Can I make all usual structures with just wood from my small woodland?

[woodlearner9810182]

Oops. it is a bit long, I do tend to waffle but here it is.

I have a small woodland of close to 1 acre and a couple more of open land.

I came onto the land with just a couple of tools including a chisel and hammer.

Of course I will intend to grow and fill out the arsenal a bit but I am interested most in the simplest ways of creating as possible, going back to time honored traditions - specifically to the uk if applicable. With that in mind I am thinking of what tools I could also make from the wood with just what I have already, just bootstrapping from the environment.

I will resort to sourcing things from the local hardware yard only as a last resort and would like to exhaust the self sustainable ideas first.

For the moment I would like to make a workshop with just a basic worktop and frame for shelter. I would either use a tarp to cover or sod and other stuff gathered from the ground to make a roof.

I know you will want to know what type of wood is in the woodland but to be honest I haven't got a clue! I also don't have a camera handy right now to take any images of the wood for you to get a better idea.

I know it is generally considered a 'nono' to work on green wood but that is mostly for longevity concerns isn't it? If I go into accepting the structures may not last for long then can I just continue on regardless and replace as they might get dilapidated?

All I can say is the general thickness and size of the trees which are about thigh thickness and maybe 20-30ft high. If you could offer me things to look for on the trees to be able to come back to you to help identify I could do that.

I would also like to be able to do everything with just the chisel and hammer as well as tools I could make from those, and perhaps saws once I get them but won't have them for a while. My mother should be coming with other tools when she comes to visit and there are a lot of old tools there. I can sharpen them myself can't I?

Better to recycle old tools, which I think had better build quality than today's stuff? They are tools handed down from my grandfather so probably around 1950s. My family are great collectors so loads of stuff I could put to use which had just been sitting around in the garage but they are definitely going to be blunt and require some tlc.

Besides the lack of tools I would be interested in doing joinery rather than using screws just to keep everything as self sustainable as possible with materials I have on the land.

So is that feasible? I don't care if it might take longer this way it is about the satisfaction of doing things in a self-sufficient manner. For practical reasons though it will be important to get the workshop up within a reasonable time to be able to use it to make other stuff!

I had a quick look and mortise and tenon joints look doable?

I can see myself being able to make a frame for a shelter like that but to make a flat or kind of flat worktop how would I do that? Could I just manually chisel away on the trunks until I got them pretty flat place them side by side?

 

[AJB Temple]

Good luck.

 

[stuckinthemud]

what species of tree do you have?

Edit: Sorry, just re-read your post. A smartphone will help a great deal in identifying your trees. It’s important to know as different woods have different characteristics and greater or lesser rot resistance- some may survive only months before they become brittle and collapse, others will last decades if looked after properly.

 

[John Brown]

In theory you could build a shelter with a hand axe. A saw would be useful too.
How long have you got? Winter's coming..

 

[Terry - Somerset]

You have one big advantage over neolithic man - you have a steel chisel. He merely had a rock tied to a stick for a hammer!

Neolithic man had the benefit of centuries of passed down practical tips on how to make things with just a hammer. They tended to be fairly crude by modern standards - concepts of straight, vertical, flat were foreign concepts.

You probably need to think more like a "neolith" - forget flat worktops. Dry(ish) and a flat(ish) stone to work on is probably the bet you can aspire to.

 

[MikeB1972]

Timber framing can be done with green wood, no problem. If you do the joint's right they will tighten as the wood shrinks.
At it's simplest, you are looking at pinned tenon and mortise joints, you can get more complicated as time goes by

So, all you need is a saw and a chisel (and a drill if you use a round peg).

Normally you'd make the pegs out of dry timber, so the green wood will lock everything into place as it shrinks.

 

[Bingy man]

I think even with the hammer and chisel you will struggle to achieve your goals . As above a small axe , small bow saw , something to dig with , needs to added to your kit from the start of this journey. Your chisel won’t be much use when it is blunt . But if you want to keep it basic there are plenty of old traditional tools that you could use - frame saw , adze, etc

 

[--Tom--]

I’m d try to find a course on timber framing and then go on it - will give you a lot of insight and a chance to be shown techniques you can use on your own land

 

[Jacob]

Oops. it is a bit long, I do tend to waffle but here it is.

I have a small woodland of close to 1 acre and a couple more of open land.

I came onto the land with just a couple of tools including a chisel and hammer.

Of course I will intend to grow and fill out the arsenal a bit but I am interested most in the simplest ways of creating as possible, going back to time honored traditions - specifically to the uk if applicable. With that in mind I am thinking of what tools I could also make from the wood with just what I have already, just bootstrapping from the environment.

I will resort to sourcing things from the local hardware yard only as a last resort and would like to exhaust the self sustainable ideas first.

For the moment I would like to make a workshop with just a basic worktop and frame for shelter. I would either use a tarp to cover or sod and other stuff gathered from the ground to make a roof.

I know you will want to know what type of wood is in the woodland but to be honest I haven't got a clue! I also don't have a camera handy right now to take any images of the wood for you to get a better idea.

I know it is generally considered a 'nono' to work on green wood but that is mostly for longevity concerns isn't it? If I go into accepting the structures may not last for long then can I just continue on regardless and replace as they might get dilapidated?

All I can say is the general thickness and size of the trees which are about thigh thickness and maybe 20-30ft high. If you could offer me things to look for on the trees to be able to come back to you to help identify I could do that.

I would also like to be able to do everything with just the chisel and hammer as well as tools I could make from those, and perhaps saws once I get them but won't have them for a while. My mother should be coming with other tools when she comes to visit and there are a lot of old tools there. I can sharpen them myself can't I?

Better to recycle old tools, which I think had better build quality than today's stuff? They are tools handed down from my grandfather so probably around 1950s. My family are great collectors so loads of stuff I could put to use which had just been sitting around in the garage but they are definitely going to be blunt and require some tlc.

Besides the lack of tools I would be interested in doing joinery rather than using screws just to keep everything as self sustainable as possible with materials I have on the land.

So is that feasible? I don't care if it might take longer this way it is about the satisfaction of doing things in a self-sufficient manner. For practical reasons though it will be important to get the workshop up within a reasonable time to be able to use it to make other stuff!

I had a quick look and mortise and tenon joints look doable?

I can see myself being able to make a frame for a shelter like that but to make a flat or kind of flat worktop how would I do that? Could I just manually chisel away on the trunks until I got them pretty flat place them side by side?

Jealous!
One obvious priority would be to extract firewood for heating your home.
That could entail managing appropriate species and coppicing etc.
Maybe look at "management" in general as a first step? Loads of books on the topic - see Oliver Rackham for starters, on how woodland has traditionally been used and managed. Lots of forward planning before wading in with an axe.

 

[Amplidyne]

Have a look around locally. There was a green woodworking weekend at one local woodland a while back. Could be something near you.
Tools seemed to be mostly saw, draw knife, hammer and chisel, axe and side axe, brace and bits from what I remember. Other tools would be a froe, and an adze.
Certainly with the adze you want someone who knows how to use one to show you.

Be careful with those "thigh thick" trees. They're heavy when they come down.

 

[Fitzroy]

Building structures from thinner trees 6-10cm in diameter and leaving them mainly round, and only working the joining surfaces, will be much easier than trying to take a large tree and work it into dimensioned timber. On woodland that has not been managed you may have areas of woodland that need thinning out and the smaller trees need cutting anyhow. A decent hand axe and a bow saw would be on my list. I've felled a 15cm tree with a smallish hand axe, not something I'd want to do often but not too difficult, and a hand axe can be used for some basic timber prep whereas a felling axe cannot.

 

[niall Y]

Ben Law's book - Woodland Craft, will be of interest to you. He has some sections on building with round wood, and a list of useful tools in the back. A series of steel wedges is handy as it allows you to split timbers like Ash.
An acre of woodland is not a large amount though it should keep you in fuel. I also believe their are restrictions as to the amount of trees you can fell per year I think it is in the region of 5 cubic metres without a licence.

 

[woodlearner9810182]

what species of tree do you have?

As mentioned, no idea, and no camera to hand. If you could give me an idea what I could look for of common types I could get back to you.

I know to rule some obvious ones out like oak, except a couple on the hedgeline I would not be looking to touch.

I can say they are straight up if that narrows it down at all.

There are actually two sections. There is a small part in the open land, in one corner and has those wavy leaves with about 6+ edges which are light green to yellow brown.

I have had so much to do on the grassy land I really haven't taken the time to look in the woodland proper yet but can do.

 

[woodlearner9810182]

In theory you could build a shelter with a hand axe. A saw would be useful too.
How long have you got? Winter's coming..

Well I have 'all the time in the world' as I am doing this full-time now. I do not have to bother with a pesky dayjob at the moment due to a couple of good decisions in my self-employment job a couple of years ago paying off indefinitely (an online business). Not well off by any means but have the basic sustenance costs covered and have refined living on a shoestring.

Could change at any time but that is how it currently stands.

However as a priority I would want a shelter of some fashion soonish and work out from there.

 

[John Brown]

Well I have 'all the time in the world' as I am doing this full-time now. I do not have to bother with a pesky dayjob at the moment due to a couple of good decisions in my self-employment job a couple of years ago paying off indefinitely (an online business). Not well off by any means but have the basic sustenance costs covered and have refined living on a shoestring.

Could change at any time but that is how it currently stands.

However as a priority I would want a shelter of some fashion soonish and work out from there.

Sounds like an adventure. Have fun. There was a time when I would have been envious!

 

[woodlearner9810182]

Sounds like an adventure. Have fun. There was a time when I would have been envious!

As to your first reply, I did plan on getting a handaxe, although I did see a video where one chap fashioned a 'neolithic' with just a stone shard wedged into a stick of wood. A couple of similar shards happened to blow out of the rocks while I was cooking with some stones I'd just taken from the stream. I read yesterday in the SAS guide you should watch for that but this happened before I read it. Thankfully they did not get me.

Not saying I would necessarily go that route but interesting to see that as an option. I do have a hand axe at my mum's just didn't bring it. The shaft isn't the best as it goes loose and the head shoots off but as the wood isn't rotten I guess I could fix that and the head I had sharpened successfully with a file.

What would be quick ways to make a shelter ready for the winter given the limited tools mentioned already? Could I make do with chisel and hammer to make mortis and tenon until the cavalry arrives with other tools? Will on be a couple of weeks on that front.

I have been able to take down couple of inch branches with just the chisel and hammer method. Not the most efficient I am sure but got the job done.

Can the joining part be avoided entirely somehow at this early stage to get something up? I was reading the sas survival guide and most examples use 'lashings' but did not see explanations of what could be used for lashing or might have missed it. Are there readily available materials I could use for that?

Loads and loads of brambles on the land which is tearing my hands up something rotten as no work gloves at the mo' could that do as I know that stuff is very stringy, to my ire so far. Perhaps it could be used to my advantage.

By the way I already have shelter in my van as I did a self-build of that and have it parked on the land so not a matter of life and death. Just require shelter for working for the time being and then build out from there thinking of shelters for self after.

 

[woodlearner9810182]

You probably need to think more like a "neolith" - forget flat worktops. Dry(ish) and a flat(ish) stone to work on is probably the bet you can aspire to.

Oh indeed, I am not fussy if I can manage without.

I just have some work to do on my van as well and thought maybe I would want a worktop for that but I could make do without probably.

 

[woodlearner9810182]

Timber framing can be done with green wood, no problem. If you do the joint's right they will tighten as the wood shrinks.
At it's simplest, you are looking at pinned tenon and mortise joints, you can get more complicated as time goes by

So, all you need is a saw and a chisel (and a drill if you use a round peg).
View attachment 191447
Normally you'd make the pegs out of dry timber, so the green wood will lock everything into place as it shrinks.

Can't I just skip the saw, until I get the one from my mum's at least, and do it all with chiseling? Also isn't the dowel bit optional? That seems like an 'extravagance'. Won't the joint just tighten on it's own as you say?

 

[woodlearner9810182]

I think even with the hammer and chisel you will struggle to achieve your goals . As above a small axe , small bow saw , something to dig with , needs to added to your kit from the start of this journey. Your chisel won’t be much use when it is blunt . But if you want to keep it basic there are plenty of old traditional tools that you could use - frame saw , adze, etc

Oh I do have a shovel. I just didn't mention it as I didn't think it pertinent to woodworking. I also have a sickle with me if that helps.

Although not made for thicker stuff I noticed it isn't doing bad at taking off smaller branches with a few hacks and that is even when it isn't especially blunt.

I did bring some rough sandpaper with me as I saw a couple of videos of sharpening using that as the preferred method.

So could these tools suffice in place of those you suggest?

 

[woodlearner9810182]

Jealous!
One obvious priority would be to extract firewood for heating your home.
That could entail managing appropriate species and coppicing etc.
Maybe look at "management" in general as a first step? Loads of books on the topic - see Oliver Rackham for starters, on how woodland has traditionally been used and managed. Lots of forward planning before wading in with an axe.

I have done some coppice work when I volunteered. That wasn't the main area of work but I did a fair bit here and there.