Conservation Research Laboratory Reports

A carpetner's tool from Port Royal, Jamaica

History: Port Royal, Jamaica, was a prosperous colonia trade center until a fateful day in June 1692 when a violent earthquake shattered the island and nearly two-thirds of the city sank into the harbor. As unfortunate as that event was, it has provided a unique opportunity for archaeologists to study 'a frozen moment in time.' The Department of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University conducted underwater excavations at this sunken city from 1981 to 1990. This is a very rich site for archaeologists, preserving thousands of artifacts from everyday life. Byd studying these remains,archaeologists have been able to look into the past and recreate much of what life was like when Port Royal slid into the sea.

Discovery: Like it is today, in the 17^th- century iron was a very important metal. Unfortunately for archaeology, iron corrodes easily, especially in seawater. After 300 years underwater,many of hte metal objects from Port Royal had completely disappeared. Luckily, often while an iron artifact is corroding (through chemical and natural processes) a minearl-based shell forms around the artifact, thus preserving its shape. The resulting encrustation looks like al ump of concrete, bearing little resemblance to the original artifact it housed. the object seen in teh picture above was preserved in such an encrustation. Only when the encrustation was x-rayed did it become evident what object it contained - a tool.

The outline of a handle, and inverted tang, and a shouldered shank with a tapered blade were visible on an x-ray of the object. It was also evident that the handle was made of wood, and that there were a series of grooves along its lenght. No metal remained; the only way to recreate the original shape of the tool was to cast a mold using epoxy.

Treatment: a solution of Epoxy 6329 and 20% Hysol 3201 was poured into the two-piece encrustation. They were then placed in a container partially filled with sand. The sand acted as a support to keep the pieces upright. Water was then added to the level of the handle to keep it and the encrustations wet. This kept the encrustations from drying out which would make their removal much more difficult. After the epoxy set, another mixture of epoxy and cabosil (which acts as a thickener) was used tofill the remainign portion of both halves. The two pieces were refitted and clay was applied around the area of the break to hold the halves together.

The encrustation was first removed with a pneumatic chisel from around the shaft and blade portions of the tool. AFter the concretion was removed from these areas,three, and possibly four, letters could be seen on the blade. They read "ORK." The concreted material was then carefully removed from around the wooden handle. The entire handle was kept wrapped in wet towels to prevent the wood from drying and shrinking. Before proceeding, a silicone rubber peel was made of the maker's mark. The handle was again wrapped ina wet cloth and placed in a plastic bag to keep it moist. After the peel was in place,the handle was immersed in a mild solution of hydrochloric acid for several hours to remove any remaining encrustation and to lighten the color of the wood. The silicone peel was left on to protect the maker's mark.

The tool was then put into three consecutive baths of ethanol. Each ethanol bath was successively longer and a final aceton bath was used for a few horus to ensure that any remaining water was driven off.

Finally, the tool was placed into a saturated solution of ethanol-rosin. the ethanol-rosin mixture was used instead of the more common acetone-rosin, because acetone would cause the epoxy to soften and swell. The tool was suspended in a plastic mesh bag from a small brass rod in a glass container. The container was sealed to prvent evaporation of the ethanol. It was stored in a vented oven at a constant temperature of 125°F for four weeks. At this point the tool's conservation was complete.

Analysis and Identification: Many tools have been recovered from Port Royal, including hammers, axes, files, chisels, and gouges. The tool discussed above can be clearly identified as a chisel, althrough there is a type of gouge, called a flat gouge, that closely resembles it. As can be seen on the right, it is difficult to distinguish between the two. The cutting edge of the conserved artifact has no noticeable curvature. This is more than a question of semantics if one wants to identify how the tool was used.

Generally, gouges are rarely used by carpenters. On occasion, they are used to hollow out large cavities in wood when a curved edge would cut more easily than a straight one. However, it is a tool very commonly used by the wood carver for delicate carving on such items as furniture, moldings, and fireplace mantels. In addition, carpenters' and carvers' tools are distinguishable by their bevels. Woodcarvers' chisels and gouges have cutting edges that are usually beveled from both sides (a double bevel). The blade of the artifact under study is beveled on only one side.

This seems to indicate that this artifat was a carpenter's chisel, but as such, it probably was only used for light work. A carpenter often drives hsi heavier chisels with a mallet, as compared to juts with hand or shoulder pressure. The preserved handle of the artifact shows no signs of having been hammered, although there is the possibility that it was a new tool. Furthermore, a tang was used to secure the blade to the handle. For heaver work, chisels often had a different form of attachment between the blade and the handle. The wooden handle fit into a metal socket where it was better able to withstand the force fo a mallet.

Carvers would on occasion use single-beveled chisels just as carpenters would fine use for 'light' chisels. From the tool itself, it is difficult to determine who used it. The shape of this tool is not revealing because it was a very common one. Thsi is one of the oldest tool shapes. It has slowly tapering sides and is thus classified as an allongee type chisel. As a metal rod is thinned to a working edges, hammering naturally produces this shape.

Maybe in time, further study of the maker's marks might reveal more information aobut this tool. Many such studies are being done on the tools and artifacts from Port Royal. Individually, some studies are more significant than others, but in totality, all are important for the archaeologists trying to recreate and understand the lives of the people of Port Royal.

Credits are extended to:

Bealer, Alex W. Old Ways of Working Wood: The Techniques and Tools of a Time-Honored Craft. Barre Publishing Company. Barre, 1980.

Bealer, Alex W. The Tools That Built America. Barre Publishing. Barre, 1976.

Franklin, Marianne, Wrought Iron Hand Tools in Port Royal, Jamaica: A Study Based Upon a Collection of the Tools Recovered from Archaeological Excavations and on Tools Listed in the Probate Inventories of Colonial Port Royal, c. 1692. A Thesis Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University. College Station, 1992.

Mercer, Henry C. Ancient Carpenters' Tools. Fifth Edition. Published for the Bucks County Historical Society by Horizon Press. 1975.

Pye, Chris. Woodcarving: Tools, Materials & Equipment. Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications Ltd. Sussex, 1994.

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Last updated: Friday, 25-Sep-2009 18:30:38 Central Daylight Time