Wood splitter (occupation)
Collection of French court fashions: Le Fendeur de Bois (17th century) | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | Merrandier, Fendeur/Fendeuse de merrains. |
Activity sectors | Woodworking |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Good knowledge of wood, manual dexterity, endurance |
Education required | CAP/BEP in woodworking industries, apprenticeship |
Related jobs | Joiner, lumberjack, cooper. |
A wood splitter, formerly known as a “merrandier”, and nowadays as a “fendeur de merrains” or “merrains splitter”, is a woodworking professional whose activity consists of splitting - not sawing - segments of hardwood trunks (mainly oak), called logs, lengthwise, and working them into staves for cooperage. It's an age-old craft that has kept pace with the evolution of techniques over the ages, and in 21st-century France it represents a skilled job in a very active economic sector.