Caught in the act!
For some reason folks always give us a hard time when they see us working with a chainsaw. Somehow there is an expectation that since we work on old structures we must perform our craft as purists… using only hand tools of the period.
Certainly we have all the standard tools of that period and to be honest quite often they are the best tool for a particular job even to this day. But when it comes to cutting a log to length or quickly removing wood you just can’t beat a Stihl 026.
I did once have a fine young man join the crew who had been working as a housesmith at Colonial Williamsburg. I was so excited at the potential of what he could bring to the crew. But, he quit after the first day, much against my encouragement for him to not give up. He said that the pace of work was much more than he could endure, that he had grown used to swinging an axe and then pausing to explain the process to the tourists, and then onto swing the axe yet again, before pausing once more.
Originally posted 2015-05-25 18:41:33.