Shaker Shingles

How long handmade shingles last depends on the wood. But, while most woods could last the lifetime of most any inhabitant, the best options for wood are the cedars - northern white cedar in much of New England, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota; eastern red cedar growing in scattered stands from the Atlantic seaboard to the Great Plains; and western red cedar in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. If you lack a cedar or a friendly neighboring farmer who's willing to let you tackle one of his, then Eastern white pine is another possibility for wood. It, too, is easy to work and doesn't warp or shrink much. It's not as durable as cedar, but should last 30 to 50 years, depending on how much weathering it's exposed to. Shingles on a steep-pitched roof or side of a building will stand the elements better than on a slightly pitched roof. Moisture standing on shingles shortens their life. This holds true for cedar as well as pine, but especially for pine and other woods of low to moderate durability. In Appalachia, shingle-makers use poplar and oak, but oak shingles are not as easy to split off the bolt, and neither wood is as long-lasting as cedar. Oak frequently will have numerous branches low on the tree. What is needed is a tree with a long, branchless trunk, at least 18 to 24 inches in diameter. Each time a branch grows from the trunk, it leaves a knot of wood that causes problems when splitting out the shingles. In fact, it is nearly impossible to split usable shingles from knotty wood.

After felling the tree, allow it to season for a year. To do this, cut off the side branches and divide the trunk into pieces (bolts) 2 1/2 feet long. Or, if it's easier to haul out larger pieces, cut them 7 1/2 feet long. You can cut these logs into three equal 2 1/2-foot bolts later. Place long poles under the bolts to keep ground moisture from them. Then cover them with canvas and allow to air dry for a year. It's a good idea to let the wood season this long so its dimensions will be stable. However, both green and dry wood split reasonably easily.

A glossary of terms

Bolt: Section of a log sized for processing in a shingle brake. A section is usually one-eighth to one-sixteenth section of the log.

Drawknife: A woodworking knife with a handle on each end, usually beveled on one side of the blade. Used with both hands to shape wood clamped in a shaving bench.

Dumb head: The moving (pivoting) part of the shaving bench. It clamps the piece being shaped so that it can be worked with both hands on the drawknife.

Froe: A long blade (6 to 12 inches, or more), wedge-shaped in section, with an eye on one end for the insertion of a perpendicular wood handle or lever. Used to rive bolts of wood into thinner units, such as shingles, fence pales, basket splints, or lath.

Glut: A large wooden wedge used to split large sections of logs apart after they have been cracked with iron or steel wedges. Typically, 4 to 6 inches thick, and 12 inches long, or more. Best made of durable, heavy wood, but may be made of any wood at hand. Disposable. Meant to be driven with a heavy root maul. Will shatter if struck with a steel sledgehammer.

Mallet: Wooden club, often made of the root mass of dogwood, elm, or hickory. Used to drive the froe into a bolt to begin riving. Usually weighs 3 to 6 pounds.

Nail hole punch; shingle punch: Lever-actuated tool for prepunching nail holes in hardwood shingles. There are both bench-mounted and free-standing punches, some made from lever- action juice presses.

Riving: Splitting wood with a froe or knife to make shingles, fence pales, basket splints, lath, etc.

Riving brake: Y-shaped tool made from a narrow tree crotch. Once the froe is driven into a bolt, the bolt is jammed into the narrow angle of the brake while the froe is levered to split the bolt from end to end. Also called a shingle brake.

Root maul: Similar to the mallet but much larger (20 to 30 pounds). The root maul is made from the root cluster of a hickory tree. The tree should be about 6 inches in diameter near the soil line. In making a root maul, the first step is to excavate the earth around the root cluster, tight against the trunk. Next, the surface roots that radiate from the trunk are cut off, and the tree is bent over to expose and cut the taproot. The striking end is shaped with an axe, and the handle shaped with an axe and drawknife. The root maul is used to drive hardwood gluts to split a log.

Sapwood: The band of living wood at the outer edge of the tree; this wood is not mature. It is weaker than the heartwood and has little rot resistance.

Shaving bench: Bench with a seat and a foot actuated clamp (see dumb head, above.) The woodworker straddles the bench and clamps the work piece with the dumb head while he shapes the work piece with a drawknife or spoke shave. Shaving bench and drawknife are used to shape many kinds of woodwork, including shingles, hay forks, furniture parts, and tool handles. Also called a shaving horse or schnitzel bank.

Traditional shingle making is done with simple tools: a drawknife, sledgehammer, gluts, steel wedges, root maul, axe, froe, mallet, shingle brake, shaving bench, nail hole punch, sorting bench, and clamps. It is best if the sledgehammer weighs 4 to 8 pounds which is used for driving the steel wedges into the log. The root maul is used to drive gluts, simple wood wedges that are 4 to 6 inches thick. Gluts can be made from whatever wood is at hand; dogwood, elm, and sycamore make durable gluts. The gluts are driven into a crack started by the steel wedges, which are too small to drive the halves and quarters of a large log apart. Steel wedges are necessary for the initial split.

The froe mallet should be light enough to use comfortably but heavy enough to drive the blade of the froe into the shingle bolt. A bolt is one- eighth to one-sixteenth section of a round log. Hickory is a good wood for mauls and mallets; the lowest part of the stem, including the root cluster just below ground, is used for both.

The shingle brake is a simple vise used to hold the bolt when riving it into shingles. A tree crotch makes the traditional shingle brake; ash is the best choice because of its narrow crotches (25-degree inside angle).

The shaving bench is a simple foot actuated clamp used to hold the shingle when working with the drawknife. The shaving bench needs a workspace behind the dumb head (clamping head) slightly more than half as long as the shingle, to support the shingle and prevent the drawknife from skipping when working the shingle. The best results are achieved using a drawknife that has a blade about 10 inches wide, with handles 7 inches from the blade. The angle of the hand grips, which are pitched below the plane of the blade, allows the shingle maker to use full arm and back strength while slicing and cleaving the wood.

You can also order froes from the west coast where handmade "shakes" --as the trade calls them -- also can be purchased. Shakes of western red cedar are produced at small mills scattered through the forested mountains. The shakes are relatively costly by the time they reach the east coast. However, when you've made 1,000 shingles on your own, you do appreciate why these building treasures cost as much as they do.

You may wish to fashion your own froe and mallet. You can make a froe from an old ice-block marker with the help of a welder who shaped the blade as you desire. The blade should be about 14 inches long with a hardwood handle 15 3/4 inches long. You can make your mallet out of a three inch diameter hardwood limb, preferably maple. It will eventually need replacing, but that's no problem if you have a woodlot. Cut the mallet about 10 inches long and shape and smooth one end for a handle (an old bowling pin makes a good substitute). 

The Train Depot has a Shaving Bench.