Broad Axes 101

Re: Broad Axes 101

Roy Anderson


>This is a Roy Underhill special. I remember very well the day I saw him give a demonstration on the use of a broad axe. If there are any green wood workers here who fell and shape logs they might give a more detailed explainanion, because I have only seen one demonstration. I've never actually done it.

The broad axe is kin to a rough plane. It is for shaping round logs into square beams. It is flat on one side because of this. Fine shaping then is done with an adz. It's amazing how someone who is practiced at this can produce quickly and well a good square beam using these two tools. I saw the man do it.

He also had some cute little joke about how hard it's getting to take along his broad axe as carry-on luggage.

I bought his book and he autographed it. "To Roy, From Roy, Best Wishes." Cool!

Re: Broad Axes 101

Thom D


>I have done a litle Broad Axing, and this summer I hope to do quite a bit more.

I'm no expert and in fact you may have some difficulty finding an expert since there are a lot of different styles of BA work out there.

I have an axe a lot like yours, it came with a properly offset handle of great length and made of cherry. Not sure what to make of that. I think using really long handles on these axes must have been a killer, a lot of modern users use short handles in the 16-18" length, like a framing hammer in length. The Gransford ones are probably closser to 20", and too long for certain uses, if not others.

I have heard it said that the really wide blades like yours and mine are for softwood. I tend to doubt this, because these wider axes are pretty much all I see around here and people worked lots of oak...

There are different ways of getting the log out, and there are differnces of opinion about what tool got the smoothest surface. Some say axe to notch, BA to hew off the wood between the notches, and adze to smooth. Others say axe to reduce the round to square and BAs to finish plane the surface. This cutting is done with the log near waist height, and with the axe cutting on the diagonal. So one can read this action vs. the adze, and some say the BA was the smoothest. No doubt adze work can also be fine like the keel rabets on wooden boats.

A right hander might put a handle on the axe so that it provided knuckle clearance, and the flat was on the left when the edge was down. Gransford makes 7 different BAs. Double edge, Left and right hand planing as described above, and other combinations that place the bevel on the inside of the cut.

Re: Broad Axes 101

Todd Hughes


>There are many types of broad Axes with different names, yours looks like one that is called a "Western Axe" what ever that means.Most I see are simular.

...For right hand work you want to mount the handle in the head so that when you hold it out in front of you blade down the bevel faces out toward the right.Most that you find in the wild are mounted like this though somtimes you find left hand mounted axes.I don't know if they were used by left handled people but more likely for working on the other side of the work...don't know.

...Shape the handle so that it fits snug in the eye and then cut a kerf in the top and drive in a wooden wedge to hold it tight.I always tried to cut the kerf at an angle so that it spreads the grip on the eye around some.If in time your head loosens you can drive in a steel wedge.

...Both straight and curved handles were used in these axes.With long handles the person stood over the log so didn't need a curved handle, short handles were often bent to provide clearance for your hands since you are working up close.I have steamed and bent two small handles befor and was a bit of work.My advise is if you want a axe with a bent handle to buy one with the handle already in it.I have found a few NOS bent hanles by thierselves for sale over the years but not common.

....I'd wire wheel, [don't go crazy!] it to clean it up and then sharpen it on the belt sander.Then wax it good.

...$21 isn't to bad of a price, I recently sold a simular head on the ebay that was in slightly better condition for $40....I gave $15 For one that was very clean and with a good name on it I have gotten over $150 but that was a nice head .These axes often look rare and expensive to many sellers and I often see them rather optimisticaly priced, also get some farmers together at an auction and they will get up an go. Is interesting but on the whole in my opinon "primitive" tools like these broad axes have not gone up in price, and maybe even have gone down in price, in the last 15 years or so while other tools like saws, chisels and some planes have sky rocketed....Todd

No direct experience

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA


>You might cruise around your local library and track down some of the books on old tools, like Eric Sloane's books (A Reverence for Wood, Museum of Early American Tools), or similar books (Graham Blackburn is another author who comes to mind). Some of those books have quite helpful drawings showing the use of a broad axe in creating a square log and a moderately smooth surface. You may find some of the best books on this subject in the juvenile or kid section, which is OK if the drawings are useful.

ORC's would be my guess!!

John Hoffman

Re: No direct experience

Thom D


>The best book treatment I have seen is in Sobon's books. The people who are attracted to his books and workshops seem more likely than most to actually hew out house frames. At one TFG meeting I ran into an interesting guy from Northern Michigan who had done one house out of wood off his land and was on to another.

Build a Classic Timber Framed House, has good pictures of a very muscular guy hewing with the short shaft on the Woodworker's Supply tool this is my favorite also. It's by no means as nice a piece of steel as on a Gransford, but it gets a seriously nice job done. And you can keep the handle at the belly button level without having to hold it out to one side. It's spcialized for planing off the marks, as opposed to one tool to both hack and hew.

The other book is called Timber Frame Construction, all about post and beam buildings.

Thanks

Dave Thompson


>Thanks for taking the time. Great info in the responses. I didn't even think to look in my Alvin Sellens Dictionary of American Hand Tools which has 16+ pictured broad axes including a Western pattern.

Glad to head about it's intended purpose being for log shaping. Funny, I put down the axe last night, and then proceeded to do exactly that on the bandsaw with some mulberry salvaged from the fire wood pile. I'm looking forward to an alternate method.

Thanks again for all the tips and info. I'm off to go find my wire wheel now.

Dave

Re: Thanks

Roger Bell


>I have worked with the broadaxe from time to time doing primitive structures in wilderness areas (bridges, puncheon, shelters, etc.). After you wire wheel off the rust (I prefer a very, very fine wire wheel....so fine that if you hit it with your hand it is no big deal), you can sharpen it up very fast using a one inch wide belt sander, starting with 80 grit norizon and working up from there. I prefer a fine edge...keen enough to cut ribbons from a piece of paper. Flatten the back first but don't get too carried away into mirror bright, it's not a chisel, after all. I have several of these hand-broad axes, in different weights. Very handy around the shop, especially the smaller ones. When you start out using it, "choke up" and place the hand close to the head and use short, focused, and deliberate strokes, allowing the weight of the tool and the keen-ness of your edge to gradually shape the work....until you get the feel for it. Avoid using power and muscle but strive instead for accuracy and finesse. This tool is not designed for bucking and limbing.....It handles way-different that your ordinary Fiskars.

HF carries a good-enough 1" wide belt sander, which is handy for axes, lawn mower blades, drawknives, sickles, garden tools, etc. An ordinary file will also work, but is probably too slow to create that first bevel and edge.

Re: Broad Axes 101

Larry Gelder

>did you ever get it tuned-up and hacking?

Re: Broad Axes 101

Dave Thompson

>Hey Larry,

The axe I had was pretty rough. I took a wire wheel to it and that removed a majority of the surface rust pretty quick. I then took a regular hand held belt sander to the back and removed a good deal of the back pitting. I then picked up one of those 1"x48" belt sanders which LV sells and requires one to provide their own motors. I found this excellent for working on the bevel of the axe and now have a pretty good pile of rust/iron filings, which I'll pitch soon unless I can come up with a use for some thermite. ;-)

There still is some pitting that takes away from a really clean cutting edge. I thought I might try it before I take more off the back.

About a month or so ago, I found a maker of broad axe handles, and got a nice bent hickory handle for it. I need to do some fitting on the handle before I attach it. I don't have an immediate need for this, so it's more of a back burner project.

Thanks for asking,

Dave