The Shed

Picture The forge and all its tools are housed in a shed that I built. It is a pole shed whose frame consists of 4 X 4 upright posts with 1 X 4 horizontal sheathing for the siding. The overhang side is 10 feet wide by 24 feet deep and contains the forge and its tools. The gable side is 12 feet wide by 24 feet deep and stores the tractors and engines. The shed's sides are hand rived Loblolly Pine board shingles 24" long (1,784 of 'em). The bottom course of side shingles are oak with cedar on the doors. Light is provided by using plastic skylights in the tin roof. There is no electricity available in the shed, so everything is done by hand. The ox yoke was made for decoration only. Notice the ox shoe above the yoke. A sign has been added under the yoke since this picture was taken.
Picture Shown are the board shingles that I have rived out of Loblolly Pine and the froes and mallet used for riving. The average thickness of the shingles is between 1/4 and 3/8". I actually got some shingles 18" wide by riving across the grain. Notice the pile of "hearts" obtained from the wood. These shingles have been on the shed for over 10 years and are still sound.