1.
Tool
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A tool is any physical item that can be used to achieve a goal, especially if the item is not consumed in the process. Tool use by humans dates back millions of years, and other animals are known to employ simple tools. Tools that are used in fields or activities may have different designations such as instrument, utensil, implement, machine, device. The set of tools needed to achieve a goal is equipment, the knowledge of constructing, obtaining and using tools is technology. Anthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind, because tools are used extensively by both humans and wild chimpanzees, it is widely assumed that the first routine use of tools took place prior to the divergence between the two species. These early tools, however, were made of perishable materials such as sticks. Stone artifacts only date back to about 2.5 million years ago, however, a 2010 study suggests the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis ate meat by carving animal carcasses with stone implements. This finding pushes back the earliest known use of tools among hominins to about 3.4 million years ago. Finds of actual tools date back at least 2.6 million years in Ethiopia, one of the earliest distinguishable stone tool forms is the hand axe. Up until recently, weapons found in digs were the tools of “early man” that were studied. Now, more tools are recognized as culturally and historically relevant, as well as hunting, other activities required tools such as preparing food, “…nutting, leatherworking, grain harvesting and woodworking…” Included in this group are “flake stone tools. “Man the hunter” as the catalyst for Hominin change has been questioned, based on marks on the bones at archaeological sites, it is now more evident that pre-humans were scavenging off of other predators carcasses rather than killing their own food. Mechanical devices experienced an expansion in their use in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome with the systematic employment of new energy sources. Their use expanded through the Dark Ages with the addition of windmills, machine tools occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the industrial revolution. Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools become microscopic in size, one can classify tools according to their basic functions, Cutting and edge tools, such as the knife, scythe or sickle, are wedge-shaped implements that produce a shearing force along a narrow face. Ideally, the edge of the needs to be harder than the material being cut or else the blade will become dulled with repeated use. But even resilient tools will require periodic sharpening, which is the process of removing deformation wear from the edge, other examples of cutting tools include gouges and drill bits. Moving tools move large and tiny items, many are levers which give the user a mechanical advantage
2.
Woodworking
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Woodworking is the activity or skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans, microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials, among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from Kalambo Falls, Clacton-on-Sea and Lehringen. The spears from Schöningen provide some of the first examples of hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving, since Neolithic times, carved wooden vessels are known, for example, from the Linear Pottery culture wells at Kückhofen and Eythra. Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include tree trunks worked into coffins from northern Germany and Denmark, there is significant evidence of advanced woodworking in Ancient Egypt. Woodworking is depicted in extant ancient Egyptian drawings, and a considerable amount of ancient Egyptian furniture has been preserved. Tombs represent a collection of these artefacts and the inner coffins found in the tombs were also made of wood. The metal used by the Egyptians for woodworking tools was originally copper and eventually, commonly used woodworking tools included axes, adzes, chisels, pull saws, and bow drills. Mortise and tenon joints are attested from the earliest Predynastic period and these joints were strengthened using pegs, dowels and leather or cord lashings. Animal glue came to be used only in the New Kingdom period, Ancient Egyptians invented the art of veneering and used varnishes for finishing, though the composition of these varnishes is unknown. Woodworking was essential to the Romans and it provided, sometimes the only, material for buildings, transportation, tools, and household items. Vitruvius dedicates a chapter of his De architectura to timber. Pliny, while not a botanist, dedicated six books of his Natural History to trees and woody plants which provides a wealth of information on trees, the progenitors of Chinese woodworking are considered to be Lu Ban and his wife Lady Yun, from the Spring and Autumn period. Lu Ban is said to have introduced the plane, chalk-line and his teachings were supposedly left behind in the book Lu Ban Jing. Despite this, it is believed that the text was written some 1500 years after his death. This book is filled largely with descriptions of dimensions for use in building various items such as pots, tables, altars, etc. It mentions almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and nail-less joinery for which Chinese furniture was so famous, with the advances in modern technology and the demands of industry, woodwork as a field has changed
3.
Wheel
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A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the components of the wheel. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ships wheel, steering wheel, potters wheel and flywheel. Common examples are found in transport applications, a wheel greatly reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, cognates within Indo-European include Icelandic hjól wheel, tyre, Greek κύκλος kúklos, and Sanskrit chakra, the latter both meaning circle or wheel. The invention of the falls into the late Neolithic. Note that this implies the passage of several wheel-less millennia even after the invention of agriculture and of pottery, precursors of wheels, known as tournettes or slow wheels, were known in the Middle East by the 5th millennium BCE. These were made of stone or clay and secured to the ground with a peg in the center, but required effort to turn. True potters wheels were apparently in use in Mesopotamia by 3500 BCE and possibly as early as 4000 BCE, and the oldest surviving example, which was found in Ur, dates to approximately 3100 BCE. The earliest well-dated depiction of a vehicle is on the Bronocice pot. The oldest securely dated real wheel-axle combination, that from Stare Gmajne near Ljubljana in Slovenia is now dated in 2σ-limits to 3340–3030 BCE, the axle to 3360–3045 BCE. Two types of early Neolithic European wheel and axle are known, a type of wagon construction. They both are dated to c, in China, the wheel was certainly present with the adoption of the chariot in c.1200 BCE, although Barbieri-Low argues for earlier Chinese wheeled vehicles, c.2000 BC. In Britain, a wooden wheel, measuring about 1 m in diameter, was uncovered at the Must Farm site in East Anglia in 2016. The specimen, dating from 1, 100–800 years BCE, represents the most complete, the wheels hub is also present. A horses spine found nearby suggests the wheel may have part of a horse-drawn cart. The wheel was found in a settlement built on stilts over wetland and it is thought that the primary obstacle to large-scale development of the wheel in the Americas was the absence of domesticated large animals which could be used to pull wheeled carriages. The only large animal that was domesticated in the Western hemisphere, Nubians from after about 400 BCE used wheels for spinning pottery and as water wheels
4.
Chair
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A chair is a piece of furniture with a raised surface supported by legs, commonly used to seat a single person. Chairs are supported most often by four legs and have a back, however, Chairs are used in a number of rooms in homes, in schools and offices, and in various other workplaces. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a chair with arms is an armchair and with upholstery, reclining action, and a fold-out footrest, a recliner. A permanently fixed chair in a train or theater is a seat or, in an airplane, airline seat, when riding, it is a saddle and bicycle saddle, and for an automobile, with wheels it is a wheelchair and when hung from above, a swing. An upholstered, padded chair for more one person is a couch, sofa, settee, or loveseat, or if is not upholstered. A separate footrest for a chair, usually upholstered, is known as an ottoman, the word chair comes from the early 13th century English word chaere, which came from Old French chaiere chair, seat, throne. The chair is used as the emblem of authority in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom and Canada. In keeping with this connotation of the chair as the symbol of authority, committees, boards of directors. Endowed professorships are referred to as chairs and it was not until the 16th century that chairs became common. Until then, people sat on chests, benches, and stools, the number of chairs which have survived from an earlier date is exceedingly limited, most examples are of ecclesiastical or seigneurial origin. Chairs were in existence since at least the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt and they were covered with cloth or leather, were made of carved wood, and were much lower than today’s chairs - chair seats were sometimes only 25 cm high. In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have been of great richness, generally speaking, the higher ranked an individual was, the taller and more sumptuous was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor. On state occasions the pharaoh sat on a throne, often with a footstool in front of it. The average Egyptian family seldom had chairs, and if they did, among the better off, the chairs might be painted to look like the ornate inlaid and carved chairs of the rich, but the craftsmanship was usually poor. The earliest images of chairs in China are from sixth-century Buddhist murals and stele and it was not until the twelfth century that chairs became widespread in China. Scholars disagree on the reasons for the adoption of the chair, in modern China, unlike Korea or Japan, it is no longer common to sit at floor level. In Europe, it was owing in great measure to the Renaissance that the chair ceased to be a privilege of state, once the idea of privilege faded the chair speedily came into general use. We find almost at once that the chair began to change every few years to reflect the fashions of the day, in the 1880s, chairs became more common in American households and usually there was a chair provided for every family member to sit down to dinner
5.
Cabriole leg
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According to Bird, nothing symbolises 18th century furniture more than the cabriole leg. The cabriole design is associated with bun or the ball. In England, this design was characteristic of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture, in France, the cabriole leg is associated with the Louis XV period of furniture design. The cabriole design appeared for the first time in the United States in the 18th century, the basis of its original concept was emulated upon legs of certain four-footed mammals, especially ungulates. The etymology of this term derives from the French word cabrioler. Earliest forms of the leg were known in ancient China. In the case of the ancient Chinese, this leg was most closely associated with the lacquered table, while the Chinese culture preserved historical continuity of use, Europeans lost this style prior to the Middle Ages. Quickly England was producing a version of the leg, which historically is called Queen Anne Style and is associated with the period 1712–1760. The Queen Anne cabriole leg chair typically had a back with hoop design, the American cabriole leg was strongly associated with the pad foot design. In current times the cabriole leg continues in use and more modern manufacturing techniques are applied to form this complex shape, in any case, the initial step is preparation of a template drawn on hardboard or cardboard. Structurally, the leg is weaker as the S shape is more accentuated or bowed, in any case the cabriole leg must be fashioned out of a solid piece of wood. Some of the initial rough turning is sometimes carried out using a lathe, the next steps include application of a spokeshave, rasp and scraper. The bottom of the leg may terminate in a bun, ball or ball and claw rendition, the small brackets are constructed from a separate piece of wood and either affixed by dowels or screws. There are a number of cabriole leg pieces in important collections of antique furniture. In the noted collections of Henry Cavendish there is a set of ten inlaid cabriole leg satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa documented to have been acquired by Cavendish himself. Highboy Nursing chair Ormolu Photograph of English Queen Anne side chair with cabriole legs at the Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
6.
Self bow
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A self bow or simple bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Extra material such as horn nocks on the ends, or built-up handles, some modern authorities would also accept a bow spliced together in the handle from two pieces of wood. An effective self bow can be made widely available local material in most inhabited parts of the world, with limited tools whose functions include chopping, shaving. A day of work may be needed, starting with a seasoned stave, self bows must be the height of the archer if they are to allow a long draw, and they are less efficient in the specialized art of flight archery. Well-designed composite bows of high draw-weight give higher arrow velocity, however, for infantry use the self bow is in no way inferior to the composite bow, for example the famed English longbow are self bows. At the weights more usual for amateurs, the greater density of horn. The first bow artifacts, the Stellmoor and Holmegaard artifacts of Northern Europe, are self bows, the Stellmoor bow was made from the heartwood of a Scots pine while the oldest Holmegaard bows were carved from small-diameter elms. In primitive flight archery competitions, bows inspired by the design of the Holmegaard bows perform very well because of their light, in most inhabited areas, common timbers can be made into high-quality self bows. The pieces must be enough, and the grain must be sufficiently straight. In Europe and North America, common woods such as maple, ash, elm, and oak make excellent flat bows, the fibres on the back of a self bow must be, so far as possible, continuous. The density of timber correlates well with its ability to store energy as it is bent, denser timbers can make narrower bows. The same design for less dense timbers results in the bow taking excessive set-string follow, however, equally effective bows may be made from less dense timber by making them wider near the centre. The mass of equivalent bows is closely similar whatever the density of wood, the overall length of bending wood must be about 2.3 times the draw length. Narrow bows can bend in the handle, wider bows must be narrow in the handle if they are to be practical, but the handle must be made thicker so as not to bend, and the complete bow will therefore tend to be longer. Self bows may be of any side-view profile, moderate recurving can often be achieved with heat, crossbow Cable-backed bow Compound bow Laminated bow The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1. ISBN 1-58574-085-3 The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2, ISBN 1-58574-086-1 The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 3. ISBN 1-58574-087-X The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 4
7.
Arrow
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An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures, an arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other. The oldest evidence of stone-tipped projectiles, which may or may not have been propelled by a bow, dating to c.64,000 years ago, were found in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. The oldest evidence of the use of bows to shoot arrows dates to about 10,000 years ago and they had shallow grooves on the base, indicating that they were shot from a bow. The oldest bow so far recovered is about 8,000 years old, archery seems to have arrived in the Americas with the Arctic small tool tradition, about 4,500 years ago. Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures, ranging from eighteen inches to five feet, however, most modern arrows are 75 centimetres to 96 centimetres, most war arrows from an English ship sunk in 1545 were 76 centimetres. Very short arrows have been used, shot through a guide attached either to the bow or to the archers wrist and these may fly farther than heavier arrows, and an enemy without suitable equipment may find himself unable to return them. The shaft is the structural element of the arrow, to which the other components are attached. Traditional arrow shafts are made from wood, bamboo or reeds, while modern shafts may be made from aluminium, carbon fibre reinforced plastic. Such shafts are made from an aluminium core wrapped with a carbon fibre outer. The stiffness of the shaft is known as its spine, referring to how little the shaft bends when compressed, hence, an arrow which bends less is said to have more spine. In order to strike consistently, a group of arrows must be similarly spined, center-shot bows, in which the arrow passes through the central vertical axis of the bow riser, may obtain consistent results from arrows with a wide range of spines. Higher draw-weight bows will generally require stiffer arrows, with more spine to give the amount of flex when shot. The weight of a shaft can be expressed in GPI. The length of a shaft in inches multiplied by its GPI rating gives the weight of the shaft in grains, for example, a shaft that is 30 inches long and has a GPI of 9.5 weighs 285 grains, or about 18 grams. This does not include the elements of a finished arrow. Sometimes a shaft will be made of two different types of wood fastened together, resulting in what is known as a footed arrow, known by some as the finest of wood arrows, footed arrows were used both by early Europeans and Native Americans. Footed arrows will typically consist of a length of hardwood near the head of the arrow
8.
Canoe
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A canoe is a lightweight narrow boat, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel using a single-bladed paddle. In International Canoe Federation nomenclature used in some European countries such as the United Kingdom the term refers to kayaks. Canoes are used for racing, whitewater canoeing, touring and camping, freestyle, the intended use of the canoe dictates its hull shape and length and construction material. Historically, canoes were dugouts or made of bark on a wood frame, most modern canoes are made of molded plastic or composites such as fiberglass. Until the mid-1800s the canoe was an important means of transport for exploration and trade, canoeing has been part of the Olympics since 1936. In places where the played a key role in history, such as the northern United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Canoes can be adapted to many purposes, for example with the addition of sails, outboard motors, the word canoe comes from the Carib kenu, via the Spanish canoa. Constructed between 8200 and 7600 BC, and found in the Netherlands, the Pesse canoe may be the oldest known canoe, excavations in Denmark reveal the use of dugouts and paddles during the Ertebølle period. Australian Aboriginal people made canoes using a variety of materials, including bark, the indigenous people of the Amazon commonly used Hymenaea trees. Many indigenous peoples of the Americas built bark canoes and they were usually skinned with birch bark over a light wooden frame, but other types could be used if birch was scarce. At a typical length of 4.3 m and weight of 23 kg, although susceptible to damage from rocks, they are easily repaired. When you reach them you load canoe and baggage upon your shoulders and go overland until the navigation is good, and then you put your canoe back into the water, and embark again. American painter, author and traveler George Catlin wrote that the canoe was the most beautiful. Native American groups of the north Pacific coast made dugout canoes in a number of styles for different purposes, from western red-cedar or yellow-cedar, different styles were required for ocean-going vessels versus river boats, and for whale-hunting versus seal-hunting versus salmon-fishing. The Quinault of Washington State built shovel-nose canoes, with double bows, the Kootenai of British Columbia province made sturgeon-nosed canoes from pine bark, designed to be stable in windy conditions on Kootenay Lake. The first explorer to cross the North American continent, Alexander Mackenzie, used extensively, as did David Thompson. Its dimensions were, length approximately 11 m, beam 1.2 to 1.8 m and it could carry 60 packs weighing 41 kg, and 910 kg of provisions. With a crew of eight or ten, they could make three knots over calm waters, four to six men could portage it, bottom up
9.
Kayak
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A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic language, where it is the word qajaq, in the UK the term canoe is often used when referring to a kayak. The traditional kayak has a deck and one or more cockpits. Kayaks are also being sailed, as well as propelled by means of electric motors. The kayak was first used by the indigenous Aleut, Inuit, Yupik, kayaks were originally developed by the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut. They used the boats to hunt on inland lakes, rivers and coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic, Bering Sea and these first kayaks were constructed from stitched seal or other animal skins stretched over a wood or whalebone-skeleton frame. Kayaks are believed to be at least 4,000 years old, the oldest existing kayaks are exhibited in the North America department of the State Museum of Ethnology in Munich. Native people made many types of boat for different purposes, the baidarka, developed by indigenous cultures in Alaska, was also made in double or triple cockpit designs, for hunting and transporting passengers or goods. An umiak is an open sea canoe, ranging from 17 to 30 feet, made with seal skins. It is considered a kayak although it was originally paddled with single-bladed paddles, native builders designed and built their boats based on their own experience and that of the generations before them, passed on through oral tradition. A special skin jacket, Tuilik, was laced to the kayak. This enabled the eskimo roll to become the method of regaining posture after capsizing, especially as few Inuit could swim. Inuit kayak builders had specific measurements for their boats, the length was typically three times the span of his outstretched arms. The width at the cockpit was the width of the builders hips plus two fists, the typical depth was his fist plus the outstretched thumb. Thus typical dimensions were about 17 feet long by 20–22 inches wide by 7 inches deep and this measurement system confounded early European explorers who tried to duplicate the kayak, because each kayak was a little different. Most of the Aleut people in the Aleutian Islands eastward to Greenland Inuit relied on the kayak for hunting a variety of seals, though whales. Skin-on-frame kayaks are still being used for hunting by Inuit people in Greenland, because the smooth and flexible skin glides silently through the waves. In other parts of the home builders are continuing the tradition of skin on frame kayaks, usually with modern skins of canvas or synthetic fabric
10.
Paddle
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A paddle is a tool used for pushing against liquids, either as a form of propulsion in a boat or as an implement for mixing. Paddles commonly used in canoes consist of a wooden, fibreglass, carbon fibre or metal rod with a handle on one end, paddles for use in kayaks are longer, with a blade on each end, they are handled from the middle of the shaft. Kayak paddles having blades in the plane are called un-feathered. Paddles with blades in different planes are called feathered, feathered paddles are measured by the degree of feather, such as 30,45, or even 90 degrees. Many modern paddles are made of two pieces which can be snapped together in either feathered or unfeathered settings, the shaft is normally straight but in some cases a crank is added with the aim of making the paddle more comfortable and reducing the strain on the wrist. In addition, weight savings are more desirable at the ends of the rather than in the middle. Cheaper kayak paddles have a shaft while more expensive ones use a lighter fibreglass or carbon fibre shaft. Some paddles have a smaller diameter shaft for people with smaller hands, Paddle length varies with a longer paddle being better suited for stronger people, taller people, and people using the paddle in a wider kayak. Some paddle makers have an online paddle size calculator, blades vary in size and shape. A blade with a surface area may be desirable for a strong person with good shoulder joints. Some paddle makers offer blades in three sizes, for this reason white or yellow blades may offer a safety advantage over black or blue blades. Of course, kayakers should wear a headlamp or have other lighting on their kayak under conditions of limited lighting. However, if an operator must look straight into a sun low in the sky to see a kayaker. Highly reflective water resistant tape may be affixed to the paddle blades, the paddle is held with two hands, some distance apart from each other. For normal use, it is drawn through the water front to back to drive the boat forwards. The two blades of a paddle are dipped alternately on either side of the kayak. Gloves may be worn to prevent blistering for long periods of paddling, on mechanical paddle steamers, the motorized paddling is not done with a mass of paddles or oars but by rotating one or a few paddle wheels. Racing paddles also have special designs and they are generally less flat and are curved to catch more water which will enable racing paddlers to maximize the efficiency of their stroke
