How to Peel Bark From Cedar Trees for Home Construction

Making a Bark Spud

• 1

  Select a piece of wood or a straight branch about 1 1/2 inches across and about 12 inches long.

• 2

  Cut off the ends straight across the grain and perpendicular to the length of the wood.

• 3

  Sharpen one end of the wood to a chisel point by cutting in at a 45-degree angle from about 2 inches down the shaft, leaving the other side of the wood as is. You can use this tool to help loosen the bark from the main trunk.

Peeling the Bark

• 4

  Position a freshly cut log across two strong supports such as sawhorses or tall stumps so that both ends sit at about hip height from the ground.

• 5

  Slide the edge of your knife carefully under the bark at one end of the log and wriggle it around underneath to loosen the bark so that you are able to pry a bit back from the wood.

• 6

  Use your fingertips to slowly pull the bark up and toward the other end of the log, sliding the knife or the homemade peeling spud along as you go to loosen it. Fresh bark will pull loose in long strips, and you may find you can pull away a strip the entire length of the log with practice.

• 7

  Continue prying up bark from the ends and pulling off strips – turning the log as needed -- until you complete peeling the log.