Removing bark from branches?

[tkarlmann]

My neighbor trimmed her tree big time, and I harvested what I could. I would like to try my hand at making rustic furniture from this wood. I have branches 1"-2" Dia. Collected around July of this year.

What is the best way to remove the bark?

[gwyneth]

Although modern woodworkers would suggest a drawknife, traditional workers either used a barking iron or started it with any knife and pulled it through a peeling brake. That's the method we used as Girl Scouts.

You can make a peeling brake by splitting a small log about 1/2 its length and standing it up in the ground so, in effect you've got a Y- or V- shape, the legs of which will catch the bark.

Two old planer blades make an excellent peeling brake--just stick them in the ground with the sharp sides forming a V-shape and pull the branch through the narrow part.

This link shows ancient Egyptians working wood--they kept the bark on for insulation as they heated branches to bend them.

http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/trades/carpenters.htm
Carpenters and their tools

[tkarlmann]

Although modern woodworkers would suggest a drawknife, traditional workers either used a barking iron or started it with any knife and pulled it through a peeling brake. That's the method we used as Girl Scouts.

You can make a peeling brake by splitting a small log about 1/2 its length and standing it up in the ground so, in effect you've got a Y- or V- shape, the legs of which will catch the bark.

Two old planer blades make an excellent peeling brake--just stick them in the ground with the sharp sides forming a V-shape and pull the branch through the narrow part.

This link shows ancient Egyptians working wood--they kept the bark on for insulation as they heated branches to bend them.

http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/trades/carpenters.htm
Carpenters and their tools

Thanks for your response, but the description is a bit hard to follow. What does the log do? Where do the blades go? Putting them in the ground may not hold up well. Also, I have a lot of forked branches.

Wouldn't a box cutter set to bark-depth do the same thing?

No one has mentioned any type of soaking to get bark off??

More help required.