Okay, you know you are a Galoot when on one of the hottest days of the summer, you decide NOT to go into your nice cool basement workshop - but to go outside and try out that Adz you picked up at the flea market earlier this summer...

I found a shady spot on the lawn (no longer true when I took this picture - but that was part of the reason I was taking a break) and grabbed a small half log of elm I had (long story involving a chain saw there) and decided to try to "flatten" the other side. With the first couple of swings I thought I was a master Adz'er (Adz-man? Adz-person? Adz-iot?) as wood just popped off the end of the log - then I noticed that one end of this log had rotted some (it had been sitting on the firewood pile for a while) and I could pop some wood off with my fingers.

After some thought and some investigation - I trimmed up the end of the wood (DAMHIKT - but if you think that using the side rail of that 'el cheapo' bench in the picture as a support to hold the wood while sawing it would be a good idea - well, I think it might actually break out the rail on the bench).

Then back to Adzing. Okay....it was really fun. It was HOT and the foot placement is a little nervewracking at first - but the Adz worked great and I started to get the hang of it. My biggest problem was a tendancy to dig too deep and take bigger cuts than I wanted - but it did remove the wood pretty efficiently. It was amazing how when doing something like that comments I remembered reading on the list came back to me. I WHOLLY recommend to other Galoots to sometimes forget about attempting a project and just grab a tool and some wood and try it out.

I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with the "log" now (Later, I cleaned it up with a wooden Jack plane - one with a huge mouth that I rarely use) - but I don't really care at the moment.

Now let me back up a minute. I actually have two Adzes - the first is a Butcher that I bought a couple of summer's ago for $2 or $3. It has a short handle (looks original). I tried using it once with limited success. Then, earlier this summer I found what looks like an almost brand new Adz (with a Plumb mark on it) - $10, but I couldn't pass it by.  Here is a picture of the two:

The goal today was to try out the Plumb (long one) - but after a while, I decided I should try the Butcher (with the short handle) again. My Butcher Adz had been sharpened with a curve on the end of the blade (not straight across like the Plumb) and the blade itself is slightly more curved.

This time when I tried it, I was much more successfull. To me the shorter Adz gave me more control and let me chip out smaller pieces. I used it for a little while to try to clean-up my mess from the bigger Adz - I suspect that is what the smaller one is for...??...??? (I know they have real names - maybe someone can re-enlighten me)

Overall...it was a fun day. So, I figured I would pass my enjoyment to some folks who might appreciate it.