In The Tool House
Dublin Core
Title
In The Tool House
Description
This collection contains photographs and descriptions of select tools located in the tool house at the Vance Birthplace. Dennis, Vance Birthplace's maintenance and tool expert extraordinaire, stands with the tools in many of the images featured in this collection to provide a scale.
The tool house contains early traditional tools (or replicas) that were used by European settlers and their descendants, as well as enslaved peoples, in Western North Carolina. Their tools were made and repaired (such as sharpening blades or replacing wooden handles) by hand. In this way, the tools that crafted handmade works, such as furniture or a cabin, were themselves created by hand.
The tool house contains early traditional tools (or replicas) that were used by European settlers and their descendants, as well as enslaved peoples, in Western North Carolina. Their tools were made and repaired (such as sharpening blades or replacing wooden handles) by hand. In this way, the tools that crafted handmade works, such as furniture or a cabin, were themselves created by hand.
Publisher
Vance Birthplace
Collection Items
Broad Axe
A broad axe is a wood shaping tool. One would use it to get a log flat or square a log off. One side of the axe head is beveled, and the other side is flat (shown). The wooden handle curves away from the flat side to give the tool user's hands room…
Hand Saw
A hand saw is a multi-use wood shaping tool. It was used on smaller logs for making items such as wooden furniture, rather than larger logs (used to make cabins for example). The saw is not missing a piece at the bottom—that is actually a single…
Froe
A froe is a wood splitting tool. It is used to make shingles. The tool's user would place the blade into a log and hit the opposite metal end with a mallet-type item to create a shingle. Because the shingles were made by hand in this way, the size of…
Scorp
A scorp is a wood shaping tool. It is used to create a curved shape to wood. A smaller scorp, such as the one pictured, would be used on smaller pieces of wood to create items such as bowls. The tool user would hold the wooden handles and draw the…
Brick Mold
A brick mold was used to shape natural resources into bricks. The tool's user would gather mud and/or clay, as well as possibly hog or horse hair (which acts as a binding agent), and have placed them into the wooden mold. Then the mold would have…
Drills
A drill is used to create a hole in wood. The tool's user would place the screw shaped blade at the spot where they would like to create a hole, and turn the wooden handles, sinking the blade into the wood, until the hole is deep enough. Wooden pegs,…
Nail
Nails were used to create smaller joints and were frequently reused. This nail was not round like most nails we see today, rather it has four sides which were created by hammering the iron into shape. This is a brad nail which would have been used…
Traveler
A traveler was used as a measuring device. The user would hold the handle and roll the wheel along a distance to either measure a distance or replicate a distance or circumference (such as a wagon wheel) by counting the revolutions of a notch on the…
Planer
A planer was used to uniformly shave wood. The flat side is for shaving wood, and the user would set the blade for the preferred depth. The planer pictured is a more basic example, but the tool house also includes fancier molding and…
Draw Knife
A draw knife is used to shape wood. You hold the handles and pull the blade toward yourself. This might sound dangerous, but that actually gives the user a lot of control, so there was little room for accidents. A draw knife allows the user to get a…