Viking Longship replica

[Jim Hillman]

being built on the Histroy Channel, 10pm Central. What will they use for fastenings? ;)

[StevenBauer]

11 pm Eastern. On in 15 minutes.

Steven

[StevenBauer]

That was cool. Trunnels. And rivets for the laps. Amazing how they made those stems.

Steven

[Jim Hillman]

Very cool. They should do more shows like that.

[Rick Tyler]

Great boat. Interesting television.

It wasn't clear why the head shipwright would fire a new "apprentice" after 12 days. Don't masters take on apprentices expecting them to be useless at first?

[Chris Stewart]

Guess he'd been watching too much of The Donald.

[Paul Scheuer]

Good show, with a couple of questions -

Does "pine tar" look like varnish ?

Are the laps in this type of construction normally caulked ?

What was that hatchet with the extended blade that he used on the sheer ? If you didn't see the show, it looked like a normal hatchet with the cutting edge tips extended far enough to look like a draw-knife blade. It looked more like a weapon than a tool.

[StevenBauer]

Gransfore Bruks has some like that in their axe museum:

http://www.gransfors.com/images/other/museum2.gif

Next time you're in Bergsjö,Sweden, you could pop in for a look see. :D

Steven

[StevenBauer]

Highland Hardware has this one made by Gransfors Bruks:

http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/ProductImages/axes/125802.jpg

"Ancient Axes Collection - Hand forged to order by Lars Enander, please order well in advance of need as delivery date can not be estimated.

A Danish style axe from the 11th century, although the original type is in all probability much older. The axe is characterized by its long extended edge and its curved handle.

The broad axe was first and foremost a tool used for woodworking, such as in cutting and smoothing planks for house and boat construction.

This replica, forged by hand, is based on an original from the 11th century. The original axe is on display at the Viking Museum in Roskilde, Denmark.

Curved handle: 50 cm
Length of edge: 37 cm
Weight incl. handle approx.: 1.3 kg

Please note that this axe is a special order item. A 50% deposit is required. Your credit card will be charged the deposit amount at the time of order, and the remainder when your axe ships to you."

Looks like Lars only makes these to order.

Similar to their bearded Axe:

http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/ProductImages/gransforsbruks/125840.jpg

Which they have in stock. :D

Steven

[pcford]

It wasn't clear why the head shipwright would fire a new "apprentice" after 12 days. Don't masters take on apprentices expecting them to be useless at first? My guess is that the shipwright considered attitude more important than knowledge. One of the master boatbuilders around the Seattle region, the late Frank Prothero, is said to have preferred farm boys. Willing to work hard. Not full of BS.

Lot of people that say that they know more than they really do in this business.

[lagspiller]

About the board 'caulking'...
It isn't unusual to run a groove in the board and lay a wool thread. Can't remember what it is doused with, but probably pitch.

Varnish: Good quality pitch will look a lot like varnish. It darkens a lot over the years, though. It is still used quite commonly on 'traditional' boats.

[Norske3]

Tools that look like weapons..they are weapons...never know when the enemy would show up while doing repair work in the war zone. :D