The Handyman's Book of Tools, Materials, and Processes Employed in Woodworking. Paul N. Hasluck
fibres in succession. For, assuming the axe falls square on its work in the direction of the fibres, a convex edge will first separate two fibres, and in doing this it will release a portion of the bond which holds adjoining fibres. An edge thus convex, progressing at each side of the convexity which first strikes the wood, facilitates the entrance of successive portions from the middle outwards. If the edge had been straight and fallen parallel to itself upon the end of the wood, none of this preliminary preparation would have taken place; on the contrary, in all probability there would have been in some parts a progressive condensation of fibres, and to that extent an increase in the difficulty of the work. The wedge-form of axe generally, but not always, has equally inclined sides. Assume that one face only is inclined, and that the plane of the other is continuous to the edge; now in striking a blow, it is obvious that the plane in the line of the fibres cannot cause any separation of these fibres, but at the other side of the axe the slope entering the wood will separate the fibres on its own side. For some work, the axe with unequally inclined faces may be preferable, for instance in chopping the projecting corners from a square log in preparing it for the lathe; this tool (Fig. 341) would do the work with greater ease to the workman, and with a higher finish than would the common hatchet with equally inclined sides. Coach-makers have much of this class of hatchetparing work to do, and the tool they use is bevelled on one side only; under where the handle enters the eye in a coachmaker’s axe (see Fig. 341) is a projection rising towards the handle; on this the finger of the workman rests in order to steady the blade in its entrance into the timber in the plane of the straight part of the blade, and to counteract the tendency of the wedge side pressing the hatchet out of its true plane. Carpenters and joiners may perhaps profit from a brief study of this tool used in a branch of woodworking different from their own. It is very evident, in using an axe, that different conditions of edge are requisite. There is much less resistance to the entrance of the edge when the blow is given in the direction of the fibre than when the blow is across that fibre. So great, indeed, may this difference become, that, whilst in the one direction the edge of the axe continues sound and efficient, yet a, few blows on the same timber at right angles to this direction seriously damages the edge. These remarks apply only to axes and hatchets used in dividing materials, and not to those used in merely preparing surfaces. The mode in which the axe is used will explain why it is unsuited for work across the fibre. The axe is simply a wedge, and therefore arranged to cleave rather than to cut the wood. Now, a calculation of the pressure necessary to thrust forward a wedge, and the impact necessary to cause the same wedge to enter the same depth, would explain why (regarded as a wedge only) the handle proves an important adjunct to the arm of the workman. This may be tested with an ordinary-handled hatchet on a soft straight-grained wood, or with a small axe with a straight and not a curved edge. Let it rest upon a lump of moderately soft clay; add weights until it has sunk to any desired depth, then take the axe by the head and by pressure force the axe to the same depth. Next hold the axe by the handle, first at, say, 1 ft. from the head, then at 2 ft., then, perhaps, at 3 ft., and give blows which seem of equal intensity, and mark the depth. Thus a practical testimony to the value of a handle will be shown by the respective depths.
Fig. 335.—Suffolk Axe Head.
Fig. 336.—Kent Felling Axe Head.
Fig. 337.—Handle of Felling Axe.
Fig. 338.—American Axe Head.
Fig. 339.—Kent Hatchet.
Fig. 340.—Canadian or American Hatchet.
Fig. 341.—Coachmaket’s Side Axe Head.
HOW TO USE AN AXE.
The motions of the hands on the handle of an axe are similar to those of a workman on that of a sledge-hammer. The handle of a properly fitted axe (Fig. 337) is curved, that of a sledge-hammer is straight. For present consideration this curvature may be ignored, although it plays an important part in the using of an axe with success and ease. If the almost unconscious motions of a workman skilled in the use of an axe be observed, it will be noticed that whilst the hand furthest from the axe-head grasps the handle continuously and as it were fixedly at the same or nearly the same part, the other hand, or the one nearest to the head, frequently moves. Assume that the axe has just been brought down with a blow and entered between the fibres of the wood. In this position it may be regarded as wedged in the wood—held, in fact, by the pressure of the fibres against the sides of the axe. From this fixity it is released usually by action on or near the head. For this purpose the workman slides his hand along the handle, and availing himself (if need be) of the oval form of the handle after it has passed through the eye of the metal, he releases the head. The axe has now to be raised to give another stroke; for this purpose his hand remains near to the head, so causing the length of the path of his hand and that of the axe-head to be nearly the same. The effect of this is to require but a minimum of power to be exerted by the muscles in raising the axe; whereas, if the hand had remained near the end of the handle most distant from the head, the raising of the axe-head would have been done at a mechanical disadvantage. Remembering that the power exerted to raise a body is in the adverse ratio of the spaces passed through by the body, and the point of application of the power, it may thus be obvious how great a strain will be on the muscles if the axe-head be raised by the hands at the opposite extremity of the handle. Reverse the problem. Assume the head of an ordinary axe, the handle being in the plane of the axe-blade, to be raised until the handle is vertical. Now the left hand is at the extremity of the handle, the right hand is very near to the axe-head, and the blow is about to be given. The requirement in this case is that there should be concentrated at the axe-head all the force or power possible; hence it is not desirable to ease the descent; far from it, indeed. Consequently, whilst with the hand nearest to the head (as it is when the axe reaches its highest elevation) the workman momentarily forces forward the axe, availing himself of the leverage now formed by regarding the left hand as the fulcrum of motion, he gives an impulse, and this impelling force is continued until he is conscious that the speed of the axe in its descent is greater than muscular efforts can maintain. To permit gravity to have free play the workman then withdraws the hand nearest to the head, and sliding it along the handle, brings it close to the left hand, which is at the extremity of the handle; thus the head comes down upon the work with all the energy which a combination of muscular action and gravity can effect. The process is repeated by the right hand sliding along the handle, and releasing as well as raising the head.
Fig. 342.—English Adze.
Fig. 343.—Scotch Adze.
AXE HANDLES.
The form of the axe handle deserves notice, differing as it does from that of the sledge-hammer. In the latter it is round or nearly so, in the axe it is oval, the thin end of the oval being on the underside, and more than this the longer axis of the