Neanderthal Woodworking is a Success

Did a wee bit of yard work yesterday to get rid of some old logs and large branches that we had inherited from the previous owner. Gave me an opportunity to use some less modern tools and I was very happy with how well they worked.

First in use was the frame-saw made from some of Jim's left-over maple and a $4 saw blade from the Depot. Made short work of the half rotten birch branches we had laying around. Saw will need to be fine-tuned by making the arms shorter above the cross piece, giving them some nice curves for comfort and aesthetics, and slightly modifying the blade attachment so that the blade can't cock itself sideways in the arms.



Next up was the wooden wedge I used to help split some stumps. I had driven a couple cold chisels into this stump in an attempt to split it, and had only succeeded in getting a 1/4 inch crack. In one of my woodworking books, Roy Underhill talks about using wooden wedges to split trees, so I grabbed a piece of hard something, cut it into a wedge shape and rammed it into the crack. Worked like a charm.