Furca et Pilae

[Scream92]

Salve all. I am thinking on beginning the construction of my Furca. Plentiful lumber around me, nothing specific, really.

My first question is, should I purchase my lumber or go out into the woods(plentiful of that), and find some wood? A Centurion from Florida that a few members here may know told me a proportionate branch would work with enough woodworking to it, opposed to the pristine T designed furca.

What would you all recommend? I've a few leather ties that I got at the Eleventh's last workshop, so a standard T furca could be made as well.

As for the pilum, should I purchase it or make my own? I am unsure whether or not the lumber required and the blacksmith cost would be equally efficient through cost as buying a premade one, as I recently saw an ashwood pilum for $120.00 USD.

Thanks,

Titus

[Sextus Saturninus]

I really cannot advise you on the Furca pole but I have heard from multiple people that Mark Morrow makes excellent, but cheap, Pila that are hand-forged and very strong. They are only a little more than the Deepeeka, but they are much better.

[Crispvs]

If you are prepared to wait a few months, you could make yourself a very strong 'T' shaped pole. I don't know what sort of woodland you have access to, and how public it is, but if you can find a sapling of a long grained species such as ash, with a trunk of a suitable thickness to comfortable grip with you hand (or slightly narrower, as will still have some growing to do), cut the top off, about five feet from the ground and strip any branches but leave the lower part of the sapling where it is. Strip any branches from the top foot of the remaining (five foot) trunk but leave the bark, along with any lower branches where they are for the time being, to allow the sampling to continue to photosynthesis and thus grow. Carefully split (don't saw if you can help it) the top foot (which you have already striped of branches) into two, and place a small wedge as far down the split as you can. Leave is a day or two to recover and then go back and make sure the wedge it firmly in place. Begin to gradually pull the split halves away from each other and add progressively larger wedges to force the ends away from each other. You may be able to tie them to other trees to hold them in the position you want. After a few weeks of attention once or twice a week, you should be able to to tie something like a length of broom handle reasonably firmly along the split length to train it into the shape you want. All this time the sapling is still growing and as you have split the grain rather than broken it, each arm should be good and strong and will be unlikely to break off from the trunk after you have cut it and put it into use. Once you have established for yourself that the two arms are now sufficiently strong and robust enough to bear the weight of bags, tools etc, you will be about ready to cut the trunk off near ground level, giving you a four foot pole with two natural arms on a 'T' shape. Strip the bark from the pole once you have cut it down and remove any remaining branches. File down the stumps of the branches so that they will not be uncomfortable for you when marching.

If you were to undertake such a project, February or march might be a good time to start, as you would get the spring and summer growing seasons to allow your split arms to thicken and strengthen. At the end of summer you would cut it so as to have it ready for the next season. As an alternative to a sapling, if you find the stump of a tree such as ash with young new trunks growing out of it, if one of them is about the right thickness that would be a good choice too.

What I am suggesting might seem like a long and inconvenient task, but it is worth remembering that until comparatively recently this is the way all sorts of things were made. Until only a few decades ago, most villages would have had a coppice bed nearby, where a variety of trees had been deliberately grown to a predetermined size and then cut down, leaving the stumps to grow (in the case of ash) quantities of straight poles for tool handles and fence strainers and for the making, by the process I described, of pitchforks, rakes and other tined tools. Coppiced hazel would provide materials for wattled fences and the wattling in wattle and daub walls, as well as woven chair seats and baskets. Coppiced willow close to a river bank would also provide whithies for weaving baskets out of. Such a bed might remain in use for decades before a new one would need to be produced and there would be a steady annual supply of poles and replacements for broken tools, as well as basket and hurdle making materials. I have little doubt that similar arrangements would have existed in Roman times and I suspect that many soldier's furcas had their origins in coppice beds, as would the fustis staves they carried to intimidate civilians, as well as spear shafts and standard poles.

If the end of summer seems too far away for you, you could always make yourself a temporary pole in the meantime by lashing a short pole across the end of a longer one, secure in the knowledge that come the next season you will have the most authentic furca on the block (or in your unit, as the case may be) and others will be in great envy of you.

Crispvs

[agrimensor]

I personal have taken a y stick from THE wood. Just make iT long enough that iT support THE weight when resting THE lengt should be Aboutaleb 1800 mm .you can then put on everything. IT can Also be used as a tentpole.
Succes

[Scream92]

Hmph. So I'd estimate the standard T furca would be the only acceptable one, or would a more crude and Y shaped furca work as well, seemingly made from a carved tree branch?

[Crispvs]

The truth is that we just don't know. Some people favour a straight pole with no cross bar and say it works well. Sadly though. none have survived (as far as I know) to show us what any were really like. I think that in all probably there would have been some variety in styles, depending on where they came from and what was available. Sadly, Trajan's Column is our only visual source and what we see there is open to interpretation (assuming it is based in any sort of reality in the first place).
One thing that you can be sure of though is that a pole with arms which have grown as part of the pole will generally be stronger than one with arms which have been otherwise attached. Then again, a pole with no arms at all has at least two less possible failure points. You pay your money and you take your choice, as they say.

Crispvs

[agrimensor]

this mine

[attachment=11523]furca2.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=11522]furca_2015-01-13.jpg[/attachment]
as you can see inthe second it is relaxing to make it longer.

[PhilusEstilius]

Titus.
Where you mention making your own pilum it should be made as an all in one piece woodwork wise, not one of these cheep things with a wood block stuck onto the top of a pole and it's not an expensive job to do.