[AT] OT Barn floor question

[Dave Merchant]

From:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/p1/puncheon.asp

pmn´chen) , plank or board made by hewing instead of sawing. American 
pioneers who could not procure the products of sawmills made much use of 
puncheons in their log buildings. The puncheons used for floors were split 
logs hewn smooth on the split side only.

From:

http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/puncheon


Meaning of PUNCHEON

31552822.jpg

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

   Definition:
\Punch"eon\, n. [F. poin[,c]on awl, bodkin, crown,
king-post, fr. L. punctio a pricking, fr. pungere to prick.
See {Pungent}, and cf. {Punch} a tool, {Punction}.]
1. A figured stamp, die, or punch, used by goldsmiths,
    cutlers, etc.

2. (Carp.) A short, upright piece of timber in framing; a
    short post; an intermediate stud. --Oxf. Gloss.

3. A split log or heavy slab with the face smoothed; as, a
    floor made of puncheons. [U.S.] --Bartlett.

4. [F. poin[,c]on, perh. the same as poin[,c]on an awl.] A
    cask containing, sometimes 84, sometimes 120, gallons.




Dave Merchant


At 01:06 PM 10/19/2004, you wrote:

>>Hi Larry:
>>
>>         Those are called "puncheon" floors... The old high school wood 
>> shop here had those. They seemed to work very well. The shop in the new 
>> high school where I went my senior year just had concrete. I took down a 
>> chicken house on an uncles place that had one. Well, actually a tornado 
>> took it down, I just cleaned up the mess for them. The one in the school 
>> shop was almost perfect and I always assumed that there was a concrete 
>> floor under it. A lot of the old ones were treated with creosote or oil. 
>> I seem to recall puncheon also referring to some kind of use of animal grease ?
>>
>>
>>         I remember the floors in the wood shop at BSU in the early 
>> 1960's. Somebody had a "stupid attack"... They were maple hardwood 
>> floors with a thick finish and waxed so much that you could hardly stand 
>> up on them. I remember trying to plane boards by hand and not being able 
>> to keep my feet under me while pushing hard enough to plane the wood.
>>
>>
>>"farmer"
>
>
>
>         ###############################
>         Sorry guys. I have no idea what happened to that message... I 
> just copy and pasted the text of the definition and it apparently went 
> nuts when I sent it...
>
>
>
>"farmer"
>
>Francis Robinson
>Central Indiana, USA
>robinson at svs.net
>_______________________________________________
>AT mailing list
>http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at

Dave Merchant
kosh at nesys.com
nesys_com at ameritech.net

http://www.nesys.com
http://www.nesys.org