave a fleece, weighted down with rocks, in a stream bed. Small particles of gold get trapped in the wool, and can then be extracted. So another legend is proved true :-). The detailed discussion of how these boats were originally constructed is fascinating, not to mention the challenges of recreating them, as most folks with the skills are well past retirement age! "The Athenian Trireme" is a more recent project that had a great challenge in getting in the 3rd row of oars. wordery.com/the-athenian-trireme-j-s-morrison-9780521564564?cTrk=MTg3NzczMzkwfDYwZjU5MjQ4M2ZkY2U6MToxOjYwZjU5MWQyYjlhMjc3LjA5MTQwMTg0OmYzMTU0OWM2 These books demonstrate just how much our ancestors knew and understood, things that today we have NO idea about :-(. Now I have found these in my library, I am thinking that I should reread them too!

@@coniow Thank you for these recomendations. I do not remember exactly, but I think it must have been in the late ‘70’s that I read The Brendan Voyage as I recall the title. I remember one of the crew being from the Far Oër, and that they realised they were sailing a delicious sandwich when an orca came cirkling around their lanoline impregnated hide covered boat. Great reading indeed! If time permits (many more books waiting…) I shall certainly come back to Severin’s other books. On the subject of experimental archeology: the grandfather of a good friend of mine is considered to be the first here in The Netherlands to have taken to experiment to explain the meaning of archeological finds. In Noord-Holland, the part of the province north of Amsterdam for example, many bovine shoulderblades were found, and it was not really clear why. Roelof Horreüs de Haas (then a teacher of biology at the Zwolle gymnasium) thought they might have been used as spades, and proved this by strapping a handle to them and putting them to use. Forensic analysis through comparison under a microscope proved him right; digging had indeed been their purpose. The Dutch soil is very favourable when it comes to preservation by the way. You might be interrested to look up what internet has to offer on the Zwammerdam barges (after where they were found). These are wooden boats used by the romans to transport building materials and luxury goods over the river Rhine, and (per sea-going vessel I suppose) also to England. Have a nice evening! W.

@@Calligraphybooster Thank you for that! I shall have a look.

Same here in Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, etc. You never know when a rattlesnake is hiding in the wood pile, LOL. There was one next to my house a couple weeks ago.....

Im guessing you aren't a Turner.

if it holds water it's a bowl. If it leaks, it's art.

I had the same issue- made a display counter for a farm shop from old farm felled elm that had seasoned for about 40 years. It just laughed at any plane I showed it. It felt like vandalism to take a belt sander and 60grit to it. Turned out pretty nice at the end. The grain was beautiful

Filling those cracks with PVA and sawdust is useless. The glue requires a minimal gap (tight fit) and clamping to work. Epoxy would be better for just gap filling here.

@@spudpud-T67 Titebond 3 isn't PVA

@@richnfamous59 Sorry you're right, Filling those cracks with Titebond 3 and sawdust is useless. The glue requires a minimal gap (tight fit) and clamping to work. Epoxy would be better for just gap filling here.

In England elm was used traditionally for coffins amongst other uses.😀🇬🇧

Lol

Sounds like a crab apple, from the description. You find them around old homesteads. They used the crab apple in jelly making since it was a super high source for pectin that made low pectin fruit set up into jelly.

@@garymurt9112 - It wasn't a crab tree. We used to eat these apples. They were sweet but not as big as red delicious apples but same sweet taste.

Power tools go way back in the wagon trade. Steam power, water power, wind power, horse/mule/ox power. Is a treadle or bow driven lathe a power tool?

@@wssides - I totally agree with you but those forms you mentioned are tried and to of days gone past. I'm talking about forms of power you listed because those are things that you can't plug into a power outlet or have batteries to make a motor to run. I'm going to make a spring pole lathe turn what I need and use hand saws, hammers, brace with bits, tenon cutter, and everything else that is required.

Aren't those called the Emerald Ash Beetle ?

@@justjerry8476 I believe so.

I'm not too hot on paraffin. Linseed oil or the like continues to be drawn into the wood over time. Hit it with some more every 3 months or so and it will last as long as it doesn't touch the ground. Also is the issue that you need to be sure you cut the paraffin out as it will cause a glue joint to fail.

@@dbmail545 Well it is kind of an experiment. I plan to cut some more of different trees in the fall. I think I will do some with linseed oil and some more with wax as an additional variable for the experiment. Since the wax is only on the ends, I am not concerned about it. I would be concerned the linseed oil will soak too far into the wood over time.

Go full circle and make wheels for a beetle -hehe

And… some would consider them “character” pieces… might even get a higher price! LOL

Tell me about it. I'm about to pull out my woodstove and put in some electric baseboard heat! Just kidding, but I do have a couple of projects on hold to see if lumber prices come down. Maybe after November 2022.

@@Mishn0 With any luck. But I have a sneaky suspicion that lumber is going to do what gas did and not come back down. Oil companies say "we're not making enough to make ends meet" yet they were making hand over fist when gas prices were under a dollar...it's all an excuse. I really hope I'm wrong tho.

@@thisolesignguy2733 I don't have much sympathy for oil companies.

I sure hope so! There can't be many in the country that can do what he does.

The Amish are quite accomplished Woodworkers and Carpenters. My Dad had a pair of Handles made for His Grandfather's Horse-drawn plow. And I went to a Barn-Raising many years ago where everything was mortise/Tenon and Peg timbers...

Have you seen that sweet tool that he uses to cut mortises in those hubs. Got to beat tf out of doing it with a chisel.

@@dbmail545 I have - Dave has the knowledge and experience to make his craft an art form.

Fascinating. I love your videos, Dave. Thanks for all the time and care you take for our information and pleasure.

YES to the locus. When i was younger i lived with my Grandparents. My Grandfather put me to work putting up fence around the 40 acres we owned. Locus made the best post. Will not rot in water and strong as all get out. We dug our holes with post hole diggers and tapered the bottoms for push up (when the ground freezes any post you have in the ground is going to get pushed up by the ice that forms in the dirt) problems. That fence is still up with no issues. I haven't even had to repair it and we had limousine cattle for 9 years. Great fence post wood.

I wonder how live oak would work. They used to make the ribs of ships out of it because it's extremely resistant to splitting and it's very rot resistant. Speaking from experience, it's just incredibly tough stuff. I've made a joiner's mallet out of a hunk, and not only was it a pain to work with, but it's also extremely heavy and can dent any other wood I've hit with it. I've also tried splitting it with a wedge and 8 lb maul, and even a 7" round just won't split. I also have a buddy with a portable bandsaw mill, and he says that he has to run extremely high tension on the saw and the blades only last half as long when milling live oak.

@@onebackzach They still use white oak. As a matter of fact, A guy on the west coast (he's from England) bought a sailing boat called the "Tally-ho". It's over 100 years old and he's rebuilding her. He had to find someone down south to get the white oak he needed to to the work. The channel is called Sampson Boat Co. worth the watch.

It is a South Bend.

Haha

I have used WEST epoxy on wood for years. I would suspect that any epoxy would be harder than the wood, which is a complication. That wood glue is formulated to be similar hardness to wood for that reason. Love to hear Dave's take on that.

I was wondering how he centered them but finally realized that he didn't have to do so. The ends don't even have to be square.

The problem will come if he ever needs a new brake rotor. He'll go into the modern auto parts store and the kid will want to know the make, model, 4x4, air condition, automatic or standard. Then tell him they don't have it and he can't sell him one.

Recycling, ............. it's all about recycling.

I thought the same, then remembered he uses a stain or linseed oil. Might be ok if he painted them

Dave says, cool. You've really been look in ahead.

Yes,. Even though not good for hubs, I hate to see otherwise good wood used for fires. And in this age such wood is increasingly hard to find. Maybe Dave could offer it up for others for a nominal fee plus H&S?

That warm feeling from a nice fire can be comforting on a cold winter evening. Cheers !