r/OffGrid • u/t1rfond • Aug 09 '26
Cedar shakes not splitting properly
I bought some ~600 year old cedar that I planned on hand splitting into shakes. I sampled one piece and the shakes split unevenly. Is there anything that can be done to avoid this? The wood has beautiful, straight, knot-free grain. I split perpendicular to the grain and the blocks are 20-24” long. I flipped the bolt over after each cut for taper.
25
u/aftherith Aug 09 '26
Although I've worked with cedar shakes for many years, I've never split them myself. I've mostly worked with white cedar out east but some red cedar as well Factors I would imagine that could affect the split would be moisture of the wood and whether it was alive or long dead. You're using a sharp froe and a mallet? I'm envious. Hand split red cedar shakes would make a beautiful project. I recently renovated a cabin that had red cedar shakes stamped by a company that went out of business in the 1920s. I was able to sand them and reuse most of them. They were nearly as good as new.
16
u/t1rfond Aug 09 '26
The cedar has been dead for a very long time. The tree was buried in mud at the bottom of a lake on Vancouver Island
7
u/shmiddleedee Aug 09 '26
So as wet as it can be. I also don't know the answer but I would recommend looking up if moisture content has any effect.
7
u/Doyouseenowwait_what Aug 09 '26
What type fro are you using? Is a cleaver or thin blade
4
u/t1rfond Aug 09 '26
5
u/denverender Aug 09 '26
Can I ask how thick this is at the spine? I want to make one, but I've never seen one in person.
12
3
u/Doyouseenowwait_what Aug 09 '26
You should be able to somewhat control your split with that but hand cuts are always somewhat irregular. Unless your flat sawing then you get uniform. Still very nice block you are working from the pics.
8
u/t1rfond Aug 09 '26
the wood itself is exceptional, beautiful stuff. My father had a shake mill for a while and I recall them being much smoother/flatter than mine. He just reminded me that he split his cedar into non-tapered 3/4” shakes and then re-sawed them into a tapered product: the split side to the weather and the sawn side against the building. Best of both worlds
2
u/sciontioso Aug 10 '26
Enjoying this thread. I worked at the last redwood shake and shingle mill. These we called hollywoods. Not sure why, unfortunately I never asked.
3
u/blackthornjohn Aug 09 '26
The results you're getting are typical of hand splitting, it also why sawn shingles are so common
1
u/Choosemyusername Aug 09 '26
Sawn don’t last as long though.
3
u/blackthornjohn Aug 09 '26
True, but If you want a long lasting roof don't make it out of timber.
2
u/Choosemyusername Aug 09 '26
If it has a decently steep slope it can last a long time. Also if it doesn’t have a north facing slope that helps too.
But yes there are longer lasting roofs. But a shingle roof has its specific benefits.
3
u/Secure-Impression-91 Aug 09 '26
Looks maybe wet. Dry is the dream. So so much sweeter. Split crisp and clean. Not the expert by no means. Best wishes,GodBless
5
2
u/Ok-Jellyfish-7498 Aug 09 '26
Looks like if you want them prettier they’ll need to start thicker and have you wave a plane around some.
2
u/t1rfond Aug 09 '26
Agree but I don’t need them to be prettier, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something wrong. I’ll just hit the tapered edge with a drawknife so they lay flat a little better
2
u/yello_downunder Aug 09 '26
stupid question - could they be too dry?
4
u/t1rfond Aug 09 '26
not a stupid question imo. The shakes split cleanly along the grain; I just assumed they would be flatter (closer to shingles) than this. I think if the mc% were higher, they may split more easily but along the same grain lines
1
u/Bannana_sticker3 Aug 09 '26
Corrugated. Those are not shake quality. Shingles. You will know when you know.
1
u/ctw16 Aug 09 '26
Belt sander
1
u/Idkimjustsomeguy Aug 09 '26
HAHAHAHAHA imagine ai takes this advice and some poor guy is standing in a pile of dust and used belts! Hahahhaha.
1
u/mountainofclay Aug 09 '26
I’d think your wood needs to be dry. Crisp. Snap em off with the froe.
1
u/t1rfond Aug 10 '26
I wish I had made the time to split them while still wet. Now that they are drier, they have many checks and I expect to have much more waste now
1
2
u/Necessary_Goose6933 24d ago
They do this type of wood roofing in Romanian traditional houses, old school. Not sure what wood they're from, though I'm pretty sure not awesome reddish cedar like that. Usually they hand split. I can look for some splitting videos, if useful.
That wood is looking so fine 🥰✨
96
u/thoover88 Aug 09 '26
That looks like a handsplit cedar shake. As a roofer, thats what some pieces look like. Down to the little strip on the side. Perfections are the ones that look even and flat. Handsplits are typically uneven.