Using a Froe

By Paul VanKeuren, Customer Service 

Everybody knows what an axe is. Many people know what an adze is. Who knows what a froe is?

A froe is an ‘L’ shaped tool for splitting wood precisely, and the process of splitting wood this way is called riving. This tool is incredibly handy for splitting wood into kindling safely and quickly or even into boards. Boards and shakes created by riving are often stronger and more dimensionally stable than sawn boards. This is because almost all the wood fibers can run all the way from one end of the board to the other. It also is less wasteful, meaning you can get more roof shakes out of a single cedar log.


 To use a froe on short stock, place the tool on the end of the log as shown. Then with a wooden mallet or cudgel, strike the back of the froe to drive it into the log. Once it is well seated in the log, use the handle like a lever and pry the log apart. Never use an axe or metal hammer on a froe, doing so may damage your tools and the shrapnel could hurt someone.

 Straight grained GREEN wood is the best to use a froe on. Knots can make riving quite difficult, but proper placement of the froe and splitting where the wood is straight can help. I have had good results with green ash and some oak. Birch is also excellent, however you will want to cut the bark off or in vertical lines as it will hold the log together when you try to split it. Cedar is the traditional wood for roof shakes/shingles, and riving is also an efficient way to split basswood into smaller blocks for figure carving. It is good to experiment with the different woods you have available.

Carpenter Bee Control for Log Homes

For Log Homes, the large carpenter bees or Xylocopa do the most damage, boring approximately 1/2" diameter tunnels into logs and other wood surfaces including decks, overhangs, fence rails, etc. Carpenter Bee tunnels become a threat for infestation of wood-decaying fungi or other insects, such as carpenter ants.

Treatments: Insecticidal sprays and dusts such as those included in the Carpenter Bee Kit are available. These types of products may need to be applied every couple of weeks for awhile to ensure effectiveness. Liquid spray concentrates like Bee-Gone are diluted in water, and then applied to the structures with a pump-style garden sprayer. Apply them at night while the hive is asleep for maximum impact. Beware that some insecticides have been banned but not yet removed from store shelves. Consider the potential health risks of using such poisons in your home (young children are the most susceptible). If you have an exterminator do the job professionally, find out what they are using and if those insecticides have been banned in your area. If you are having or have had problems with Carpenter bees, consider adding NBS 30 to your finish when you recoat your house again. If chemicals aren't your bag, you can give the kids a project with a couple of fly swatters. The males don't sting and the females are known to be more reluctant to stinging, unlike other bees, wasps, and hornets.

However you choose to rid your logs of carpenter bees, consider spraying Tim-bor or Shell Guard RTU in the tunnels afterwards to help guard against wood-decaying fungi. Just mix up some Tim-bor in a spray bottle, pump sprayer, or squeeze bottle and administer it into the holes. Also, be sure to seal off the tunnel entrances by pounding in wooden dowels or by using Caulking, wood putty, or by mixing WoodEpox and sawdust.