Proper grind for a froe

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Charles

>I read somewhere recently that recommended using a lawnmower blade for a frow. The blade was heated and the end was bent round to hold a handle. The grind on a lawnmower blade looks similiar to an axe. If you have a used one lying aroung, it may be worth a try.

Re: Proper grind for a froe

David Miller from Iowa

>Nice shaving horse. In my experience, the froe angle isn't that critical, I looked at mine and I'd guess it was in the 30 degree range. As Drew discusses in his book "Green Woodworking" the biggest factor is moisture content/time since felling of the wood. Notwithstanding, if one rives oak on a regular basis, there is no need to exert at the local health club.

Re: Proper grind for a froe

john l. blue

>I made one out from one of them golfcourse lawnmowers ( a straight blade ), put it on a good piece of dogwood, works fine, so far. Blue

Re: Proper grind for a froe *LINK*

Mark Harrison -- in Sydney, Australia

>I've seen them made from leaf car springs. You even get the eye!

The source of this information is a local guy here in Australia that does a talk at the wood exhibitions here. See the link below. Stan is immensely entertaining

Apparently the springs of choice come from Toyota Landcruisers :-)


http://www.mullumbimbywoodworks.com.au/sabc.html

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Alan Hamilton

>Yup!

Saint Roy of Underhill, in one of the Woodwright's Shop books writes about making a froe from a leaf spring. IIRC he thought it was a quick and easy way to get a great tool. Beware though; you need a forge to make one that way, and quite a bit of blacksmithing knowledge and skill.

Alan

Why a forge?

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I'm just curious. It seems to me(working from zero experience)that all you'd need to do is cut a spring to length and grind a bevel on one edge. Why would you need a forge?---Jack

Re: Why a forge?

Todd Hughes

>Might be able to get away with out one but I think most of these springs have a curve in them that you might have to straighten out....I've made more then a couple froes and i always used buggy tires myself

Even though I have old froes and could make myself one if I wanted I guess when I used to split out hickory for axe handles I used an old thick dull meat cleaver i bought for $3 or so which worked fine.....Todd

Re: Why a forge?

joel

>You will get a better froe if the eye for the handle has a taper so that the handle locks in better. And if the entire blade is tapered (not just the edge) from pretty thick to thin to give more wedging to the split and less travel when twisting the handle to continue the split.

Re: Why a forge?

Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine

>Dave,

I'm not sure of the "proper" grind for a froe, but I know that I sharpened mine right down to a knife edge and I can't say as it worked as well as I thought it should. Shortly afterwards I read right here on WC that a froe is not to be sharpened like that, and is in fact to be a bit what we know as dull. The poster even said that they had an old local saying that was "He's as dull as a froe". don't quote me, but I think it might of been BubbaBob. You can find him in his coveralls in the Mountains of Georgia and ask him if you'd like. He usually is easier to find over on the noisy side tho.

I looked in my St. Roy books, but he didn't talk about sharpening the froe. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm maybe that's a clue eh?

Todd O.

Re: Why a forge?

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Actually,it'd probably be easier if I picked one up at a flea market.The question was academic anyhow.However,I just may grab me a spring and see what I can come up with.---Jack

Re: Why a forge?

joel

>I'm not talking about a knife edge. the froes we have taper from about 3/8" at the back to about 1/8 or a little less at the cutting edge. Then there is a grind on both sides at the cutting edge at maybe 30 degrees on each side to bring the 1/8" to an edge.

Re: Proper grind for a froe

William R. Duffield on the Cohansey

>Well, since nobody, including St. Roy, seems to know, I'm going to use my powers of deduction and make a SWAG. I looked in Leonard Lee's sharpening book, and if he knows, he's not telling either. However, he is very clear about the optimum shape for other tools designed to split wood, including splitting (not hewing nor felling) axes and mauls. He states, "The face is formed by two intersecting arcs, which results in minimal surface contact as it splits..." I'd scan the image on pg. 167 of The Complete Guide to Sharpening, but I would probably get chastised for copyright problems. Imagine the shape of the base of an anorexic steam iron.

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Dean Burke - Yakima, WA

>In John Alexander's tape on chair making, he doesn't use a froe until he's splitting the sapwood from the back post; so perhaps you're trying to use it too soon in the process? Or on too thick a piece? It's "sharpened" about half way up its width. It's supposed to be more of a wedge than a cutting tool. Have you tried waxing it?

Dean

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Dave Mount, northeastern MN

>Thanks all for the suggestions -- sorry I didn't answer the included questions sooner, but I was out of town.

I have read also that they aren't tools with a keen edge. I wasn't so concerned with making the froe sharp as I was the angle of the "wedge" formed by the bezel ground on both sides. The froe I have is better than 3/8" thick all the way across the blade, with about a 25-30 degree bezel ground on both faces. . .so it has a very short "wedge" which is about 50 or 60 degrees. Someone mentioned having a more tapered cross-section with a short final bezel. I'm suspecting that would work much better.

As far as when I switch from axe to froe, I think I'm following Drew Langsner's suggestions, so I don't think that's an issue. And no, I haven't waxed the froe, but I don't think that's an issue either. The problem is getting the split to start, not moving the froe in the split once it has started.

I think the blade needs to be thinned down some. But man, that's a lot of steel to grind away.

Thanks all,

Dave

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Mark Harrison -- in Sydney, Australia

>I might be blowing this out my you know where seeing as I don't own one nor used one, but I thought they only had a bevel on one face?

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine

>Mark,

I've never seen or heard of a froe being shaped like a hewing ax. They are tapered from top to bottom to use as a wedge when breaking down long timbers.

Todd O.

Re: Proper grind for a froe

Mark Harrison -- in Sydney, Australia

>Thanks. I was more asking a question than making a statement, though it was not all that well worded.

I don't know where I got this idea from. Never mind :-)