Woodworking hand tools are at the heart of traditionally crafted woodworking projects, they are powerful and adaptable to diverse processing needs. Whether you are a pro carpenter or a beginner, hand tools are necessary and irreplaceable for you.
In this comprehensive post, we will offer you a list of hand tools for woodworking. Choosing the correct tools can save effort and lead to better results.
Hand Saw
A hand saw is an essential hand tool for carpenters that provides precise cuts. Use it when you want to cut wood into different shapes and sizes. There are many different types of hand saws on the market, each with its specific purpose. Therefore, you should choose the right tool for your requirements when starting woodworking.
Here are some common ones:
- Japanese saw: The thin blades are designed with cross-cutting teeth and rip-cutting teeth at both edges. You can make cuts in both directions by pushing and pulling the saw. It provides faster and more precise cuts, resulting in less sawdust.
- Fret saw (coping saw): It consists of a U-shaped metal frame with a replaceable fine- toothed blade (length 150 to 300 cm). It can be used to cut curves, openwork patterns, orcomplex shapes.
- Dovetail saw: It is a small back saw with a one-edge thin blade and fine teeth, used for accurate rip cuts.
Hand Plane
Hand planes are woodworking tools for flattening, smoothing, and shaping surfaces of the boards. They always consist of a cutting edge and a flat, firm sole. You can adjust the depth of the cut by changing the position of the cutting edge.
Woodworking machines with similar capabilities to the hand planes include the jointer and the thickness planer. However, these power tools are not suitable for the fine planing, in which case a small hand plane is required.
There are some of the different types:
- Block plane: It is a small hand plane used for cutting end grain and doing touchup or finish work. It varies in length from 3'' to 7''. It is also designed to create chamfers on wood edges, angled at 12° to 20°.
- Bench plane: A bench plane is large and heavy, always used for smoothing and flattening large surfaces of rough lumbers. It has several classifications: jointer plane, jack plane, and smooth plane.
- Specialty plane: There are some special types of hand planes for unique cuts or moulding. They are the rabbet plane, router plane, shoulder plane, and chisel plane.
Chisel
A chisel is a wedged hand tool for carving, cutting, and shaping a hard material (like wood or metal). It consists of a sharp blade and a handle. You can use it with a wooden mallet. When striking with the mallet, your force should be applied to the center of the handle so that the force is uniform in all positions. Use a protective cover to shade the chisel's blade when not in use to avoid hurting your hand.
As the most versatile hand tools for beginners in the woodworking world, there are several types of chisels, including:
- Bevel-edged chisel: It has a beveled edge for finer angled cutting and trimming.
- Mortise chisel: It is a heavy and strong chisel with a thick and rigid cutting edge, which is designed for making mortises and similar joints.
- Paring chisel: It has a thin and long blade, suitable for cleaning grooves and accessing tight spaces to make precise cuts.
Clamp
Clamps are essential fastening tools designed to hold an dsecure workpieces tightly in place in woodworking. The basic principle of clamping is to press the workpiece against a locating surface so that it can be held firmly, free from any forces acting upon it.
Clamps are indispensable for stability and precision during operation. Choosing the right clamp for your project ensures accuracy, efficiency, and safety. There are different kinds of clamps for unique purposes you can select: pipe clamp, bar clamp, spring clamp, corner clamp, F-clamp, C-clamp, ratcheting hand clamp, bench clamp, screw clamp, strap clamp, and parallel clamp.
Wrench
A wrench, also called a spanner, is a hand tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to tighten or loosen bolts and nuts.
They can be divided into the following categories:
- Box-end wrench: It has a closed opening that grips the faces of the bolts and nuts. The recess of the wrench is generally 6-point or 12-point opening to match the number of sides on the fastener.
- Open-end wrench: A one-piece wrench with straight-edged slots on both ends to grip two opposite sides of the bolts and nuts.
- Adjustable wrench: It is also called a crescent wrench. You should use it only if there is no available wrench of a correct size.
- Socket wrench: When a nut or a bolt head is in a recess below the surface of a bolted member, a socket wrench is necessary. It is also known as a ratchet wrench.
- T-handle press torque wrench: You can precisely control the applied torque and the wrench will alert you in sound or vibration when the torque reaches a preset value.
Marking & Measuring Tools
The marking and measuring tools are the basic ones you need, but don't underestimate them. They are critical to the accuracy of cuts and joints. These tools provide greater precision, and your utilization of them will ensure you complete the task accurately.
Tools like rulers, tape measures, levels, marking gauges, squares, and so on are crucial for maintaining accuracy in dimensions and alignments. The best tools for a particular project may vary depending on factors such as the workpiece and the level of precision you require. Therefore, it's essential to select the appropriate marking and measuring tools for your task.
Concluding Words
As technology has advanced, so have the process and tools of woodworking. From semi-automatic table saws and planers to fully automatic CNC machines, these advances have made the process of woodworking more convenient and efficient.
However, the simpler process is difficult to make the operators have the most original hands-on fun. There are still a large number of enthusiasts who prefer traditional hand tools.
In addition to the ones listed in the post above, FindBuyTool offers more kinds of hand tools. Visit it and select the right tools to enjoy your manual woodworking journey!
FAQ About Hand Tools for Woodworking
1. What hand tools do you need for woodworking?
Here is a list of hand tools that you need for woodworking:
- Hand saw
- Hand plane
- Chisel
- Clamp
- Wrench
- Marking and measuring tools
2. What are the six classes of woodwork hand tools?
The hand tools can be classified into six types: measuring & marking, shaping & smoothing, cutting, joinery, boring, and gripping tools.
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