A video of this weeks hewing...

This is extremely satisfying work, but also extremely taxing on the body. I think everyone is glad to have a few days to recoup before we tackle the next two, which we will hopefully get from the logger next week.

Josh and Rich cross-cutting the end cut of a hand-hewn 36-foot 8 x 10 yellow pine beam with Josh's Grandfather's saw.

We have been sawing timbers this month for three framing jobs. Our local logger has been bringing us some very nice Southern Yellow Pine logs. The logs have been very dense and clear and we have sawed many boards as well as timbers.
These logs were harvested from a woodlot just five miles northeast of our shop. It is a private woodlot, and will remain so. It was time to cut some trees in order to improve the overall health of the woodlot, and it will be ready for another selective cutting in 10-15 years time.
The logs averaged 50-60 years old. This timber will spend the next phase of its life as roof trusses in a church 25 miles east of our shop, where they will hopefully be for a long enough time to grow two or three more stands of 50-60 year old timber. Who knows what they will become after that?
We are thankful for this sustainable resource.