The Finnish Leveraxe is maybe not the most revolutionary alternative to the traditional axe, writes reader Guy Verrijdt. The Logmatic Wedge Axe from New Zealand splits wood more safely and ergonomically than an axe. This video shows how it works. The tool combines elements of splitting wedges and slide hammers. There are more brands available.

The fujara is a long 3-holed fipple flute played in standing position with the flute held close to the body. It’s played using the natural harmonics system, which means the different tones are played by controlling the strength of inblown air. Using only three holes, the diatonic major scale can be reached playing two and a half octaves. Due to the natural harmonics the tuning will always be a compromise, but Belgian flutemaker and musician Winne Clement puts a great deal of effort in tuning and balancing the tones, in such a way that playing together with Western tuned instruments is possible.

All his flutes are made of harvested branches of local inland wood such as ash, elder, maple, hazle, etc. The wood is carefully chosen and cut in winter time – with respect for the environment, not damaging the donating trees – and put to dry for a long period of time. When making the flute the wood is never split in half to hollow it out, but hand-drilled with special old forged drills, leaving the main structure of the wood intact, benefiting the sound, and following the natural curves of the wood. No Tech Magazine visits Winne Clement in his studio in Ghent, where he explains us his tools and methods.

Ancient Drilling Tools

Clement’s fujara flutes are literally born in the forest. “Every year in winter, I walk through the woods in search of suitable branches. This has to happen in winter, because the sap content in branches is low. The wood will then dry faster and is less likely to crack. The making of a flute starts when I saw off a branch, because I already know what kind of flute I want to make from it. Most branches are curved, but they can be easily straightened once they are dry. The wood needs to be dried for about four years.”

The craftsman drills the branches using antique drilling tools. “Initially, I tried to bore the branches with modern tools but that didn’t work. Modern tools lack precision because they grind the wood. Old drills ladle out the wood. Branches always have a softer spot in the middle and a large ancient hand drill draws itself into it. It takes me about three hours to drill a branch. Most of my drills date from the second half of the nineteenth century. Farmers used them to drill water pipes, for example. I find them on eBay.”

“I know a Norwegian guy, already in his seventies, who is still making these large hand drills, aimed at traditional shipbuilders. But he’s a stubborn man who has been making the same type of drill for 50 years now. If you ask him for a slightly different type of drill, he turns around and walks away.”

Value for Money

It’s not just old drills — Clement’s studio holds a large collection of many other types of old tools. However, he’s not a nostalgic. Rather, it’s about value for money. “Antique tools are simply better than most modern tools which are readily available. Although it’s still possible to find modern tools of good quality, they are much more expensive compared to the antique tools you can find on eBay. I’m lucky to be living in a time when everyone clears the attic and sells grandfather’s stuff on the internet.”

“I don’t exclude modern technology categorically. If there are new techniques to dry wood, for example, I will try them out. They usually don’t work that good, but I want to find that out myself. I also use industrially sharpened knives for cutting the sound system — the sharper the knives, the more precise the result. But my most important modern tool is the internet. It gives me inspiration, knowledge, tools and a sales channel. I work in a traditional way using antique tools and methods, but I would never have made it without my laptop.”

Shepherds

The fujara has a unique sound with very rich sounding multiphonics, grain and timbre. Its origin lays in the middle of Slovakia, and it’s assumed that its roots would lay with the 3-holed flutes played by the tambourines in the 12th and 13th century in Europe. The fujara was played by the shepherds on their long journeys away from home. It’s said when played for the sheep it would calm them down and ease the herd.

More info: Fujara Flutes. The making of a 7 holed fipple Kaval flute is shown in the beautiful video below. The second video shows the maker playing the flute. Also check out our earlier article on hand powered drilling tools and machines, and earlier woodworking posts.

The operational principle of the Leveraxe is totally different from the traditional axe. Upon hitting the top of the log and penetrating it slightly, the leading edge of the axe head begins to slow down. Where the axe blade widens sharply it stops the axe’s penetration. However, the mass of the axe head still has kinetic energy and the off line center of gravity forces it to rotate eccentrically down towards the wood. This rotational movement causes the leading edge, or sharp edge of the blade to turn in a lever action, forcing a split with all the force of the kinetic energy of the axe multiplied by the leverage of the axehead. The widening blade edge also has a benefit in that it helps to prevent the axe from penetrating into the wood and getting stuck there as is often the case with traditional axes.

The 1.9kg axe head has a significant amount of kinetic energy when it begins the rotational movement. While the centre of gravity of the head continues first to the right and then downwards the edge moves in a rotational direction to the left. This movement uses the rotational torque to split a log and push it away from the wood. In total the edge opens the wood by 8 cm. When the axe has rotated sideways it has used most of its energy and ends on top of the log on the in a sideways fashion. This safety feature ensures that the axe does not continue towards your legs and the axe remains totally in control. In addition, the axe holds the log steady on the chopping block ready for the next swing.”

The Finnish Leveraxe. Via Boing Boing and Hackernews. Thanks to Thomas Varney and Brice Waegenire.

“The ease of running the machine and the rapidity of its work are truly
surprising. A full-sized machine can be run by a workman with one hand,
while another can with ease drive the saw through hard, seasoned plank
four inches thick. Altough this machine is represented as being
exclusively used for sawing, the principle is capable of being extended
and applied in various ways, and may be used wherever power is needed;
for instance, to run gigsaws, lathes, boring-machines, mining-drills,
printing presses, and the like.”

“The power is applied, as seen, by means of a long pendulum lever swung back and forth, and having attached to its short arms, at the top, a pitman, connected at its other end with a wrist-pin on a balanced gear. This gear meshes with a pinion on the saw-arbor, which also carries a balance-wheel intended to equalize the motion. These are the principal parts of the machine, which is very simple, and not liable to become deranged. If only one man operates the machine, where little power is required, a treadle is attached to the saw-frame, its pitman being attached to the crank of the flywheel. This can be instantly unhooked, as when two persons are at work, one being engaged in the propelling the saw by the pendulum-lever, and the other guiding the stuff to be sawn.”

Quoted from: The Manufacturer and Builder Volume 0001 Issue 2 (February 1869).

The time spent working at a forward-bent angle of more than 20 degrees was reduced by nearly half. Hand gripping effort was reduced by more than half. Lifting strain was reduced by 40%.

Workers reported less work-related pain when using the handles, and those who had the most severe symptoms at the start reported the most improvement.

Taken from “Simple Solutions: ergonomics for farm workers“, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 2001.

Hand powered apple peelers can peel, core and cut apples with amazing speed and precision. They were available in a surprisingly large variety.

The 18th and 19th century saw a growing need for apples as a winter staple for both food and drink. Apples needed to be processed for winter storage. Paring, coring, and cutting enough apples for winter was difficult and time consuming.

Farmers used their creative skills to make wooden machines that made the process quick and efficient. Industrialization and the use of iron during the 19th century witnessed an explosion of patented creativity. More than 100 patents were granted from 1850 to 1890. Apple peelers were also used as a kitchen device.

There is a full website dedicated to hand powered apple peelers, explaining in detail the use, history and workings of the devices and showing many pictures and videos.

“On the outskirts of Maroua, the capital of the Extreme North of Cameroon, is a place quite unlike any other in the country. Here a community of blacksmiths practice their craft in the relative cool of a tree grove. Several dozen men with specialized skills are gathered here for a single purpose: to transform piles of scrap iron into finely finished tools, stoves, replacement parts and other useful implements for sale to the local population. Young apprentices learn the craft while operating bellows or shaping wood for tool handles. The production here is performed entirely by hand and on a scale which must be seen to be fully appreciated.”

The Extraordinary Makers of Maroua, via Afrigadget. Related: Innovation in Kenya’s informal economy.

“Sometimes, if a pen stutters, you can get it going again by shaking it. But sometimes it seems to take a lot of shaking. So I figured, what if I could shake it really really hard? What if I built a centrifuge to get the ink flowing again? And so this project came about!”

Hand tool overkill. Don’t miss the video (and the other projects by Matthias Wandel).

Via Make Magazine.

A hand powered sawing machine to harvest trees. Click on the illustration to see the full plans. Source: Bulletin de la Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale, june 1822.

The Jointmaker pro R2 is a great example of a modern tool being high-tech and low-tech at the same time. And it’s already sold out. Video here. Update: there is a new version available, the Jointmaker Pro v2. Related: Human powered drilling tools and machines / Hand powered tree sawing machine.

Alloy Artifacts: online resource for 20th century hand tools and the companies that made them. Via Makezine.