Home made Adze (warning tool makers, poor quality craftsmanship)

[humdrum_hostage]

firstly I want to apologise to any tool makers as this is made by two amatuers and may make your toes curl in discust.

I wanted to get an Adze but cant afford a good quality new one and wasnt willing to pay the price that people are asking for the "chinese" ones. I decided if I get on with it and this was the direction I wanted my hobbie to go then maybe one day I will invest.
So this is made from hours of searching and research online and scraps of metal. Tools were limited but we have a vice, mig welder and gas torch powerful enough to get the steel red hot.
It is a prototype at the moment and we are on V.2 already as I have already realised the bevel is supposed to be on the outside and we ground the first on the inside.




The edge is made from a 3mm thick brushcutter blade angled to 45 degrees and curved on the end. The weight on the back is a piece of solid steel bar and it is fixed to the handle (broom handle) with a piece of steel tubing which we needed to reduce in size. It is yet to be painted.

After using it I have already realised the handle is too long as if you hold it too far down it just has a hammer effect. and also the angle of the head could probably be a little less steep.

any advice and comments welcome.....

 

[crosslandkelly]

Good attempt at an adze, better than I could do. Does it do the job?

 

[Robson Valley]

Geometry.
Kestrel Constant: in a fist grip, the tips of your second and third fingers should just touch the fat ball part of your thumb.

Holm Constant: Run an imaginary line at 90 degrees from the blade edge to the handle. On the handle, that's where
your index finger should be. In your design, you have to really choke up on the head so you won't get much of a swing before a strike.

Overall shape: blade edge area to handle axis (the "elbow") should be between 35 and 45 degrees. The Sitka and
Baby Sitka handles are 55 degree elbows and there's about a 10 degree bend in the length of the adze blade.

http://www.kestreltool.com/

Your adze? I'm getting my glasses all steamed up! Badly, badly need to try that!

If I had to throw rocks, the bend in the blade shank could be less (15 degrees) and 2/3 of the length to the bevel.
You've made a sort of 1/3 then 2/3 lengths, they ought to be exchanged.

 

[HillBill]

If it works, it works.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Good attempt at an adze, better than I could do. Does it do the job?

If it works, it works.

It does work only trouble is I don't know how not compares to a proper one.

RV, all comments taken on board thank you. Everything you say makes sense as when i used it I thought my technique and geometry of the adze needs changing. I will update on the changes soon.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Here is V.2 with a wider bit and the bevel on the outside. Same handle and weight on the back. I haven't sharpened it yet or given it a test run. It is the one on the top

 

[humdrum_hostage]

So after some advice & a little play with the two adze's I have now shortened the handle on adze V.2 and reduced the angle of the head on adze V.1, Now adze V.2 is goood for removing the stock in the bottom of the bowl and adze V.1 is good for taking the sides down and works ow like a hammer where as V.2 you need to use more wrist action (cough cough).

Sorry about my photo shop skills, if I dont hurry up and stop threating about making the picture look good my 2YO will be up hitting buttons.




here is my first attempt at a bowl



and the shortened handle of V.2

 

[Robson Valley]

Absolutely fantesticle! It's a thrill to see a tool (PacNW style) made correctly.
How I do hope that you like the "action." Overall, the elbow should be 55 degrees, some carvers like 45.
Now. If you were to run a 90 degree angle off the edge of the bevel towards the handle,
where is the position of your index finger?
That's the "Holm Constant". Bill Holm was a very prominent PacNW carver. He reasoned that there
was an optimum geometry for the ease of the work.
Sure, you can hack away with anything that works.
I suspect that the last few hundred years of PacNW native carvers have figured out a thing or two.
No real need to reinvent a wheel.

 

[mrcharly]

Looking good.

Try using the adze for smoothing out the bowl as well. Instead of chopping, push it.

Technique-wise, it can be good to work on taking smooth chips off, rather than chopping into the surface. This is particularly good when doing the outside of a bowl.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

they both need sharpening as they have only had their edges put on with a sanding sheet on an angle grinder, then i will try again....

 

[Robson Valley]

Carving some birch handles to select from, I built up a D-adze with a Kestrel Tools blade.
Flat, curved, no sweep, I found that I can push it like a plane to smooth flat surfaces.

Same scenario for the Baby Sitka elbow adze. Can be pushed in hollow places, like the
back of a mask, but it's limited to larger areas like bowls.

I used to carve spoons, lots of them. Nothing quite like crooked knives to quickly finish
the bowl voids of any shape.
= = =
Slowly but surely, I'm getting pix into Photobucket. Hope to show you soon.