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Wagner Meters / Woodworking Articles / What Do You Know about the History of
Woodworking?
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF
WOODWORKING?
by Tony Morgan
Throughout ancient history until our modern era, every civilization in
the world has used wood to create useful as well as beautiful and
decorative objects.
We see examples of woodworking by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, and Chinese. Many other ancient cultures around the world
also practiced woodworking, employing many different styles and
techniques.
Primitive weapons used for defense and hunting and simple tools
used for building shelters have been used throughout the ages,
Archaeologists discovered a wooden club and digging sticks at the
Kalambo Falls on the Kalambo River on the border of Zambia and
Tanzania.
‘As man developed his woodworking skills, he became better able to
Kill animals for food, clear land with his axe to grow crops, and build
boats, buildings, and furniture. Woodworking thus became an
important process that led to the advancement of civilizations.
Because of the vast amount of material to cover related to the history
of woodworking, this article will focus on woodworking from ancient
times to the Middle Ages, focusing on some of the more prominent
civilizations. Woodworking conducted in other civilizations will be
omitted — not because they are less important but again, due to the
sheer volume of material. We wil, however, briefly review some of the
more prominent tools woodworkers used throughout history.
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Many ancient Egyptian drawings going back to 2000 B.C. depict
wood furniture, such as beds, chairs, stools, tables, beds, and chests
There's also physical evidence of these wooden objects, as many
were found wellspreserved in tombs due to the country's dry climate.
Even some sarcophagi (coffins) foun
wood,
in the tombs were crafted from
Ancient Egyptian woodworkers were noted for regularly practicing
their craft and for developing techniques that advanced the craft for
future generations. For instance, they invented the art of veneering,
which is the practice of gluing thin slices of wood together.
The earliest examples of veneering are over 5,000 years old, found
in the tomb of Semerkhet. Many of the pharaohs were buried with
objects that had African ebony veneer and ivory inlays,
According to some scholars, Egyptians were the first to varnish, or
“finish” their woodwork, though no one knows the composition of
these “finishes”. Finishing is the art of placing some kind of protective
sealant on wood materials in order to preserve them.
‘Ancient Egyptian woodworkers used a variety of tools, including axes,
adzes, chisels, pull saws, and bow drills. During the earliest pre-
dynastic period (circa 3100 B.C., about the time of the first pharaoh),
they also used mortise and tenon joints to join pieces of wood. Pegs,
dowels, and leather or cord lashings strengthened these joints.
Animal glue was used during the New Kingdom period (1570 — 1069
BC)
Egyptologists found the world’s oldest piece of plywood in a third
dynasty coffin. It was made of six layers of wood four millimeters thick
held together by wooden pegs.
The Egyptians used a variety of wood to build their furniture and
other objects. The wood came from native acacias, local sycamore
and tamarisk trees. However, when deforestation occurred in the Nile
Valley starting from the Second Dynasty, they began importing cedar,
‘Aleppo pine, boxwood, and oak from various parts of the Middle East.
They also imported ebony from Egyptian colonies and used it to
construct items that went into tombs such as
laid wooden chests.
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3
In the Book of Genesis, we encounter one of the Bible's first
woodworkers - Noah, After God revealed his plan to destroy a
corrupt humanity by flooding the earth, He gave Noah a 120-year
project — build an ark of cypress wood coated with pitch inside and
out
God furnished him and his three sons with precise instructions and
dimensions. The ark was to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30
cubits high. If we convert cubits into feet based on the common cubit
of 17.5 inches used by the Hebrews, we get an ark that is at least
450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall (about the size of a 4-
story building)
The sheer size of the ark staggers the imagination and seems an
impossible task for Noah and his sons. The Scriptures, however, do
not suggest that Noah had to build the ark without the help of hired
men. After all, the size of the timbers for such a huge vessel would
likely have been beyond the powers of four men to handle.
After the flood, the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat.
‘The mountains of Ararat are in present-day Turkey.1
Y
While Noah and his woodworking crew displayed exceptional skills in
building the ark, the Hebrew Bible paints a different picture of the
Israelite woodworkers during the time of Solomon. As written in
Chapter 5 of 1 Kings, Solomon had to import Phoenician artisans
from the coastal city of Tyre to build his temple.
The Phoenicians were skilled in intricate woodworking such as
making furniture and intaying them with ivory carvings, but as the
years passed, the Israelite’s woodworking skills improved. In Isaiah
44:13, the prophet describes the carpenter and his tools, suggesting
that during the era of the kings, the Israelites were becoming more
adept and involved in carpentry. In fact, carpenters were among
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those Israelites exiled to Babylon after the Babylonians captured
Jerusalem in 597 B.C. (Jeremiah 24:1; 29:2)
Lebanese cedar, imported from Lebanon, was one of the most
popular building materials used in the Biblical world by ancient
woodworkers because of its high quality, pleasant scent, and
resistance to both rot and insects, Many temples, palaces and
seagoing vessels were made from this wood, including Solomon's
famed Temple
This cedar was also used in the construction of the so-called “Jesus
Boat” of the first century A.D. In 1986, two brothers discovered the
boat in the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee after a
tremendous drought had lowered the water level. It was similar to the
boats Jesus and his disciples would have used to cross and fish the
Sea of Galilee.
Almost 27 feet long and over 7 feet wide, the boat's nails and hull
construction placed the boat's origin between 100 B.C. and 100 A.D.
twas the first near-complete boat ever found in the Sea of Galilee.
ia
Early Chinese civilizations also promoted the art of woodworking. It's
believed that woodworking mushroomed in that country starting
around 720 B.C. When that happened, the Chinese developed many
sophisticated applications of woodworking, including precise
measurements used for making pots, tables, and other pieces of
furniture
During this time, a well-known carpenter, Lu Ban, was credited as
being one of the originators of woodworking in China. It's believed he
brought the plane, chalk line, and other tools to China. Some 1500
years after his death, his teachings were compiled in the book Lu Ban
Jing ("Manuscript of Lu Ban")
This book documented his work as a carpenter and contained
descriptions of dimensions for building various objects - such as
flower pols, tables, and altars. It also provided specific instructions
concerning Feng Shui (wind and water).
Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of geomancy, that is, the
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positioning of physical objects in strategic locations in home and work
environments to stimulate optimal wellness, health, and happiness
Ironically, the book says almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and
nailless joinery for which Chinese furniture was so famous.
TT
Woodworkers today who practice the ancient oriental woodworking
techniques take pride in their mastery of the fitted joint and their skill
of not using electric equipment, nails or glue to hold their pieces
together. Japan is where this style of woodworking primarily
originated.
‘One reason for Japan's success in such excellent woodworking was
that they developed high-carbon steel tools early in their history.
Their use of high-quality blades and the engineering of the lathe
made ancient Japanese woodworkers leaders in crafting round and
curved objects. Cooperage (the making of barrels and casks) and
bentwood works (wood that is artificially shaped for use in making
furniture) were popular in Japan for everyday household objects.
Japanese woodworkers also made exquisitely-sculpted scenery.
Their popularity and the techniques used in the process spread
across Southeast Asia.
Another highly skilled form of woodworking was block prints — made
from inked blocks of wood, Lacquering also was developed in the
orient. Itis a technique dominant in Japan, China, and Korea.
Recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we find that Jesus’
adopted father Joseph was a carpenter. In the Jewish culture of that
time (1st century), the father was required to teach the son his trade
at age 12. Being a good Jew, Joseph would have followed this
practice and began teaching Jesus at 12 his carpentry trade.
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Carpenters of tne time ot Jesus were often called upon to construct
or repair plows or threshing sleds, or cut a roofing beam or shape a
yoke for a new team of oxen. They also met the demands for new
doors and door frames, or a storage chest, and made a variety of
other repairs.
Sometimes they helped with the construction of larger building
projects, such as building a wood balcony, or making doors or stairs
for a new synagogue. And, on occasion, a master carpenter would be
asked to create a holy object such as a Torah cabinet for the storage
of Scripture scrolls.
Hebrew carpenters used a variety of wood species depending on
what the job required. They included cypress, oak, ash, sycamore
and olive. If it were a special project, they might have to import
‘expensive cedar from Lebanon, or use the stock of a vine for small
projects.
When a carpenter needed wood, he sawed trees into boards using a
large bronze saw with the aid of other workers. He cut thin boards
from tree trunks. Trees in that region, however, were not large or
straight.
‘Among the carpenter's tools mentioned in ancient sources were the
saw, mallet, adze, plummet and line, chisel, rule stick, plane and
squares. They also used the bow drill, held in one hand by the
handle, which they rapidly set in motion by drawing the attached bow
back and forth.
The bow-lathe was a crude primitive tool, yet a skilled woodworker
could produce decorative spindles and bowls with it much like today's
wood turers, He turned the wood by pulling a leather strap back and
forth like a bow. This motion moved the lathe and enabled the cut to
be made in the turning wood.
With these tools at hand, carpenters from Biblical times possessed
the skill to create intricate dovetailed, mitered, and dowelled joints.
Combining considerable skill and patience, they often created
splendid wood products.astr016
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Woodworking in the Middle East goes back tor many centuries, even
to Biblical times, as evidenced in the descriptions of some items, For
instance, the Book of Exodus chronicles the construction of wooden
holy items for the Tabernacle of the ancient Hebrews.
The ancient woodworkers of the Near East built great wooden boats
out of timber that grew in the Anatolian plateau (the Asian part of
Turkey) along the Levantine coast (the Mediterranean coastal lands
of modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon), This wood was so
coveted that invading armies often demanded it as tribute.
Archaeologists found furniture crafted from wood inlaid with bone,
ivory or metal that dated as far back as 800 B.C. at Gordion, the
alleged home of the mythical King Midas. Near East woodworkers
used lathes as well as wedges, mallets, chisels, hammers, drils,
plumb bobs, compasses, and other basic tools.
The wooden windows of the early mosques and private houses still
seen today in the Arabic culture were crafted at the height of ancient
Near East woodcarving. The Muslim woodcarvers of Persia, Syria,
Egypt and Spain designed and created exquisite paneling and other
decorations for wall linings, ceilings, pulpits, and all kinds of fittings
and furniture. Their woodwork was elaborate and minutely delicate.
m
The Roman Empire also had its share of skilled woodworkers
Wielding adzes, lathes, files, planes, saws and drills, including the
bow drill, they constructed aqueducts and waterworks using wooden
scaffolding, built impressive warships and barges, and erected strong
and lethal battering rams and catapults for attacking enemy cities.
They also crafted furniture, including tables and chairs that
stylistically represented the arms of animals or that were carved to
represent mythological creatures.
Archaeologists were delighted to find a furniture shop intact in
Pompeli, an ancient resort city destroyed in 79 A.D. when Mt.
Vesuvius erupted. They also discovered wooden furniture and
decorations, and the methods of building
Roman woodworkers used a variety of woods for their wooden
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creations. wood species inciuaea liex, Deecn, maple, elm, olve, ana
ash. The most prized wood in the Roman Empire was the African
wood thyine, which was believed to have mystical powers. It was
used by both the Romans and Greeks to make furniture,
Thyine, from the Cedar family, is a fragrant and beautiful wood the
Romans called citrus or citron wood. It comes from a North African
tree and was alluded to in Revelation 18:12 as being among the
items which would no longer be purchased when Babylon fell
The medieval period, also known as the Middle Ages, occurred
during the one thousand years between the fall of Rome and the
Renaissance, from about 400 A.D. to the 15th century. Since wood
was the most common building material in the Middle Ages,
carpenters prospered. They also were considered to be among the
most skilled craftsmen.
Carpenters, however, had to belong to guilds — groups that were
designed to protect the interests of people in certain occupations.
They also were required to do apprenticeships with established
carpenters. Their tools were much simpler than what we use today,
but they had to know how to use them as well as know math and
woodworking. This knowledge was necessary in order to create
furniture, wagons and homes for people of that era - even kings and
lords.
All buildings used wood in some way. Buildings were sometimes
constructed almost entirely out of wood, from the framing for their
walls and roofs to their siding and shingles. Even stone buildings
required considerable wooden construction, For instance, while
being built, wood was needed for scaffolding, ramps and frames to
support arches until the mortar hardened. Later, wood was used for
doors, window frames, floors, roof beams, and some interior walls.
Although most of the wooden buildings of the Middle Ages have long
since vanished, we still have contemporary illustrations of buildings
and other wooden structures either completed or under construction.
Woodworkers of the Middle Ages also were skilled in creating
wooden figurines and statues, some of which stil stand today. These
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Byzantine or Gothic art pieces showed that woodworkers exhibited
extreme patience in their woodworking and their love of this skill.
Ancient Tools of the Trade
Tools are like windows to the past. They allow us to view the
civilizations that created them, Obviously, the more wooden objects a
society produces, the more tools it needs and uses.
In some instances, societies advanced slowly or even regressed
when it came to the development and use of woodworking tools. For
instance, the Roman joiner had a larger tool chest than his Medieval
counterpart
‘Axes and adzes were among the first tools created. Woodworkers
used the axe to fell trees, and the adze, with its blade turned 90
degrees, to dress timber.
The Minoan civilization of Crete used a combination axe-adze and
invented the double-headed axe, The ax-adze was popular with
Roman carpenters.
The handsaw was used in Egypt as far back as 1500 B.C. It had a
broad blade, some as long as 20 inches, curved wooden handles,
and irregular metal teeth. Since the blades were copper, a soft metal,
they had to be pulled, not pushed. Because the carpenter could not
bear down on the cutting stroke, sawing wood must have been a
slow, tedious process.
The Romans improved the handsaw in two ways. They used iron for
the blades, making them stiffer, and they set the teeth of the saw to
project alternatively right and left. This made the saw cut slightly
wider than the blade and allowed a smoother movement
‘The Romans also invented the frame saw and the stiffened back saw,
with s blade that is reinforced at the top to afford straight-through
cuts, The frame saw uses a narrow blade held in a wooden frame
and is kept taut by tightening a cord. The principle of the frame saw
lives on in the modern hacksaw.
Roman builders used the try square (also known as the carpenter's
square), the plumb line, and the chalk line, tools developed by the
ancient Egyptians. Egyptian woodworkers also used wooden pegs
instead of nails and made the holes with a bow dril, which they
moved back and forth
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Since the bow drill is ineffective for heavy driling and wastes energy,
the Romans came up with a better tool: the auger. The auger has a
short wooden cross-handle attached to a steel shaft whose tip is a
spoon-shaped bit. It enabled the woodworker to apply great rotational
force and heavy downward pressure.
Woodworkers in the Middle Ages created a breast auger for drilling
deep holes in ships’ timbers. It is topped by a broad pad on which the
carpenter rested his entire body weight.
The Romans improved upon the Egyptian's wooden pegs by
inventing forged iron nails. They also created another dual-purpose
tool: the claw hammer.
In addition, the Romans invented the rule, the smooth plane, and
several other types of planes. One historian has called the plane “the
most important advance in the history of woodworking tools.”
Chisels are more ancient tools. Bronze Age carpenters used them
with both integral handles and socketed wooden handles for house
and furniture construction,
The first mallets, shaped like bowling pins, were pounded across the
grain and didn't tast long. Eventually, a handle was fitted to a
separate head, These made a more durable hammering surface.
eee ra
Discovering preserved ancient wooden artifacts thrills modern
archaeologists. It gives them — and us — a special glimpse into the
past and provides a tangible link between us and the people of past
societies. Unfortunately, countless objects made of wood did not last
as long as ones made from clay or metal.
Wood is naturally very durable and capable of lasting for thousands
of years without significant change if kept in moderate, sheltered
environments. When the wood is exposed to fungi (molds and
mildews), insects, termites, light, excessive heat, and excessive
moisture, however, itis doomed to suffer biological deterioration. This
is what happened to many of the wooden objects created centuries
ago.
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Moisture can be one of the most difficult conditions to control. Wood
takes on moisture in high relative humidity conditions and releases it
when the humidity is lower.
Excessively high moisture conditions can cause wood to swell. This
can result in crushed components along with finish and glue failure.
Excessively low moisture conditions can damage the wood, too,
resulting in splitting, gaps in joints, and lifting veneers and inlays.
Because the dimensions of wood can change when exposed to
moisture and heat, the skilled woodworker must be able to anticipate
these variations so as to maintain the integrity of the finished piece.
Failing to take moisture content into account is a recipe for disaster.
‘One tool that ancient man never had the good fortune to possess is
the moisture meter. Wagner Meters engineered the first practical and
portable electromagnetic wave moisture meters in the 1990s. Since
that time, other companies have started manufacturing pinless
moisture meters.
‘The Wagner moisture meters were designed to cancel out surface
moisture, IntelliSense™ technology allows its wood moisture meters
to measure the percent of moisture in the wood instead of on the
wood, solving the major drawback of most pinless moisture meters.
Wagner meters also are designed to enable woodworkers and
flooring installers to “scan” many board feet of wood easily and
quickly. This is handy when having to check a large volume of wood
samples ot for simply doing a quick check of current conditions.
Because Wagner meters have no pins, they do not damage wood
surfaces, as do pin meters. They also read moisture content ranging
from 5% to 30%. The MMC220 meter, Wagner's most popular model,
is ideal for measuring moisture in all wood species — hardwoods,
softwoods, and even exotic tropical woods. It offers moisture
measurement to the tenth-of-a-percent precision.
The Wagner Meters MMC205, ideal for hobbyists, is useful for wood
flooring and woodworking applications that specify common softwood
and hardwood species that do not require moisture measurement to
the tenth-of-a-percent precision.
While many ancient tools lacked durabilly, Wagner meters, made in
the USA, are built to last. I's why they come with an industry-leading
7-year warranty and complete customer satisfaction guarantee.
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