Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

AXEMANSHIP 205other thin pieces are to be riven, a nice judgmentmust be exercised in selecting the right kind of tree.Wood for this purpose must be sound, straightgrainedand springy. If brash or doty, it will notdo at all. Nor will "any old wood" do that splitseasily; it must split straight and make thin boards.The species of tree will depend, of course, on whatgiowths one has to choose from. Cedar is best, as itis easily riven and is very durable. , Boards fromfive to six feet long can be split out of cedar with noother tool than an axe, and a club or mallet to tapit. If the board shows a tendency to "run out," theworkman changes ends and makes another split backtoward the first one, or "coaxes" it after the mannerto be described hereafter. Such axe-riven board*;or shingles are commonly called "splits."Here in the southern Appalachians, our firstchoice for clapboards is "mountain oak," when wecan find one that splits well. Its wood resemblesthat of live oak in hardness and texture. Otherwisew^e take white, black, red, or water oak. Whiteand yellow pines are much used ; occasionally yellowpoplar. A young, quick-growing chestnut tree makesgood 18-inch shingles, but not the longer clapboardsor "shakes," as chestnut is prone to "runout" when long splits are made. Mature chestnuttrees generally are full of worm-holes. Sometimesa hemlock is found that will make clapboards, ifsplit bastard (the way the rings run), but, as arule, hemlock has a spiral grain.When a suitable species is found, the next thing isto pick out a good "board tree." This takes an experiencedeye, so leave it to a native woodsman, ifyou can. The way he does it is not easy to explain.First he looks for a straight trunk,limbs, and dote.free from knots,It should be not less than two feetthick. Then he scans the bark. If the ridges andfurrows run straight, in a general way, parallel withthe trunk, it is an indication of straight grain. Anoak with a large fork is likely to split well.But there is more than this in picking a board-