Composite Yokes??

[James]

Well Composite might be the wrong word, But Would it be possible to Take say $-5 , 2X6’s and bond them ,And make A yoke?? I was just thinking about that today. Any ideas??

[Rod]

I never made one but have done a lot of that type of thing for other uses and find the final wood piece is usually stronger than if it were one piece. You need to use good exterior glue like Tibond yellow glue with the blue letters on the bottle. I plan to try it with my next yoke and was thinking about using white oak inside with a softer wood where most of the carving is done. I have some nice basswood in the barn attic which I may try for the outside. I also talked with a professional yoke maker who told me it works good and can make a nice strong yoke if done right.

[Howie]

It works very well and if done with a little planing it can make a beautiful yoke.;;

[James]

Why I asked is I can on occasion get some Very nice Clean pieces of wood that are 3-6″ thick and 8 feet long. I was thinking ,That there might need to be Holes added and Glue wooden dowels in the holes to help Strenthen the Lumber, The wood I get is Anything from Pine to Oak, And sometimes wood from the Orient, This wood is Dunnage in shipping. I have even gotton 40 Pieces of 4X8X8 Oak one time!! So would it be best to Mix the types of Wood while laying it out for Laminating??

[CRTreeDude]

One thing to consider is your glue – make sure it will standup to the abuse as well as waterproof and it has to handle shocks.

[Roy]

The yoke I use is made of 1″x pine and is very strong.

[js2743]

i have never done it but i would think laminating marine plywood together would make a good yoke.

[Up North Louie]

I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon, but isn’t using wood from dunnage in overseas trans-shipment kinda like how we got things like Emerald Ash Borer ? I think I would want to be pretty cautious about hauling that kind of thing on to my place.

Don

[Carl Russell]

I would not spend the time required to find the materials and jointing, and gluing, but I have access to good hardwood cants. Certainly plywood would be a poor choice because the direction of the grain changes with each layer, and smoothing the baring surface would be extremely difficult.

I would think that with a little effort you could hook up with someone who could provide you with a good hunk of hardwood such as yellow birch. Even sugar maple, white oak, elm, or poplar can be strong enough. Carl

[Howie]

An easy way to find a cant for an ox yoke is to contact a tree service and have him save you a nice chunk. You can rough it out with a chain saw.
If you want the best hard wood have him get you a Norway Maple the best light wood is a Sassafras.

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