Tool suggestion for debarking and smooting poles

[Erik Litts]

My scout troop is looking to accumulate a set of poles for pioneering projects. (building structures with lashing) I have therefore been cutting down saplings in my woodlot of various thicknesses and lengths, but these need to be de-barked and smoothed out somewhat. I was originally thinking a draw-knife would work best, but I figured I'd check and see if there was a better suggestion. It needs to be un-powered or the scouts aren't allowed to use it.

Astonishingly, BSA safety guidelines say an 11 year old scout can use an axe or a splitting maul, but not an electric screwdriver or dremel.

[Pat Barry]

Drawknife will do the job.

[Jim Koepke]

Another vote on a draw knife. When working on a ranch we didn't call them draw knives, we called them pole peelers.

jtk

[bridger berdel]

Side hatchet, bark spud, drawknife.

[Zach Dillinger]

Drawknife is probably the best and, with proper supervision, safest tool for the job.

[Mike King]

My introduction to the draw knife was at Scout camp. It's a good tool for the task. Sharp draw knives, however, can be pretty dangerous so a real emphasis needs to be put on safety...

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Drawknife is the best tool in general here. However you need a way to hold the pole since the DK is two-handed. They're also trickier to sharpen and using them takes a little bit of practice.

So, in this case, with kids, I'd vote for a couple HD hatchets.

They are probably allowed to use an orbital sander. So, you could set up a production line where some kids are roughly skinning the bark and the rest are sanding with 36 grit.




For the

[Brandon Speaks]

I would vote draw knife, not the cheap menards ones though.

[William Fretwell]

Nigerian dwarf goats, well any goat will do...... Tie one end of the poles to a fence or a support in their pen at an angle, the goats will do the job for you!

[Jim Koepke]

It may be a good idea to have a good pair of gloves to go with each draw knife.

For holding the poles can be held in a quickly made saw buck. They are a saw horse with the legs forming an X. The top of the X being made to fit the work.

396315

Just for fun see how long of a peel can be made.

jtk

[John Schtrumpf]

... Just for fun see how long of a peel can be made.

jtk
I'm surprised no one has mentioned. As you are using saplings, when they are freshly cut, some species have bark that is easy to peel. As kids, we used to peel willow tree branches with just our fingers (and occasionally our teeth to get them started).

[John K Jordan]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned. As you are using saplings, when they are freshly cut, some species have bark that is easy to peel. As kids, we used to peel willow tree branches with just our fingers (and occasionally our teeth to get them started).

Might be easier to peel bark from many species if cut in the spring when the sap is flowing. People who turn natural edged bowls and WANT to keep the bark on have learned to cut the trees in the winter when they are dormant.

If there were a lot of poles it would be a lot quicker but not as much fun or educational to take the load to a commercial mill with a debarking machine, if one is near. On the other hand a field trip to a large commercial mill would be educational in itself - one son didn't want to leave after watching for almost an hour.

JKJ

[Tom M King]

Not just to be contrary, but I'm going to say not a drawknife for the majority of the work, or the majority of the boys. A Bark Spud will not only get most of the bark off easier than a drawknife, but the cutting edge is always going away from you. I did a bit of Googling, and you can even buy one at Tractor Supply for 30 bucks. Google also found a number of video's of them in use.

You still need a drawknife, for around knots, and tight places, but there is no comparison to production with a Bark Spud.

[Don McConnell]

Erik Litts wrote (in part):
"Astonishingly, BSA safety guidelines say an 11 year old scout can use an axe or a splitting maul, but not an electric screwdriver or dremel."

So, I guess this method would be out of the question? :-)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NK17YiJvS88M5T53k_mJhekKNMFPA7L4/view?usp=sharing

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the temptation to post this photo my dad took some time in the mid-1950's. According to his note, it is a photo of "pine pole peeling," taken at the Mohican State Forest, Ashland County Ohio.

Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR

[Tom M King]

Now that's real pole peeling! I remember, in the 1950's, I never saw a chain saw that didn't have a bow blade like the one in the background, except for one that had to be operated by two people.

[Allen Read]

When I was a kid in the 50's I would occasionally get loose and head for the docks. My Mom used to wonder how I survived. The sturgeon fishermen used poles driven into the bottom of creeks and rivers to hang their sturgeon nets. They used draw knives for peeling the bark. The poles were pine that is plentiful in SC.

The better peelers could strip a pole of it's bark in about 10 minutes.

To hold the poles at a comfortable work height, they used sawhorses.
To hold the poles steady, they used wooden wedges.

Allen

[Tom Bender]

I'm guessing that you have Maple saplings 1" to 3" diameter and 12 feet long.

Lashing up a tripod to hold the poles would be a good starter project.

[Erik Litts]

I'm guessing that you have Maple saplings 1" to 3" diameter and 12 feet long.



You are correct that most of what I have is Maple saplings, though no 1" stuff. I'm sticking with 1.5" - 4" stuff and only the 4" stuff will be 12'. But my goal is to find someone who is thinning a cedar stand to get some cedar poles from them. Or basswood.

[Erik Litts]

I ended up finding an 8" folding drawknife on the big e-auction site. The metal is in great shape, though one of the handles is cracked and needs glue in the short run and replacement in the long term. At $33 shipped, I can't complain. I suspect the only reason I picked it up that low was the fact that the actual manufacturer's name is all but gone. One of these days I'll try looking through images of similar items to try and find lettering that matches and identify the make.

[Mike King]

It is pretty easy to find cheap drawknives on eBay. I bought two there and use them in chairmaking.

Just had a (morbid) thought -- using a sharp drawknife with the boy scouts would allow them some first aid practice as well. Just make sure there are no amputations...

Speaking of sharp drawknives, the draw sharp from Peter Galbert, available either directly from him or from Benchcrafted, is a great tool for sharpening a drawknife.

Mike