Adjustable Bevel

Datec.1776

MediumWhite oak and iron

DimensionsLength open: 29 9/16" Stock: 15 3/8" x 1 9/16 x 1 3/8" Blade: 15 3/4 x 1 9/16" x 3/8"

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Kennedy

Object number1985-202

DescriptionStock made from a single piece of oak cut to receive oak blade. Lower end of cut angled to accept angled end of blade (now too long, and bevel will not close). Lower end of stock split and repaired with iron rivet. The pivot pin is a crude iron rivet peened over an irregular iron washer.
Label TextHeavy-duty bevels like this example were used by carpenters for jobs like house framing. Found during the 1937 restoration of a Goochland County, Virginia house, it was likely lost during the home’s construction in the mid-1770s.
ProvenanceFound in the walls of Woodlawn Plantation (Goochland Co., near Oilville, VA) during its 1937 restoration. Puprortedly, the house was completed in 1776. The donors of this and 1985-203 (compasses) were the owners of Woodlawn Plantation in 1985.