I don't do much large scale wood carving and so while my shop is often a mess, it usually doesn't get into this shape so quickly. If you really want to create chaos get into heavy duty carving, chain saw carving has to be the only thing that sends more chips flying, more directions.
Our back yard has a small water feature and my wife wanted a medium sized tree branch turned into an open channel for water to run from our upper pond into the lower pond.
I did a project similar to this ten years ago so I knew what needed to be done, and I do have all the tools.
First I used a small axe to knock off the unwelcome high spots, then I used my bow saw to cut the branch to length and cut off a couple of smaller side branches. The next tool I used was my draw knife, I used it to flatten one side of the branch.
My draw knife is an heirloom. It came from my Grandfather's tools via my Dad's tool box. I hope some day that a grand kid will have an interest in tools too.
After I laid out a basic line for the trough I drilled a bunch of holes in the tree branch with a spade bit. That was the beginning of the serious wood chip blizzard. A spade bit rips a big hole in the wood and if you choose to be careful a large spade bit will do a good enough job for a reasonable price.
After I drilled out a bunch of wood with the spade bit I switched to my 4 1/2 grinder and my Arbortech grinding wheel. It makes short work of bark and whatever else you may find on reclaimed wood and branches.
After I had drilled and slashed away with the grinder I cleaned up the rough spots a bit with a chisel and mallet and voilà,
there is the trough awaiting installation. I have done my part, now Eva has to make it work. There are rocks to move and concrete to form. I am sure that the end product will be lovely.
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