Yeah I have always heard that the spike on these was for driving nails or 
spikes down into the wood while an adzing.....Don't know maybe,... but you 
know I have seen lots of these adzes esp. older ones where the the "spike" 
was much to big to drive any nails down past the wood surface so whats up 
with that ?. Also how big a problem really was spikes in logs that were 
being adzed? and what do you do with the nail you are knocking down into the 
wood , if you just leave it there won't you just hit it again as you adze 
more wood off going down toward it...I've seen a load of hewing axes and 
never seen one with a spike on it...got to think if they ran into them while 
adzing guys also ran into nails while hewing wood, eh?...  how come they 
don't have a spike on thier axes to drive them down like they did while 
adzing?.

 I was at a yard sale once of an old guy that was a wooden boat builder and 
had actually built a few Skip Jacks and worked on Chesapeake bay log canoes 
and I bought a couple of his spike ship adzes and I asked him about those 
spikes. Told him I had always heard they were for drving in nails or spikes 
that were in the wood....He got a big laugh about that  and admited he had 
heard that too but never from anybody that had used them. He told me when 
they were building a boat they would drill  holes in the wood from the 
outside to the depth they wanted the wood to be thick , then they would adze 
down till they hit the hole stop and then plug them with a wooden dowel they 
carried in thier pocket and  knocked in place with the Adze poll then keep 
on working. Said with out these holes  very hard or impossiable to know 
exactly how thick the wood is since they are working inside the boat's hull. 
He even told me the reason he thought old Adzes have a bigger poll was 
because back then they used bigger dowels because they drilled bigger holes, 
latter ones used smaller holes and dowels......Interesting.....he alson 
confirmed my suspician that the reason you see so many lip adzes with the 
lips ground off was because it makes them easier to sharpen.

 One of the better yardsales I've been too and I still have his ship adze 
with the neat carved handle that he sold me for $15......Todd 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Todd--- Around here and around the guys I've asked who've been here:
the *poll* of an adze, or whatever you call the punch on the back of the
adze is for knocking down whatever might be in the way of the blade.
Usually, IINM, it's stuff you can see, like clinches, and/or steel pins.
Around here, in the Pacific NW, lots of construction was underway while
the logs were still floating. now get out of here. I said 'GET OUT' gam
in Seattle

--- Todd Hughes  wrote:

>  Yeah I have always heard that the spike on these was for driving
>  nails or spikes down into the wood while an adzing.....Don't know
>  maybe,... but you know I have seen lots of these adzes esp. older
>  ones where the the "spike" was much to big to drive any nails down
>  past the wood surface so whats up with that ?. Also how big a problem
>  really was spikes in logs that were being adzed? and what do you do
>  with the nail you are knocking down into the wood , if you just leave
>  it there won't you just hit it again as you adze more wood off going
>  down toward it...I've seen a load of hewing axes and never seen one
>  with a spike on it...got to think if they ran into them while adzing
>  guys also ran into nails while hewing wood, eh?... how come they
>  don't have a spike on thier axes to drive them down like they did
>  while adzing?.
>
>  I was at a yard sale once of an old guy that was a wooden boat
>  builder and had actually built a few Skip Jacks and worked on
>  Chesapeake bay log canoes and I bought a couple of his spike ship
>  adzes and I asked him about those spikes. Told him I had always heard
>  they were for drving in nails or spikes that were in the wood....He
>  got a big laugh about that and admited he had heard that too but
>  never from anybody that had used them. He told me when they were
>  building a boat they would drill holes in the wood from the outside
>  to the depth they wanted the wood to be thick , then they would adze
>  down till they hit the hole stop and then plug them with a wooden
>  dowel they carried in thier pocket and knocked in place with the Adze
>  poll then keep on working. Said with out these holes very hard or
>  impossiable to know exactly how thick the wood is since they are
>  working inside the boat's hull. He even told me the reason he thought
>  old Adzes have a bigger poll was because back then they used bigger
>  dowels because they drilled bigger holes, latter ones used smaller
>  holes and dowels......Interesting.....he alson confirmed my suspician
>  that the reason you see so many lip adzes with the lips ground off
>  was because it makes them easier to sharpen.
>
>  One of the better yardsales I've been too and I still have his ship
>  adze with the neat carved handle that he sold me for $15......Todd
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------------------

My uncle was recently informed by a boat wright that the spike is used
for shredding the end grain of a dowel or peg so that it absorbs more
water, causing it to swell and fit more tightly.

Eric

--- Todd Hughes  wrote:

>  I was at a yard sale once of an old guy that was a wooden boat

> builder and

> had actually built a few Skip Jacks and worked on Chesapeake bay

> log canoes

> and I bought a couple of his spike ship adzes and I asked him about

> those

> spikes. Told him I had always heard they were for drving in nails

> or spikes

> that were in the wood....He got a big laugh about that and admited

> he had

> heard that too but never from anybody that had used them. He told

> me when

> they were building a boat they would drill holes in the wood from

> the

> outside to the depth they wanted the wood to be thick , then they

> would adze

> down till they hit the hole stop and then plug them with a wooden

> dowel they

> carried in thier pocket and knocked in place with the Adze poll

> then keep

> on working. Said with out these holes very hard or impossiable to

> know

> exactly how thick the wood is since they are working inside the

> boat's hull.

> He even told me the reason he thought old Adzes have a bigger poll

> was

> because back then they used bigger dowels because they drilled

> bigger holes,

> latter ones used smaller holes and dowels......Interesting.....he

> alson

> confirmed my suspician that the reason you see so many lip adzes

> with the

> lips ground off was because it makes them easier to sharpen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GG's

This from a shipwright...

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/djf3rd/page25.html

Best
Gary

Gary Roberts
toolemera@m...
http://toolemerablog.typepad.com/
http://toolemera.com/

On Jan 3, 2008, at 11:28 AM, Eric Myers wrote:

My uncle was recently informed by a boat wright that the spike is used  
for shredding the end grain of a dowel or peg so that it absorbs more  
water, causing it to swell and fit more tightly.

Eric

--- Todd Hughes  wrote:

> I was at a yard sale once of an old guy that was a wooden boat

> builder and

> had actually built a few Skip Jacks and worked on Chesapeake bay

> log canoes

> and I bought a couple of his spike ship adzes and I asked him about

> those

> spikes. Told him I had always heard they were for drving in nails

> or spikes

> that were in the wood....He got a big laugh about that  and admited

> he had

> heard that too but never from anybody that had used them. He told

> me when

> they were building a boat they would drill  holes in the wood from

> the

> outside to the depth they wanted the wood to be thick , then they

> would adze

> down till they hit the hole stop and then plug them with a wooden

> dowel they

> carried in thier pocket and  knocked in place with the Adze poll

> then keep

> on working. Said with out these holes  very hard or impossiable to

> know

> exactly how thick the wood is since they are working inside the

> boat's hull.

> He even told me the reason he thought old Adzes have a bigger poll

> was

> because back then they used bigger dowels because they drilled

> bigger holes,

> latter ones used smaller holes and dowels......Interesting.....he

> alson

> confirmed my suspician that the reason you see so many lip adzes

> with the

> lips ground off was because it makes them easier to sharpen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently the poll of an adze serves the same purpose as saw nibs...

- anon

-----Original Message-----
From: oldtools-bounces@r...
[mailto:oldtools-bounces@r...] On Behalf Of Gary Roberts
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 11:40 AM
To: oldtools@r...
Subject: Re: [OldTools] Adze's spikes

GG's

This from a shipwright...

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/djf3rd/page25.html

Best
Gary

Gary Roberts
toolemera@m...
http://toolemerablog.typepad.com/
http://toolemera.com/

On Jan 3, 2008, at 11:28 AM, Eric Myers wrote:

My uncle was recently informed by a boat wright that the spike is used for
shredding the end grain of a dowel or peg so that it absorbs more water,
causing it to swell and fit more tightly.

Eric

--- Todd Hughes  wrote:

> I was at a yard sale once of an old guy that was a wooden boat

> builder and

> had actually built a few Skip Jacks and worked on Chesapeake bay

> log canoes

> and I bought a couple of his spike ship adzes and I asked him about

> those

> spikes. Told him I had always heard they were for drving in nails

> or spikes

> that were in the wood....He got a big laugh about that  and admited

> he had

> heard that too but never from anybody that had used them. He told

> me when

> they were building a boat they would drill  holes in the wood from

> the

> outside to the depth they wanted the wood to be thick , then they

> would adze

> down till they hit the hole stop and then plug them with a wooden

> dowel they

> carried in thier pocket and  knocked in place with the Adze poll

> then keep

> on working. Said with out these holes  very hard or impossiable to

> know

> exactly how thick the wood is since they are working inside the

> boat's hull.

> He even told me the reason he thought old Adzes have a bigger poll

> was

> because back then they used bigger dowels because they drilled

> bigger holes,

> latter ones used smaller holes and dowels......Interesting.....he

> alson

> confirmed my suspician that the reason you see so many lip adzes

> with the

> lips ground off was because it makes them easier to sharpen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 12:00 PM 1/3/2008, Bill Taggart wrote:
>Apparently the poll of an adze serves the same purpose as saw nibs...

Oh please....

The spiked poll adzes are listed in just about every catalog going 
back to Joseph Smiths Key as ship's carpenter adzes.

That being said, at the very basic building a ship or a larger boat 
frame is the same techniques as timberframing a barn.  Joints to be 
made, beams and ribs to be hewn, etc.  Yes, ship building requires 
more knowledge of what makes a boat float, but the core techniques 
for getting the wood done are the same.

THAT being said, I see plenty of these adzes around with the spikes 
either mushroomed, bent, worn or broken off, to know that they were 
used.  Seating nails,. seating pegs,  what every it was, they were used.

What ever they were using them for, they were using them hard.

Saw nibs my arse!!!!!

Tony

                         Olde River Hard Goods
                             350 West Catawissa Street
                               Nesquehoning PA 18240
                                         570-669-9421
               The best old tool store in Pennsylvania!
                     http://www.oldetoolshop.com  

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hehehe!  Got you up outta your chair, didn't I?

Heheheh...  

- Bill T.

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony Seo [mailto:tonyseo@p...]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 12:23 PM
To: Bill Taggart; 'Gary Roberts'; oldtools@r...
Subject: RE: [OldTools] Adze's spikes

At 12:00 PM 1/3/2008, Bill Taggart wrote:
>Apparently the poll of an adze serves the same purpose as saw nibs...

Oh please....

The spiked poll adzes are listed in just about every catalog going back to
Joseph Smiths Key as ship's carpenter adzes.

That being said, at the very basic building a ship or a larger boat frame is
the same techniques as timberframing a barn.  Joints to be made, beams and
ribs to be hewn, etc.  Yes, ship building requires more knowledge of what
makes a boat float, but the core techniques for getting the wood done are
the same.

THAT being said, I see plenty of these adzes around with the spikes either
mushroomed, bent, worn or broken off, to know that they were used.  Seating
nails,. seating pegs,  what every it was, they were used.

What ever they were using them for, they were using them hard.

Saw nibs my arse!!!!!

Tony

                         Olde River Hard Goods
                             350 West Catawissa Street
                               Nesquehoning PA 18240
                                         570-669-9421
               The best old tool store in Pennsylvania!
                     http://www.oldetoolshop.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary Roberts wrote:

> GG's
>
> This from a shipwright...
>
> http://pages.sbcglobal.net/djf3rd/page25.html
>
> Best
> Gary

Now that's my kind of story.

Ed Minch
------------------------------------------------------------------------