Can I Cant A Cant, or Cant I Cant A Cant,, The Question Is A Little Peavey,,,,,,,,,,,

[Woodchuckels]

Excellent job SweetMK, making your own tools is half the fun of getting out in the woods and cutting.

 

[Hermio]

How a tool is used doesn't change what it is. If I pound a nail with a wrench, it's still a wrench.

They both work well for turning logs. I've never heard that a peavey is better for long logs. Can't think of a reason why that would be unless it's because it can more easily be jammed between logs to pry them apart where a cant hook won't. A cant hook can be used to grab and drag logs where a peavey won't. A peavey can be stuck in the dirt to stand it up so you don't misplace it in the leaves or get the handle covered in mud. In most cases, they're interchangeable, but sometimes one is nicer than the other.

I have a peavey and a cant hook. I prefer the cant hook, as it does not tend to slide across the log while turning.

 

[SweetMK]

Well the cant is finished,, I guess I can make a cant hook, but, it will be a while before it ever touches a cant.

It tossed that 12" X 12 foot long piece of Locust anywhere I wanted it to go,,, effortlessly.
Setting next to it is a pickaroon, that I built at the same time. It took three tries to grind the end shape where it would work.
I may thin the tip of the pickaroon,, a little more.

Here is the cant biting a 24" oak that my SIL swears he is gonna mill,,, "some day" LOL!!

The cant easily moved that log,, a little,, it is surrounded,,

That oak in the above pic is setting on a ~8 inch hickory,, surprisingly, the pickaroon penetrated the hickory effortlessly.

So, this project is done,, thanks for spending a few days guiding me through this project,,
I am OK with a welding rod,, but,, normally, I only stuff wood in a fire,,

 

[Bearcreek]

Well the cant is finished,, I guess I can make a cant hook, but, it will be a while before it ever touches a cant.

It tossed that 12" X 12 foot long piece of Locust anywhere I wanted it to go,,, effortlessly.
Setting next to it is a pickaroon, that I built at the same time. It took three tries to grind the end shape where it would work.
I may thin the tip of the pickaroon,, a little more.

Here is the cant biting a 24" oak that my SIL swears he is gonna mill,,, "some day" LOL!!

The cant easily moved that log,, a little,, it is surrounded,,

That oak in the above pic is setting on a ~8 inch hickory,, surprisingly, the pickaroon penetrated the hickory effortlessly.

So, this project is done,, thanks for spending a few days guiding me through this project,,
I am OK with a welding rod,, but,, normally, I only stuff wood in a fire,,

Maybe you misunderstood me before. There are no cants in those pictures. A cant is a squared off log.

 

[SweetMK]

Maybe you misunderstood me before. There are no cants in those pictures. A cant is a squared off log.

Exactly, that is why I said it might be a LONG WHILE before my cant hook ever touches a cant..
it may never touch a cant,, Thanks!!

 

[Okie]

Good job on yours.
Stamp your name into the bracket.
Paint the pickaroon bright org or lime green.
I started adding some flo org paint to my tools that I use in the woods especially ends of my log chains. Some tools are hard to find if you miss them couple weeks later knowing you left them in the woods SOMEWHERE.

picture of a good one.
http://www.pickaroon.com/
My cant's have about 3 or 4, about 1/4 inch deep, coarse grooves (teeth) ground (cut) into the steel cross piece on the end of the handle and the coarse teeth give it a good bite and chips off the bark easier as compared to your solid one. (reduces the chance of slipping as it gets a bite on the bark at the very end of the handle)

 

[rwoods]

Have you tested the stand? Your geometry looks better than the one I tried to use.

Ron

 

[SweetMK]

Have you tested the stand? Your geometry looks better than the one I tried to use.

Ron

Yea, that was the first thing I did,, but, the pic was not great, so I did not show it before,,

The cant would work on a 20",, maybe a little bigger. I was watching where the C/G was as I rolled the log up on the cant.

At first, before I tried it, I thought I might have to bend the leg a little more,, but, it did not need it,,

 

[Cricket]

Good job on yours.
Stamp your name into the bracket.
Paint the pickaroon bright org or lime green.
I started adding some flo org paint to my tools that I use in the woods especially ends of my log chains. Some tools are hard to find if you miss them couple weeks later knowing you left them in the woods SOMEWHERE.

picture of a good one.
http://www.pickaroon.com/
My cant's have about 3 or 4, about 1/4 inch deep, coarse grooves (teeth) ground (cut) into the steel cross piece on the end of the handle and the coarse teeth give it a good bite and chips off the bark easier as compared to your solid one. (reduces the chance of slipping as it gets a bite on the bark at the very end of the handle)

I am the proud owner of three pickaroons because it took me that long to learn to paint the damn things.

 

[Cricket]

From a design standpoint the longer you make the leg the less mechanical advantage you will have, IE it will be hard to lift the log with. 8" to me sounds fair much longer and it becomes harder to lift the wood, much shorter and you risk dropping the tip of the bar into the dirt when you are tired. if you can't keep the tip of the bar out of the dirt with 8" you could always bring a small piece of plywood to toss under to prevent using your freshly sharpened chain as an excavation device

And if you are 5' tall and weight 125#, if you make it stand up too high, you'll just dangle pathetically from the end of the handle until someone heavier comes along to rescue you.

 

[SweetMK]

And if you are 5' tall and weight 125#, if you make it stand up too high, you'll just dangle pathetically from the end of the handle until someone heavier comes along to rescue you.

I am 6'7",,, 260 pounds,, I tried a 42" cant hook, I thought I was gonna have to get down on my knees to use it,,
The one I built is 48",, just barely long enough,, but the lifting foot raises it when you are elevating a log to cut.

So, it seems like with the elevating foot, it is the right height,, for ME,, that might not be true for "normal" people,,

 

[Hermio]

Well the cant is finished,, I guess I can make a cant hook, but, it will be a while before it ever touches a cant.

It tossed that 12" X 12 foot long piece of Locust anywhere I wanted it to go,,, effortlessly.
Setting next to it is a pickaroon, that I built at the same time. It took three tries to grind the end shape where it would work.
I may thin the tip of the pickaroon,, a little more.

Here is the cant biting a 24" oak that my SIL swears he is gonna mill,,, "some day" LOL!!

The cant easily moved that log,, a little,, it is surrounded,,

That oak in the above pic is setting on a ~8 inch hickory,, surprisingly, the pickaroon penetrated the hickory effortlessly.

So, this project is done,, thanks for spending a few days guiding me through this project,,
I am OK with a welding rod,, but,, normally, I only stuff wood in a fire,,

Beautiful job on the cant hook! The pickaroon looks a little heavy to use for lifting and throwing logs.

 

[SweetMK]

Beautiful job on the cant hook! The pickaroon looks a little heavy to use for lifting and throwing logs.

That pickaroon is two sizes of 1/8" wall steel tubing,
The rectangular half was added so that the direction of the tool has "feel"
The square part was added because it fit over the 1" solid round bar.

The last 6" has the solid round bar inside for inertia to drive the pick into the wood.
It is also there so the bolt going through the end has something besides thin wall tube for support.

The bolt is a tooling hold down bolt for a milling machine,, it is harder than Grade 8.

The entire tool is actually rather light.

Now,, the cant hook is no lightweight,,
your 10 year old grandson is NOT gonna carry it for you!! LOL!!

 

[Hermio]

That pickaroon is two sizes of 1/8" wall steel tubing,
The rectangular half was added so that the direction of the tool has "feel"
The square part was added because it fit over the 1" solid round bar.

The last 6" has the solid round bar inside for inertia to drive the pick into the wood.
It is also there so the bolt going through the end has something besides thin wall tube for support.

The bolt is a tooling hold down bolt for a milling machine,, it is harder than Grade 8.

The entire tool is actually rather light.

Now,, the cant hook is no lightweight,,
your 10 year old grandson is NOT gonna carry it for you!! LOL!!

How did you know I had a 10 year old grandson? (He would try to carry it!)

 

[SweetMK]

How did you know I had a 10 year old grandson? (He would try to carry it!)

I guessed,, because I have several around that age,,

 

[Wow]

Just my 2 cents. (from cant hook experience when cutting the larger firewood logs
I happen to have two cant hooks with good handles that I got at different times dirt cheap at garage sales.
I cut lots of firewood.
I use both cants often and was going to put a lifting leg on one (I have welder, cutting torch and could easily do such) BUT
Some of the main tree trunks I get into are large and require splitting after cutting to firewood length.
For me cutting firewood in usually deep leaves and rocks underneath the logs or main trimmed tree trunks my two cant hooks really work better if I just cut some (usually several) smaller limbs and place beside the larger firewood logs, roll the trimmed log unto the limbs to hold the log off the ground and cut firewood the full length of the log once it's up off the ground. If it's a really big log I sometimes cut part way through before i roll it onto the limbs and I make a upsweep cut from the previous kerf if it looks like it might bind the saw doing a downward cut.
A lifting foot would not be user friendly for me if I only had one cant hook because the cant with leg is trapped under a heavy log and require lots of grunt to get a heavy log onto the leg and off the ground.

I do EXACTLY the same thing. People see me Rolling logs, running a big saw and when I say I'm only 75 they can't believe my age. I love hard work. Im not hurting for money but I get a great deal of joy out of working, building, creating, learning, taking classes (now on line) and using mind and hands. After getting my Associates degree in Electrical I built a 120 volt ac stick welder from scrap Microwaves. I bought a few parts total cost to me 16 dollars. I didn't need another welding machine I have a Lincoln welder. I love the little machine. It's handy and is amazing on light metal. I wouldn't call myself a normal person. I'm gifted. Designed my own sailboat, built it included the sail. Studied on line taught myself how to sail. Boy that's fun. Had to stop teaching Square Dancing due to back problems but my life is full. Building wedges, and other things appeal to my zest for creating. I'm sure there are some guys on this group a lot like that too. It doesn't take long to make a nice wedge. Last night In my spare time, I made 4 more. It doesn't take long and I smiled as I thought. That was a quick 20 bucks. Wooden wedges made out of Oak don't seem to last as long as Elm, Hickory and Persimmon. I've still got a few very old ones. I've broke VERY FEW. I'd still have plenty if I'd stop giving them away.

 

[Cricket]

I am 6'7",,, 260 pounds,, I tried a 42" cant hook, I thought I was gonna have to get down on my knees to use it,,
The one I built is 48",, just barely long enough,, but the lifting foot raises it when you are elevating a log to cut.

So, it seems like with the elevating foot, it is the right height,, for ME,, that might not be true for "normal" people,,

Sounds like we're both "not normal" people, just at opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

[TRTermite]

Very nice work . I would use just the BLO on a hand tool . BLO soaks into the wood as apposed to bee's wax or carnauba that coats the surface. Not fun trying to hold onto a waxed handle .

You need to get the bees wax very hot yet it has a low flash point the wax will displace most of the moisture in the wood. I was thinking about honey hive boxes but one downside is the extra weight gain in the wood

 

[TRTermite]

I have a peavey and a cant hook. I prefer the cant hook, as it does not tend to slide across the log while turning.

Agree with you and I can use the cant hook to lit the end of a log (within reason) to shuffle it one way or another. Lots of options come with experience. I have even scratched my back on occasion.

 

[j-jock]

Looks good. Wouldn't mess with the leg myself, but to each his own. I could see it being useful for some folks. FYI, that's a cant hook, not a cant. A "cant" is a squared off log. A beam, basically. It's what a "cant hook" was designed to turn.

As a kid, I was a cantor in a five man mill, and according to what I learned about the terminology in central BC in the 50s, your description is correct. It is kind of fun, telling people I used to do a job that doesn't exist anymore.