Evidence of Rare Wood Carving Techniques

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Slave Quarters Restoration work is discovering the old techniques used by the original builders to construct the quarters. A previous article has been written on the interesting floor joist that was pulled out, which had mortises carved into it so that workers could use scaffolding. While inspecting this beam, Mack from Rogers Building Corp noticed vertical cuts in the side of the wood. Mack explained that these cuts are evidence of an old and very rare woodcarving technique using a tool called an Adze. The carpenter wood stand on the board and make multiple cuts into the wood using the adze. The adze blade is perpendicular to the shaft and allows the carpenter to take out large chunks of wood making it easier to mill and level large areas of wood with minimal equipment. Mack also said this is a very rare technique and shows, yet again, how skilled the builders were in the 19th century. The following video shows how an adz is used.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o5leRq4eyk