Woodworking with Hand Tools: Tools, Techniques & Projects

242 Pages·2018·33.25 MB·English

by  Editors of Fine Woodworking

W O O D W O R K I N G W I T H
T O O L S , T E C H N I Q U E S & P R O J E C T S
W O O D W O R K I N G W I T H
H A N D
TO O L S
TOOL S, TECHNIQUES & PROJECTS
EDITORS OF FINE WOODWORKING
C
© 2018 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Pp
THE TAUNTON PRESS, INC.
63 South Main Street, PO Box 5506
Newtown, CT 06470-5506
E-mail: [email protected]
EDITOR: Christina Glennon
COPY EDITOR: Candace B. Levy
INDEXER: Jay Kreider
JACKET/COVER DESIGN: Guido Caroti
INTERIOR DESIGN: Carol Singer
LAYOUT: Susan Lampe-Wilson
Fine Woodworking® is a trademark of The Taunton Press, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
The following names/manufacturers appearing in Woodworking with Hand Tools are trademarks:
3-in-One®, Auriou™, Bad Axe Tool Works™, Disston®, Eze-Lap™, Forstner®, Gramercy Tools®,
iGaging®, Lee Valley Tools®, Lie-Nielsen®, Marples®, Masonite®, Robert Larson Company™,
Sharpie®, Stanley®, Starrett®, Trend®, Tried & True™, Veritas®, WD-40®
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Taunton Press, author.
Title: Woodworking with hand tools : tools, techniques & projects / editors
of Fine Woodworking.
Other titles: Fine woodworking.
Description: Newtown, CT : Taunton Press, Inc., [2018] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017050132 | ISBN 9781631869396 (print) |
ISBN 9781631869747 (pdf format) | ISBN 9781631869761 (mobi format)
Subjects: LCSH: Woodwork. | Woodworking tools.
Classification: LCC TT185 .W664 2018 | DDC 684/.082--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050132
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ABOUT YOUR SAFETY: Working wood is inherently dangerous. Using hand
or power tools improperly or ignoring safety practices can lead to permanent injury
or even death. Don’t try to perform operations you learn about here (or elsewhere)
unless you’re certain they are safe for you. If something about an operation doesn’t
feel right, don’t do it. Look for another way. We want you to enjoy the craft, so please
keep safety foremost in your mind whenever you’re in the shop.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to the authors, editors,
art directors, copy editors, and other
staff members of Fine Woodworking who
contributed to the development of the
chapters in this book.
Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
PART ONE
Tools
• Essential Hand-Tool Kit 5
• Combo Squares: Th e Basics and Beyond 12
• Every Woodworker Needs a Cutting Gauge 20
• Machinist’s Calipers 24
• Mastering the Card Scraper 30
• You Need a Cabinet Scraper 36
• 4 Planes for Joinery 40
• Get to Know Japanese Handplanes 48
• Turn Your Shoulder Plane into
a Star Performer 58
• Got a Skew Chisel? 64
• Choosing and Using Japanese Chisels 67
• Setting Up Your New Japanese Chisel 74
• 4 Must-Have Handsaws 80
• Get Sharp the Diamond Way 84
PART TWO
Techniques
• Skill-Building Hand-Tool Exercises 92
• Do More with Your Block Plane 98
• Th ree Ways to Clamp a Drawer for Planing 104
• Saw Like an Old Pro 108
• 4 Chisel Tricks 116
• File Joints for a Perfect Fit 122
• Smooth Curves with Hand Tools 125
• MMaakkee tthhee SSppookkeesshhaavvee YYoouurr SSeeccrreett WWeeaappoonn 113311
• Create Your Own Scratch Stocks 139
• Make Custom Moldings 146
• Prep Rough Lumber with Hand Tools 115522
• Don’t Fear the Hand-Cut Dovetail 158
PART THREE
Projects
• Build Your Own Handsaw 175
• Custom Scrapers for Custom Work 186
• Make a Pair of Grooving Planes 191
• Shopmade Cutting Gauge 197
• 4 Bench Jigs for Handplanes 205
• Hand-Built Home for Hand Tools 213
• BBuuiilldd aa ThTh oorroouugghhbbrreedd SShhaavviinngg HHoorrssee 222211
CCoonnttrriibbuuttoorrss 223322
Credits 223333
Index 234
2
Introduction
There’s been an emphatic upsurge in published in the pages of Fine Woodworking
hand-tool woodworking in recent magazine, these expert makers invite you to
years, and it’s easy to understand the bench as they explain the fundamentals
why. Working wood with hand tools can be and fine points of working with hand tools.
a pure pleasure: It’s an activity that combines The first third of the book explores the
freehand shaping with precision joinery tools themselves, with investigations of
and enjoyable exertion with self-expression. everything from scrapers and saws, cutting
And all of that while you explore a material gauges and combination squares, to joinery
that is aesthetically beguiling and aromatic planes and Japanese chisels, shoulder planes
to boot. Some woodworkers have put their and skew chisels. The second third presents
routers, tablesaws, and biscuit machines aside hand tool techniques, moving from expla-
in favor of planes, chisels, and hand saws; nations of how to sharpen up fundamental
others continue to rely on their machines and skills like chiseling, sawing, and planing,
power tools but have shifted the balance in through to making your own moldings with
their shops toward tools that work fine when a scratch stock and smoothing curves with a
unplugged. spokeshave, and ending with an outstanding
While hand-tool woodworking can be treatise on the handcut dovetail. Finally, the
a delight, getting good at it takes time and third part provides complete project
effort and, for many, much trial and error. instructions for making a selection of hand
The only shortcut to mastery that I know of is tools by hand.
a good teacher. Or seventeen. If you are drawn To take advantage of all this expertise,
toward hand-tool woodworking—or are simply turn the page. By hand.
already immersed in it—you’ll find this book
an unparalleled resource. It brings together — Jonathan Binzen,
contributions by masters of the craft who are Deputy Editor, Fine Woodworking
also superb instructors. In pieces originally
3
PART ONE
TOOL S
4
Essential
Hand-Tool
DAN FAIA
Kit
I’ve done all sorts of woodworking in
my career, but hand tools have always
played a large role. I cannot do my best
work without them.
Whether working in the big shop at North
Bennet Street School, where I teach, using
an equal balance of power and hand, or
working in my home shop almost exclusively
at the bench, my set of essential hand tools is
surprisingly similar.  
While I was designing a compact tool
rack recently, I gave serious thought to just
which tools I rely on, the ones I reach for
on a regular basis. Granted, I am a period
furniture maker by trade, and I probably
work with more curves and carving than the
average woodworker. So you might be able to
get away without a couple of the items on my
list. And some woodworkers will want to add
a block plane, for trimming small surfaces
and making shaping cuts. I prefer to handle
these tasks with the other tools in my kit, but
the block plane can be very helpful.
Layout
Layout tools are the foundation for accurate
work, helping me create precise joinery,
angles, and curves. Th ey also serve as
important references for squareness and
fl atness.
Th e combination square is the primary
benchmark in the shop. A machinist-quality
model is accurate and easy to read. Its
many tasks include measuring workpieces,
5