removing bark

[mr_skittle]

I've got a piece of walnut that has some live edge. I hope to use it as a breadboard end for a table but want to get the bark off. It is very stubborn and not wanting to come off. Does anyone have a method to remove it that will not mar up the natural edge I want to leave? I've tried a putty knife and chisel. The chisel works OK but is not friendly to the finished surface. 

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[Bill Wilson]

I've got a piece of walnut that has some live edge. I hope to use it as a breadboard end for a table but want to get the bark off. It is very stubborn and not wanting to come off. Does anyone have a method to remove it that will not mar up the natural edge I want to leave? I've tried a putty knife and chisel. The chisel works OK but is not friendly to the finished surface. 

 

I think a draw knife is what is traditionally used for that task.  Maybe remove the bulk with a draw knife, then finish it up with a spokeshave?

[jteneyck]

I've got a piece of walnut that has some live edge. I hope to use it as a breadboard end for a table but want to get the bark off. It is very stubborn and not wanting to come off. Does anyone have a method to remove it that will not mar up the natural edge I want to leave? I've tried a putty knife and chisel. The chisel works OK but is not friendly to the finished surface. 

 

Don Juvet used to say just whack it off any way that's convenient.  He ground and sanded the edge anyway so a little damage removing the bark didn't matter.  I always thought he was wrong, until I did a couple of them, too.  You really do have to sand away some of that edge to get to firm wood, and you definitely don't want to leave snags that will grab someone's clothing.  I used a putty knife and mallet but a draw knife makes good sense. 

John

[Steve N]

Drawknife usually does a sweet job, and you can get good control pretty quickly. Now if there is a LOT of bark to remove, or if it is especially tough to come off I have seen a grinder used more than once. It's moved with the grain in lite strokes.

[barryvabeach]

Drawknife usually does a sweet job, and you can get good control pretty quickly. Now if there is a LOT of bark to remove, or if it is especially tough to come off I have seen a grinder used more than once. It's moved with the grain in lite strokes.

+1 with Steve.  I just did a few boards of walnut, and the drawknife worked great.    An old style spokeshave might work if it opened wide enough and you took your time.

[petertay15]

When cutting firewood, the bark tends to fall off if it is wet.

[Hank Knight]

Remove the bulk of the bark with a draw knife, as others have recommended. Remove the remainder with a flap sander on an angle grinder. Unlike a draw knife or a spoke shave, the flap sander will ganerally conform to the live edge of the board and leave a more natural and pleasing result.

[Herb G]

I used a very sharp hatchet the few times I had to do it.

[mr_skittle]

A drawknife DUH! I have one but have only ever used it to make stakes for my yard and garden. Its not sharpened very well but it did the job perfectly. I left just a little remnants of the bark to sand off later. Thanks for the Input everyone.

[MichaelMouse]

A drawknife DUH! I have one but have only ever used it to make stakes for my yard and garden. Its not sharpened very well but it did the job perfectly. I left just a little remnants of the bark to sand off later. Thanks for the Input everyone.

Make a beech or similar wooden "chisel", and smack it with a mallet in a direction parallel to the cambium.  Will get enough off without gouging so you can clean up with smaller tools, for instance crushing it with a smaller wooden chisel or abrading with a wire brush, if you can accept a bit of texture.  Experiment.