De-barking spruce or fir

Hello to all! So I have just shaved the bark from the first log for our round timber framed cordwood home.  Despite my years of research, I forgetl at this moment whether it is imperative to remove the second thin layer that lies just under the outer bark.  In the photo you may be able to see that, here and there, I have left patches of this inner layer.  Will it fall off on its own with time?

In my experience with pine it isn't really  necessary(assuming you don't mind the splotchy look).

But with woods like popular it is necessary.  As that second layer dries it becomes stringy and starts partially falling off you end up with "hairy" logs.  

I am in the process of building a log cabin out of a mix of pine an popular and not fully pealing the popular is causing me a lot of extra headache now that they are in place and drying.

I left it partially in place on some red and white pine logs.  Stored them off the ground outside under cover.  Two years later I noticed that there were beetle holes and sawdust tunnels under nearly every square inch of the reddish/brown stuff I left.  The nibbling was shallow so it didn't hurt anything for my purposes but if bugs could get at the logs, and you care, I'd get that inner layer off.

Mike, that is good to know.  I have debarked four logs now, using a draw knife.  It is real work for my 67 year old bones and I still have to deal with a lot of the inner bark as you mention.  I think I will try a cheap pressure washer from Walmart.  I have about fifty logs to debark.  Thankfully, half of them are cedar and will pretty much debark themselves.  But the fir and spruce have to be debarked properly as you say and I pray the pressure washer will save my butt here.

Howdy,

Mike is right about all small bits of bark left on.

My experience with peeling poles, (Doug fir, Sugar pine, Dogwood, Black/white oak, etc) places where the bark s still there, always seem to have bugs living underneath, resulting in boring and a weaker section of the pole.  Also, the more sapwood layer, the more "sugar" content and that's what most boring bugs are after and they will lay eggs.

I also use a draw knife for peeling. Felling poles in the winter, when the weather is cold and tree is dormant, sap not running, I think keeps the insect damage down. Also keeping poles up, no ground contact, helps with bug control.

Randal, I am working only with spruce and fir.  I coud have taken some pine, but I feared it would be more attractive to bugs.  As you may have noted from Mike Haasi's response, it seems crucial to get every bit of the inner bark off also.   The outer bark on spruce and fir seems to come off easily enough, but the inner bark is becoming a headache in that I have to spend extra time getting it off with a drawknife.  A lot comes off with the outer bark, but a lot doesn't.  Using a pressure washer seems easy, but I am not sure it will do the inner bark faster than a drawknife and so I am on the fence about running out to buy one.  I might go and pick up a spud to give my butt a rest from using the drawknife.  All in all, if I can do a few logs a day before being wiped out I should get through some fifty logs soon enough.  Gettng them off the ground is also work- they are heavy and so I have to use my automotive ramps and a rope!

You might want to try a peeling spud instead of a draw knife.  Or a dull flat screwdriver.  You work it under the bark and pry the wet bark off the log.  With 50 logs to do, I'd set up a station to hold them at a good height and peel them that way.  Even if winter cut, they should get slippery in the spring/early summer.

Howdy,

I have only used a peeling spud on logs, trees over 12"dia.

When I peel anything, I have one end raised up to even shoulder height, and peel downward to ground level. When I get to low, I will raise up the other end, or turn the pole around, always peeling high to low, letting gravity work with me. The inner bark shows itself when it is exposed to the air, so I come back later and work on those.  I do try and fell poles when the sap is running, as this makes the bark come off easier.  Fall is a better time as the tree is going dormant and the sap isn't flowing up into the tree, so less sugar content in the sap wood, bug/worm control. I do cut and peel poles all year around, but do notice that summer cut can be harder to peel and also if you cut and stack poles to peel later, they can be harder to peel.

When using a drawknife, you can use it both ways to peel, bevel side up or bevel side down. I also have a shaving bench that I made that will let me clamp a pole to do intricate work. Do you have "log dogs" for holding poles when you are peeling?

Cutting the tree down in the spring time, when the sap is up, will make the bark peel much easier. Just a tip! Barking trees sucks.

Hahaha I got beat by 58 seconds with this comment!

Randall, I really don't have any problem 'holding' the logs that I am peeling.  They are not really poles.  Rather, they are logs- 8" up to maybe 13".  So they are pretty heavy.  Debarking with my draw knife and spud is simple enough but tiring for me at my age.  I have done a few of my logs with the draw knife but I am now going to try a pressure washer.

Dan, that sap is really up- me and the clothes I wore the other day debarking are all stained with sap from the spruce and fir.  It even went through my work clothes and stained my legs and arms!

Good times! They do make special "sap soap" that does an amazing job. My local saw shop has some. Or peanut butter, hahaha.

If the trees are still green enough, you might try peeling the bark off which is less work and much cleaner. I made a very simple tool which you can see in action made from a metal connector piece which I sharpened into a very thin chisel, which works wonders. You can see it in action (before I made the handle) here at the 11:00 minute marker https://youtu.be/HsY_lTS7Sbg?si=Fgxnt-DO9IopmhdX