Browse Items (57 total)

A foot adze is used to shape and smooth wood. The blade is curved so that when swung in front of the user, it will always come back under and be stopped by the user's foot for safety. One would not want to swing an adze toward their body without…

A hand adze is used for similar purposes as a foot adze (wood shaping), but on smaller pieces of wood. An adze leaves short, choppy marks on a piece of wood, that would typically be smoothed out later in the process. Dennis demonstrates how to use…

A hewing hatchet is a small tool used to shape wood. One side of the blade is flat, and the other side has a bevel (whereas a double-bitted hatchet or axe has bevels on both sides and cuts evenly). One would use this tool to cut and shape smaller…

A spokeshave is used like a smaller drawknife with two wooden handles used to pull a small blade toward yourself. It is used to shape smaller pieces of wood and/or to create fine shapes. It is often used to create curves, such as spokes on a wheel,…

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…

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…

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…

Image in the Asheville Citizen-Times (1958) accompanying an article describing the process of dismantling the former structure prior to the reconstruction of the Vance family home. The article notes William W. Dodge of Six Associates as the architect…

Detail of the wood flooring in the kitchen of the reconstructed Vance family home. The flooring in this room is from the former structure, but it is unknown when the flooring was originally installed.

Detail of the paneling in the sitting room of the reconstructed Vance family home. The paneling is from the former structure but it is unknown when the paneling was installed.