James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
Shingle Froe by Peavey | Firewood Kindling Wood Splitter, 15 Inch Blade
1 min read
The froe is the tool most woodworkers don’t realize they need. This Shingle Froe from Peavey will quickly become one of your indispensable tools if you split kindling and firewood. Woodturners will like it even more.
This simple blade of iron or mild steel will cleanly split a short bolt of straight-grained wood into halves. After you acquire the mystical skills needed, you may even make your own shingles, but other projects require less precise abilities. The froe blade lays across the end of the bolt of wood, and the craftsman drives the blade in with a wooden mallet. Levering the handle from side to side works the froe into the block. As splits get thinner, the work gets trickier, but an expert can control the line of the split by choosing the right levering direction and exerting exactly the right pressure.
Woodturners who need a cheap source of turning stock for the lathe use the mallet and froe to split blocks from what otherwise would wind up as fuel for the wood stove. With simple homemade jigs, you’ll be able to use square pegs split with the froe to make short wooden dowel pins for classic timber frame joinery. This 2-inch-wide American-made froe covers a bolt 15 inches in diameter and works as well on smaller stock. The 18-inch-long handle offers plenty of leverage. If you split wood with an axe or wedges, you’ll find that the froe saves considerable frustration when a splitting tool sticks in the block. Leverage with the froe slipped into the split often opens the block enough to work the other tool free.
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
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The froe is the tool most woodworkers don’t realize they need. This Shingle Froe from Peavey will quickly become one of your indispensable tools if you split kindling and firewood. Woodturners will like it even more.
