Peeling the logs

Whenever it is above -3 celcius we peel trees, colder than that the bark is too frozen. The peeling is a quite slow job but we are getting better at that too. First all the ends of the branches and knots have to be cut with an ax so that the tree is totally smooth and then it can be peeled easier. The trees are peeled so that they dry faster and so that no insects get into the tree since the beetles like the bark the best and if there is none they don't bother. Actually in Finland there is a requirement that all the cut trees used for building must be pealed.

Mick does it on the ground using a debarking spade. He peels the bigger trees and I do the smaller ones.

I do the peeling on a stand Mick made for me.That way I can stand in a good position with Luna on my back in a carry ruck sack. I use a drawknife.

My ax I got from my brother for a christmas present when I was about 20 years old. I would have never thought I will be using it for building my own house! The drawknife is from a flea market in Joensuu.

 

We have now about 20 trees peeled, only 180 to go!