Joyce Green
While strolling along in the mountains,
Beholding the sun’s golden glow,
Adoring the wildflowers there blooming,
Around the old log cabin door.
My grandpa had built it for Grandma
With love and his own two hands,
A reminder of love once unshaken,
Empty and lonely it stands.
On the porch sits a cane-bottomed rocker,
It had once rocked my mother at night,
But the chair only rocks in the wind now,
’Neath the shadow of the sun’s early light.
With his own two hands he once labored
In the fields at the breaking of dawn,
Providing a life for his family,
From the old home he seldom did roam.
At the end of the path an old barn stands,
With some old handmade tools and a sled,
Not needed or wanted for years now,
Since Grandpa and Grandma are dead.
In the hall of the barn hangs the bullwhip,
As a child he had helped me to braid,
With his own two hands he would teach me
With a love that I know will not fade.
Our ancestors relied on knowledge, skills, and their own two hands to make, build, or repair homes, toys, tools, furniture, clothing, and other items needed for daily living. The following articles include detailed instructions for braiding a bullwhip and building a shaving horse. Directions and steps are also included for a drawknife and a five-in-one sled. These items were necessities for families who once inhabited many of the log cabins scattered through the mountains of Appalachia.
As depicted in the lyrics of “With His Own Two Hands,” log cabins served as the dwellings for early settlers in Appalachia. Many have stood the test of time and are still standing today. There is just something about an old log cabin that can’t be explained. Crossing the threshold takes you deep into another era before progress spoiled the tranquillity of life. It is a safe place with a homey feel. The walls seem to tremble with the kindred spirits of dwellers from the past. Many families were born, raised, and died within the confines of this one-room shelter, which they called home. The carefully hand-hewed and hand-notched logs, split-shingled roof, and wooden windows, held closed by wooden latches, protected its inhabitants from the wind, rain, and snow. The cabins were crafted to last for at least a hundred years, pending an occasional roof repair with newly split wooden shingles. Wildflowers and native azaleas surrounded the humble dwelling where fireflies glowed in the night and the lonesome sound of the whippoorwill could be heard from the distant “holler” (hollow). Children played with rag dolls and wooden wagons and skipped around the cabin with June bugs on a string. The dolls were hand sewn by mothers and grandmothers, and oftentimes Grandpa spent countless hours building the wooden wagons that raced down the hills and through the valleys of the old homeplace.
—Joyce Green
Tying a True Lover’s Knot
~Research by Lee Carpenter~
For this common variant of the true lover’s knot, also known as a fisherman’s knot, two simpler knots lock together to create a strong join between two pieces of line. The face of the completed join will have a distinct appearance—the two individual lines are locked together perfectly side by side.
Begin by making a simple overhand knot. Hold the first piece of line (rope, string, yarn, etc.) in your right hand, with the free end hanging to the left. Grab the free end with your left hand and bring it down, around, and behind the line to make a loop. (A) Pull the end over the line and through the loop, pulling it far enough through so that the knot will not unravel, but do not pull the loop closed yet.
Still holding the first knot with your right hand, take the second piece of line with your left hand and (B) feed it through the first knot’s loop, coming from behind the loop. Hold the knot and second line together with your left hand. Grab the end of the second line with your right hand, bring it up and over the first line, down behind both lines, then (C) over the second line and through the new loop to form the second overhand knot.
PLATE 128
Next, (D) gently snug down each overhand knot by pulling each end and its matching line. Now grab each line and pull to bring the two knots together. After a firm pull, the dangling ends will usually appear to move up or down from their initial positions as the knot sets when fully tightened, and then you will see (E) the two closely paired strands of line that give this knot its name.
The Adaptable Five-in-One Sled
~Kyle Bolen~
At a festival held at John Rice Irwin’s Museum of Appalachia in Clinton, Tennessee, we met Kyle Bolen, who was demonstrating how to construct wooden sleds. Even though we have done articles about traditional wooden sleds in the past, we became interested in Kyle’s methods because the parts he uses can be interchanged and combined in different ways to make at least five distinct, functional sleds. The parts all fit together without the use of nails, so they can be quickly dismantled and reassembled. With the help of his grandson (shown with Kyle seated in the city sled on this page), he can take a sled apart and put it together in different form in just a matter of minutes.
On the following pages, the five different sleds Kyle makes from interchangeable parts are shown. The parts he uses are listed with approximate measurements. Should you wish to make such sleds, you would probably want to use your own measurements to make the sleds fit your particular needs.
—Brant Sturgill and Rance Fleming
PLATE 129
PLATE 130 The parts needed to make the sleds on the following pages:
A. Two sourwood sled runners, 6½′ long by 8″ by 5″ wide
B. Six short wooden pegs, 8″ long by 2″ in diameter
C. Six main support beams (three to hold up the floor of the sled and three that can be used as seats), 4′ long by 4″ thick by 5″ wide
D. Two long support beams, 5′ long by 4″ thick by 5″ wide
E. Enough 1″-thick boards nailed onto six cross braces to form a floor 3½′ wide by 5′ long. The six wooden cross braces are spaced under the floor so that they straddle each of the three support beams (C) to keep the floor from sliding.
F1. Two sideboards, 5′ long by 12″ wide by 1″ thick, with vertical wooden strips nailed to the outside in pairs, spaced so that the long wooden pegs (G) will come up between them from the runners to help stabilize the bed
F2. Two end sideboards, 3½′ long by 12″ wide by 1″ thick, that slide down into vertical wooden strips nailed in pairs to the inside corners of the long sideboards
G. Six long wooden pegs, 24″ long by 1½″ in diameter
H. Six support pegs with long, high shoulders, 3′ long by 3″ in diameter, whittled down to 1½″ in diameter at either end
I. One crossbeam with clevis, 4′ long by 5″ wide by 4″ thick, running between sled runners at the front of the sled
J. Six support pegs with short, low shoulders, 3′ long by 3″ in diameter, whittled down to 1½″ in diameter at either end
K. Two upper side beams (to take the place of end sideboards), 4′ long by 5″ wide by 4″ thick
L. Two lower side beams (to take the place of sideboards), 5′ long by 5″ wide by 4″ thick
M. Two extra floorboards, 5′ long by 12″ wide by 1″ thick, for making the tobacco sled
N. Two long support beams to support the wider floor of the tobacco sled, 6′ long by 5″ wide by 4″ thick
Diagram By: Brant Sturgill
PLATE 131
PLATE 132 This sled is named the city sled, and it is used for going back and forth to town. The one-piece standards (J) are designed to raise the bed up off the ground and to hold the sides firmly in place at the same time. These standards (visible on sled to left in photo above) are long enough to extend up above the sides so that extra beams (C) can be fitted down over them and used for seats. Nailed under the floor of the
sled (E) are cross braces that fit over the floor beams (C) to keep the bed from sliding.
PLATE 133
PLATE 134 The Ford Creek sled was used to haul people through obstacles, such as creeks or deep mud, that required the bed to be raised well above the ground. The standards are designed to keep the bed supported up off the ground. The top beams (C) slip down over the tops of the standards to serve as seats.
PLATE 136
PLATE 135 The country sled was made very sturdy and low to the ground for use on cleared hillside fields and flat ground. It could haul anything from rocks to firewood to hay—anything not requiring sideboards.
PLATE 138
PLATE 137 The tobacco sled was made to haul tobacco from the fields to the barn. It was designed wider so that it could hold more. It is built like the country sled, except that it has longer beams (N) to hold additional floorboards (M).
PLATE 139
PLATE 140 The rock country sled was designed to haul rocks and wood. It was constructed well so that it could stand rough use. The rock country sled has three long pegs (G) on each side (F1 and F2) to hold it together. Unlike the country sled, which has very short sides, this one has tall sides so that it can haul larger loads.
Building an Oak Shaving Horse
~With Claud Connell~
Claud Connell, a longtime Foxfire friend, taught himself to work with wood from a series of books called The Woodwright’s Shop by Roy Underhill and The Foxfire Book. During the spring of 2009, Foxfire student Keifer Phillips spent time with Claud, learning how to build a shaving horse. Although it was tough work, the finished product is one that not many can claim to have spent time on, and Keifer doesn’t regret the hard work that he put into making his very first shaving horse. Keifer took what he learned from Claud and later created his own shaving horse.
Sadly, just as we were completing the first draft of this anniversary book, we received the news that our friend Claud Connell had passed away. We’ll be forever grateful to Claud for demonstrating his great gift for woodworking at our events and for passing along some of those skills to the younger generation here at Foxfire. He did not want his craft to be a dying art, a concern he expressed to us over the many years we knew him, and just as he had hoped, some part of it will live on with Keifer.
The Foxfire Magazine class would like to give special thanks to Lyle Phillips, industrial arts teacher, and Barry Stiles, Foxfire museum curator, for their help throughout this project.
—Ben McClain
PLATE 141 Keifer Phillips initially worked with Claud at The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center during spring break in 2009.
My parents encouraged me to get an education. They instilled in me confidence that I could accomplish anything I wanted if I was willing to do what it takes to get it done. I have found that to be true. When I wanted to learn how to make wooden buckets, I read all I could find about the subject and then set out to make one. I made lots of shavings and mistakes before I made the first one that even resembled a bucket. I never gave up. I can now do it pretty well, although there is still more to learn and improvements to be made.
The only thing I can say about my experiences that young people can benefit from is that they can accomplish anything they want to, provided they are willing to do what it takes to get it done. I have found that true. I have pretty much done anything I set out to do. It did not always come easy, but I just kept at it, made changes, and kept a positive attitude.
I don’t remember just when I started, but about twenty to thirty years ago I was reading in The Foxfire Book and other books and became interested in traditional woodworking. I also read Roy Underhill’s Woodwright books and whatever others I could find on the subject. Then I set out and, by trial and error, I learned how to build traditional furniture and chairs using mostly hand tools and traditional methods. I use hand-cut mortise-and-tenon and dovetail joints whenever possible. I have built pie safes [wooden cupboards] with hand-punched tin panels, gun cabinets, swinging baby cradles, a blanket chest, tables and chairs, and numerous other items.
Reading about butter churn making in The Foxfire Book interested me, so I obtained a blacksmith forge, anvil, and some blacksmith tools, and I made the rest of the tools I needed to make the buckets and churns. I became acquainted with Mr. Lee Tippett of Foxfire 5 and learned a lot about blacksmithing from him.
I then learned to make buckets and churns by trial and error. It took a while for me to develop the required skills. I just kept making shavings and mistakes until I made more and more shavings and less and less mistakes. I can now do it pretty well. I enjoy going to craft shows and festivals, demonstrating bucket-making. I try to sell a few items to help pay expenses. I don’t make any money doing this. I could never make a living at it, because it takes too long to make things.
Making a Shaving Horse
A shaving horse is a combination of a workbench and a simple wooden vise, actuated with a foot pedal underneath. The pedal is connected in such a way that it can hold one piece of wood firmly, leaving the hands free to use a drawknife. One of the main uses of the shaving horse is making chairs and tables. Before chairs were available through retailers and furniture stores, those building their own houses were under obligation to craft all of their furniture from logs. A chair is not the only thing that can be made by a shaving horse. Objects such as stools, butter churns, wooden buckets, and handles for other tools were also made with the shaving horse. Before you were able to build all these things, you had to be able to build your own shaving horse.
Things You Will Need:
The first thing that is needed is a log. The preferred wood to craft the shaving horse with is red oak, 6 feet in length and around 12 inches in diameter.
The following tools are needed:
adze
broadax
drawknife
hammer or mallet
handsaw
hatchet
2 timber wedges
½-inch and 2-inch drill bits and auger
plane (optional)
Getting Started
The first step is to find a log or tree that is the right diameter and cut it to a length of approximately 72 inches (6 feet). It should be approximately 12 inches in diameter. Split the log in order to create sections. The log should be split into three pieces, one center piece that will have a rectangular shape approximately 3 inches thick, and two side pieces that will be approximately 4½ inches thick, with one rounded side and one straight, flat side.
PLATE 142 Claud steadies the red oak log with a cant hook as Keifer drives in timber wedges, working on the second split.
To split the log, use timber wedges. A wedge is a thin pyramid-shaped object that is driven into a log or piece of wood to split it. The leapfrog method of wedging is an effective way to perform a controlled log split using two timber wedges. To perform a leapfrog split, drive the first wedge into the log approximately 4½ inches from the end. After the first wedge is driven in, a space will appear approximately 3 to 6 inches past the first wedge. Drive the second wedge into this space, thereby loosening the first wedge and allowing for its removal from the log. While the first wedge is removed, the second will remain in place. Insert the first wedge into the new space in front of the second wedge. Repeat this process down the entire length of the log until the first piece completely splits away from the log. Move to the opposite side of the log and repeat the process.
PLATE 143 Shaping the bench with an adze
Shaping the Bench
After the log is in three sections, use the middle section (approximately 3 inches thick and flat on two sides) to fashion the bench for the shaving horse. It may be necessary to use an adze to remove inconsistencies and unwanted slivers of wood. This can be accomplished by standing on top of the beam and swinging the adze in a downward motion toward the toe of your boot. The object is to skim the blade of the adze across the top of the log, removing a thin layer with each stroke. Be careful not to remove large chunks of woo
d or make the surface more uneven. [Warning: Improper use of an adze can cause bodily damage.] Once the bench has been roughly shaped using an adze, it can be further smoothed using a wood plane or a drawknife to level and smooth the eventual upper seat surface.
PLATE 144 Smoothing the bench with a hand plane
Creating the Legs
The next step is making the legs of the shaving horse. Use one of the two round-sided sections from step 1 to make the legs. Saw the section into two 19-inch sections. Using the broadax, split both lengths into roughly 3-inch-square pieces.
After the four sections have been split, use the hatchet or ax to trim down the edges of the legs until they are roughly round. They should be about 3 inches in diameter on one end (the bottom of the leg), and then taper them down to 2 inches on the other end (the top).
On the tapered end of each leg, use the handsaw to make a 2-inch-deep cut perpendicular to the grain of the wood. These cuts will have small wooden wedges driven into them in the next step.
PLATE 145 Rough shaping of the legs with a hatchet
PLATE 146 Slitting the top of a leg with a handsaw
Attaching the Legs
Using an auger with a 2-inch bit, drill two holes on each end of the bench, working from the top (smoother) side of the bench. The holes should be centered approximately 4 inches from the respective ends of the bench, 3 inches from the sides, and drilled at a slight angle to the outside. The holes should be drilled all of the way through the bench.
The Foxfire 45th Anniversary Book Page 54