Shipwright adze5/28/2023 ![]() I found that the one lipped adze that I have is the least likely to tear out chunks. Most posts and beams were produced with a broad axe, a tool I've never used, but often enough they were susequently smoothed somewhat with an adze, so it worked out OK. I used to do a lot of restorations back in New England and like you I used an adze to surface replacement posts and beams. The third one was given to me by an old friend who was dying and wanted the adze (and a nice big slick) to not end up in a dump somewhere when his non woodworking nephews inherited. I bought him a good used hoe and we were both better off. My second one was traded from a guy who was using it as a hoe. I had to tap it sideways to break it loose. It didn't hurt much, and it never bled since the adze "caulked" the wound with skin. In the process I managed to stick the adze into my shin so hard that it would stand freely when I removed my hands from the handle. My first one was acquired at a used tool store in '72, purchased to shape a tapered keel for a Crosby cat that I never finished. So I'm sure some of you guys are really proficient with this tool. It's when you miss your mark and under or over swing that causes problems and fatigue. It's these last few precise blows that really wear you out. It seems to work better to cut the edges inward, not outward because a big chunk can break off the corner. You can skew the blade a bit to avoid tear-out, and take your best guess at it around knots. This means that you are cutting perpendicular to the length of the workpiece or beam. I tend to get the best results by swinging the adze between my spread apart feet, not toward or under my feet. I suppose your foot could act as a kind of prevention against tear-out like the sole of a plane in front of the blade does.But I'm not brave/stupid enough to try it. I can't imagine why a poor hardworking adze-man would want to ruin a good pair of expensive shoes to show off his skill. You here of people so adept at using one that they could split the sole of their shoe. Look at old drawings like Moxon's and you see the stance of the fellow using it. There's a lot folklore attached to an adze. I forgot to take my wedding band off and soon got a blister right there. It's amazing how a nick so small you can't see it without a magnifying glass will translate onto the wood. I had a few nicks in the edge that I honed out. I figured I'd adze for a few minutes here and there over a few days and git'er done. I brought the beam (11 1/2" x 10" x 16 1/2', poplar) to my shop and set it on sleepers at a comfortable height off the ground. But that's what I've been doing to replace a summer beam in an old house. It's kind of a bass-ackwards aproach to take a perfectly flat rough sawn beam and adze the surface just for the effect of the tool marks. ![]() I realize they are meant to smooth and shape rougher surfaces down. It certainly wears me out, and the results are, ahem, hit and miss. How many of you ever use a carpenters adze?Ī very capable tool, I don't use one often enough to be good at it. ![]()
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