43
HAMMERS
Hammers came in various
weights. The heaviest
were used for welding
and forging swords, the
lightest for delicate work
such as shaping wire.
Larger detachable
bit, for boring
bigger holes
SHIPBUILDING
The Bayeux Tapestry (p. 10) shows how
the Normans made ships. In the detail on
the left, a man fells a tree. Above, a man
trims a tree while another shapes the split
trunks into planks with a T-shaped ax.
Below, the planks are overlapped and nailed
together (foreground), while one carpenter
smooths the planks and another makes
holes with a drill, or auger (background).
Small
detachable
bit
AXES AND ADZES
The carpenter used an ax to fell (cut down)
trees and chop off their branches. He then
used a T-shaped ax (p. 15) to shape and
smooth the planks. An adze has its blade at
right angles to the handle. The carpenter
could shape a log by chipping away at its
surface with an adze.
Hole for a wooden
haft (handle)
Felling a tree with
an ax
Adze head
Wood is modern, as t he original
wood had rotted away
SIGURD’S SWORD
This carving is part of a
12th-century doorway
from the church in
Hyllestad, Norway. It
shows the hero Sigurd
breaking a sword that the smith
Regin has made for him. In another
scene (p. 51), Regin holds the hot
iron with a pair of tongs and
hits it against the anvil with a
hammer. A helper works the
bellows to keep the fire in
the forge burning.
Back gives extra strengt h
A BORING TOOL
This drill, or auger, was used to
make holes in planks, including the
holes for the nails that held ships’
planks together. It had five
drill bits of different sizes.
Tang, a spike
t hat used to fit
into a wooden
handle
BONE CUTTER
A small hacksaw could cut through
bone and metal. The craftsman could
also use its narrow blade for fine work.
WOOD SAW
The small lengths of wood
needed to make buckets, boxes,
and furniture were cut with
this large saw.
Iron-toot hed blade Shaped end for t he
carpenter to lean on Wooden handle
A smith’s tools
The carpenter turned t his
T-shaped handle to bore t he hole
Light hammerhead
Heavy
hammerhead
The tools on these two pages are part of a
large hoard found in a chest at Mästermyr on
the island of Gotland, Sweden. Their owner was
a cratfsman. He was a smith and was able to
work with sheet metal to make cauldrons and
locks, but he could also cast, weld, and decorate
bronze. He was also a shipbuilder, carpenter,
and wheelwright, and he probably made the
wooden tool chest as well!
Drill
bits