To prevent the fire from smothering, the ashes and charred wood were removed by chiseling. However, many tribes preferred to fell their trees by chipping alone. Modern experimenters felled a two foot diameter fir tree with a polished stone celt in 18 minutes without damage to the stone blade. The interior was removed by cutting small grooves across the grain. The wood was then removed between the grooves by controlled splitting.
Modern carpenters use the same method installing locksets and hinges in doors.
The rough shaped hull was usually left where it was felled during the winter in which time the wood seasoned to some extent. In the early spring the hull was floated to the village where the master canoe-maker, with a helper or two, would work on it a few hours each morning. Working more like a sculptor than a canoe-maker, the craftsman shaped the outside of the hull first, guided only by the eye. The adz marks on the finished hull were all equally spaced and of the same depth, forming beautiful rhythmic patterns. The inside of the hull was out next.