Cudgel

[aliso475]

I have a unique woodworking project on my hands: a Cudgel.
This is a tree that is dug out of the ground, cut to about 8 feet, and turned upside down so the roots are in the air.
The next step is to burn out the inside, making it hollow, so that it can me moved more easily. Then it needs to be stripped of its bark, sanded, carved, and otherwise decorated. This is a crazy college tradition for St. Pat's, which I have never done before.

My question: I am working with a white cedar, and the process of burning out the center is going quite slowly. We have drilled through the center, soaked the hole with flammable liquid, and it has only burned about 1/2 inch further. Any suggestions for faster burning?
Also, any suggestions for quickly removing the bark?
Any ideas on a hand-held power sander?
How about the best tools for carving intricate designs?
All of us working on this have very limited wood working experience, as you can see.

Thanks,
Alison

[Jim Feller]

Rolla. What fond memories. You need to hook up a length of pipe to the blower end of an old shop vac. 2" - 3" pipe 10 to 12 feet long will be fine, something cheap like galvanized pipe from a hardware store. The blower will turn the center of the tree into a furnace and you direct the pipe at the bare wood to chisel away at the interior. It takes about a half day to do a good job. Be sure to have some wet plaster (drywall compound) on hand. Someone will have to be with you to keep an eye out for "burn-through". You will see flame shoot through thin areas, or smoking through thin walled areas (imperfections and cracks also). Trowel some wet plaster into those ares to prevent unwanted holes. You can check with the Pike house if the photos didn't get detroyed in the fire recently. I did this in the early eighties. it was a blast.

Remember to think safety. The furnace analogy is real. This will get incredibly hot. Once you get it going, it will take a lot of water to shut it down. You will need sunglasses and safety glasses and a hardhat and a lot of wet towels to keep the operator cool. Have fun! Best Ever! St. Pat's 2001!!!

Best of Luck
Jim

[Jim Feller]

Forgot the other questions.

Dremels and razor sharp chisels work best for the carving.

Draw knives work best for taking off the bark.

Sand blast (rent one, seriously) to finish cleaning off the exterior.

Look into professional spray finishing after all the carving and painting is done.

Have your strongest guy start squatting real heavy now. After all your work the tree will still weigh 300-350 lbs. Do you still have to carry it 30 yds?

Jim