De-Barking Wood

My son Travis got a quick job from the neighbors taking the bark off wood (they are building a cabin). It's an easy $100, so why not. 

I totally admit neither of us knew how to de-bark wood, but a quick lesson from the neighbor had us going in minutes.

Travis has done the majority of them, but I've helped with a few as I like to help and learn new skills.

The neighbors are using them for railing posts. They have to have the bark removed so they don't rot (The bark seals in moisture which causes rotting. Also with the bark removed they can be properly sealed (for better longevity)

The photo below shows one completely done (the golden coloured one), one that just needs to have it's white underbark removed (sorry, not sure what it's called), one half done, and one not done at all.

So how does one remove bark from wood?

As my son Travis shows in the photo below, you use a sharp knife and peel the bark off. I found the rough outside bark was fairly easy to remove, but there is a thin white bark that I found much harder to get off. It was sort of sticky and thin, and I could only get it off in thin small strips.

I totally ended up with a giant blister on my thumb (cause I'm a wuss), but overall I found it very relaxing work. I had a nice afternoon sitting with my son chatting de-barking the wood.