Hand-Hewn Skins

Hand-Hewn Skins

Specification Sheet #7215 - Hand-Hewn Skins / Pressed Middles

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Height

Width

Length

Quantity

2"

Rand 8-12"

Rand 4-16'

min: 250 sf

Related Productline Pages

Hand-Hewn Skins
Hand-Hewn Skins Siding

Specification Sheet #7215 - Hand-Hewn Skins / Pressed Middles

Introduction

When the first settlers moved into new regions of our expanding nation, they cleared small plots of ground for subsistence farming and used the felled trees for logs and timbers to construct homes for themselves and barns for their livestock. Because these resourceful settlers had to use what was available to them, they often did not discriminate among wood species--if the trees they felled were solid and durable they were used in the needed structures. It is in that same spirit of resourcefulness, economy, and good stewardship that Trestlewood offers its Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles.

Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles are two different products that are generally produced from the same source: hand-hewn sleeper logs. Hand-Hewn sleeper logs are typically logs that were cut/hewn with a broad axe or adze on two faces and left with two rounded log faces. Trestlewood produces its Hand-Hewn Skins by cutting 2"+/- skins off the hewn faces of the sleeper logs. This leaves a "middle" with two rounded log faces and two fresh-cut faces. Trestlewood produces its Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles by cutting the middles into 2"+/- lumber; laying this 2" lumber out to weather; then running the weathered 2" lumber through a press process that adds faux hew marks to the weathered face. Trestlewood sometimes uses proprietary juicing processes to help accelerate the weathering process.

Species

Mixed Species. May include Oak, Elm, Hickory, Ash, Maple, Beech, Poplar, Pine, Fir, Spruce, Cedar, others. Species mix will be different from batch to batch. Trestlewood generally does not sort this product for a specific species.

Source

Barns, corncribs, stables, mills, homes and other buildings and agricultural/industrial structures from different locations in North America

Standard Dimensions

a) Thickness: 2" approximate (actual thickness can vary a decent amount within a given board because the timbers from which these boards are cut are not exact and the sawing process is not exact); b) Width: 8"+ (often 8-12"); c) Lengths: 6' to 16'; d) Size flexibility: the more latitude the customer can provide in acceptable siding sizes, the better able Trestlewood is to meet the customer's siding needs in an economical and timely manner; e) Manner of Measurement: Dimensions of Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles may vary from one end of a piece to the other end of the piece. Trestlewood measures each piece on the wider face and rounds width dimensions to the nearest whole inch in tallying board footages (for example, a piece measuring 8.5" wide would be tallied as 9"; a piece measuring 9.375" would be tallied as 9".) Where pieces vary in dimension at different points along the piece, Trestlewood will use its best efforts to average width measurements to arrive at an equitable count. Lengths are billed on actual length shipped.

Available Dimensions

a) Width: depending on inventory in stock (widths sold in the past include up to 14" wide);
b) Lengths: depending on inventory in stock. Please contact your Trestlewood representative for available sizes.

Moisture Content/Stability

Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles are generally seasoned and more stable and less prone to shrinkage than is new "green" material. Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles are generally stored outside --> they can be wet in the winter and other periods of wet weather.

Metal

Nails, bolts and other fasteners are removed or occasionally cut flush or broken off inside the material.

Mortise Pockets/Notches/Holes

Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles generally have very few holes or mortise pockets. An occasional hole or mortise pocket is acceptable, however.

Checking/Cracks

Hand-Hewn Skins and Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles can have significant butt and surface checking and cracks and minor end splitting; many pieces have dark checking and weathering. Each piece will be solid and sound (i.e., a piece that is falling apart will be removed from the sort.)

HC/FOHC

Hand-Hewn Skins are almost exclusively FOHC; Hand-Hewn Pressed Middles can include both FOHC and HC pieces.

Surfacing

Weathered (degree of weathering varies); original face surface of most boards was hewn by broad axe or adze (up to 1/3 of boards can have sawn surfaces without hew marks or sawn surfaces with hew marks added by Trestlewood), and has been weathered and worn over time; reverse face is band-sawn or circle-sawn (each piece is cut from a timber or sleeper); the edges are generally rounded, though an occasional piece will have square edges. Bark is allowed but not required. Hand-Hewn Skin colors vary -- common colors include browns (common for interior weathered timbers), grays (common for exterior weathered timbers) and combinations of browns and grays. Hand-Hewn Pressed Middle colors can include both gray and brown tones; they are often heavier to grays.

Weight

Depending on species mix. Typically, approximately 3.5 pounds per board foot

Surface Rot

The hewn surface and edges of this product may have rot or other degradation. Trestlewood will sort out pieces which are unsound as a result of extensive rot. The rustic nature of this product is enhanced by some surface degradation; such surface degradation should be expected.

Appearance Variation

Boards can vary in appearance from piece to piece and even within a piece. The characteristics described on this specification sheet generally apply to each board's featured face. The opposite face and edges can differ from the featured face in texture, coloring, and other characteristics unless otherwise noted. Weathered lumber / barnwood will have at least one weathered face. The opposite face and edges can be any combination of weathered and fresh-sawn. If weathered, the weathering will often be different (amount, mix of colors, etc) than on the featured face.

Trestlewood sometimes uses one or more juicing processes to help fresh-sawn and/or less weathered/aged faces/edges blend in with weathered faces/edges. All else being equal, juicing is more likely to be used in situations where (a) lumber is cut from timbers or wider lumber (thereby creating fresh-cut faces and/or edges); (b) Buyer wants all (or most) faces/edges to be weathered/aged; (c) Buyer desires to increase the consistency of the weathered/aged look from face to face; and/or (d) Buyer wants a darker weathered look.