Posts Tagged ‘My minimalist tool list’
My minimalist tool list – the square
Which tools do you really need? Some of you have asked about the tools you should buy to get going. I will try cover them over the next few days. I am not really a minimalist when it comes to hand tools and because there is no one size fits all tool I can expand…
Read MoreMy minimalist tool list – the woodworkers knife
The woodworker’s knife Knives for woodworkers are often called striking knives or layout knives because we strike and lay out the cut lines of shoulders, cut around hinges and other hardware and trim and fit veneers and thin or small sections of wood to size. There are indeed many different knives to choose from, ranging…
Read MoreMy minimalist tool list – the woodworker’s knife I don’t use
Here is a thought on a knife that comes with students to my workshop. Unfortunately I end up working on them to get them to function and the result is always unsatisfactory. Now this will go against thr grain for those of you who bought them and swear by them, but I know I have…
Read MoreMy minimalist tool list – the woodworker’s tape measure
Tapes as a rule for woodworkers It is hard to get romantic about retractable measuring tapes, after all, they are about as utilitarian as it gets. Tape measures have replaced rigid folding rules because of their convenience, and tapes are more accurate today than they ever were, so even low-grade tapes are generally quite accurate.…
Read MoreMy minimalist tool list – the combination gauge
The combination gauge Two gauges common to woodworking are the marking gauge and the mortise gauge and both are essential primarily to joinery. Mortise gauges tend to be more expensive because of the addition of the adjustable extra pin point and so we find a unique gauge we call the combination gauge. It makes good…
Read MoreMinimalist tools – dovetail saws
So you need a dovetail saw. I think that many people think that a dovetail saw is for cutting dovetails and though that is true, it is not so much a dedicated saw but simply a small saw we use mostly for cutting smaller joints and that includes dovetails. A well-sharpened well-set dovetail saw is…
Read MoreMore on minimalist tool stuff
A bevy of #151s in my arsenal of spokeshaves. In the minimalist tool kit is a spokeshave we refer to commonly as a #151 after the product numbering system used by the Stanley Rule and Level Company. This flat-bottomed spokeshave was another tool rejected by craftsmen for many years because it ‘stock’ to the surface…
Read MoreMy minimalist tool list – a good chisel hammer
This is my hammer for chisel workI know that it doesn’t look much, but I have used a Thor 12-712N Nylon Hammer for at least two years and really like the way that they handle my chisels. There are other weights and sizes, but my favourite is 1 1/2″ – 38mm model. When I bought…
Read MoreMy minimalist tools – another hammer
Warrington hammer Hammers are important tools in the furniture makers arsenal but we don’t really need large ones and less so claw hammers. I have owned this hammer since a boy. I bought a 16oz Stanley claw hammer at the same time. That was in the days when there was only one maker and all…
Read MoreMinimalist woodworking – Another poor-man’s beading tool
Bandsaw beaders with hook Bandsaw blades may sometimes seem a waste of good steel and indeed as an apprentice 45-50 years ago, we used to send them away to be sharpened many times over. Today they are all discarded for meltdown and that’s fine as the steel bands themselves degrade and become weak and tend…
Read Moreon Someone Wrote MeThank you. I don't think that anyone should give up their machines because I or anyone else gives the impression that they should. I doubt that I have ever said to anyone don't use…
on A Gem of a RemnantAnd here I thought I was the only one who found this to be true.
on Someone Wrote MeReally interesting discussion here. Could be just semantics, but I think machine woodworking is more of an ability. Something that pretty much all humans have - to be able to feed…
on Someone Wrote MeHaving just started my first large project, a 3.5m x 0.85m outdoor table. I have watched a lot of Paul's videos to gain knowledge and inspiration. I can tell you from a novice pers…
on The Draw of Skilled HandsIt goes back much further than that. It was written in the 1920's and has been recorded many many times. Still being recorded by modern swing bands today. A great song and a great…
on Someone Wrote MeThe book "The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World", by Simon Winchester, describes very well how we ended up the way we are today; without the skilled…