Hello,
I have been trying for quite some time now to find out how to use a froe.I have looked at my library ,and on the internet but all the directions that I found are pretty vague.When I try to use my froe on a freshly cut log it bounces out of the notch it just made, or is murder to get to where I can pry it.
Replies
Could you give some more information please? It may be a good idea to post some photos of it , the sharpening, the handle, and what is the type of wood that you are splitting?
Edited 10/17/2006 8:05 pm by KeithNewton
Here are some pictures.The log I tried to cut was fresh cut poplar,but I don't have a picture of it. http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/728/p1010766ba8.jpg  http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1117/p1010768yz4.jpg
I could only open one of the photos, which was looking down the edge. The sharpness angle looks a bit wide for my liking. Is this a new tool, or one that you found somewhere? I don't think I have ever split poplar, so I can't speak to its splitting properties. however, I would suggest that you don't start with the froe on a full round blank. You should bust it on down to quarters with a splitting maul first. Also you should then split off the juvenile wood with the maul as well. there will usually be some small branches and other grain deviation near the heart that makes for harder splitting. If when you bust it into quarters, if you have a hard time, and there is a lot of tearing out of the grain, you have chosen the wrong wood to start with. And if you are planning on using poplar for shingles, that is not a good choice for that, since it is very prone to decay. If you are not making shingles, maybe if you gave us an idea what you are trying to achieve, the advice that you are given will hit the mark. I am sure you can see it clearly, but the rest of us are shooting into the darkness just hoping to hit the mark. Hope this helps. K
Yes it would help to know what it is that you are trying to split or rive. Some woods split better than others.
Lots of the froes that I've seen that are new are only 1/4-inch thick at the back, which isn't really enough for heavy work, 1/2-inch is better.
The froe needs to be longer at the bit than the billet is wide so that you have something to clobber as you work down. The club is best if it's not your prized Marples joiners mallet so that you don't feel shy about really smacking it hard. A 4-inch hardwood tree uprooted and with the rootball end hacked into a cylindar with the stalk drawknifed down to a handle is about right.
Half of the function of a froe has to do with levering as opposed to splitting, so it is important that it is handled well enough so you can hang off of it and that the bit is deep enough to be able to open up the split.
A froe isn't really a tool to split a log in half, do that with a wedge or a glut or a maul, when it comes down to making splitting out pegs or shingles, riving small boards, or long narrow clapboard, the froe shines. For long riving you'll need a brake to hold the workpiece still and allow you to direct the split if it begins to wane.
Get a copy of the Roy Underhill books, there's a pretty good description of riving in it. I think its the first of the Woodwrights shop series.
Good Luck with it!
David C
My grandpa used to have one when I was a kid. I've got vague memories of splitting some cedar logs with it. IIRC you're supposed to line the thing up with the grain, give it a whack with the back end of a hatchet, then push and twist the froe through the wood, letting it split along the natural grain lines. That was 40 years ago though, so dont quote me.
If you build it he will come.
I think the grind geometry is practically irrelevant. Its not a cutting tool. I think the other respondant is thinking the reason you are bouncing off is because your bevel is too high. He may be right. But a lower bevel may not be strong enough to pry against- it may roll over. So I'm guessing your problem is that you are trying to split too large a piece.
I think froes are generally misused. I think folks try to use them in lieu of wedges. To split stock in half, you use a wedge, not a froe. If a piece of stock is small, you can use a wedge, but the crack will be difficult or impossible to control and it will likely run out on you. The advantage of the froe (over the wedge) lies in its ability to steer a split.
You begin the crack by setting the froe with a good clap from your cudgel. Then you lever a little and tap a little to open the crack. Froes typically aren't strong enough to really hang on them. You probably shouldn't be using your froe to get a piece larger than your fist.
To steer a crack running out on the thin side, push the handle toward the fat side. John Alexander teaches his students to remember to "froe to the fat". Obviously, you do the opposite to drive the crack toward the thin side.
You can rive very thin, very uniform pieces with a froe. I watched a guy in Plimoth split out weather boards that were no more than 3/8" thick and 6 feet long. The froe works better in some species than others.
Adam
If you can find some, old bowling pins make good "clubs" for pounding the froe. I've split a lot of Cedar shakes with one. My dad told me that green Oak splits pretty well too. Poplar doesn't have much of a grain, probably wouldn't split worth a darn.
A froe isn't for splitting out hunks, like firewood. It's meant for thin splits like shingles. You drive it in with a heavy mallet and work the handle back and forth to twist out the split. After splitting out the shingle stock, it is often worked on a shave horse with draw knives to smooth up and put on the taper. If you hand split much firewood, you soon figure out trying to split down the center makes for a lot of hard work, bouncing and stuck mauls. The best splitting is in the winter when the logs are fresh cut but also frozen. If you want to halve a bolt, you are better off with a wedge and sledge set off center. I split poplar for firewood when I caul some out on my property. It isn't the greatest firewood but it's not bad, splits easily.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
seems like the information you got is right-on. froes are not for splitting big pieces (like firewood chunks) but for riving out thin shakes or pickets. around here (in the northwest)sugar pine is a favorite for roof shakes (shingles) and doug fir for fence pickets (usually 5' long). the real skill is in finding and picking the tree - straight grain, knot free, not twisted. after that it's just work.jerry
I brought my froe from leamans,and have been trying to use it to make clapboards and shingles.The wood I am using is strait grain and free of knots.,but when I try to drive the froe into the wood it feel like it's hitting back ,and takes about twelve whacks with a mallet to set it in which sometimes causes the mallet to break.Thanks for the tip on the shingles a book I have said poplar makes great shingles.
I've never heard of poplar being used for shingles and it does have a reputation for rotting very quickly when used as exterior trim on a house. Poplar shingles, because they shed water and dry out quickly, may still work but I would try to confirm that they are a good material for the job.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
While I've always heard that poplar will not last out in the weather, my house has poplar siding and lasted about eighty years before I covered it over with plastic. Do you have an explanation?
As long as the siding was carefully installed so that it can shed water, and dry out completely between storms, with no trapped water, it won't rot.
Rotting occurs with trim work and siding that traps moisture because of poorly installed, or non existent, flashings, or trim details that funnel water behind the trim instead of draining it away. If the installation is poor, any wood will eventually rot from trapped moisture, poplar just has a reputation for rotting the fastest, disintegrating completely in just a year or two.
Also, are you sure the wood is poplar? I would estimate, from personal experience, that at least half of wood ID's made by people without some experience in identifying wood are little more than guesses.
John White
Poplar for siding
Thanks for the answer. Oops, The previous owner said it was poplar, and come to think of it from working with the stuff it does look sort of like poplar but I don't know my woods very well.
Poplar for shingles will last about two years before showing massive rotting. Most of the handsplit ahakes I have seen appeared to be white oak. Very difficult to be sure because of the weathering over the years. Cedar is used extensively today for shingles, but it is sawn not rived.
Straight grained white oak would be fine for shingles,or beer and wine barrels.
mike
I watched some roofers in Colonial Williamsburg do their thing, old school style. Often the homeowner would supply the stumps. One guy was splitting up the rounds into chunks. The next would use the froe to slice out the shingle pieces. This same worker would then take those to a shave horse. It usually took one or two strikes to split out a shingle and about three on the shave horse, each side. These guys were also cutting them to an even width and chamfering the corners with a guillotine type cutter. He had an arm load in a few minutes. He also had a pin former. Small slivers were driven through an iron dowel former. The workers installing the roof had a charcoal bucket that kept a poker red hot. They place the shingle, burn two holes and drive in the wood pins. I forget the statistics but a roofing crew could move right along. Those shaped shingles looked great. Pretty cool going from tree to roof with a few hand tools.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I have read that the most favored material for froe clubs was the hackberry root. This seems sensible to me as hackberry wood is as dense as red oak but much more flexible. The root should be even more flexible and, used green, it will be quite heavy. A froe club is a sacrificial tool... the club is slowly destroyed but the froe itself stays in pretty good shape. You never want to use a metal tool or hammer as a froe driver because the froe life will be dramatically reduced. I often just grab any old piece of hardwood firewood and make a froe club with it but it is an advantage to have a nice one for doing very much work.
I had a nice conversation with a basket weaver when I admired his froe... he says that the modern versions (like mine) which are all made of old leaf spring steel salvage are never as nice as the antique ones made of wrought iron (which are usually thicker and with a longer tapered wedge). He showed me the proper handle shape too... which is a husky profile with a slight curve toward the blade (so that the handle leans out over the blade slightly). His were about 15 to 18 inches long. He explained that this subtle curve gives much greater control of the splitting action, noting that all modern versions lack this vital asset. I have not yet rehandled mine to reflect this new knowledge, but I will (kinda hopin to find a nice antique one at a flea market first).
I have seen many froes, but not the bent handled ones. This make sense, though. I'll look more to find a description.
As for the 'club' I have seen many references that recommend Dogwood as the one of the club species. (Hackberry also)
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