Text by Uroš Gantar, mag. Ing. grad., conservator ZVKDS OE Kranj
About carpentry in the past
Timber joinery used to be one of the key and more demanding building skills. In addition to timber roofing, the most common type of timber construction on heritage buildings, carpenters also made timber inter-storey timber structures and timber lining. In the case of timber-framed trestles, one of the most prominent representatives of folk heritage, often at the beginning of the 20th century, all the component parts were still made of wood, i.e. hewn - from the posts, beams, crosses, battens, rafters to the roof battens. The exception was the stone base of the foundations and the roofing made of other traditional materials (stone, straw, brick, and later cement). The carved texture of the wood is not the only condition for the durability of the wood that can be admired on centuries-old roofs, ceilings and lintels. The wood was harvested during nature's resting period and at the 'old moon' (the period between the full moon and the new moon), when the sap in the wood was at its lowest. The carpenters, in cooperation with the forest owner, purposely harvested the wood for the various structural elements in the forest. Each tree, according to its species, size, diameter, quality, durability and other unique characteristics, constituted a specific structural element. Carpentry was done from the core of the log, and the carpenter followed the geometry of the log in the geometry of the beam. For a curved beam (e.g. the lower curved connector of a trestle), a curved log was also used. This avoided the pronounced breaking of the course of the seasons and the damage to the texture of the wood that is present in sawn timber. The surface of the timber, although locally grooved and damaged by cross-cutting, is generally smooth and drains rainwater very efficiently. The bark and sapwood were removed during the sealing process. In traditional and historic construction, wooden structural elements had a constant supply of air, either by ventilation (roof trusses, roof trusses, outer faces of facade timbers) or by ventilation (roof beams). Similarly, traditional materials used in combination with wood (plaster and lime-bonded masonry) had the property of being hygroscopic, i.e. absorbing and releasing moisture from the air.
Carpentry tools
Carpenters used a wide variety of hand tools in their work, the most important of which are listed below, using dialect expressions used in the area of the Poljanska valley near Škofja Loka:
"Cimraka", also "cimermanka" - the largest carpenter's two-handled axe, used for fine wood-hewing in two stages (making cross-cuts "shaytan" and rough-hewing with a wide forestry axe followed by fine-hewing with a cimraka), in Austria called the "Kranj axe" because they were made in Carniola and Carinthia,
"Plankača" - a carpenter's two-handled axe for rough hewing in one stage, differs from the cimraka by a longer handle and a shorter and differently shaped blade; in certain geographical areas of Slovenia, the plankača was used exclusively for hewing, the texture of the hewn beams was rougher than with the cimraka,
"Bradva" - a large carpenter's two-handled axe with an elongated blade shorter than a cimrake, intended for fine beam-hewing in the second phase, German "Breitbeil", English "broadaxe",
"Žapoha" - a small carpenter's two-handled axe, with a blade similar in shape to that of the cimraka, intended for fine joinery of beams and laths of smaller dimensions,
"Puntaka" - a large carpenter's two-handled axe with a short but deep blade, which allowed holes to be made, e.g. for laths,
Malarin - a small one-handled axe for cross-cutting, driving stakes, field nailing and removing branches,
"Shinklerca" - an axe with a longer straight blade for making wooden roof shingles or "shinklns",
"Stossaxt" - two-handled chisel with wide handle for picking up sharp edges, German Stossaxt
Teslo - small, one-handled axe for hollowing out wooden troughs,
Mayapple - a peeler for peeling a tree or removing the bark from the trunk,
Scraper - a scraper for removing bark from the trunk,
Cutter - a two-handed long-bladed scraper for removing bark from the trunk and smoothing the texture of the wood,
'Scriber' - a marking string on a spindle used to draw a felling line on the log, first pushed into the paint (e.g. carpenter's red), then stretched along the length of the log and quickly released, leaving a straight colour outline on the log.
The carpenters' axes are different for left and right-handed people. The right-handed axe is held with the right hand closer to the blade, the beam being on the right side of the carpenter's body. The left-handed axe is held with the left hand closer to the blade, the beam is on the left side of the carpenter's body.
The blacksmiths who made the carpenters' axes marked them with a blacksmith's stamp and decorative engravings. The shapes were inspired by folk or sacred art and natural and floral patterns.
For efficient work and sufficient power, the weight and shape of the carpentry axes were very important. The largest carpentry axes, the 'cimrakah', had blade lengths of up to 50 cm and weighed approximately 3 kg. The blade of the 'bradva' had an approximate length of 35-40 cm and a weight similar to that of the 'cimrake'. The blade of the plankache had an approximate length of 25-30 cm and a weight similar to that of the 'cimrake' and 'bradve'. The blade of the carpenter's axes was slightly tense on a flat surface. In the case of the cimrake, the heel and toe were raised 2-3 mm from the flat surface, while the key with the socket and eye was on the flat surface. The handle of the carpenter's axe was also angled out of the plane of the beam, which allowed the carpenter to work safely and efficiently. The Cimraka was the only carpenter's axe with a round handle. All the other axes had an elliptical handle.
Implementation of a carpentry workshop in 2023
From 18 to 21 April 2023, we and ZVKDS OE Kranj, within the framework of the School of Renovation, organised a wood carving workshop on the example of a single-span trestle. The workshop took place on the Laniš farm in Podlanišče, municipality of Cerkno.
The workshop consisted of one theoretical and three practical days. The first day consisted of opening greetings by the Mayor of Cerkno, the hosts from the Laniš farm and the Association of Historic Towns of Slovenia. The lecturers - experts in the fields of cultural heritage, timber, architecture, geography, construction - continued with presentations on the ethnological heritage of the Cerkno region, the sustainability of wood, wood pests and the non-biocidal protection of wood in traditional timber construction, and the architecture of the trestle, the presentation of a manual for the use and maintenance of trestles in the area of Gorenjska villages, ways of revitalising trestles in the Zgornjesavska valley through a geolocation game, monument conservation aspects of trestle restoration - experience from Dolenjska, and a survey of single trestles with the production of documentation for a single trestle at Laniše.
In the three-day practical part, master carpenters Luka Demšar and Jože Tavčar demonstrated various carpentry techniques using hand tools. Jože Tavčar, a master carpenter from Dolenje Žetina, introduced us to the classical coarse and fine hewing of beams from logs, using a forestry broad axe and a cimraka. We also tried out the Tolmin-Cercian way of hewing with a plankaxe. Practical meaning was given to terms such as "gouging" (marking with a marking string), "shayting" (making transverse cuts in the timber up to the marking), rough and fine hewing. The participants also tried their hand at making laths for the trestle, making wooden nails for the joints, decorative joinery for the gables of the beams, making holes in the post for the laths. The basics of removing suitable timber and making roof shingles were demonstrated. After the participants had learnt and practically tested all the traditional hand carpentry techniques, Master Luka Demšar from Javorij demonstrated the execution of traditional carpentry joints and carpentry methods for use in the 21. The fine jointing was done by hand on a sawed beam, the holes for the laths were hollowed out with a machine chain-saw, the wooden nails "cveki" were made with a machine lathe. The work carried out in the workshop was included in the catalogue of skills of the National Vocational Qualification.
In mid-September 2025, the ZVKDS OE Kranj will organise a workshop on roof shingle construction and installation as part of the School of Renovation. The workshop will be held at the attractive location of the archaeological site of Ajdna in the municipality of Žirovnica. You are cordially invited to the workshop in advance.
