In N America the highly trained and experienced craftsmen worked mainly in the cities and towns settlers and farmers, in urgent need of dwellings and furnishings, often had to be their own carpenters. Government immigration pamphlets encouraged settlers to bring a "good box with tools." These implements were used to fell trees, to build shelters, FURNITURE and vehicles, and to make a range of objects for the home and farm (ie, WOODENWARE). Industrialization, accompanied by machine TECHNOLOGY, made such craftsmanship redundant and the older tools are collected today as reminders of our pioneer past. The following is a short list of selected woodworking tools. Of all the woodworking tools brought from Europe, the axe was the most widely used and most urgently needed, for it was the tool that cleared the land and provided wood for construction and fuel. The European axe was not well suited to pioneer conditions, and in the course of settlement British colonists developed the American axe. The blade of this implement is moderately flared and the socket for the handle is long the head is extended above the socket as a narrow, hammerlike poll.
The handle (helve) is also distinctive, having an S-curve, which allows for a more natural sliding movement of the right hand during the stroke. The pioneer dwelling, the LOG HOUSE, was constructed by placing logs one above the other to form 4 walls, the corners being secured by some form of joint. The logs were usually squared, ie, the convexities on all 4 sides were chopped away to form a roughly squared cross section. Squaring was done with a broadaxe, in which the cutting edge was long and the blade flat on one side, concave on the other. In use, the hewer stood near the log and swung the axe in a vertical arc, working his way along the log and leaving a neatly defined flat side.Ī variety of small axes (hatchets) were developed for special applications. In the adze, used for fine trimming of timbers, the blade is at right angles to the socket and handle, and slopes or curves slightly toward the user. The saw, next to the axe the most basic woodworking tool, is a flat metal blade, with one serrated edge. In most saws the teeth are "set," ie, bent a little, alternately, to one side or the other, to produce a cut (kerf) wider than the blade, thus avoiding binding. The saw was used primarily to produce boards. A pit saw, ie, a long blade with large teeth and a handle at each end, was employed.
It was operated by 2 men the log was propped up at one end or extended over a pit.
When boards were available, the handsaw was the most important tool for cutting. There are 2 kinds of handsaw: the crosscut saw, a smaller saw, with finer, pointed teeth, intended for cutting across the grain of the wood and the ripsaw, which has larger teeth with chisellike points, for cutting with the grain. The keyhole saw, used for cutting circular openings or curved edges, has a very narrow tapering blade. The tenon saw, a short wide blade with the upper edge reinforced with a metal bar, is used for making fine cuts at various angles. Framed saws have narrow flexible blades, kept rigid by a springy bow (bucksaw) or a twisted rope stretched between extensions of the handle (bow saw).
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