Replies

1. 
   MBerger | Jun 13, 2008 03:01pm | #1

   Gallery Description: "When introduced to split-wood products, Mott was taken by the striking texture of the lumber but disappointed by the tool marks left from prying the wood apart. He now splits his own lumber by opening a crack and then using a heavy-lift air bag and a bicycle pump to separate the wood without marring it... The tung-oil finish is applied only after the panels are burnished with a palm-fiber brush and buffed with leather, and any small splinters are pulled off with dental floss."

   After re-reading the description of those panels it sounds like "split wood" is a product you can buy (although I've never heard of it) or make on your own through a process called "riving."

   Riving wood involves splitting green lumber along the grain (rather than cutting it and crossing the grain). It' the process you go through when splitting firewood, only its more precise. It is traditionally used when making post-and-rung chairs, as described in the following article:

   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=25697

   - Matt

1. 
   RyanShaw | Jul 02, 2008 12:48am | #2

   Thank you... just got back into town and saw your message. I've got plenty of experience splitting firewood, it's the "more precise" part that could prove tricky. I guess there's nothing to do but get some palm fiber, leather, and dental floss and give it a try.