S Bialecki

Got a question for those with some knowledges of the school of log hewing. I've tackled one small eastern red cedar and am looking to move up in the world.

Just recently I felled a large ish Red Pine (for non-timber reasons) that has a good section of trunk that would do well with a hewing. I like the idea of hewing with the crown attached for various reasons and my question is as follows.

How do you lay out your beam on the small end of the trunk if there is still a tree attached to it? Do you make an educated guess as to how wide you can make your beam and then measure straight down from a level that rests on the log? Snap the line and hew as usual?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I progress but that is the one that is catching me immediately.

Thanks!

Hey folks!

Looks like a very cool forum that I have found.

I grew up in SE Michigan on an old farm and am in the process of slowly moving back in and creating a homestead haven for myself and family.  It is a mostly hilly terrain with a very small creek running through it, otherwise there is a good mix of new and "old" forest, open pasture/field land that is now replanted with native grasses and some delightful pockets of wetlands. The extent of our experience so far is horses, chickens, and a small garden. My partner, brother, and mother are my teammates in this adventure and we are still very much in the beginning stages of what kind of homesteading experience we are looking for.

I look forward to your expertise and hopefully someday will be able to share my experiences if not "expertise".