Printer-friendly page

Broad Ax and Adze

Historical tool demonstration, showing a man using a broad ax and adze to prepare timber for construction.

 

Duration: 
:35
Transcript: 

Video Transcript

To build a home or other building, the builder first needs to turn trees into timbers. After chopping down a tree and removing branches, the builder chops notches along the length of the tree on four sides using his ax. Next, using a broad ax, he chips and pries the bark and wood away between the notches to flatten the surface of the tree to make it square. Then, he uses an adze to smooth off each side.

Usage Statement: 

All Rights Reserved

"All rights reserved" is a traditional copyright term that indicates that the copyright holder reserves for his/her/their own use all of the rights given to copyright owners under U.S. copyright law. Items that are included in NCpedia and/or ANCHOR with this rights statement appear by agreement or permission from the rights holder or the institution that holds the item. Click "Available at" to visit the website for the collection where the item appears for more information about the rights or specific uses allowed. For all other non-specified uses, please contact the copyright holder or item owner.