What is it, the answer.

A jointer for saws, both workshop and two person cross cut saws. This is a jointer that will joint straight panel and tenon saws as well as saws with a crown or curved edge. I have been doing a fair bit of saw sharpening recently and thought I could make a simple jig to fulfil both types of jointed edge.

Having a jig to bend the file so that a curved edge can be jointed make life so much easier. I would not be without one especially when renovating crowned cross cuts.

The bottom screw as it tightens bends the file to the desired curve.

Time to skin a tree

The sap is rising and the trees are coming into leaf. So if you have a tree or stick in the woods that the bark needs to come off it is time to begin thinking about it. The texture and shapes of skinned wood is wonderful and I often make shrink pots at this time of year so that I can, just, slip the bark off.

I have been told stories of bark peelers skinning big oak trees, climbing right up into the crown. The tree would be left standing until the winter months to be felled for timber. What a sight that must have been.

You can also ring cut a willow stick and pull the bark off as a tube to make whistles.

Go on, bring your inner wood butcher out, and skin a tree.

Any idea what this used for?

I am great one for making jigs. In the long run they save so much time and  enable the job to be done to a higher standard.

Who knows what it is? Answers over the weekend or sometime soon.